At what temperature to cook beef in a saucepan. How long to cook beef and how to do it correctly? Secrets to choosing good parts

Housewives always cook differently. Therefore, there is no universal recipe for preparing beef for soup. How long should you cook it? There are some rules that should be followed by everyone without exception. There are also secrets that few people know about. For example, some people do not know anything at all about the fact that beef is much better absorbed by the body than any other type of meat. In addition, if you really know how to cook beef, it will become very tasty and tender.

Beef for soup should be cooked for 2 hours. In the slow cooker for 3 hours.

Boiled beef for soup

Ingredients

Beef – 500 gr.
Salt – 1 tsp.
Onions – 200 gr.
Black pepper – 2 gr.
Bay leaf – 1 gr.

Preparation

Thaw the beef if it is frozen.
Rinse the meat.
Cut up the beef.
Place the meat in the pan.
Boil water in a kettle.
Pour boiled water over the meat.
Cover the pan with a lid and place it over low heat.
As soon as the water begins to boil, foam forms on its surface. Remove it with a slotted spoon.
Add salt.
Reduce heat to low.
Open the lid slightly.
Cook the meat for 1.5 hours.
Add peeled onions to the meat.
Add the bay leaf and then immediately the black pepper.
Wait 15 minutes and turn off the heat.
Wait another 20 minutes.
Take out the beef. The broth and meat are ready! Now you know how long to cook beef.

Ingredients

Beef with bone - 1 kg.
Onions – 100 gr.
Water – 3 l.
Carrots – 200 gr.
Salt – 1 tsp.
Parsley root – 20 gr.
Celery root – 20 gr.
Black pepper – 10 gr.
Bay leaf – 10 gr.

Preparation

Rinse the beef under water.
Cut the meat into small pieces.
Place the meat in the pan.
Fill with cold water.
Place the pan in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Move the pan to the heat.
When the water boils, use a slotted spoon (a spoon with holes) to remove the foam.
Reduce heat to low and cover the pan with a lid.
Wait 2 hours.
Chop the roots and add to the pan.
Add finely chopped onions and carrots.
Salt the broth, add pepper and bay leaf.
Wait 40 minutes.
Remove beef from pan.
Pour the broth through a sieve into another pan.

The pan with meat must be put in the refrigerator for half an hour so that maximum juice can be released from the beef.
Once you remove the pan from the refrigerator, place it over high heat.
Once you turn the heat to low, occasionally scrape any excess fat off the surface of the water with a spoon. It is good for frying vegetables for borscht.

If you want the broth to be a nice golden color, fry the carrots and onions before adding them to the water.

Cut the boiled beef even smaller and add to the broth. Cook the remaining ingredients for the borscht together. It will turn out very tasty!
It is advisable to defrost beef without using a microwave oven, at room temperature.
When washing meat, do it in running water.
When cutting meat, first remove large bones from it, and then remove the film and remove all tendons.
Choose a small saucepan for cooking meat. In size it should be a little larger than beef.
Boil the meat in a small amount of water.
Don't miss the formation of foam when the water boils. The foam must be removed immediately and completely. Otherwise, it will turn into flakes and settle to the bottom of the pan, resulting in a cloudy broth.
After the water boils, the meat should not float to the surface. If this happens, turn the piece over and add some boiled water to the pan.
If you are cooking a large piece of meat, add another half hour to the cooking time.
If you need to cook beef quickly, cut it into several small pieces. It will take no more than an hour to prepare them.
In order to determine whether the beef is ready, you need to pierce it with a knife. If the knife enters the meat softly and easily and comes out the same way, then it is ready.
When cooking beef in a slow cooker, use the stew mode.
If you want the broth to be very rich and fatty, then put the meat in cold water.
If you pour boiled water over the beef, the broth will not be greasy.
If you want the beef to be soft after cooking, then cook a piece weighing at least 2 kg.
Beef tongue should be cooked for 3 – 4 hours.
Light beef is cooked for 20 - 30 minutes. If you overcook it, it will become tasteless and tough.
In order for the beef to be juicy, it must be placed in water only when it begins to boil. Then the blood protein in the meat will instantly coagulate, the juice will not come out of it into the water, and the beef will remain juicy.
For borscht you should use beef on the bone.
For borscht, when cooking meat, add a little finely chopped garlic to the main seasonings.
After the meat is cooked, remove the onions and bay leaves from the broth.
If the beef is fresh and not frozen, then how long will it take to cook a 500 gram piece? Just 30 minutes.
Pay attention to the color of the beef. The meat should lighten as it cooks. If the meat remains dark, it means it is old and may not provide the fat necessary for the soup.

The broth that is ready can be used as a base for any soup. It will make very tasty borscht.

After cooking, the beef can be finely chopped and added to the soup. But it is enough to prepare a sauce for the meat and serve it with a side dish, and it will become the main dish.
If you need a very light broth for your soup, then after boiling the water in the pan, drain it. Then add new water and start cooking the meat again as we recommended above.

Beef is healthy and tasty meat. It is easily digested and perfectly absorbed by the body. And most importantly, you can prepare many different dishes based on it! Now you know how long to cook beef for borscht or soup. Thanks to our recommendations, you will get aromatic, tasty, rich broth and meat!

Beef contains a lot of vitamins, useful elements and has excellent taste. It is used for preparing first and second courses, and as a result, it is subjected to heat treatment each time.

Today we will look at how to cook this type of meat and preserve all its properties to the maximum, as well as obtain an excellent soft structure of beef fibers and determine the cooking time for each specific case of using this meat product.

How long does it take to cook beef for soup?

If you use beef to prepare soup, borscht, or any other first course, then before determining the required cooking time, pay attention to the quality of the meat. Young beef will be ready in about an hour, but meat on the bone takes longer to cook than sirloin and should be kept at a moderate simmer for two and a half hours. In any case, and regardless of which meat you prefer, a few minutes before the start of boiling and for another five minutes, be sure to remove any foam that has formed from the broth. This procedure will allow you to obtain the most transparent broth without any flakes.

How long does it take to cook beef before it's ready for salad?

Unlike portion-wise cooking of meat for soup, for salad, as a rule, we take a whole piece, which, depending on the required portion, can be quite large. Therefore, here you need to adhere to some simple rules and then the result will always be excellent.

So, when starting to boil the meat for the salad, we choose a pan that is only a little larger in size than the piece of beef. After all, the less water is used to cook meat, the tastier and richer its taste will be. In this case, the liquid should cover the product in the pan by at least one centimeter.

Fill the meat in the pan with boiling water rather than cold water, and only then put it on the fire to cook. The cooking time for a piece of beef weighing approximately one kilogram is an average of one and a half hours. But you should always check the readiness with a sharp knife, piercing the slice with it and checking for softness. It should “enter” easily and also “come out” of the meat without difficulty. If necessary, extend the process until the desired soft result is obtained.

When cooking meat for salad, thirty minutes from the start of the process, add salt, black and allspice peas, bay leaves, onions, and, if desired, carrot roots, parsley and celery to the water.

How long to cook beef tongue?

To boil beef tongue or other interesting dishes, fill it with water and, after boiling, cook over low heat for three and a half hours. If the product weighs more than one and a half kilograms, extend the cooking time by half an hour. Just as in the case of meat for salad, add salt, spices, onion and roots when cooking the tongue.

Upon completion of the cooking process, the tongue must be immediately dipped into ice water and immediately peeled off the skin by prying it off at the base with a knife.

How long should you cook beef or veal until it becomes tender?

The cooking time for beef depends on the maturity of the animal that became the source of the product and on the size of the meat slice. Cooking young beef, the so-called veal, will require much less time, because the structure of its meat fibers is much more tender and softer. So, for example, if it takes about an hour and a half to boil a piece of beef, then one hour will be enough for veal.

As a result, we note that the cooking time in each individual case must be determined experimentally using the softness test method.

Beef is a healthy and tasty meat that requires long-term heat treatment. This feature is due to its rigidity. But what to do when you don’t have time to cook meat for several hours? There are simple ways to get a tender, melt-in-your-mouth dish with minimal time. How to quickly cook beef? You will find the answer to the question in this article.

How to cook soft beef?

Beef meat is a valuable protein product that must be cooked correctly to make it juicy, tender and flavorful. How to quickly cook beef so that it is tender? This question interests many housewives who prefer to feed their family healthy and wholesome food.

To quickly cook soft meat you will need: beef pulp, mineral water or mustard. It is advisable to choose a meat carcass of a young animal, consisting of a large amount of connective tissue, which has not been subjected to numerous frosts.

The piece of meat must be rubbed with mustard and placed in the refrigerator overnight. Before cooking, you need to rinse it with water. The second option involves soaking in mineral water for 2–3 hours. To preserve the maximum amount of protein, as well as other useful substances, the pulp must be placed in boiling water. After this pre-treatment, cooking takes less time. Salt should be added a few minutes before the end of the cooking process. It is not recommended to add water during cooking. To determine readiness, a piece can be pierced with a sharp knife. The clear juice flowing out of it confirms that the product is ready for consumption.

How to cook beef broth?

Broth is included in the diet. It is often made from beef. For this dish, you need to choose suitable pieces on the bone that have connective tissue. It is advisable not to use a frozen product, otherwise the food will turn out cloudy.

How to quickly cook beef broth? To do this, you will need to take 3 liters of water, pulp on the bone, onion, carrot, parsley, spices and salt - to taste. Before cooking, rinse the meat in cold water and cut into portions. Use cool liquid to fill, then place the pan in the refrigerator for half an hour.

When the future broth is on the stove, it must be brought to a boil and the gas must be turned on so that the further cooking process occurs thanks to low heat. It is convenient to remove foam and beef fat with a slotted spoon. The roots that are to be added to the dish must be pre-fried. When the broth is ready, which will happen quite quickly thanks to preliminary infusion in the refrigerator, you can add frying to it. If it is necessary for the broth liquid to be clear, after cooking it must be strained through a fine sieve. After which the meat part can be sent back to the broth or used as a separate dish.

How to cook beef soup?

This soup turns out very tasty and nutritious. To prepare it you will need to take meat with a bone. This point is of particular importance and is one of the secrets of cooking speed. How to quickly cook beef for soup? The whole process is in many ways similar to cooking broth. The meat also needs to be rinsed with cold water, left in the refrigerator and cooked over high heat until it boils. To make it cook faster, it must be cooked in a saucepan with a minimum capacity. The pulp will be tender if a piece weighing at least 2 kg is used for cooking.

Cooking should take place with the lid closed. You can leave a small gap so that during active boiling the liquid does not go over the edge. It is important that during the cooking process the water completely covers all meat parts. If any area is on the outside, it will turn out hard.

You can use any cereal to fill the soup. Rice, pearl barley, barley or buckwheat will give a good taste.

How to cook old beef?

If you come across an old piece of meat, there is no need to throw it away. The product must be prepared correctly, and then it will turn out delicious. How to quickly cook old beef? It must be placed in an acidic environment before cooking. It is not advisable to use vinegar for these purposes. A small amount of lemon juice is ideal and should be added to mineral water for the marinade.

Another method involves marinating in salt. It is used to rub meat pieces that are to be cooked. But immediately before the cooking process itself, the salt must be washed off, otherwise the result of culinary experiments will be an over-salted product.

Now you know how to quickly cook beef. Using any of the proposed methods, you can get a nutritious, soft and appetizing product that does not require long cooking.

All over the world, cattle meat is considered the most popular. In Rus', honored guests were treated to boiled beef. Despite its satiety, this product is easily absorbed by the body, and when properly prepared it turns out tender, juicy and soft.

Composition, benefits and harm

Beef on the bone takes pride of place on the list of must-eat foods. It should be on the table at least several times a week. The biological and nutritional value of meat became known many millennia ago. It was valued by the ancient Romans, Greeks, residents of the British Isles, our ancestors, and other peoples. Not everyone could afford to put this delicacy on the table. This was the prerogative of the upper strata of the population.

Perhaps India is the only country in which the consumption of beef is strictly prohibited due to the sacred status of cows. Almost every state has pastures for raising cattle. Not only large but also small farms are engaged in breeding.

What nutrients is this product rich in?

Beef has been studied quite thoroughly by scientists. It was research that made it possible to identify what nutrients and elements this type of meat contains:

B vitamins;
iron;
proteins;
calcium;
magnesium;
vitamin PP;
potassium;
zinc;
phosphorus;
sodium;
fats;
vitamin E.

Beef also contains other important micro- and macroelements.

Calorie content, depending on the part of the carcass, varies from 15 to 500 kcal per 100 g of meat.

Why should you include it in your diet?

Dietetics considers beef shank to be the best source of animal protein. It contains the entire set of amino acids necessary for the normal functioning of the human body. Who else can benefit from beef and when:

people with low hemoglobin;
those involved in sports and physical work;
people with weakened bodies;
for those who have digestive problems.

Beef is a product that helps the body remove “bad” cholesterol. Also, its use has a beneficial effect on memory, the nervous system, and helps strengthen the walls of blood vessels, muscles and bone tissue. Soups and broths prepared with cattle meat promote wound healing and improve blood clotting.

Despite beef's huge track record, it's worth understanding that everything is good in moderation. The main thing is regularity and moderation. It is better to eat 200 g of such meat daily (or every other day) than rarely, but in large quantities.

What does abuse lead to?

Beef can be harmful to the body. It has a very interesting property: excessive consumption can reduce immunity and increase cholesterol. Harm to the body can be caused not only by a large amount in the diet, but also by low-quality meat, as well as improper storage and preparation. Two situations where beef is more harmful than beneficial.

Improperly cooked meat. This is primarily a product fried in oil. This cooking method saturates beef with carcinogens, which makes it hazardous to the health of people suffering from digestive and heart problems.
Meat from artificially raised animals. Nature dictates that cattle should eat a lot of grass, walk through fields and pastures. And if animals do not see green meadows and eat exclusively mixed feed, then you can almost forget about the benefits of such meat.

If you want to benefit from beef, follow the proper selection and preparation guidelines. The health of those who eat this dish depends on what meat you choose and how you prepare it.

How to choose meat: requirements for appearance and smell

It is better to buy beef fresh, this makes it easier to choose and consider the meat. It is also advisable to bring it home and cook it immediately after purchase. No need to wait for it to defrost. However, don't be afraid of frozen meat. If the technology was followed during freezing, such meat is in no way inferior in its properties to fresh meat. Here are five metrics to pay attention to.

Color. Fresh quality beef is red in color. If the offered piece is brownish, this indicates the venerable age of the animal. Old meat will be rougher, it will take longer to cook, and you can forget about the juiciness of the dish. If the flesh has an uneven color, interspersed with dark shades (for example, greenish), such meat is not worth buying.
Smell. Not all sellers allow you to smell meat, especially in supermarkets. But if you are lucky enough to get approval, feel free to use this opportunity. High-quality beef does not have any foreign aromas; it smells only of raw meat. If you still feel the presence of any odor, it is better to refrain from purchasing.
Fat. Beef is a dietary meat, but it still contains fat. It should be dense and have a pale white color. In the meat of young animals, the fat may crumble - this is normal. If we are talking about marbled beef, which is most valued, then it contains a lot of fatty layers. The piece seems to be permeated with them. This meat is ideal, it is easy to cook, and it turns out extremely tasty.
Elasticity. If possible, test the meat for elasticity. This is done like this: you need to press your finger on the pulp and watch what happens to it. Fresh meat will smooth out its surface almost immediately. If the pressure mark does not go away for a long time, the meat is no longer very fresh.
Surface. It is quite acceptable to have signs of weathering on the surface of the piece. But only small ones. If the surface has crust and spots, then the carcass was cut up not a few hours ago, but much earlier. The beef should be dry and firm. If there is a choice between wet meat lying in the blood and leeward meat, you should give preference to the latter.

Proper freezing

If you purchase frozen beef, only buy the one that is labeled. Be sure to check expiration and release dates. Frozen veal can be stored for eight months, beef - ten. Manufacturer's indication is required. It is worth making a choice in favor of domestic meat, as there is a greater guarantee of freshness and absence of transportation violations.

The packaging should not be damaged, so inspect the piece from all sides. Pay attention to the color - it should be uniform, it is better to choose something that is lighter. Properly frozen beef should not be covered in ice or snow. If any are visible, most likely the storage or freezing rules have been violated.

Division into varieties and categories

Beef has varieties and categories. The division occurs depending on the part of the carcass, the age of the animal and the fat content of the meat. It is not necessary to use the best quality meat for broth, but for steaks and barbecue it is better to choose a softer cut. There are three varieties and three categories of beef.

Top grade. Sometimes it is called the first. May contain three to four percent connective tissue (or veins). This includes the following parts of the carcass: breast, back, loin. Another rump, sirloin, rump. This is almost pure meat without fat.
Second grade. This is four to five percent veining. This variety includes the shoulder blade, shoulder part, neck, and flank.
Third grade. May contain from ten to 23% connective tissue. These are shanks (front and back), butt.

Beef of the highest category has a lot of subcutaneous fat and well-developed muscle tissue. But meat obtained from young animals may contain no fat deposits at all. The second category of meat includes those that have poorly developed muscles and a small amount of fat. There is another category - lean beef. However, such meat is used only for industrial processing.

The meat must have a purple mark on it. By its shape you can determine the category. The mark “M” is placed on the head of young cattle. Round indicates that the meat belongs to the highest category. A square-shaped mark indicates that this is beef of the second category.

The choice of beef should also be based on what exactly you are going to cook from it. Each part is good for certain purposes. For example, sternum, neck, sirloin, shank, shank, flank and shoulder are better suited for boiling.

How and how much to cook beef: tips for the housewife

It is important not only to know how to eat cattle meat, but also how to cook beef correctly. Here are three secrets that will be useful to every housewife.

Choose the right pan. A pan with a thick bottom will do; enamel or cast iron will also work. The main thing is that the piece of meat fits freely into the dish, leaving room for other ingredients.
Thaw the meat in advance. If you are going to cook frozen beef, be prepared for the meat to be tough. The piece must be defrosted before putting it in a pan on the stove. Ideally, it should be defrosted at room temperature.
Use the microwave. If you urgently need to cook soup from frozen meat, you can soak the piece in water or use the microwave. Then the thawed pulp should be washed with cold running water.

A mandatory step after soaking or defrosting is drying the piece. The final stage is cutting into portions to speed up the cooking process.

For the broth

We prepare delicious meat for borscht. To make the broth tasty, you need to boil the beef with the bone. The piece should be immersed in cold water. That is, rinse it, put it in a pan, fill it with cold water and put it on the stove. Turn on the heat as high as possible and wait for it to boil. When the surface of the water begins to become foamy, remove it. You can do this using any utensils convenient for you - a slotted spoon, a spoon.

There is also an opinion: there is no need to remove foam from the pan. That is, you just leave it and it dissolves during the cooking process. Foam is nothing more than released protein, that is, it is not dangerous. But it's up to you to decide.

If you prefer soups with a second broth, then after boiling you need to wait about five minutes. Then drain the broth, rinse the meat and fill it with water again. This cooking option is usually recommended by nutritionists.

It is advisable not to let the broth boil too much; a low boil is enough. You need to add salt at the end of cooking so that the salt does not “pull out” all the juice from the meat. Beef for soup should be cooked until the meat is cooked, then the broth should be strained and used further. If you cook ribs, then one and a half hours of cooking will be enough for them.

Pour in as much water as you need later to cook the soup. Add a little more than needed to allow for boiling over. Never dilute the broth with water.

For second courses

If boiled beef is prepared for adding to salads, appetizers, the cooking method will be slightly different from preparing broth. Here's a four-step sequence.

Fill a saucepan with water (approximately one and a half liters of water per kilogram of beef) and put on fire.
When the water is almost boiling, you need to add onions and carrots, parsley and celery if desired.
Then you need to put in a piece of meat and wait for it to boil. As soon as foam begins to appear, remove it.
When the foam disappears from the surface, reduce the heat and leave to simmer at a low simmer.

How long you need to cook beef until it becomes tender depends on the age of the meat and the size of the piece. Young meat will be ready within 40 minutes after boiling, but old meat will have to be boiled for two and a half hours, or even more. You can tell if it’s ready by cutting the piece with a knife at the thickest point. If there is no red juice, the meat is ready.

Does brisket cook quickly in a slow cooker? A multicooker is a real salvation for many housewives. You can also cook beef in it, either in small pieces or in large pieces. There are no special differences from cooking in a saucepan. If there is a film, veins, or excess fat, they are removed. Then the meat is washed, placed in a bowl, and poured with boiling water so that the piece is completely covered with water. Set the appropriate program (“Cooking”, “Soup” or another) and close the lid.

When the meat boils, you need to get rid of the foam, add roots, bay leaves or your favorite spices if desired. You need to add salt at the end. After boiling, beef should be cooked until tender - from 40 minutes to three hours, depending on the age of the livestock.

In a steamer

Steamed beef is considered juicier and healthier. This cooking option is ideal for feeding babies or for people on a therapeutic diet. There are two ways to cook beef in a steamer.

Cut into portions, place in a steamer bowl in one row, add salt and turn on the appliance for one hour. After this time, turn over and cook for another half hour.
Salt the beef and rub with your favorite spices. Place the piece in a cooking bag, place in a thicket, and cook for an hour. Add time if necessary.

Be sure to monitor the presence of water in the tank. Most likely, you will have to add boiling water during the cooking process.

In a pressure cooker

A pressure cooker greatly speeds up the process of cooking beef. To cook beef in a pressure cooker, you need to wash it, put it in a bowl, and fill it with water. Then put the pressure cooker on the fire and wait for it to boil. Remove any foam that has formed, reduce heat, cover and cook for 50 minutes.

If the pressure cooker is electric, you need to set the appropriate program and cook in the same way, for 50-60 minutes. This meat is perfect for a child, especially if you use tender entrecote.

Beef is very healthy, so don't neglect to eat it. Feel free to include it in your diet, because now you know how many minutes to cook beef until done. Properly cooked meat will appeal to all household members, even the most picky ones.

In cooking, beef is considered a rather difficult meat to process, the handling of which requires skill. In fact, the muscle fibers that make up this meat are rich in fibrin and, in addition, are tightly connected to each other, which determines such a property of beef as toughness. During heat treatment, the fibers and the bonds between them are partially destroyed, but it should be remembered that the wrong approach can ruin the dish. If stewing or, say, does not seem difficult even to a novice housewife, then the question of how to properly cook beef deserves a separate discussion.

So, in order to decide how long to cook beef, it is advisable to figure out which animal this particular piece was cut from. The easiest way is to ask the butcher who cut the carcass, since only a specialist with extensive experience can reliably determine its variety based on one type of meat. There is one simple rule - the greater the load on the muscle, the tougher the meat, the longer the heat treatment it requires. As for bulls, and beef is obtained mainly from young or one and a half year old bulls, their most mobile muscles are on the chest, in the tail and lower legs. Meat cut from these parts, although it takes a long time to cook, has a more pronounced, pleasant taste. Approximately, 500 grams of such meat requires about two hours of cooking. Those pieces of beef that are cut from the muscles of the back, and especially the lower back and sacrum, as well as the muscles of the shoulder blade, are distinguished by greater tenderness, but a worse, somewhat bland taste. It is preferable to use this kind of beef for stewing or baking, but if you decide to boil this meat, keep in mind that a piece weighing 500g will be ready in an hour and a half. However, the given data is very approximate, because when talking about how long to cook beef, it is necessary to clarify the method of cooking, the freshness of the meat, the method of its pre-processing, and the ratio of the amount of water and meat.

In order to decide how long to cook beef, it would be nice to have an idea about the maturity of the meat. Few people know that fresh meat is not as valued by experienced chefs as matured meat. The ripening process usually takes place in special conditions that are created at the enterprise, so the meat reaches its best quality and only after that it goes on sale. If you purchase fresh meat, it is very advisable to let the beef ripen, because as a result, the taste of the meat becomes better, and the cooking process is reduced by 5-10 minutes. Suitable conditions are provided in a regular refrigerator, where the temperature is 0-4C - place a piece of meat on a wire rack so that air circulates around it and cover with a pan. Leave the structure for several days, ideally a week or two. A very important point is the air humidity is about 90%, so that the meat does not mold, but also does not dry out. During this preparation, active meat enzymes begin to destroy muscle fibers, juice is released, which enhances the taste of beef, and the meat becomes much more tender.

The key to deciding how long to cook beef is how you cook the meat. If you want to make broth or soup, start cooking the beef in cold water - this is how the meat releases its juices and nutrients to the water. If you set out to preserve the maximum of its taste, then the meat should be immersed in already boiling, salted water and cooked for a shorter amount of time (about 1.5 hours) without reducing the temperature of the water.

It should be noted that, even knowing how long to cook the beef, you need to check the degree of readiness of the meat with a knife, starting 1.5-2 hours after the water boils. If the knife slides easily, the meat is ready and you can start eating.