Category Archives: Beef

Beef, Classic Recipes, Grilling, Tips and Tricks

Roll Your Own Flank Steak

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Here is a variation on the famous Bavarian round steak. A little Southern California fusion added to it.

INGREDIENTS:
1.25 to 1.5 pound flank steak. Pound if you like with a proper meat tenderizer
2 Tablespoons prepared mustard. I like Grey Poupon.
1 – 1/2 cups of dry San Francisco sourdough bread cubes
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped onion
3 Tablespoons melted butter
1/2 teaspoon Chef Merito Chicken Seasoning (or your own favorite poultry seasoning)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Your favorite clear French salad dressing. I like to add a few cloves of fresh crushed garlic
Meat skewers or long wooden cooking skewers
Cooking string, the kind you use to truss a turkey

DIRECTIONS:
Score both sides of the flank steak lightly with a sharp knife. Spread one side with mustard. Combine bread cubes, onion, celery, butter and your favorite poultry seasoning in a bowl and mix well. Spread over the mustard on the steak.

Roll up the flank steak. Secure the shape with skewers or large toothpicks. Lace tightly with cooking string. Make sure to secure both ends (edges). If you have a rotating spit, place on holding forks and get it on the roll.

If you’re not lucky enough to have an electric spit. Simply turn the roll around 8 – 10 minutes until done. About 35 minutes on a hot grill. Baste freguently with French dressing, Remove let rest before cutting off the string and removing skewers cut into round servings and amaze your grilling guests.

Goes well with small potatoes or real German style potato salad. Nice with a glass of slightly sweet white wine.

Attributed to: Dreams of old town Regensburg.

Beef, Tips and Tricks

Minute by Minute Garlic Steaks

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This is a very quick recipe that can amaze your friends and guests in general. Ask your butcher for the best boneless cut and have him or her cut it very thin. Minute steak style. Round steak or sirloin. If you grill them fast enough they will stay tender.

INGREDIENTS:
6 thin cut round steak or sirloins
Garlic butter – 1/4 cup butter mashed with 1 clove minced garlic
Juice of one lemon
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Thin sliced french bread or split baguettes
Salt and pepper to taste
You’ll need an extra large sheet of Heavy Duty aluminum foil

DIRECTIONS:
Take a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil and pull out enough to cover a good portion of your grill. Crimp or roll up the edges to make a grill pan. Melt the garlic butter in the pan, on the grill over medium to hot coals. Toast the french bread slices or the split baguette on the edge of the foil pan (over the coals).

Dip the steaks into the garlic butter and coat on both sides. Then cook steaks on the foil for a minute to 2 minutes per side. Place the steaks on the outer edge. Squeeze the lemon juice onto the foil and add the 2 Tablespoons of Worcesterhire sauce.

Quickly coat each steak through the sauce. Be careful not to over cook. I like to place each steak on a warm half or a baguette or thick toasted piece of French bread. Drizzle the remaining sauce on top. Add salt and pepper just before serving.

Attributed to: Trips through Gilroy, CA on a hot summer day.

Beef, Sauces and Marinades, Tips and Tricks

Chuck Steak from Marinade to Mouth in a Snap

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It is the special marinade that makes this steak recipe so delicious and fancy. Fire up the grill to get it very hot and broil that big ol’ chuck to perfection.

INGREDIENTS:
2 to 3 pound Chuck Steak, cut about 1/2 inch thick
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 cup of chopped white onion
1/2 cup of lemon juice
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 clove garlic, chopped and minced

DIRECTIONS:
Mix all ingredients in a heavy seal-able bag. I like to use a heavy duty Zip-loc Freezer bag. Add the steak and marinate for at least 3 or 4 hours in the fridge. Overnight is best. Turn the steak in the bag often.

Remove steak from bag. Use remaining marinade for basting. Discard the rest if left uncooked. On an extremely hot grill, broil the steak until done. Probably 30 minutes or so.

Test doneness with a meat thermometer without piercing the meat too deeply. Turn once during broiling. Let rest and serve from a hot platter.

Beef, Classic Recipes, Grilling, Tips and Tricks

Foster’s Favorite Rotisserie Round

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If you are lucky enough to have a motorized rotating spit attachable to a grill or fire pit, this recipe is for you. If you don’t, go get one and be lucky enough.

INGREDIENTS:
One 2.5 to 3 inch Eye-of-Round steak
Your favorite seasoned pepper
1 cup of Ketchup
1/3 cup of Worcestershire Sauce
Cup of water
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 minced clove of garlic

DIRECTIONS:
Coat the surface of the Eye-of-Round with your favorite seasoned pepper. About 1/2 teaspoon of seasoning per pound of steak. Take a sharp fork with long tines and pierce the steak deeply at 1/4 inch intervals all over the surface.

Combine the ketchup, Worcestershire and the remaining ingredients in a sauce pan. Simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes.

Place steak on spit and tie the steak with baking cord. Roast on slow setting of motorized spit for about an hour and a half. Baste constantly with the sauce. Place a sauce boat underneath to catch excess and use for basting. Test for desired doneness with a meat thermometer.

If you have extra sauce blend it into drippings from sauce boat. Bring to a quick boil stirring constantly while meat rests. After about ten minutes of resting, serve steak with thick slices cut against the grain for the most tender slicing duty for your guests. Serve with sauces ladeled across the top or on the side.

Goes well with: Everything!

Attributed to: My Mecco motorized spit.

Beef, Classic Recipes, Grilling

Spanky’s Porterhouse Steak

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Serves: 3 or 4

Here is a traditional Porterhouse recipe with a special filling of white onion. South Carolina’s Mike Miller from W. Columbia’s — his dog Spanky would have loved a bite of this.

INGREDIENTS:
1 – three pound Porterhouse cut. Sliced at least 2 inches thick.
3/4 of a cup of chopped Bermuda onions
3 cloves of garlic, chopped or minced
Celery salt, salt and pepper
3 Tablespoons of cooking sherry
2 Tablespoons of soy sauce

For a butter braised mushroom topping, 1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1/4 Cup of butter

DIRECTIONS:
Turn the steak bone edge down, fat side up. Carefully slit the steak from the fat side into the lean, creating a envelope almost to the bone. Stir onion, garlic, celery salt and a dash of pepper. Stuff this mixture into the steak.

Mix cooking sherry and soy sauce and brush onto surface of steak. Grill over hot coals until thermometer reads at least 140 degrees for rare to 165 or 170 for well done. Cooking should take about 12 minutes on first side and about 8 or more for second side. Keep sizzling with basting sauce.

Heat butter and sliced mushrooms in a grill top skillet until tender. Pour over steak when plated serve hot and watch peoples eyes get wide when they see the onions on their first slice.

Always save one bite for your favorite pet!

Inspired by: Spanky Miller

Beef, Fondue, Misc. Recipes, Tips and Tricks

Fondue Bourguignone

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When working up steaks on a hot grill, nothing goes better than cubes of steak served as a grilling time appetizer. Break out the oil and the Fondue and let your guests get the taste buds ready for action with this one.

INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds of steak fillet (at least 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick)
1 Tablespoon oil
2 shallots, chopped into fine pieces
1 clove garlic, crushed
14 oz can of chopped tomatoes
2 Tablespoons tomato puree (from paste tube or tin)
1 Tablespoon lightly chopped parsley
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oil in a saucepan until it pops. Add the shallots and cook until soft. Lower heat to medium. Add the garlic and the chopped tomatoes with their juice from the can. Bring to a simmer add the tomato paste and season with salt and pepper.

Simmer the tomato sauce mix for about 30 minutes allowing it to thicken. Stir in the parsley and pour into a dipping bowl or into individual dipping trays. In the meantime fire up the fondue and bring about 1 to 1 – 1/2 to 2 inches of oil to a boil. Control heat to avoid smoke.

Slice the steak into 1 inch cubes, lightly season with fresh ground black pepper and coarse Sea Salt directly before serving ready for immersion into the hot oil of the fondue. Pass out the fondue forks and offer the tomato sauce as a finishing dip.

Attributed to: A memory of Switzerland all along the Alpe de Suisse.

Beef, Sauces and Marinades

Grilled Tenderloin with Mustard Garlic Sauce

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Take your typical beef tenderloin marinade and punch it up when served with this delicious mustard and garlic infused sauce.

INGREDIENTS:
1 Beef tenderloin (about 4 – 6 pounds)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Garlic Mustard Sauce
1 cup plain non-fat yogurt
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS:
In your favorite basting bowl combine 2 cloves minced garlic, olive oil, Italian seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper. Stir well and rub mixture over the surface of the beef tenderloin.

Set up coals for a central heating area with a space on one side devoid of coals. When coals are ready. Place the tenderloin on the center of your grill’s cooking grate. Sear over high heat for 3 minutes and turn. Move tenderloin over an area of the grill where there are no coals for indirect cooking. Cook until done, about 40 to 50 more minutes or until meat thermometer registers 140 degrees for rare.

Allow roast to stand for 10 to 15 minutes on a warm platter. Carve by slicing thinly across the grain of the meat. Serve with the following Mustard Garlic sauce.

MUSTARD GARLIC SAUCE: Combine yogurt, 2 cloves minced garlic, 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Keep covered and refrigerated until ready to serve. Makes about 1 – 1/4 cups of sauce.

Beef, Tips and Tricks

Filet Mignon Quick Grilled with Balsamic Vinegar Sauce

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Break out your favorite grillin’ skillet or sauce pan to make a fragrent sauce that is a perfect companion to a done-rare bite of Filet Mignon.

INGREDIENTS:
Four (4 – 6 ounce) Filet Mignon
3 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary chopped fine
1/2 cup of chopped shallots
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Bring grill to a medium to high heat. Salt and pepper the steaks to your liking. Cook the steaks turning when browned until your favorite doneness (rare is of course best for FM). Place the steaks on a platter to rest.

After five minutes, add the juice from the steak platter to your grilling skillet or sauce pan. Add oil and bring to a popping heat. Quickly add the rosemary and the shallots and cook until shallots become glassy (about 2 minutes).

Add the Balsamic vinegar cook until the sauce begins to thicken. Add any extra juice from the resting steaks on the serving platter. Cook for one or two more minutes. Do not burn or reduce too much. Spoon over the steaks and serve immediately.

Beef, Sauces and Marinades, Tips and Tricks

Texas BBQ Rub

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Store bought barbecue rubs can leave you unimpressed. The reason is that the flavor blend has flattened from storage on the shelf. Make your own and keep it fresh and free of shelf preservatives.

INGREDIENTS:
1 – 1/4 Tablespoon Kosher salt
1 – 1/2 Tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 Tablespoon sweet paprika
2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoon mustard powder
1 – 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 – 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

DIRECTIONS:
Blend in a large jar. And use it up as soon as possible so you can make some more.

Attributed to: A highly informational communication from Saveur Magazine. The best of the best.

Beef, Tips and Tricks

Mr. Flat Iron Steak topped w Steak Butter

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The so called “flat iron” steak claims to be the second tenderest steak this side of filet mignon. Let’s see how it ranks on America’s favorite grill.

INGREDIENTS:
Four 8 ounce flat iron steaks
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter
3 Tablespoons roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 Tablespoons roughly chopped chives
1 shallot, finely chopped

DIRECTIONS:
Rub steaks on both sides with salt and pepper and set aside to absorb the seasoning for about 30 to 45 minutes. If longer, refrigerate.

For Steak Butter, combine butter, parsley, chives and shallots in a medium bowl. Mash roughly with a spoon or fork. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and set aside.

Fire up the grill, bring the coals to peak heat, nice and red just before they start to settle into a gray tone. Add the steaks and cook flipping once until seared and at least 130 degrees with a testing thermometer. Transfer to serving platter and let rest for five minutes. When slightly cooler, top each steak with a dollop of herb butter.