These are the naturally tough cuts of beef:
- Beef riblets
- Brisket flat
- Brisket flat end – boned and rolled
- Brisket point end
- Brisket stewing steak
- Chuck short ribs
- Chuck stewing steak
- Jacobs ladder – chuck
- Jacobs ladder – plate
- King Arthur roast – boneless
- Ox cheek
- Oxtail
- Plate short ribs
- Rib fingers
- Shoulder centre cut roast (Chuck)
- Silverside braising steak
- Silverside escalopes
- Silverside stewing steak
- Steak and kidney mix
- Shin – boneless
- Shin – bone-in
These cuts have plenty of collagen, which makes beef tough if cooked on a dry heat.
It’s because, as collagen heats up, it toughens and shrinks, forcing moisture out of the meat. This makes it dry and almost inedible.
But.. as it gets hotter... the collagen melts and turns into gelatine.
And it's the gelatine that “tenderises” and moisturises tough meat. It's what makes pulled beef so delicious and gives casseroles that silky smooth texture.
Cooking with wet heat
Slow and low
Slow cooking beef in liquid is quick and easy to prepare – but it takes a long time to cook. It's especially well suited to inexpensive cuts that improve in texture and flavour, if you cook them for long enough.
When collagen – which is soluble in water – reaches 50°C it slowly begins to shrink and stiffen. This forces water out of the meat and toughens it up. Beyond 60°C collagen shrinks much more rapidly, forcing even more water from the meat and making it even tougher.
But the magic happens between 70°C and 82°C when the collagen melts and begins to turn into gelatine.
This gelatine (which holds 10 times its weight in moisture) then coats and surrounds the meat giving it a moist, succulent texture – even though the meat's been cooked to Well done.
It's a function of temperature and time. Which is why the toughest cuts can be the most tender and juicy of all – given the time.
The minimum temperature you need to melt collagen is 70°C, but if you set your oven or slow cooker to that it'll take a long time to cook, for only marginal gains. So, set the temperature between 82–90°C.
Check – or taste it – every now and again, and when the meat's tender it's done. But, whatever you do, never let it boil. Beyond 100°C it'll toughen the meat even further.
How to cook naturally tender cuts of Beef
How to cook Beef cuts that are neither tender or tough