Table of Contents
- Can you use frying steak in a casserole?
- What is frying Steak?
- Choosing the perfect Frying Steak
- Ageing Frying steak
- How to store frying steak?
- Cooking the best frying steak
- Casserole Meat to fry or not
Can you use frying steak in a casserole?
Casserole is an ultimate classic dinner treat that never goes out of fashion and tastes great. It is basically a combination of meat, casserole vegetables, and sauce placed in one pot and cooked with the required amount of liquid to create that sumptuous dish.
Yes, you can use frying steak in a casserole. The casserole can be cooked in various styles but whether a frying steak should be used or not is only a personal choice. And the choice is closely related to your method of cooking a casserole dish. So let’s take a look at those ways and let you decide whether you should use frying steak or not.
In this article, you will get to understand more about frying steak, its preparation methods, and tips to make delicious casseroles using frying steak.
What is frying Steak?
Frying steak is the most commonly used beef cut in casserole dishes. It’s largely available in most parts of the world with many regions having their own preferences for cuts of meat. Simply, it’s a tender cut that has nice marbling within and is high in flavor.
Frying steak comes from the beef round cut. It’s a lean cut, meaning it has less marbling than cuts from other sections of the cow because there is little connective tissue in this part.
Frying steak is not usually sold fresh but rather frozen and used for dishes that require further preparation such as stews or casseroles. The lack of fat makes frying steak an inexpensive addition to many recipes since you don’t have to worry about buying a more expensive cut of meat with extra flavor injected into it.
Choosing the perfect Frying Steak
When you want to cook a casserole quickly, it is advisable to use frying steak as it cooks quickly and also renders the meat some nice flavors.
While choosing a piece of meat, you need to pay attention to the cut. A frying steak will always have long fibers and connective tissue.
This part of the carcass has more fat than other parts. It’s absolutely not necessary to remove it before cooking – on the contrary, pieces with excess fat will become even tastier during cooking!
Also, this type of meat does not require thorough washing under running water.
Frying steaks need to be dried before cooking – after cutting off the fat it is necessary to wipe the meat with a towel or napkin. When boiling pieces of meat should not be dry because they will stick together, but in this case everything’s fine!
If you want to increase the dish’s flavor, then pour marinade over your casserole before adding the fried steak. However, keep in mind that salt and pepper can not be added directly to a frying steak when preparing a casserole!
If you want to prepare homemade gravy for your sauce, then choose either cheaper cuts of meat or stewing beef instead of using frying steak since its juice evaporates quickly and makes the sauce watery even with long cooking times.
Ageing Frying steak
Frying steak turns tough if it’s aged for too long after preparation because enzymes in the meat begin to break down the tissue. This happens when you freeze the meat and again when you thaw it out, so it should be eaten within 24 hours of purchase and preferably not frozen at all.
If your frying steak has been cut thicker than usual, then there may well be a bit more chewiness — but most people won’t notice any difference between newly-sliced frying steaks and those that have been allowed to hang for a week or so before they were cut.
The only exception to this is if the frying steak has been hung for a long period of time, say more than three weeks — in which case it will be very dry and extremely chewy and you’d be better off choosing another cut.
Based on the fact that meat tends to toughen up when sauteed or grilled, yes, you should use an older piece for your casserole dish. If your cooking method requires longer exposure to heat then definitely go with something more tender such as sirloin tip roast or top sirloin flap meat. Don’t bother with stewing beef either because that’s just too tough to chew on after a few
How to store frying steak?
Frying steak can be stored in the fridge, freezer, or left out at room temperature. To store frying steak in the refrigerator, keep it in its original packaging until you are ready to use it.
If you have not used your piece of frying steak within two days of buying it, wrap it tightly in aluminum foil or freezer paper and place it inside a freezer bag with all the air pressed out or sucked out.
You can also cover the meat with water if you need to prevent cross-contamination from any juices when storing. Label your package so you know how long it has been stored in there and place it either on a tray or shelf where it won’t get knocked over and stored below 4°C (refrigerator temperature).
If you want to freeze frying steak then place it in the freezer as soon as possible. For maximum flavor and quality, try to use it within three months for the best results. Make sure your frying steak is wrapped tightly in freezer paper or aluminum foil, again with all the air pressed out or sucked out to prevent freezer burn.
You can also wrap it first in butcher’s paper or put it inside a heavy-duty freezer bag before covering it up either with more aluminum foil or wrapping it up with freezer paper.
Cooking the best frying steak
Frying steaks are best cooked quickly at high temperatures, and the best frying steak will be cooked using a pan.
Heat some butter or oil in a pan and fry your steak for 3-4 minutes on each side over medium heat until the outside has sealed and is golden brown. Then reduce to low and allow cooking through – usually about 5 minutes more, depending on how you like your steak: well-done means it will cook through much quicker than rare.
Frying steak for cooking in just one pot is absolutely perfect as it will not require any further cooking and after assembling all the other ingredients the flavor from this meat will be far more as compared to boiling or braising.
If you are planning to cook your casserole for more than an hour, then frying steak will not be the best choice because it easily dries up after some time.
It may not be so economical when you have many people in your family to feed, so if cost is an important factor, better select other options for stewing or choose cheaper cuts of meat.
If you like your casserole to get some natural meat flavor in the sauce, then frying steak is an advisable choice because its juices evaporate while cooking and give off fresh tastes of meat. So when making a beef casserole, this essence of the beef will be absorbed by the sauce during cooking.
To get rid of the unpleasant smell of meat you need to leave it in a marinade for half an hour. For cooking, frying steak casserole uses fresh spices and herbs, as their strength is much higher than dried ones.
If your recipe requires further preparation after cooking casserole beef, then also avoid using frying steak because it will become too tough after cooking.
If your recipe requires braising, stewing, or slow cooking at low temperature for several hours so that the meat becomes tender and the sauce becomes thick, then avoid using frying steak as it easily dries up during cooking.
Casserole Meat to fry or not
The browning of meat by frying makes the steak more flavorful and contributes to the color of your casserole. But doesn’t make the stew any juicer. In many ways, frying meat will make a better meal is just a myth but still with all the facts and evidence most people will still fry it.
If you have the time and are motivated, fry half a casserole and prepare the meat and onions first before adding everything else. Fried steak does not require pouring any liquid – it cooks in its own juice. And this means that during frying no nutritious substances evaporate and only tasty juice remains on our plates!
It should be noted that the dishes cooked with fried steaks will always be much tastier than ordinary boiled dishes. Perhaps this point does not seem obvious at first glance, but still – this is true!
In the end, we conclude that frying steak will always come in handy when it comes to cooking casserole as it will provide you with natural juice which will make the flavor of your dish tastier.
