Add An Acidic Ingredient When Boiling Beef For More Tender Results

Boiled beef doesn't have the tastiest reputation. Indeed, the title seems to call to mind bland, tough meat that needs plenty of sauce or stew to make it palatable. Still, if executed properly, boiling can be the best way to transform a cheap cut of meat into a delicious dinner that can outmatch pricier entrees. The secret to success? Add a bit of acid to your boiling brew. 

Boiling meat already helps make tough cuts more tender. These cuts of beef often have elastin and collagen marbled within, making it sinewy and chewy. Cooking it with moist heat — such as by boiling or simmering — helps to slowly break down this connective tissue without drying out the meat altogether. This is a good start, but acid helps double down on the tenderizing effort. An acidic compound, like lemon juice or soy sauce, breaks down tough fibers and connective tissue in chewy cuts of meat. As an added bonus, it also helps impart a tangy flavor to the beef. So what are your options for adding acid to your beef boil? 

A beef boil could mean anything from a beef stew to a pot roast — basically, any recipe that uses a liquid to cook the beef. Many beef boil recipes will already have good acidic ingredients in the base liquid that will help tenderize the beef, such as tomatoes, vinegar, or soy sauce. However, if you notice that your recipe only calls for beef broth, water, and some vegetables, you'll want to add a good dose of acid to the mix yourself.

So which acid should you choose? Ultimately, that will depend on the flavor you're looking for and how prominent you want it to be in the dish. For a basic acidic punch, you can always rely on a few tablespoons of lemon or lime juice or a dash or two of balsamic vinegar (or another vinegar of your choice). If you're looking for an acid that also packs more flavor, you can pick Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce. Wine and apple cider are also acidic mediums that will bring savory depth to your beef boil. Finally, tomatoes or tomato paste are a vegetable acid you can rely on to bring umami flavor and tenderizing qualities. Whichever you choose, your acid will still help break down the meat, producing some of the most tender boiled beef possible.