Best Beef Cuts for Slow Cooking

There is a weeknight version of this question and a weekend version. Both have the same answer: find the muscles that worked.

“I like to go with something a little more economical. And so either something like a chuck roast or a sirloin tip, maybe in the crock pot or some short ribs this time of year. Or, you know, I like taking out maybe some skirt steak, some fajita meat, and, you know, making some tacos, making some fajitas, getting something that you can just kind of chop up and mix up whatever.”

Gray Shipley

Why these cuts need time

Working muscles are held together with collagen. Collagen does not soften with heat the way lean muscle cooks. It needs hours at a moderate temperature, during which it converts to gelatin.

That gelatin is what makes a braise feel rich in the mouth and what makes the sauce cling. You cannot get it out of a tenderloin, because there was never any in there.

“Um, but the mussels that get used, that's where the flavor comes from. That's why the brisket is so good if you can cook it right.”

Gray Shipley

The cuts, and what each one does

• Chuck roast. The all-rounder. Shreds beautifully, forgives being left too long, and is the best value on the animal.
• Short ribs. The richest. More collagen per bite, so serve smaller portions.
• Brisket. The project. Long, slow, and unforgiving of impatience.
• Shank and osso buco. Marrow and collagen together. Turns silky rather than tender.
• Oxtail. The most gelatin of anything. Makes the best sauce in the kitchen.
• Sirloin tip. Leaner, so better in a crock pot with liquid than dry-roasted.

Brown it first

Searing before the liquid goes in is not optional if you want depth. It is the same principle as a steak.

“Get the moisture off the surface.”

Gray Shipley

Dry the surface, brown it hard in batches so the pot does not steam, then build the braise on top of what stuck to the bottom.

Time is the ingredient

“Ah, you know, the, the old ways of making food, fermentation, uh, and, uh, you know, sourdough bread where you're, you're, you gotta give it time. You gotta use time, you know, make an apple cider vinegar takes time. Uh, some of that, that you just, there's no substitute for the time that goes into doing something well.”

Gray Shipley

That is Gray on old food methods generally, and braising is squarely one of them. There is no setting that gets you there faster.

What not to slow cook

Ribeye, strip, filet, flat iron, hanger. All lean or all tender, none of them improved by hours. They go dry and stringy, and you have spent good money to make a worse dinner.

What to buy

For why these cuts taste the way they do, see the most flavorful cuts. For the opposite end of the heat scale, the best grilling cuts. The browning step is explained in getting a great crust.

Buy the working muscle, brown it properly, and then leave it alone for longer than you want to.