Hi Shax,

I'm not at all familiar with the cut of beef you used but it is very important to choose a cut with a fair amount of fat marbled throughout. Lean cuts get tough and stay that way!

I also find it important to cook at a fairly low temp to ensure the meat tenderizes nicely, for me that's between 300 and 325 F

Hi, Chase. This had some fat, looked similar to what I buy in Australia, and I cooked it on top of the stove in a huge pot at a bare simmer.(No ovens in this country!) Maybe they gave me yak instead of beef...has happened before. I guess I'll just have to enjoy the veges and gravy and feed the dogs for the next few nights/weeks!...Thanks.

The lower the temperature, the longer it will take.

When I sous vide tough cuts at 134F, I often cook them as long as 72 hours.

Otherwise go high temperature with a pressure cooker. It takes about an hour in a pressure cooker. Otherwise it makes no difference how high the temperature you set your oven at, it is not possible to go above 212F.

Don't treat your dogs if you can't get the meat tender enough, chop them up and make a meatloaf.

dcarch

" chop them up and make a meatloaf."

You DO mean the beef, not the dogs,
Don't you? ?

Sorry, couldn't resist.
And I needed the laugh this morning.

:>)

Rusty

"---You DO mean the beef, not the dogs,
Don't you? ? ---"

I said meatloaf, not hot dogs.

LOLOLOL!!!

dcarch

If it were me I would take the meat chunks out and try to simmer them in some broth and see if that helps tender them up. What country are you in that you get yak. Patty

Patty, if you click on "my page", you'll find Bhutan for Shax. I'm only assuming that's correct, since we can put anything we want there!

The tough beef? I'd either cook it a while longer or, as dcarch mentioned, find a pressure cooker and cook it some more.

Leg of bullock, though? Leg is going to be tough, no matter if it's bullock or yak, it's an oft used muscle in an animal. If it's an old and tough animal, more so. I'd just keep on simmering it or chop it up and make some type of sandwich or taco type thing of it.

Annie

I'm just curious about this. Is it true that, no matter how tough a cut of beef (or yak, or water buffalo, or horse, or whatever), as long as it is cooked submerged in liquid, it will eventually become tender? May take 10 hours or 50 hours, but eventually it will cut with a fork? Or, is there some meat that simply will never be tender?

Some meat, especially lean cuts will never get tender in my opinion. Once the fibers contract and tighten its over.....best you will get is stringy.

Maybe if you do the pressure cooker thing but really don't know much about cooking meat in a pressure cooker.

This post was edited by chase on Sat, Jan 5, 13 at 21:47

I agree, some cuts will never get tender, they'll fall apart in strings, but the strings will just be.....stringy. Soft and stringy.

The pressure cooker will break down the fibers and the meat will be more tender, but if it's stringy, it'll stay stringy, even while the meat is pulling apart in threads.

That's why I suggested chopping it up, at least you have little pieces instead of strings.

And "leg of bullock" is going to be lean, it's not like well marbled tenderloin or ribeye, it's the round and the shank or shin, etc.

Annie

A little off-topic, but one of the most charming movies we've ever seen is "The Cup", a Bhutanese movie from 1999.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Cup

I like the idea of the pressure cooker. Must get hold of one. Surely, EVENTUALLY it must disintegrate the meat! Even if it's stringy, that'd be more palatable than leather. Failing that, I'll fish the meat out of the pot and cut it into tiny pieces.

Yes, living in Bhutan, where we lack many western refinements, but make up for it in an otherwise idyllic lifestyle.

If only I could work out how to cook a pizza without an oven...

"Yes, living in Bhutan, where we lack many western refinements, but make up for it in an otherwise idyllic lifestyle.

If only I could work out how to cook a pizza without an oven..."

Would love to hear more about food/cooking in Bhutan.

You can probably make a nice pizza using a covered cast iron pan on a stove.

dcarch

dcarch...food here is pretty simple. Mostly boiled and served with rice. I generally cook Indian curries and masalas. The national dish of Bhutan is called ema datsi...chillies boiled with local soft cheese. There is a saying here that chillies are not spices, they're vegetables!

Have a look at this recipe...

Here is a link that might be useful: Ema Datsi

Really, really OT but I visited the University of Texas at El Paso a couple of months ago. They are probably the only university in the US with a Bhutanese campus. Seems the first university president's wife had fallen in love with the culture after reading an article about the country, and persuaded her husband to copy Bhutanese architecture. See link below.

Sorry, I can't help with the original question, though I can say that pressure cooking beef shanks will produce wonderful stock. The tough muscle and cartilage melt down and make a rich broth with gelatinous mouth feel. It's the basis of Vietnamese pho, one of the few beef dishes I like (sorry Annie). Perhaps yak is similar?

Cheryl

Here is a link that might be useful: UTEP and Bhutan

Cheryl, yes, that's a truly magnificent campus of traditional Bhutanese architecture.

Not wishing to self-promote, but if you're interested in the real thing, I write an occasional blog for family and friends that's picture heavy, of the surrounding countryside and people. Such an amazing Kingdom.

As I'm a horticulturist, now with my own landscaping business here, and certainly not a chef, there are quite a few images of rare plants as well, but sorry dcharch, not much on the local cuisine...

Here is a link that might be useful: Blog

I pressure cook beef shanks submerged in red wine. About 90 minutes on high pressure, which is equivalent to 6 hours boiling. They come out tender and very tasty. It is not buttery, the fibers are detectable, but they are soft and don't detract. Then remove the lid and the meat, boil the liquid down to sauce consistency. Put the meat back in to warm, then serve.

Are beef shanks considered a very tough cut then? If so then perhaps it is possible to pressure cook most cuts into submission. Maybe a domestic cow has shanks different from a yak in Butan.

Thank you for the blog. What a fabulous place.

Update...after a further 4 hours simmering on the stove, a total of 10 hours, the meat became stringy (as predicted by the experts here), but softer, chewy, digestible and extremely tasty. Although I'll need to floss my teeth twice tonight.

This pic doesn't have the finesse of a dcarch creation, but it'll give a general idea.

It'll be chicken in future for me, though...

Be careful, shax, chicken can be kind of tough and stringy too, if it's not young and tender, LOL.

I think you could do a passable pizza in a covered cast iron dutch oven or a cast iron skillet atop an open fire. I know several members here bake pizza right on their grills, toss the dough onto the hot grates, flip it over and then top it. That might be an option.

You definitely need a pressure cooker, those darned things will cook nearly anything into submission!

Nice pictures, BTW.

Annie