I made chili using a rump roast and... disaster :(

[loveforvinegar]

I used a recipe by Bobby Flay, and it turned into chili soup.

There were 5 cups of chic. stock, 1 can of diced tomatoes, and 1 12 oz. bottle of beer as the liquids.

I thought that was a lot of liquid too.. but I let it simmer on low, covered, for 1 hour (as directed by the recipe) and the meat(rump roast) was so tough and grisly, and it was swimming in liquid.

so i let it simmer for another 1 1/2 hours.. the meat? still tough, but SLIGHTLY better. the liquid? still soupy.

i feel embarrassed. i'm no novice to cooking. i followed the recipe exactly.. and was left with a tasty bowl of chili flavored soup, with nasty chunks of beef floating in it.

I want to try and save this chili. it was kind of expensive for all the ingredients.. i dont want to just throw it away.

so, should i let it simmer for another 2 hours, in hopes that the meat will get tender??

i've also been contemplating chopping up new veggies and throwing them in there so there's SOMETHING besides liquid in it. good idea, or bad idea?

help :(

[escondido123]

How about adding a can or two of pinto and/or black beans and cooking it some more. You will get thickening and more body at the same time.

[paulj]

What the size of the pieces of meat? If somewhat large, fish them out of the soup, slice as thing as you can across the grain (you under the grain of meat, don't you?), and return them to the soup. This meat is lean enough that it isn't going to become fall apart tender like a good chuck. But slicing it thin should reduce the problem long tough strands of meat.

To deal with the soupiness, I would spoon off much of it, and adjust the flavors of the rest to suit the amount of meat. You can also thicken it with a starch slurry. Many chili cooks prefer a masa harina slurry, claiming it adds an earthy flavor. I suspect it is really used because it has the SW/Mexican association. But don't thicken it too much - unless you want a chili flavored gravy.

Do you have link to the recipe?

Is this the recipe?
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bo...

This recipe calls for completely reducing the bottle of beer.

The chicken stock is boiled with the onions and chiles and tomatoes, and then pureed. I would expect this to be the consistency of cream.

Then the meat is cooked with this sauce for an hour.

And the meat is 1/2 cubes.

[loveforvinegar]

Yes, that was the recipe. I'm so frustrated at the outcome. 2 lbs of meat to all of that soup leaves barely anything. I will do as you suggested, cutting the meat into smaller chunks, and see how that turns out.

[loveforvinegar]

I did exactly all of those things.

The "sauce" is thin, and soupy, not like cream at all. It has some body to it, but the ratio of meat to "sauce" is way off. Like I said, its a few chunks of meat, drowning in stew liquid.

[paulj]

Even without knowing about your problems I probably wouldn't have started with the full 5 cups of stock. It's easier to add liquid to a recipe than to remove it.

Most of the online reviews are 5*. Most of the low ratings complained of it lacking something (my guess is salt). Only one complained about it being too soupy. None complained about the meat being tough.

[loveforvinegar]

Additionally, after an hour of cooking, I was barely able to bite through one of the cubes of meat. It was hard, like rubber.

[LauraGrace]

Yup, that's pretty normal for leaner meat -- once you get it to the "well done" stage, it becomes shoe leather for a couple hours and then all that connective tissue and muscle fiber gives up the fight and becomes tender.

Think what would happen if you cooked a filet mignon for an hour! :)

This is definitely salvageable, but it's going to take a few more hours of cooking to get it there! Why not in a dutch oven or covered casserole overnight or all day at 250, since you don't have a crock pot. :)

[Isolda]

The slow oven method is exactly what I would suggest as well. I once saved a really leathery beef stew that way.

[Quine]

I am sorry but if you thought that a rump roast (no matter how micro small you cut it) and all that liquid would "simmer" into rich deep tender chile in ONE hour; what cooking planet are you on?

Recipes by such "famous' folks aren't always real or proof read. Rump roast can't get tender at a simmer (low) of one hour maybe 3 if in a dice. Reducing that mjch liquid as well at a low simmer, in that time, not even at below sea level.

You sound like you have cooked well from some excellent recipes in the past. This was not an excellent recipe Not your fault.
Have a slow cooker? If so, place your leftovers into it and leave it overnight or a day. Bey you get more of an YUM!

[loveforvinegar]

Ah, unfortunately, I do not own a slow cooker. Thank you for your suggestions