? about organic beef

Read2Me

I have started buying organic meats and was excited when I found organic stew beef.  I made my stew like I always do in the crock pot but the meat ended up being really dry.  Do I need to change the way I cook it?  reduce the time?  not sear it?  I'm guessing it dried out because it's leaner than regular beef, right?

SuperGreen

Sorry I don't have a good answer for you, I don't have a crock pot.  But dry meat would suggest overcooking.  I would try reducing the time and see how that goes.  Congrats to you though on buying organic beef.  I'm sure as soon as you get the timing down it will be delicious.

blue_elle

Grass-fed beef would be leaner than conventional. I don't think that simply being organic = leaner meat. Organic beef is still grain fed. Sounds like a fluke case of overcooking.

CharlottesWeb

Hmm...I don't know. We exclusively buy grass-fed beef and I've never had an issue with stew beef being dry. Grass-fed is leaner and you definitely need to be careful about cooking steaks etc. But the stew beef benefits more from a long slow cook. I just made beef strw 2 days ago actually. Came out tender and wonderful.

But like the pp said, organic only means it was fed organic grain or pastured (although this is unlikely if you bought it at a supermarket) on organic pasture. Probably a fluke.

Read2Me

It was grass fed beef so I guess I need to adjust the cooking time or add a little more liquid.  Thanks ladies!  I am definitely loving that my supermarket has organic, grass-fed beef as well as free range chicken- it's pricier but so much tastier!

MessyM

I agree about the grass fed, it's the same with a lot of buffalo meat, it's so lean that it can dry out faster. I usually sear all my meat before cooking it, even in a crockpot and rarely have had problems. Good luck next time around!!

laurainMI

Keep searing the meat -- that actually helps to hold juices in.

CurbsideProphet

If you do a google search there are some good tips on how to cook grass fed beef.