What cut of beef causes tough stew meat?

[Donald_G]

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[MiaC]

I just tried to make a classic beef stew and the meat turned out tough and chewy instead of tender. I browned it well and let it simmer for over two hours, so I'm not sure where I went wrong. Could it be the cut of beef I used?

[ZoeyR]

I’ve used chuck for stew and it would get tender if I braised long enough. If you used a leaner cut like round or sirloin, it can stay chewy even after a couple hours.

[OliverS]

I once tried to brown well and then simmer, but the pieces were huge and the connective tissue never softened. Cutting into smaller cubes helped me later.

[TimothyYP]

Maybe the problem wasn’t the cut but the heat. A rolling boil will toughen meat; a gentle simmer is what you want, even if it feels slow.

[NicholasS]

Did you actually keep it at a gentle simmer the whole time, not a boil? I did once and the meat stubbornly stayed chewy.

[Victoria_M]

I switched to a real stew cut, chuck shoulder, and it finally gave way after about three hours. The difference was the connective tissue.

[GregoryL]

I drifted off topic for a moment and thought maybe the pot wasn’t distributing heat evenly; the outer bits stayed tougher while the center was fine.

[Jerry_T]

Another data point is that sometimes adding a bit of wine or a tomato base helps the sauce and the meat, but it doesn’t always fix chewiness.