Help me salvage this chuck roast

[Anonymous]

DH bought a chuck roast thinking it would be a good steak to grill. He cut it up into "slices" (chunks?) and grilled it after marinating in a BBQ sauce/vinegar marinade for about 15-20 minutes. (Don't even get me started...)

Obviously, it's ridiculously tough and impossible to chew. Is there anything I can do with it? Can you put beef in the crockpot after it's already cooked? How can I get it to break down enough to be tender? Or is it a lost cause?

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

I think probably your best option is to slice each chunk against the grain into as thin slices as possible, melt some cheese on it, put it on a roll with some more BBQ sauce, hot sauce or steak sauce, and call it a steak sandwich.

[Anonymous]

I think you should try putting it in the croc pot tommorow morning with a bottle of bbq sauce and cooking it on low for 8 hrs. Some recipes call for browning the beef first. I guess grilling is a bit like browning. Once it's cooked try to shread it using two forks. Might be a bit dry but I guess it's worth a try.

[Anonymous]

Interesting. I'd probably give it a shot in the crockpot. I usually sear my meat before putting it in, so I wouldn't expect the "pre-grilling" to be too much of a problem.

That seriously sounds like something my dh would do, if he ever actually tried to cook. It's that whole "never ask for directions" sort of thing.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for these! The sandwiches sound good. I love doing pot roast in the crockpot so I am tempted to go that route, but even though I use BBQ sauce in marinades, DH doesn't like things actually cooked in BBQ sauce (ie, crockpot bbq chicken was a fail to him).

I would say these chunks are a little more than seared. They are cooked. I'm not sure to what doneness, though.

[Anonymous]

20:47 here. The problem with the idea of cooking it again tomorrow in the crock pot is that when the gelatin re-cools it will actually take a higher-than-normal temperature to break down. If you want to try re-cooking, I would use a recipe that's designed to take advantage of that trick, rather than work against it. I believe Alton Brown did that in his stew episode, link here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/good-eats/11-series/stew-romance.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:20:47 here. The problem with the idea of cooking it again tomorrow in the crock pot is that when the gelatin re-cools it will actually take a higher-than-normal temperature to break down. If you want to try re-cooking, I would use a recipe that's designed to take advantage of that trick, rather than work against it. I believe Alton Brown did that in his stew episode, link here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/good-eats/11-series/stew-romance.html

Oh that's a really good idea, thank you. I wonder how I can sub for meat juice. I'm tempted to try it!

[Anonymous]

I was going to say, if you don't think it's a flavor clash, chili is a classic rescue for tough dead beef situations.

I haven't read the Alton Brown thing. But to your question of subbing for meat juice, I would think you can always sub stock -- beef if you have it, chicken if you don't. (And homemade if you have it, store-bought if you dont.)
Or, if I were making chili, I'd just use beer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was going to say, if you don't think it's a flavor clash, chili is a classic rescue for tough dead beef situations.

I haven't read the Alton Brown thing. But to your question of subbing for meat juice, I would think you can always sub stock -- beef if you have it, chicken if you don't. (And homemade if you have it, store-bought if you dont.)
Or, if I were making chili, I'd just use beer.

Oh chili is a really good idea, but I've only ever made it with ground beef/ground turkey (and I make that often and well). This looks like a good day for chili too. Well, any day is really, but especially gray days. I'm going to see what I can find for steak chili recipes. I think the flavor would work out and give it a nice smokiness (I hope). Thanks PP!

[Anonymous]

Happy to help!

BTW the best beer to go in chili is light American-style beer--Budweiser or the like. Don't put some English Ale or craft beer in it, or your chili may wind up tasting like English Ale or craft beer. (Plus that stuff's too expensive--that's what you drink while you're making the chili.)

[Anonymous]

This is hilarious.

[Anonymous]

I tried to do a chuck roast in the crockpot for like 10 hours. Still like leather! I just put it on my undesired list for my CSA. It was such a waste!!

[Anonymous]

So much easier to bake in the oven than in the crock pot. Much higher temps, shorter time. OP I think most everyone tries to make a roast into a steak at some point in the life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Happy to help!

BTW the best beer to go in chili is light American-style beer--Budweiser or the like. Don't put some English Ale or craft beer in it, or your chili may wind up tasting like English Ale or craft beer. (Plus that stuff's too expensive--that's what you drink while you're making the chili.)

Chili can take - and benefit from - much more flavorful beers. The problem you're having with craft beers is that most of them are over-hopped, and you don't want a high hops beer. Inexpensive, widely-available, flavorful (relative to Budweiser), but lower-hop beers include: Negra Modelo, Sam Adams, Guiness. Most craft porters will also work add a lot of richness, and even if you're buying a $12/four pack, you're still talking about $3 to flavor a large pot of chili.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Happy to help!

BTW the best beer to go in chili is light American-style beer--Budweiser or the like. Don't put some English Ale or craft beer in it, or your chili may wind up tasting like English Ale or craft beer. (Plus that stuff's too expensive--that's what you drink while you're making the chili.)

Chili can take - and benefit from - much more flavorful beers. The problem you're having with craft beers is that most of them are over-hopped, and you don't want a high hops beer. Inexpensive, widely-available, flavorful (relative to Budweiser), but lower-hop beers include: Negra Modelo, Sam Adams, Guiness. Most craft porters will also work add a lot of richness, and even if you're buying a $12/four pack, you're still talking about $3 to flavor a large pot of chili.

This. I normally use Negra Modelo or Guiness in my chili recipes and they always turn out great!