So I'm new to cooking as this will demonstrate but I need help. I was going to make Spanish beans and rice tonight and add beef to it. I got lean meat used for stewing but was told that was wrong. Is there a way I can prepare/salvage this meat for that use later tonight? I've not actually make a stew before so I hadn't planned on using it that way.
Hammocks are more traditional for for beans and rice for future reference. As for salvaging that stewing meat, I'd say go ahead and use it with the beans. Stewing meat are cheap cuts that can be tough unless cooked slowly. If I were you, I'd season then up with cumin, wrap them in foil and stick them in the oven at 200F for a few hours. Cooking low and slow will help get the meat tender, and hopefully when done you can just shred then up and toss them in your beans.
>>7827514
So I dont need to fry them in a pan and then simmer them? I can just bake them in the oven? How many hours are we talking? Thank you.
>>7827543
Frying the meat in the pan would just make the meat tough. Slow roasting is what you want. I'd say about 3 hours, remove the foil then another hour of roasting to help develop a light crust for additional flavor.
>>7827548
Then last question. Besides salt, pepper, and cumin what else to add to the meat beforehand?
>>7827514
>>7827543
Any meat will be tender if cooked low-and slow. The reason why cuts with connective tissue are usually chosen is because:
a) they're not good for anything else
b) they tend to be more flavorful.
OP can use his lean meat, it just won't taste as good as it might otherwise could. But that's a pretty minor thing.
>>time
Check on it. Don't try to magically predict when it's done. But a good estimate would be about 3 hours.
>>7827548
>Frying the meat in the pan would just make the meat tough
Sure, but the idea is to cook it further later. It's very common to start a stewed dish by browning the meat in the pan first (to develop the malliard reaction, and thus flavor), and then stew or braise the meat after frying.
The pan-frying is not the whole process. It's one step used to add flavor.
>>7827553
Maybe some ground coriander if you want a more floral taste, but what's really going to make it savory is the cumin. I'd probably just stick with the salt, pepper and cumin if I were you. Anything more and you'll probably end up masking other flavors you wouldn't want to.
>>7827553
Maybe a little bit of brown sugar if you want that sweet-n-spicy type flavor.
>>7827576
That would work fine. That's very standard for a stewed dish.
