How to Choose the Best Cuts of Meat for Your Recipes

The best cuts of meat to use with your slow cooker are actually the least expensive cuts. It’s kind of counter intuitive because you always assume the really good cuts will be the most tasty. Not so in a slow cooker! When I first bought my crockpot I felt a bit clueless about what meat to buy. I originally only ate chicken, fish, pork chops and ground beef. Not too exciting I know. My slow cooker has got me out of my comfort zone for a change. I go over my menu planning for the month by first going through my recipes. Next I choose the exact cut of meat I need from my list and write it down on my grocery list.

So these cuts of meat are recommended by Elizabeth Baird who has a cookbook called the The Slow Cooker Collection.  She mentions that there are certain cuts of meat that are better sliced such as blade pot roasts and cross ribs. Others are best served pulled or shredded since they are fattier cuts such as pork shoulder blade roasts. She still suggests trimming all visible fat off your meat.

Beef Cuts

Stewing or braising cuts shine in the slow cooker. For the beef stew you might be tempted to buy the stew cubes instead of cutting up a roast. It’s actually better to buy the roast and cut it up yourself. The precut stew cubes don’t cook consitently and come from different parts of the animal.
Also look on the label for the words “pot roast” or “simmering”.

They include most cuts from the chuck or shoulder: top or bottom blade pot roast, cross rib pot roast. You can also use…

• Slow cook brisket and  brisket pot roast
• Simmering short rib
• Stewing beef
• Lean ground beef

Pork

• Choose the shoulder cuts: pork steaks or shoulder blade (butt) roasts.
• These are very tasty cuts – Pork rib roast, pork side ribs, pork rib chops, lean ground pork and boneless ham

Lamb

The shoulder and shanks are best.

Chicken and Turkey

• Legs and thighs stay moist and appetizing in the slow cooker.
• It’s best to leave the skin on while cooking to keep the moist. You can take it off once it cooked.
• Lean ground chicken and turkey do very well in the slow cooker.

The best cuts of meat for your slow cooker are all here.  Try stocking up on a variety of  different cuts to add variety to your dishes. By the way, here’s a few other ingredients you might want to have on hand for your recipes.

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