Here is a Chinese beef shank recipe with juicy, tender beef braised in a rich, flavorful broth that smells great. The recipe requires very little hands-on time and is super easy to put together. The beef can be eaten by itself, added to salad, put on top of noodles, and more once it’s done. People in China call the braising broth “master sauce.” It can be used over and over to marinate and cook meat, tofu, and vegetables. {Gluten-Free adaptable}.
A popular cold cut dish is Chinese braised beef shank, or Jiang Niu Rou. You can get it at a restaurant or at the deli counter of a regular grocery store. The beef shank is cooked slowly in a master sauce made of soy sauce and different spices until it is soft and smells delicious. You can just cut the beef up and eat it by itself, or as an appetizer, you can serve it with a cold beer. You can also make a quick beef salad with a spoonful of the braising broth and chili oil. The braising liquid is my favorite thing to use to make a 20-minute noodle bowl with chunks of the braised beef shank on top.
Traditionally, Chinese braised beef shank is prepared in a very delicate way to maximize the flavor. Like, beef is often soaked in cold water for hours to get rid of the blood and make the meat taste better. Many restaurants also marinate the meat before braising to enhance the flavor. The beef is often braised until just cooked through, so it’s easy to slice very thinly.
Beef shank (or beef shin) is the leg portion of a cow. The cut is muscly, lean, tough, and full of connective tissue. But when the meat is cooked slowly or in an Instant Pot, the connective tissue melts away, leaving the meat juicy and tender. In fact, it’s one of the best cuts for stews and braised dishes. Lean muscle is quite short and is protected by connective tissue. When braised, it tastes softer and more juicy and is less stringy than some more expensive cuts.
But if you can’t find beef shank, you can use chuck, brisket, or short ribs instead. Nothing wrong with that.
A key ingredient in this recipe is soy bean paste, or Huang Dou Jiang (黄豆酱). You may also see it labeled as “ground bean paste” or simply “bean paste”. The soy bean paste is made with fermented soybeans. It tastes savory and salty, like soy sauce but with a richer flavor and denser texture.
If you cannot find soy bean paste, Chinese sweet bean paste (甜面酱) is the next best thing. Alternatively, you can also replace it with oyster sauce or black bean sauce. The flavor profile of the dish will change but remain delicious.
I’ve tried my best to shorten the ingredient list and use species you can easily find. If you often braise meat, you probably already have most of them.
I really think you should use a pressure cooker or an Instant Pot for this because it cuts down on the cooking time a lot. The beef will be so tender that you can cut it with a fork.
Beef muscle refers to cuts of beef that come from the heavily exercised muscles of the cow. This includes popular cuts like chuck round, brisket and flank steak. While beef muscle can be tasty when cooked properly, it does tend to be tougher and chewier than other cuts of meat. The good news is that with the right techniques, you can turn even the toughest piece of beef muscle into a melt-in-your-mouth meal!
In this comprehensive guide, we will walk through everything you need to know to cook beef muscle to perfection. We’ll cover topics like:
- What is beef muscle and where does it come from?
- Choosing the right cuts of beef muscle.
- Properly preparing beef muscle before cooking.
- Recommended cooking methods for different cuts.
- Tenderizing tough beef muscle.
- Serving suggestions to make the most of your beef muscle dishes.
Follow these tips and tricks to transform tough beef muscle into fork-tender juicy. and flavorful meals that will satisfy any meat lover!
What Is Beef Muscle?
Beef muscle refers to meat that comes from the heavily worked sections of a cow such as the shoulder leg, flank, neck, and chuck. These areas contain a lot of connective tissue and fat marbled throughout to provide sustained energy for muscle movement. While this makes the meat tougher, it also gives it great flavor when cooked properly.
Some of the most common cuts of beef muscle include:
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Chuck Steak: From the shoulder region, it contains a good amount of connective tissue. Great for slow, moist cooking methods.
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Round Steak: From the rear leg region. A very lean cut that can be tough if overcooked.
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Brisket: From the chest region. Needs long, slow cooking to break down connective tissue.
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Flank Steak: From the abdominal area. A thin, flat cut used often for grilling.
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Skirt Steak: From the plate region. Similar to flank with a loose grain that needs marinating.
The key to cooking beef muscle is using slow, moist-heat cooking methods to break down the connective tissues. Quick-cooking over high heat will yield tough results. When cooked properly, beef muscle can be incredibly tender, juicy and full of beefy flavor!
Choosing the Right Cut of Beef Muscle
With all the different cuts available, how do you choose the right beef muscle for your cooking needs? Here are some tips:
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For stews and braises: Choose chuck roast, brisket, or round roast. These do well with slow cooking and become fall-apart tender.
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For pot roasts: Chuck roast and bottom round roast are excellent choices. They’ll absorb all the delicious flavors.
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For grilling: Flank steak, skirt steak, or tri-tip roast are great picks. Slice thinly against the grain after cooking.
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For pan-frying or stir-fries: Look for chuck steak/cubes or flank steak. Slice thinly and stir-fry quickly to avoid toughening.
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For kabobs or skewering: Choose top sirloin or round steak cut into 1-inch chunks. The shorter fibers do well on skewers.
No matter what cut of beef muscle you select, look for meat that is bright red and velvety looking. Avoid pieces with a lot of visible fat throughout, as this can make the cooked dish greasy.
Properly Preparing Beef Muscle Before Cooking
To set your beef muscle up for tender, delicious results, proper preparation is key. Here are some tips:
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Trim off excess fat and silverskin: This inedible tissue on the surface will cause the meat to curl and toughen during cooking.
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Cut into smaller pieces: For stew meat or kabobs, cut into 1 to 2-inch chunks across the grain. This shortens the muscle fibers for tenderness.
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Pound flat: For cube steak or thin cutlets, use a meat mallet to pound it into an even thickness. This helps it cook faster and more evenly.
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Marinate: Soaking in an acidic marinade for 1-2 hours helps tenderize and add flavor. Try wine, citrus, vinegar, yogurt or soy sauce based marinades.
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Apply a rub: For grilled or roasted beef muscle, coat with a dry spice rub at least 40 minutes before cooking. This adds a flavorful crust.
With a little prep work, you can set your beef muscle up for the perfect texture once cooked. Now let’s look at the best cooking methods.
Recommended Cooking Methods for Beef Muscle
Choosing the right cooking technique for the cut of beef muscle you are working with is key. Here are some of the best methods:
Slow, Moist-Heat Cooking
For the tougher cuts from heavily exercised areas like chuck, brisket, and round, moist-heat cooking methods that use low heat for several hours are ideal. This gently breaks down connective tissues and results in incredibly tender meat:
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Braising: Brown the meat first, then cook in a small amount of liquid like broth. Cover and cook at 300°F for 2-3 hours until fall-apart tender.
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Stewing: Simmer chunks of meat and veggies in broth on the stovetop or in a 300°F oven for 2+ hours. The longer, the better!
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Pot Roasting: Brown meat then roast with veggies in a Dutch oven with a little liquid, covered, at 300°F for 3-4 hours.
Quick Pan-Searing and Grilling
For naturally tender cuts from less worked muscles like flank and skirt steak, quick high-heat cooking preserves moisture and flavor:
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Pan-searing: Heat a skillet very hot. Brush meat with oil then sear for 2-5 minutes per side until browned.
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Grilling: Preheat grill to 450-500°F. Grill meat 4-8 minutes per side for medium doneness. Slice thinly across the grain.
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Stir-frying: Heat oil in wok or skillet. Slice meat thinly then stir-fry in batches over high heat just until cooked through, about 2 minutes.
When cooking beef muscle with dry heat like grilling or pan searing, be careful not to overcook or it will quickly toughen. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness.
Tips for Tenderizing Tough Beef Muscle
Certain cuts of beef muscle can be quite tough and chewy. Here are some of the most effective ways to tenderize them before cooking:
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Marinate: Marinating tough meats in an acidic ingredient like wine, vinegar, lemon juice or yogurt for 1-2 hours helps break down connective tissues.
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Mechanical Tenderizing: Use a sharp knife to slice cuts across the grain about 1/2-inch thick. Or use a tool with sharp points to pierce the meat.
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Pounding: Use a meat mallet to pound steaks or roasts until evenly thin. This helps break down muscle fibers.
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Enzymatic Tenderizing: Marinate in fruit juices like pineapple, papaya, apple or kiwi. Enzymes help break down proteins.
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Velveting: For stir-fries, coat with a slurry of cornstarch, egg whites, oil, and wine or sherry before cooking. This keeps the meat tender.
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Slow Cooking: The slower and lower heat, the more those tough connective tissues will break down. Cook in moisture at 300°F for optimal tenderizing.
With a little help from these techniques, even the toughest cuts of beef muscle can become melt-in-your-mouth tender.
Serving Suggestions to Make the Most of Beef Muscle
Beef muscle cooked properly is extremely versatile for meals. Here are some delicious ways to serve it up:
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Pot roasts and stews are amazing over mashed potatoes, buttered noodles or rice pilaf.
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Braised brisket or chuck makes incredible tacos, sandwiches, French dip, or chili. Shred after cooking.
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Grilled flank or skirt steak are perfect for fajitas or stir fry. Slice thinly against the grain.
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Seared cube steaks or kabobs with veggies make the ultimate kebabs.
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Leftover cooked beef muscle is excellent for breakfast scrambles, omelets or hash.
With the right cooking methods and a little creativity, beef muscle can be the star of comforting stews, weeknight stir fries, game day nachos, and so much more. Tender and tasty beef awaits!
The next time you are looking for an affordable cut of meat with big time flavor potential, don’t pass up beef muscle. With a little know-how in the kitchen and the techniques we covered, you can unlock its full potential into any crowd-pleasing meal.
How to use the leftover braising liquid
The great thing about Chinese braised beef shank is that the cooking liquid can be used over and over again. That’s why some people call it “thousand year sauce”. If you want to use it again, you should add more liquid and spices so that the amount of broth stays the same. However, here are a few ways to use the broth easily:
- Like always, cook some soft-boiled eggs and let them sit in the broth for a while. The egg yolk will get soft in the broth and taste great.
- Add a little chili oil to the broth and cook the tofu. This is one of my favorite ways to eat tofu because it tastes so good and has a lot of flavor.
- Use the broth as a base to poach chicken. It’s like soy sauce chicken, but the chicken will taste better because the braising liquid has a beefy taste to it.
- You can also braise or stir fry vegetables with a little of the broth. For instance, when my mom makes braised napa cabbage, she never uses water and always adds oyster sauce to make a tasty base.
Chinese braised beef shank is a humble yet very versatile dish. You can use the meat and broth to make many other dishes during the week, which makes it great for meal planning and cooking ahead of time. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!.
How to serve Chinese braised beef shank
- Serve it by itself, hot or cold
Once you’re done cooking, you can simply serve the braised beef shank with some braising liquid. The meat is super tender and pairs perfectly with steamed rice. If you let the meat soak in the cooking liquid for at least a day, it will taste better, but I just put a spoonful of the broth on my rice when I eat it. It’s so delicious!.
Also, you can cut the meat into thin slices when it’s cold and serve them as a cold starter. It works nice in the summer with a glass of cold beer.
- Make a quick beef salad
I shared this super quick beef salad recipe that uses the braised beef shank and braising broth. By adding celery, cilantro, and peanuts, the texture of the dish becomes much more interesting. A generous pour of homemade chili oil is a must!.
- Super fast beef noodle soup
This 20-minute beef noodle soup is a perfect one-bowl meal for any time of day. The soup base is the braising liquid, and the tender beef chunks are the topping. You only need a few things to make it.
Chinese Style Braised Beef Heel Muscle /Easy Beef Recipe
FAQ
How do you cook beef so it’s tender?
What is the difference between beef shank and digital muscle?