Texas and Beef — the words are almost synonymous.
If I go a day without gripe of some kind, I start feeling … wrong. I about always have some kind of gripe on hand that I can use to create a fantastic meal. And there is normally a roast of some kind that I bought on sale and put in the deep-freeze for that I-want-beef-and-potatoes meal. If I am in a bind, I just have a hamburger .
I am not going to go on a rant about beef here ; I will save the statistics and facts for another day. Beef is good food. It ‘s THE agrarian occupation in Texas, and we sure do know how to cook with it around hera .
Steak-Grilling Tips
I do want to give a few tips for cooking steak on a grill that some people may not know and will see definite results from following :
Reading: Texas Beef: How To Cook A Steak
- When grilling your favorite steak, always season it with salt and pepper before putting it on the grill. Some chefs say that the salt will start to cure the meat by bringing the juices out before it’s cooked. This is true, but only to a certain extent. It takes hours for this process to cause any noticeable effect. Give your steak a generous seasoning with salt and pepper at room temperature about 30 minutes before you grill it and you will have a nicely seasoned steak when all is said and done.
- The trick to getting those beautiful grill marks is simple: DON’T MESS WITH IT! I know the temptation is overpowering at times to move your steaks around on the grill. Just put them down and let the grill do the work. If you start getting one of those pesky flare ups, turn the heat down a little or move the steak to another part of the grill to get your grill marks, and finish your steaks in your oven at 450 degrees. Many restaurants cook this way. They mark the steaks on the high heat grill, and finish them in the oven on high heat. This prevents the outsides from burning and allows the steak to cook more evenly.
- How do I know when the steak is done? The only SURE method is to use a thermometer. Those aren’t always handy. Here is a simple meter test system that gives you a pretty good idea of where your steak is in the cooking process. Looking at the palm of your right hand, bring the tip of your index finger and the tip of your thumb together until they touch. Don’t press them hard together; just make them touch. Using the index finger of your other hand, press into the fleshy part of your right palm just beside the thumb. This is roughly the texture of rare- to medium-rare beef. Now, one at a time, touch your right thumb tip to the middle finger on the right hand and test the same fleshy area by your thumb with your left index finger. You’ll notice that the texture of this area gets firmer as you work towards your pinky. These are successive temperatures of the beef as it cooks. Thumb and middle finger make medium, thumb and pinky make well done. So, with a little practice, you can just touch a piece of steak to tell what temperature it is. You can practice with the first recipe for Flank Steak.
Flank Steak is one of those quick to cook items that I can never seem to get enough of. It ‘s blue, tender, and versatile. here is an theme for fudge flank steak served cold. This could be something to do with leftover flank steak from dinner the sidereal day before, but it ‘s adept enough to make the flank specially for this dish .
For the Flank Steak, you can prepare this ahead of time :
- 1 Flank Steak, 1 to 2 lbs.
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ bunch cilantro
- ½ cup olive oil
Combine all ingredients except oil and the Flank Steak in a food processor or blender. Blend on eminent, and slowly add the oil to make an emulsion. This should be like a salad dress. Use half of this assortment to marinate the flank steak, set the other half apart in the refrigerator. Marinate the Flank Steak for at least 1 hour or nightlong. Cook the flank steak on a grill or in a big pan on the stove to desired doneness. medium seems to work better here. When the steak is done, allow to rest for 10 minutes or refrigerate until fix to use .
Marinated Black Beans
- 1 12 oz. can Black Beans
- ¼ cup finely diced bell pepper
- ¼ cup finely diced red onion
- Any remaining marinade from the flank steak above
- Remaining ½ bunch cilantro from recipe above, chopped
enfeeble and rinse the beans, toss all ingredients in a bowl, season to taste with salt and pepper. You can do this a day ahead of time for best relish .
To build your salad, first target a layer of your front-runner tortilla chips on a plate, and clear with your darling salad greens. Top the salad greens with chopped Monterey Jack tall mallow. Spoon the marinade black beans over the top. Slice the flank steak into reduce strips and arrange on top like the spokes of a wagon wheel. Place a slice of avocado between each slice of gripe. Place a generous sum of your favorite salsa on top and a dollop of sour cream, and you are in business .
When making skewered beef kabob, try to use a bid cut of meat that you would use for a steak, like beef combat zone or ribeye. The reason for this is that you are going to cook the kabobs quickly over high inflame. The kernel will be a dainty medium, and your vegetables will be roasted tender-crisp. A cut of meat with more plug in tissue or a better exercised muscleman will not be bid when cooked like this. Cuts such as chuck or brisket are best served after a hanker, dull cooking.
- 1 lb. Beef Tenderloin or Ribeye, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
- 1 Sweet Yellow Onion
- 1 Red Bell Pepper
- 12 cherry tomatoes
- 2 Fresh Jalapeno Peppers
- 8 limes
- 1 orange
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 8 large wooden skewers soaked in water overnight.
Prepare the veggies. Cut the onion into quarters and then cut the quarters in one-half. Cut the bell pepper into pieces slenderly larger than the beef. Cut the cayenne peppers in quarters, remove the kernel and seeds ( you may want to use gloves for this — the inflame does n’t wash off your hands easily ), then cut each quarter in half length-wise. Leave the cherry tomatoes whole. invest all the veggies into a stadium with the disposed beef .
Roll the limes and orange on the anticipate with the palm of your handwriting, and apply coerce to start breaking down the fibers. Cut in half and squeeze the juice into the bowling ball with the veggies and gripe. ( Do n’t worry besides a lot about the seeds. ) Do n’t throw away the limes ; they are used as “ caps ” on the ends of your skewer. Add the mince garlic, strategic arms limitation talks and pepper, Tabasco sauce and the olive oil. Toss lightly to evenly coat. Let marinade for 1 hour .
Skewer the gripe and the veggies alternately with the pawn skewers, using the limes on each end of the skewer. You can cook on a grill, or you can broil in a preheat 450F degree oven until the veggies are slightly brown, but still crisp. Check the beef to make certain it ‘s done to your taste ; it should be medium by the fourth dimension the vegetables are starting to cook. If you like your gripe well done, the veggies wo n’t mind if they cook a small longer. Serve with beans and rice and a batch of warm tortilla. Serves 4 .
sometimes in Texas you merely want barbeque. unfortunately, it takes all day and a good stag party to make real Texas barbecue brisket. not everyone has the equipment or the time. here is a recipe for barbecue beef that will satisfy your craving with minimal feat. All you need is an ovenproof pot with a tight-fitting hat. For all you purists out there, this is not intended to duplicate a real slow smoked Texas barbecue brisket. It ‘s something a little different. The chipotle pepper adds a mild smoky spirit and a little heat. ( Chipotles are smoked, dried jalapeno peppers. They are available in small cans marinated in adobo sauce. )
Serve the shred brisket on white sandwich bun with slice sweetly onions and sliced pickles. You can besides serve it as taco with greaser fixings and tortillas .
- 2 to 3 lb. beef brisket, trimmed of large pieces of fat and cut into several pieces (you can also use Chuck Roast)
- 1 mango, diced
- 1 medium red onion, diced small
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 chipotle pepper from a small can, minced. If unavailable, use a fresh jalapeno.
- 1 cup black coffee (use the stuff leftover from the pot you brewed in the morning)
- 1 cup chili sauce or ketchup
- ½ cup white vinegar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup dark cane syrup or dark molasses
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Combine all ingredients for the sauce in a bowl. Check the sauce for coveted season and adjust to your like. If you like more heat, add more chipotle peppers. If you like more sour, add more vinegar. This is an important step when cooking with recipes. Use them as guidelines and feel barren to experiment a little. Keep in judgment that the onion and mango will add a little pleasantness to the finished intersection when they cook down. Set aside.
Read more : Suckling pig in the Caja China (Chinese box)
Season the gripe with strategic arms limitation talks and pepper. In a big non-reactive pot ( stainless steel or enameled cast iron ) on medium-high heat, brown the gripe on all sides in the olive vegetable oil. Do this in respective batches being surely not to crowd the pan or you will never get the beef browned. You besides want a “ adoring ” to form on the bed of the pan. This is all the browned bits and caramelize juices from the kernel and it adds a significant sum of relish. When all the meat is nicely browned, return the kernel to the pan with the sauce. Bring the sauce improving to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden smooch to remove the embrown bits. Cover the pot, reduce heat and simmer on broken heat. The easiest way to do this is to put the hale covered pot into a preheat 300F degree oven or dump the whole thing into a crock potentiometer set on low. simmer for at least 2 hours. Check occasionally to make surely the liquid has not evaporated. If you start to run extinct of liquid, add a little beer or water. The gripe should be fork attendant. As you check on it, you can begin to break up the meat into shred chunks with a branch. When it ‘s all done, you should be able to easily pull the meat apart with a fork. Serves 6 to 8. Freezes good .
Save the chickens ! Eat More Texas Beef !
David Bulla is a chef living in Austin, Texas.
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