What cut of beef to use for....

[KennethT]

Hey everybody, I've been thinking about making an Indonesian dish called dendeng balado - beef jerky with chilli sauce.  While dendeng typically translates to jerky, it's not an air dried beef jerky that most people in the West would know, but thin slices of beef that have been braised in an aromatic sauce, drained, and then shallow fried until dry.

 

I've had it looking like this:

 

 

or this version (less dried):

 

 

So, my question is, what cut of beef do you think I should use for this?  I imagine that it shouldn't be too tender or expensive of a cut - maybe a sirloin?  All of the Indonesian references that I've seen refer to cuts that don't exist here or don't even refer to a specific cut at all - just say "take a chunk of beef", haha.....

 

[rotuts]

@KennethT

 

youve got the right idea 

 

go for flavor , at an attractive price .

 

sirloin flap meat might be perfect

 

ie  sirloin tips , but ask for that cut whole ,before they cut it  into tips. 

 

commonly goes on sale from time to time.

 

 

[AlaMoi]

many cuts can be used.  the real issue is 'how it is cooked'

for such dishes, I much prefer to do a long braise, followed by overnight chill, second day reheat. 

looks like:

 

top round/bottom round . . . all work - if they are properly braised to temps that 'dissolve' connecting tissue.

makes for an entirely controllable "shred factor"

 

[KennethT]

Thanks both.  I assumed that it would be A) a cheap cut and B) one that doesn't have much intramuscular fat - so very lean, so I think round is a great choice.