Choose the right meat for a perfect fall stew

Stew season is upon us, and that means it’s time to talk about meat. Especially which cuts work in the pot and why.

For most of us, stew means long-simmered dishes such as chili, carne guisada, pot roast and the like. Having the right cut of meat can make the difference between a dry, stringy dinner and something rich and enjoyable.

For beef-based stews, look for cuts that have a high degree of both marbled fattiness and collagen. That latter, the connective tissue found in many tough cuts of meat, gives stews a silky texture that can’t be acquired from leaner pieces of meat. The fat, which carries quite a bit of flavor, is essential to delivering a rich, lip-smacking quality.

Your best bets are found in chuck steak, bone-in short ribs or the fatty point cut of a brisket — all of which will cost considerably less than top-shelf steaks.

Classic preparations, such as wine-braised beef bourguignon or a Yankee pot roast, depend on that collagen for their signature smoothness. Round steak or other very lean cuts will never provide enough of that inherent texture in your finished dish.

With pork-based dishes, there’s no better choice than a bone-in shoulder roast. Most cuts of pork available in stores today are far too lean and dry for stewing, but a shoulder roast has more than enough fat and collagen to give stew a smooth, buttery finish.

And the bone is important. Even if you cut pork shoulder into smaller bits, toss the bone in the pot while the stew simmers to add a significant quantity of

flavor and depth to the stew.

With chicken, it’s tempting to simmer a whole bird, but you’re unlikely to be completely satisfied with the results. Modern chicken breasts will almost always cook down into an arid, thready tangle of fibers.

A better option is to stew chicken thighs or drumsticks, which are both rich in fat and collagen from their skin and tendons and won’t dry out with the long cooking times stews require. And they’re comparatively affordable, often costing about $1 per pound; chicken breasts can be double that or more.

Whatever you have in the pot — be it beef, pork or chicken — temperature and time are the keys to a successful stew. A very low heat combined with an hour or more of simmering will allow tough pieces of meat to break down and transform into that steaming bowl of goodness we all crave right now.

Getty Images Beef bourguignon is best when made with chuck roast, the point cut of a brisket or bone-in short ribs.