How would you cook this cut of meat?

[adrianna!!]

Hello from south Florida! The local grocery store just opened up to sell whatever they had left...no new shipments coming in due to Huricane Frances. DH just went up there and got the last bit of meat available. It is called "beef chuck underblade steak, boneless." They are about 9 oz each and I have 4 of them. They are about half an inch think.

Do I grill these, or cook them in the oven in some sort of liquid? Just want to make sure they are tender.

Thanks for your help!

[Mary Ann]

Glad you're doing okay and that you still have power!

Here's what Food Subs has to say:

under blade steak = bottom chuck steak = California steak Notes: This is a steak cut from an under blade roast. It's not tender enough to grill, broil, or fry, but it's quite flavorful if braised. Substitutes: top blade steak (more tender) OR arm steak

So it seems like you'd want to sear it on top of the stove, then add a little liquid and put it in the oven for a while.

Good Luck!

[adrianna!!]

Thank you so much, this is exactly what I needed to know...we are cooking it tomorrow!

[mbrogier]

My pot roast is done with chuck. I've used blade steaks if the roasts were more expensive or not available.

Chuck roast 3-4 lbs. (you can do a small one or a large one)
kosher salt and pepper
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
olive oil
1 qt. beef broth (you may need a little more if you're doing a lot of meat)
1/2 bottle of red wine
bouquet garnis (thyme, bay leaves, and parsley)
head of garlic
flour or cornstarch
French Oven or Stockpot
Saucepan

Salt the beef on all sides. Brown in a large heavy french oven or stock pot. Set the meat aside. Drizzle a little olive oil in the pan (you want all those browned bits in the bottom). Add onions and cook for 5 minutes until brown. Add celery and carrots. Cook for 5 more minutes until slightly soft. Add beef broth and wine. Bring to a boil and turn heat down to a rolling simmer. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the liquid is reduced by a third. Add meat and make sure meat is covered in liquid. You might have to add more beef broth. Add herbs. You can tie them together, or just toss in the pot.(you're going to strain the liquid at the end, so the fact that there are little twigs floating in your liquid isn't a big deal). Cut head of garlic in half crossways and toss in pot. Place in pot. Cover the pot and place in oven. Cook for 1 1/2 hours and then turn meat over. Cook for another hour or two, depending on how much meat you have and how thick it is. You want the meat to easily tear apart. When its done, take meat out of the pan and place on serving platter. Strain the liquid and place in a sauce pan.(The vegetables will be so soft at this point they'll not be worth eating. Remove the garlic head. You can use the soft garlic on bread, if you want.) Bring to a boil and add a flour slurry to it to make gravy. Serve gravy with the meat.

This recipe was given to me by a friend and is loosely based on the one in How To Cook Meat by Christopher Schlesinger and John Willoughby.

I love this book because it really taught me what to do with odd cuts of meat.

[adrianna!!]

Thank you mbrogier! I do not have beef broth, but I do have chicken broth. Also, I do not have celery and carrots. I cannot get to the store anytime soon to get these things...even if the store opens today it will be a madhouse that I do not want to deal with!

So you do think this recipe will work with such a thin cut of meat. I have four slices that weigh a TOTAL of 2.5 pounds. Maybe I will do the braise for a total of one hour rather than the two suggested in the recipe.

I am thinking of tossing a can of diced tomatoes into the pot, too.

[mbrogier]

The nice thing about this recipe is that its mostly just a recipe for a process. You can use onions, mushrooms, a can of tomatoes...

Since you only have 2 1/2 lbs of meat, you probably won't need a whole lot of braising liquid. The tomatoes will give it more liquid. Make sure you get a really good dark brown on the meat...that's where the flavor comes from. As the liquid cooks, it takes all the brown bits on the bottom and infuses them into the braising liquid. YUM. :D

Alton Brown did a chuck roast with tomatoes that looked really good. The recipe is not on foodtv right now. (I HATE that new "feature".) Its not in his book, either.

As for how long to cook, the times are more of an estimate. If after an hour, your meat is not disentigrating when you touch it, put it back in the oven for 30 minutes and check it again. There is a point in this process where the meat will feel very tough when its cooking. After another hour, its very tender.

I'm glad I can help. I've been through my share of hurricanes and know how tough it is to get good food afterwards. It sounds like you just might have a great meal.

;)

[adrianna!!]

I am going to ccok it tonight, but we won't eat it til tomorrow..we have leftover chicken fricassee tonight.

Thanks for the recipes and all the tips. I don't know what I would do with out this board...and all the nice folks like you and Mary Ann who are so helpful!

[adrianna!!]

Just wanted you to know it was delicious! the meat was fall-apart-tender. I added a can of stewed tomatoes at the end. Very good, thanks for all the help!