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Which cut of Lamb & Beef for a stew in a slow cooker


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Old 18-10-2014, 17:28
darkjedimaster
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Hi all,

Now that the time of year has come for stews & casseroles, I am seriously considering whipping out my slow cooker again to make a decent stew / casserole. Now this year I am highly tempted to make a Lamb & Beef dish in my slow cooker, but am unsure as what cut of lamb and beef to use. Normally when I do a stew in a slow cooker I stick to the bog standard onion gravy as liquid but usually add some chilli seeds to give it a decent kick of heat.

Now due to the lack of vegetables that I like & that agree with me, I normally add in a fair amount of green beans, leaks, sweetcorn & bell peppers as they are my favourite vegetables.

Can anyone here advise what cuts are best for this type of cooking ?

Many thanks
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Old 18-10-2014, 18:46
ChoccyCarole
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I recently made some stews
The Butchers suggest The tougher meats such as Braising steak - Chuck Skirt Shin etc
You can use the dearer cuts but they do not have what it takes to make the stew very flavoursome with that fall apart tender tasty texture

I always make mine Adding whatever *** bargains I buy ***
Once I added a full bag of Okra as I like it and the bag was greatly reduced
I have also added bags of various mixed salads - to use them up - before they spoil
I like to add many many spices
including my faves
About 12 Cardamon pods and some Star Anise
I list them ALL in the
**** What did you eat today ****
thread each time I make my meals and stews etc

When the food is cold I will put many portions into the freezer using Budget Sandwich bags - which I then fill & flatten out >> for the freezer

The best beef cuts for slow cooking & Tips in the Spoiler below

Spoiler
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Old 18-10-2014, 19:43
degsyhufc
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Breast of lamb
Brisket.
General casserole meat.
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Old 18-10-2014, 19:59
Toby LaRhone
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Why the use of a "spoiler"?

One of the first meats I cooked in my S/C was just a lamb shank and an onion quartered.
I cooked it for 6 hours or more.
The meat just slid off the bone and was pull apart tender and the juices with the onion made a beautiful gravy.
Slow cookers will make any piece of meat tender.
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Old 18-10-2014, 20:03
ChoccyCarole
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Why the use of a "spoiler"?
< Snipped >
Reply - I put that part of the post in "the spoiler" = just to reduce the size of the post
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Old 18-10-2014, 23:18
alan29
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Brisket of beef. Beef skirt. Ox tail (amazing.)
Neck of lamb.
I use whole chickens and turkey legs.
Fresh thyme, rosemary and whole cloves of garlic. Can of haricot beans. Onions, root veg. Can of beer or half bottle of wine. Decent stock. Go away and try to ignore the cooking smells.
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Old 18-10-2014, 23:27
surfie
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Breast of lamb
Brisket.
General casserole meat.
I use my slow cooker for Breast of Lamb and Braising Steak
I also use it for Gammon and Pork Shank. I usually cook them until the skin is soft enough to cut off then continue cooking them for another couple of hours.
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Old 19-10-2014, 12:14
Espresso
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I use shin beef, whole chickens, brisket, bacon joints, shoulder of pork and lamb shanks in my slow cooker. Never had a bad dinner off any of them.

Today it's shin beef. It's already smelling stupendous.
I never bother browning anything first, as I have tried both ways and found it makes no difference whatsoever. I know some people do that and say it does, though. Personal preference, I suppose.

Slow cookers also make splendid rice pudding.
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Old 19-10-2014, 12:56
darkjedimaster
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Thanks for the replies everyone, you have all gotten my mouth watering already. Looks like it is a trip to my local butcher during the week & see if he has any Oxtail. I know that the majority of the other bits of meat can easily be sourced from most places, but am not sure about Oxtail, as it is something that I have never really thought about looking for up until I started this thread. Thanks again
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Old 19-10-2014, 13:06
Welsh-lad
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Chuck is very nice in stews and braises, and has that wonderful 'fall-in-pieces' texture when cooked for a long time.

Incidentally if you want the most delicious mince for lasagne. cottage pie or whatever, then ask the butcher to mince up some flank for you.... lush.
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Old 19-10-2014, 13:56
alan29
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Our Morrisons sells oxtail.
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Old 20-10-2014, 08:20
Lushness
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Cooked some lamb shanks yesterday, delish! Although particularly cheap.

Oxtail is another very tasty cut, it needs to be cooked for ages though.

I don't use a slow cooker, I use a Dutch oven.
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Old 21-10-2014, 12:29
anfortis
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I love oxtail, but I've found that the price has shot up in the last few years, probably due to its promotion by TV Chefs (a similar thing happened with Lamb Shanks). There is often quite a bit of fat to remove from the larger pieces as well. For beef stews, I would always go with shin of beef, it has a lovely gelatinous quality when cooked long and slow. Lamb I tend to go for "hotpot" chops, relatively cheap for lamb and delicious when slow cooked.

I would also say that if you enjoy these cheaper cuts, it may be worth looking at getting a pressure cooker as they cook them beautifully as well, although you obviously can't leave them all day while you're out at work
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Old 21-10-2014, 14:42
Kiko H Fan
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I love oxtail, but I've found that the price has shot up in the last few years, probably due to its promotion by TV Chefs (a similar thing happened with Lamb Shanks). There is often quite a bit of fat to remove from the larger pieces as well. For beef stews, I would always go with shin of beef, it has a lovely gelatinous quality when cooked long and slow. Lamb I tend to go for "hotpot" chops, relatively cheap for lamb and delicious when slow cooked.

I would also say that if you enjoy these cheaper cuts, it may be worth looking at getting a pressure cooker as they cook them beautifully as well, although you obviously can't leave them all day while you're out at work
This is very annoying, isn't it.
The 'trendies' have discovered these cheap cuts, and they've been appearing on 'gastropub' menus for a few years now, so as you say, the price gets pushed up.
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Old 21-10-2014, 19:47
degsyhufc
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This is very annoying, isn't it.
The 'trendies' have discovered these cheap cuts, and they've been appearing on 'gastropub' menus for a few years now, so as you say, the price gets pushed up.
Yes.
In a way it can start to get lesser cuts into the supermarket but they don't stay cheap for long.

For A while I was looking for lamb neck steaks/fillets and the supermarket butchers didn't even know it was a cut but a few months later Morrisons started to stock them.
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Old 21-10-2014, 21:01
newda898
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For A while I was looking for lamb neck steaks/fillets and the supermarket butchers didn't even know it was a cut but a few months later Morrisons started to stock them.
Says it all about supermarkets and their "butchers"
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Old 21-10-2014, 21:31
degsyhufc
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but although my local butcher does some good deals on regular cuts he doesn't even have smoked or streaky bacon.

He basically just supplies the top sellers.
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Old 21-10-2014, 21:49
alan29
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Sainsburys used to sell boxes of stewing lamb, a mix of neck, ribs and mis-cut chops. It was a big box for less than a fiver. Made fantastic winter casseroles with butter beans etc.
Now you have to buy the component bits separately from the butcher and pay double.
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Old 24-10-2014, 10:57
burton07
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Years ago, before supermarkets were invented, I used to buy "best end of neck" from the butchers. This was a cheap cut of lamb and, although on the bone, made a delicious casserole or Lancashire hotpot.
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Old 24-10-2014, 11:01
mimicole
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Oooh stew Gonna have to make one soon.
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Old 24-10-2014, 21:30
alan29
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Oooh stew Gonna have to make one soon.
Gonna make one Sunday and make it last 'til Wednesday. Gets better each day.
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Old 25-10-2014, 00:40
darkjedimaster
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Well I picked up my choice of meat from my local butcher yesterday and put it in the freezer until after the weekend, the meat I bought was

Meat

1 Lamb shank just over 1lb
2lb casserole beef
1lb Oxtail

Vegetables

Potatoes
Onion
Mixed bell peppers
Sweetcorn
Green Beans

Now once all my ingredients are in the slow cooker, am I best of getting up at say 6am & cook on low for 12hrs for what I am putting in to make the Oxtail really tender & be ready to eat that evening ?. Or would I be best to cook it the day before and then just reheat it the next day, or cook it for a lesser amount of time ?.

Many Thanks
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Old 25-10-2014, 17:33
anfortis
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Now once all my ingredients are in the slow cooker, am I best of getting up at say 6am & cook on low for 12hrs for what I am putting in to make the Oxtail really tender & be ready to eat that evening ?. Or would I be best to cook it the day before and then just reheat it the next day, or cook it for a lesser amount of time ?
I'd do it the day before. The flavour of most stews will improve if left to "mature" for a day or two.
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Old 26-10-2014, 12:35
darkjedimaster
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I'd do it the day before. The flavour of most stews will improve if left to "mature" for a day or two.
Thanks for the fast reply , I will take the meat out of the freezer today to defrost and cook it up tomorrow, cannot wait.
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Old 26-10-2014, 14:24
indianwells
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Stews, casseroles, braises, curries, Bolognese, cottage pie etc ALL taste better one or two days later. I find there are no exceptions when cooking meat for a long time
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