American Recipes for Inexpensive Beef

Americans, on average, eat a half-pound of meat a day, and most of that is beef. Needless to say, there are tons of American recipes for beef dishes. Beef recipes range from homemade hamburgers to filet mignon, with all sorts of beef recipes in between. Of course, tender cuts of beef can be successfully prepared just about any way, but the problem with such choice cuts is that they are usually very expensive for consumers.

Tough vs. tender cuts

The most tender cut of beef is the filet, which comes from the tenderloin. The tenderloin is located near the animal’s backbone, and it doesn’t move much. It doesn’t support much weight, either, which is why it’s so tender. Other tender cuts of beef come from the short loin and the rib, including prime rib, ribeye steaks, T-bone steaks, New York strip steaks, and Porterhouse steaks.

Tougher cuts of beef include chuck steak, chuck roast, round steak, round roast, brisket, rump roast, short ribs, flank steak, and shanks.

American recipes for tough beef

Even inexpensive, tough cuts of beef can be cooked to delicious perfection. Marinades, enzymes, pounding, and cubing can all help break down muscle fibers. Of course, grinding can serve the same purpose, as with ground beef, hamburger, and beef sausage.

The way meat is cooked can also affect how tender it is. Tough cuts of beef are usually cooked at low temperatures for extended periods to ensure tenderness. Because many of the cheap cuts of beef lack adequate marbling, liquids and/or fat is often added to recipes that call for such beef. These recipes might include braising, roasting, smoking, stewing, or cooking in a slow cooker or crock pot.