stewing meat

[valB]

What is the best cut for making beef stew. I have tried several over the past four years and still find it quite tough unless cooked in my slow cooker for hours.

[mary]

I Buy the boeuf bourginon (SP?), but it needs at least 3 hours in a low oven. Unless you are going to waste an expensive cut of meat to stew, it will take a long time to tenderise.

[idun]

I used to buy gite de noix and stew that. I don't mind marbled beef, but I could never buy beef with lumps of fat and gristle in it, beurk! Still would take a couple of hours, but it was usually tender.

[Gardian]

Most bourgignon cuts will be collier, but I find that its often pretty tough & needs plenty of cooking (as said above).

I've had the best results from jumeau, or occasionally macreuse (both a braiser), but neither are readily available.  Both are from the front shoulder of the animal - both cuts are available as grilling steaks too (further back on the shoulder) and are excellent, but should not be used for stewing.  Paleron is OK too for braising.

[Chancer]

When I wanted to do a bourgignon I asked my neighbouring restauranter and was surprised at just how little cooking time he advocated, I bottled it and used my slow cooker but the carrots were very mushy whereas his bourgignons are always tender with relatively firm carrots.

Perhaps he was joshing me and he adds them later in the cooking but one thing I do know is that he uses the cheapest possible meat.

[idun]

Me being rather more of a fuss pot that I like to believe I am, I find some of the cheap cuts gelatinous too. I can't eat 'slimy' beef either.

I have been known to cut up Tende de Tranche (a roti) to stew if it is on offer. Truth is ofcourse that sometimes these offers in France are rough old meat anyway, so I used to feel justified in using it like this.

[water rat]

What do they do with all their meat? I find the cuts v limited compared to the UK. I always used 'skirt ' for puddings etc so tender and made delicious gravy Where does it go here? I hate that gristly collier. At the moment I've found a decent butcher and the meat is v lean ,but it's still just called bourginon.

[woolybanana]

Much of the meat sold cheaply in supermarkets is old milking cow and is so marked on the label, albeit in very small print. To get better quality, go to a decent butcher but be prepared to pay a shedload more.

[Pommier]

Here's a chart showing French beef cuts

http://pro.ovh.net/~produitd/index.php?/fr/viande_bovine/les_parties_du_boeuf

We buy bourginon beef for stewing, but as that seems to be any of a variety of cuts, we select a pack that looks good (shin is a nice stewing meat)

[Bernice]

 I always used 'skirt ' for puddings etc so tender and made delicious gravy Where does it go here?

Skirt is "Bavette" - you may have to ask at the butchery counter. 

Bernice

[Judith]

Interesting that several of the cuts mentioned here are labelled as "à griller", but when you do they are rather tough.  I stewed some gite de noix, which was indeed beautifully tender, and later oven "grilled" the rest, which was ok, but nothing like as tender as I would like.  OH says he reckons faux-filet is the only thing that you can grill without it being too tough, but I find it gets too tough when it is bien cuit as he likes it.

So I shall be continuing with ronde gite - at least then you have a choice of what to do with it (depending on time available) and it's still edible at the end!

[valB]

Thank you for all the replies and they are very helpful. I suppose one answer would be to take a cool box to UK and stock up there but not always practical. I also used to use Skirt in UK so may ask for that at the Boucherie section of my Intermarche or SuperU.  Looking forward to a  nice stew now the weather is cooling down but hate it when the meat is tough.

[Edward Trunk]

Apparently butchers are not allowed to "hang" meat in France. This may account for its toughness relative to UK-slaughtered meat.

[Loirette]

Woolybanana

I am curious to know what is printed on the label (re old milking cow) so that I can look out for it. 

[woolybanana]

Yes, I did know but it has slipped my mind, but it is there on the label, as I found it again the other day. I am sure someone on here knows the wording.

Old age getting at me I guess!

[woolybanana]

Fairly sure that the label might say something like 'vache laitiere' or something like that if it is an old milking cow that has been cut up and sold on as beef. But I do remember the writing is very very small on the label.

[Clair]

[quote user="Edward Trunk"]Apparently butchers are not allowed to "hang" meat in France. This may account for its toughness relative to UK-slaughtered meat.[/quote]

I have recently switched from buying Salers cuts at Géant to byuing in the newly-opened butcher's in Gamm Vert.

I asked my new friend José The Butcher about hanging meat and he told me his meat is hung for two week at the abattoir and another week in his frigo before it is cut.

His bourguignon cuts (note the spelling [:)]) are tasty and tender and the faux-filet is melt-in-the-mouth and, at €18/kg, cheaper than the excellent Salers I used to buy at Géant.

[Loirette]

Thanks Woolybanana, I'll have a good look next time I'm out shopping.

[water rat]

Yes WB that's the only way. I buy locally produced charolais from a butcher which is expensive ,but nothing gets thrown away. I also buy it for mince and it smell good while it's cooking .Some of the supermarket mince makes me want to heave.

[Pommier]

Re the 'laitiere' label on packs of meat, would that not refer to the breed of cattle ie that it is the meat from a Friesian bullock?

In France it appears that bull calves aren't killed at birth (as they are in the UK) but grown on to be eaten at about 18 months.

Does France have the same laws about cattle of more than 30 months not going for human consumption?

[Pommier]

Would the 'laitiere' label relate to the breed of cattle ie meat from a Friesian bullock?

In France it seems that bull calves from milk cows aren't killed at birth (as they are in the UK) but grown on to about 18 months.

Is there the same law in France as in the UK that beef for human consumption must be slaughtered before it's 30 months old?

[woolybanana]

No, it refers only to cattle that have been milkers and come to the end of their useful lives at a certain age - not always young. To be honest I was too busy to go to the supermarket today to have another look at the labels and can't remember if they mention the breed of animal.

I haven't bought beef in France for years so don't go to that counter too often either.

[Pommier]

Gosh, they would be old! As I understand it, milk cows are still 'useful' up to about 8 - 10 years old!

Are there any dairy farmers out there who can confirm?

[Patf]

There was an excellent post from a beef breeder on another forum explaining how to find out about the origin of the beef on sale.

Evidently every seller of beef should have a photocopy of the "pink card" giving info. from the abattoire about the beast that the meat comes from, including:

Type racial eg 34 Limousin 38 charolais etc

Type laitière is 66 and are usually 8-10 yrs old, having been on medication for most of their lives. So you are right Pommier.

95% are female.

Age: most are over 10yrs

Date of slaughter - usually max. 6 days ago when ideal hanging time is much longer.

Anyone interested in the link will find it on the TF Food and Drink forum, "Tough Steak...." May-June 2009.

[Pierre ZFP]

Now isn't that strange?  Being milk cows I would have expected 100% of them to be female [:-))]