Braised Beef with Herb Risotto

So, I picture being able to break apart a braised piece of inside round with a fork like George Calombaris does in the video below. But I feel as though, no matter how long I braise inside round, it will never do that, and the reason being, is it's too solid a piece of meat with a total lack of marbling or connective tissue. The longer it braises, the dryer its mouthfeel is, no matter how much liquid its immersed in. It should be noted, the cut of meat in the video below is beef cheek which is supposedly tough and lean, but perhaps the increased presence of connective tissue is what makes the difference.

Oh well. In spite of the minor shortcomings in terms of texture, the taste and overall eating experience was still quite high for this dish. Also no one really hates risotto. So, after watching a few videos, perhaps I haven't braised the beef long enough, I just saw a video that recommended braising beef cheeks for 6 hours at 160 degrees Celsius. The stuff that I cooked, at most, got about 2 hours. So, perhaps there's still hope for inside round after all.


Recipe to follow