Tag: Beef

How to Take Your Beef Steaks to Another Level

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date July 8, 2021

Steak. The king of meat. From the blue cheese smell of a raw, well-aged cut to the delectable, sweet, and smoky taste of a well-grilled chunk of beef, there’s nothing like it. But there’s nothing sadder than poorly cooked beef steaks. First of all, it’s a terrible waste of good food, and second, there’s no reason why you can’t have a steak like a professional chef.

No matter where you go, a steak will taste different, and that’s because each chef has their own secret method of treating and cooking the steak. But in recent times, some chefs have become a little more open about some of the techniques involved in cooking a steak well. So, Heston Blumenthal’s blow torch technique aside, you should have no problem if you follow this advice.

Dry Beef Steaks Out

This might sound counterintuitive to getting a juicy steak, but the first secret to great beef steaks is actually allowing it to dry them out. If you have the room and you are serious about your meat, a dry aging cabinet is a beautiful appliance to treat your beef. However, for most of us, the fridge will work almost as well, as all you need is dry air.

When using the fridge, however, you will need steak that has already been aged. Cuts can be aged up to 120 days, but the average age of a good steak is 30 days. To dry your steak, simply lay it on a rack, season both sides with good quality salt, and leave it uncovered in the fridge for up to three days. This is known as dry brining. Dry brining allows the salt to penetrate the meat, but the dry exterior provides a great crust when cooked.

Butter, Butter, and More Butter

How do steakhouses get that unique taste on their steak? Butter. In particular, clarified butter. The reason for using clarified butter is that it has a higher smoking temperature than standard butter. Normal butter isn’t adequate for cooking steak recipes since searing at an extremely high temperature is necessary for cooking it properly.

Clarified butter adds lots and lots of flavor to your cut. The rich, nutty flavor associated with cooked butter permeates your meat when cooked in lashings of clarified butter. Additionally, clarified butter emulsifies on the meat and makes it shiny, helping with presentation. You can also use any butter left in the pan for a red wine deglaze.

Use the Oven

A critical method of cooking beef steaks is searing them in a pan. However, you shouldn’t be afraid to use your oven for cooking steak as well, especially with significant cuts such as a side of beef. Cuts like this are best seared in a pan and then placed in the oven to cook through. Searing won’t be enough, and if you try to cook a substantial cut this way, you will burn the outside with minimal cooking inside.

Other thick cuts such as sirloin, T-bone, and fillet mignon can also benefit from oven cooking. There are varying times for each amount of steak and numerous methods of cutting them following their cook. But generally sized steaks shouldn’t take longer than 10 minutes to get the center to 125 degrees, which is ideal for rare meat. Before serving a steak, always leave to rest for 5 minutes and slice against the grain.

Tags Beef

Recipes

BBQ Beef Ribs with Memphis Dry Rub

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date January 12, 2021

Ribs need to be cooked slowly to become tender and juicy. While one might think that BBQ beef ribs need to be smoked, that isn’t the case. In this recipe, you use your oven.

Beef Ribs with Memphis BBQ Dry Rub

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword barbecue, bbq, beef, ribs

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 2

Servings 4

Ingredients

8 Tablespoons paprika
4 Tablespoons powdered garlic
4 Tablespoons chili powder
3 Tablespoons black pepper
3 Tablespoons kosher salt
2 Tablespoons celery seed
1 Tablespoon oregano
1 Tablespoon thyme
1 Tablespoon all-purpose Greek seasoning, Cavender's Seasoning is a good option
Your favorite BBQ sauce, homemade or store-bought (optional)
2 slabs beef ribs, for BBQ

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
In a medium-sized bowl, add all spices and mix them together.
Rinse beef ribs and allow excess water to drip away.
Line a flat baking sheet with aluminum foil for easier cleanup. Lay ribs on sheet.
Thickly coat both sides of ribs.
Place them on a cooking sheet and cover tightly with foil, sealing the edges.
Place an oven-safe pan of water next to or below the ribs on another rack.
Bake at 250 Degrees for 2 hours, turning once halfway through.
For wet ribs, after 2 hours, add a generous coat of your favorite BBQ sauce and cook for an additional 30 minutes.

Notes

You may have more rub mix than necessary for your ribs. If so, save it in a Ziploc bag or sealed container for another time.

Note: If you can’t find Cavender’s Seasoning in your local grocery store, you can buy it on Amazon.

How to Cook BBQ Beef Ribs

There are several methods for producing mouthwatering barbecued ribs without the expense of buying a smoker. Here are a few tried and true options.

Cooking in an oven at low temperature: Place ribs in a roasting pan with 1/2 inch of water in the bottom. Cover with foil and seal the edges. Bake at 250 degrees for 2 hours, turning over once after an hour.
If you don’t have a roasting pan, simply use a cooking sheet and cover tightly with foil. Place an oven-safe pan of water next to the ribs or on another shelf in the oven.

For wet ribs, after two hours, add a generous coating of your favorite BBQ sauce and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
Grill over low heat: Wrap the ribs tightly in foil and grill over low heat (around 250 degrees) for 3 hours, turning once half-way through.
For web ribs, during the last 15 minutes of cooking time, coat them with your favorite BBQ sauce.
Make wet ribs in a Slow Cooker: Place the ribs in a slow cooker, cover with your choice of sauce and cook 8 to 12 hours on low.

One thing to remember about cooking BBQ beef ribs is you need to set it and forget it. No matter which way you’re cooking them, it’s important that the temperature remains steady. The more times you peek at the meat, the more heat is released and the less tender and juicy the ribs will become. In addition, it will take longer to cook — something the family will not like!

Creativity in the kitchen doesn’t stop at the recipe itself. You can have all sorts of creative culinary fun with leftovers! Here are some ideas for what you can do with BBQ beef ribs leftovers.

BBQ sandwiches: Of course! Slice open a hoagie roll, slather some BBQ sauce on it, pull the meat off the ribs, and stack on the bread. That’s your basic recipe. However, you might also enjoy adding some grilled onions, coleslaw, or plain shredded cabbage.
BBQ casserole: Toss the meat into a casserole dish. Add some bacon and Monterey Jack cheese, top with mashed potatoes, and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Yum!
BBQ Pot Pie: Using store-bought pie crusts, add your favorite veggies and a can of cream of mushroom soup. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until the crust becomes golden brown.
BBQ pizza: Start with a store-bought crust, top with more BBQ sauce, meat, veggies, and cheese. Bake according to crust directions.
BBQ Burritos: Wrap beef and 1 Tablespoon BBQ sauce in a flour tortilla, ensuring the ends are sealed. Deep fry (or bake) until golden brown and crispy. Excellent when served with ranch dip.
BBQ Macaroni: Cook macaroni and cheese according to directions on the box — or make your own. Warm the meat in the microwave, adding more BBQ sauce if necessary to keep meat from drying out. Mix the warmed meat into the prepared mac-n-cheese. Sprinkle with bacon bits and your favorite shredded cheese.

Tags bbq, Beef, ribs

Recipes

Herb Mustard Sirloin Steak

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date December 1, 2020

Here is a delicious sirloin steak recipe that doesn’t require a lot of fuss. Just a few simple ingredients and less than 30 minutes are all it takes to whip up a flavor-packed main course your entire family will love!

Herb Mustard Sirloin Steak

Note: The actual cooking time for this recipe will vary depending on the thickness of the meat, the starting internal temperature, and the desired level of doneness.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword beef

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 20

Servings 4

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1½ lbs sirloin steak
sea salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Instructions

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.
In a small bowl, combine the mustard with the Italian seasoning and garlic powder.
Generously coat the steak with the herbed mustard on all sides. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste.
Swirl hot skillet to evenly distribute olive oil. Add steak and sear on all sides, including edges, approximately 1-2 minutes per side.
Reduce heat to medium and cook on one side for approximately 5-7 minutes.
Turn steak and cook for another 3-5 minutes, or until steak reaches desired level of doneness.
Remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes.
To serve, slice the steak against the grain and serve with your choice of side dishes.

Temperature Tips for Beef

You can find a temperature chart for beef here.

If you want to be precise, use an Instant Read Meat Thermometer to determine when the internal temperature is 5°F below the desired result. (The temperature will continue to rise while the meat rests.)

FAQs

Do you have questions about sirloin steak? You’re not alone. Here are some common questions and their answers.

What is sirloin steak?

The sirloin steak is cut from the sirloin. This is the subprimal posterior to the short loin, where the T-bone, porterhouse, and club steaks are cut. The sirloin is divided into several types of steak, including top sirloin, which is the most prized cut.

Is there a difference between sirloin steak and top sirloin?

Yes. The difference is that the top sirloin cut comes from the top of the sirloin section of the carcass. Sirloin steaks come from any other part.

Is a sirloin steak considered a good cut?

Sirloin steak is a moderate cut. The top sirloin is the best cut from this area of the carcass. These thick cuts of beef are perfect for grilling, broiling, sautéeing, or pan-frying.

Is sirloin steak a tender or tough cut of beef?

It depends. The sirloin area is large, so some cuts can be tender and juicy, while other cuts can be tough. That said, sirloin often provides the home cook with a relatively tender texture at an affordable price.

Because this recipe is so simple, you can easily add and substitute ingredients to customize it to your taste. Here are some ideas.

Switch up the herbs. This doesn’t have to be an Italian herbed steak. You can give an Indian flare by instead using a mixture of onion powder, garlic powder, ginger and cumin. Or perhaps you like something a little more spicy? Try a mixture of ground mustard, smoked paprika and a touch of caiyenne. You can find a variety of seasoning ideas here.
Don’t like Dijon? Try one of the many other types of mustard on the market. Or skip it all together, and simply use the herbs as a dry rub.
Change the cooking method. Instead of cooking the steak after you’ve browned all the sides, pop it in your slow cooker to finish cooking. Be sure to add a little bit of liquid, perhaps some red wine or beef broth, to ensure it stays moist and tender. Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours, until the internal temperature reaches your desired doneness.

Tags Beef

Recipes

Homemade Beef Donair

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date August 17, 2020

A donair is a type of sandwich made with slices of spiced meat (typically beef) cooked on a spit and served within a pita bread with tomatoes, onions, and a sweet sauce. However, even if you don’t have a rotating spit, you can still make a pretty tasty donair from home, using a steak, some marinade, and your oven. It is a Canadian version of a Greek gyro. According to WiseGeek.com, “The first donair sandwiches were created in the Halifax area of Canada, and they can now be found throughout the eastern part of the country and in larger western Canadian cities.”

Homemade Beef Donair

This recipe requires time for marinating (a few hours to overnight) and about 45 minutes to cook the meat. It makes enough meat for about 4-6 sandwiches.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword beef, lunch, sandwich

Servings 4 sandwiches

Ingredients

½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
2 pounds steak (inexpensive cuts are fine)
2 cucumbers, diced
2 tomatos, diced
1 head ice berg lettuce shredded
Tzatziki
hummus
pita bread (get the thick bread, not the thin hollow pita shells)
feta, shredded

Instructions

Place vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, cinnamon, ground cloves, nutmeg, garlic, salt and pepper into a bowl or container with a lid and mix well.
Slice the steak into very thin slices.
Add the steak to the marinade and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Place the marinade and steak into an oven-safe dish with a lid and bake for about 45 minutes.
Remove the steak from the marinade and prepare to serve.
Heat the pita bread in the oven for about 8 minutes.
Remove from the oven and spread tzatziki and hummus on the bread.
One one side, top with the desired amount of meat, cucumber, tomato, olives, lettuce, and feta.
Fold in half and enjoy.

You can easily get creative with this donair and make this sandwich your own.

Don’t like cucumbers, leave them out!
Like chicken better than beef, use that.
Use ground meat instead of sliced meat.
Use lamb instead of beef or chicken.
Experiment with flavored hummus.
Play around with the spices. Reduce some, increase others. Add in cumin or garlic powder.
Add in some plain yogurt.
Experiment with other types of lettuce — or chose not to shred the lettuce.

If you’re feeling really creative, use another cuisine’s flavor pallet to make this sandwich.

A Mexican donair might use a tortilla instead of a pita. Use taco or fajita seasoning to spice the meat. And use cheddar instead of feta.
An Italian might use basil, oregano and margaram to marinate the meat. Add tomato sauce to the marinade. Use mozzarella instead of feta.
Use Tandori chicken for an Indian donair.
An Asian-inspired version would use Asian spices in the marinade. And perhaps instead of lettuce, use sprouts.

Since this dish is a Canadian riff on a Greek dish, why not expand the riff to better suit your tastes? Kitchen creativity is all about making inspired substitutions of ingredients, garnishes, and sometimes even cooking techniques. This recipe gives you a lot of leeway for Kitchen Creativity!

Tags Beef, sandwich

Recipes

Meatloaf with Mushroom Sauce

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date March 2, 2018

I pulled together this meal on the fly. I baked the meatloaf on the weekend and made a fresh mushroom sauce to top on the night I served it. It was delicious!

Ingredients

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Meatloaf

1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp fresh thyme, minced
1/2 cup milk
2/3 cup crushed Club crackers
1/3 cup fresh Italian parsley, minced
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp mustard (prepared)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork [/one_half]

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Mushroom Sauce

1 can beef broth (about 2 cups)
1/2 cub crushed Club crackers
1 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup green onions (about one bunch), chopped
1/2 cup butter [/one_half_last]

Directions

Meatloaf

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a roasting pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
In a medium skillet, sauté onions in oil until softened. About 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool slightly.
Add milk and Club crackers to onion mixture and combine until it forms a chunky paste. Add parsley, eggs, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Stir until combined.
Add ground meats and knead with hands until thoroughly combined. I like to use disposable rubber gloves to help keep my hands clean.
Form a loaf shape with the mixture and place on the roasting pan. There are two ways you can do this. 1. Form the loaf freestyle with your hands. Or 2. Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap, press the meat mixture into the pan, turn the loaf out onto the roasting pan.
Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until the loaf registers 160 degrees. Let cool for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.

Mushroom Sauce

In a large saucepan combine broth, crackers, mushrooms, green onions, and butter.
Cook over medium heat, stirring often until the mushrooms cook down and the sauce is thick and golden brown.

Plating

Place slices of meatloaf on a plate. Then ladle mushroom sauce on top. Serve with mashed potatoes, root vegetables or rice.

Notes
The meatloaf recipe is inspired by the recipe found in The Complete Make-Ahead Cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen. The mushroom sauce recipe is inspired by “Easiest Mushroom Sauce” from Allrecipes.com.

Tags Beef, meat, mushrooms, pork

Recipes

Sweet & Spicy Crock Pot Meatballs

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date January 6, 2017

Recipe courtesy of Kam’s Kettle Cooked Chili Sauce.

Ingredients:

1 lb Ground Beef
½ lb Ground Pork
1-12oz Jar of Kam’s Chili Sauce (1/4 jar for the meatball mix)
¾ C. Quaker Old-Fashioned Oats
1 Egg
¼ C. chopped onion
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of fresh parsley
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 (12 ounce) bottle of Kam’s Chili Sauce
1 (10 ounce) jar of currant or grape jelly

Directions:

Mix all ingredients (except for grape jelly & Kam’s Chili Sauce). Gently shape into 1-inch balls.
Put meatballs in the oven on a cookie sheet until browned. Remove the meatballs.
Pour the chili sauce and the grape jelly into the skillet and heat, stirring constantly and simmer, uncovered for about 30 minutes.
To keep warm place into a crockpot and keep covered on low.

Cook’s Notes:

Use Welch’s grape jelly or Cranberry Sauce. This recipe works great with pre-cooked, frozen meatballs. Just eliminate all of the meatball ingredients in the recipe, warm the sauce as above, then stir in the frozen meatballs with the heated sauce. Simmer on low to warm the meatballs through well, about 20 minutes, gently stirring them several times, then transfer them to a crockpot to keep warm if you like.

Frozen Meatballs in the Crockpot:

Heat the sauce on the stovetop. Place frozen meatballs into the crockpot and follow the suggestion on the bag of your brand of meatballs for heating. Generally speaking, you will need to allow about 3 hours for the meatballs to be ready to serve; about 2 hours on high, then another hour on low. Freshly cooked meatballs will only need to be held in the crockpot on low.

Cocktail Sausages:

Substitute a pound of cocktail sausages for the meatballs, eliminate all other ingredients except for the chili sauce and grape jelly.

Tags appetizer, Beef

Healthy Living

Organic Living: Change your buying habits

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date September 1, 2015

Sometimes living organically is just a matter of changing your perspective … or your buying habits. By changing when you buy certain foods (what season) or where you buy them (at a farmer’s market instead of the big-chain grocery store), and you may find that you are not only eating more healthy and nutritious food, but your are saving money on your grocery bill, as well!

Here are five more tips in my Organic Living series that will help you creatively incorporate healthier food into your lifestyle.

1. Buy better beef
Not only do you want to pay attention to what you eat, but if you eat meat, you need to pay attention to what you eat eats, as well. Most “grass fed” beef are still grain finished. Grass-fed beef is more nutritious than grain-fed beef. For 100% grass fed beef, look for a local farm you can buy from. If you’d like information about buying local, grass-fed beef, check out You Can Afford Grass-Fed Beef! – The ultimate guide to saving money by eating high-quality, local meat.

2. Watch the Glycemic Index of your fruit.
Foods on high on the glycemic index (GI) put more sugar into your digestive track and blood stream. This can cause problems whether you’re healthy or have diabetes. And although fruit can be healthy, you want to monitor how much and what kinds you eat. Most fruits have quite a high GI. The exception are berries (including strawberries) which are low GI and very healthy. Here’s a quick list of the top 5 low glycemic fruits:

Low Glycemic Fresh Fruits

Berries (an average of blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries) – 47 GI, 7g carbs and a glycemic load of 3
2 whole plums – 24 GI, 14g carbs and a glycemic load of 4
1 large peach – 28 GI, 14g carbs and a glycemic load of 4
1 slice of a large cantaloupe – 70 GI, 5g carbs and a glycemic load of 4
1 medium nectarine – 43 GI, 13g carbs and a glycemic load of 5

3. Shop smart for organic produce
It is a common myth that buying organic is more expensive. I know I’ve often thought, “I’ll buy organic when I make more money.” But this is often a fallacy. If you think you can’t afford organic, try buying foods that are in season. It’s both more inexpensive and healthier. You can find all sorts of inexpensive, fresh and organic produce at your local farmers market.

4. Store food for out of season
Have a favorite seasonal food? Buy it when it’s in season, then freeze it or can it. It’s healthier than buying it out of season. Foods being sold out of season can have a number of things going against them:

They traveled farther to get to you.
They were stored longer.
They many have been treated in order to survive the longer travel and storage time.

All this leads to lower nutritional value of the product, and sometimes an increase in unhealthful qualities, as well.

Amazon.com Widgets

5. Be careful with seafood.
Eating fish used to be a pretty healthy way to go. However, the aquatic and marine environments are becoming less and less ideal with increasing pollution. There are two ways you can get around this:

Don’t need fish too often, and
Avoid large fish like tuna.

Large fish eat small fish and build up higher concentrations of mercury.

Missed previous posts in this Organic Living series? Check them out here!

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Take Charge of Your Health!

Changing your eating habits can be tough. But it doesn’t have to be if you take a little time to think it out and create a plan.

This Healthy Eating Worksheet will walk you through the process of creating a healthy eating plan. All you need to do is print it out, set aside some time to complete it, and then fill it out. Then you can create your plan, knowing that you have addressed potential obstacles and came up with some creative ways to handle them.

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Tags Beef, fish, Fruit, glycemic index, organic living, produce, seasonal foods