Showing posts with label beef. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beef. Show all posts
Its not very often that I can afford to buy a really good steak to eat. Food, especially meat, is becoming more expensive with each day that passes and steak is one of the things that is one of the more expensive items.
Occasionally though I come across a bargain. If you get to the shops early in the day you will often find things marked down that are right on their sell by date and need to be eaten or frozen right on the day.
It was just my luck one day to happen upon a bone in rib eye one day, at 30% off. Although I wasn't planning on cooking steak that day, I snapped it up.
I knew that I could bring it home and, properly wrapped, freeze it for a future date!
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I decided to cook it the other day. It was a bone-in cap-off rib eye steak. Just the right size for two people to enjoy. One inch thick.
I ended up with a tender and juicy, delicious rib eye steak, cooked to juicy perfection. Seasoned with fresh herbs and cooked to a golden crust with plenty of garlic and butter.
.JPG "Rib Eye Steak")
Oh boy but it was some good!! Fancy food that I wouldn't normally eat every day. It was a real treat!
You don't have to go out to a fancy restaurant to enjoy a juicy steak dinner. You can cook one perfectly and deliciously in the comfort of your own home.
This can be a bit intimidating to some people, but if you follow my handy tips and suggestions, there is no reason why you can't cook a delicious steak to perfection in your own home as well!
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It goes without saying that, if you want to enjoy a perfect steak, you have to first start out with the perfect cut of meat.
For panfrying, broiling or grilling, I wouldn't recommend anything less than a good quality sirloin, rib eye or filet steak. Steak that has been properly aged on the bone will give you the best flavor.
I also like to start with my meat being at room temperature. Take your steaks out of the fridge at least half an hour before cooking or longer if possible. Some cooks eschew seasoning the meat prior to cooking.
.JPG "Rib Eye Steak")
I am a firm believer, however, in salting the meat prior to cooking. The heat helps to seal in the salt, allowing it to penetrate and really flavor the surface of the meat.
That old idea about the salt drawing out the moisture and meat juices doesn't really wash with me.
If pan frying, which is my preferred method, you want to use a really heavy skillet, heated to a hot temperature. Brush your seasoned meat with some butter, and then place it in the hot pan. Alternately you can have a nice knob of butter ready and foaming in the hot pan.
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Cook for several minutes to sear the first side, and then flip over and finish searing it on the second side.
Don't turn your steak any more than once. Turning it over and over, is what causes the meat juices to release and your steak ends up stewing instead of frying.
I like to use the finger test when judging the doneness of my meat. It works perfectly every time. This is a simple way to judge how done your meat is. The further your thumb has to move across your hand, the more resilient the ball of muscle in your hand becomes.
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The amount of resistance felt by your opposing finger when compared against the same finger pressed onto your meat is an excellent gauge in guessing as to how done your meat is.
First finger stage: for blue meat and lightly cooked fish.
Touch your thumb to it's opposing first finger and press the ball of your thumb with the tip of a finger of the other hand, the ball will offer no resistance.
The surface should be seared in steak, and firm, and the beads of meat juice not yet risen to the surface. The meat is rare to almost blue when cut with a mild flavor.
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Second finger stage: for rare meat.
Touch your second finger to your thumb and press the ball of your thumb. The ball will feel spongy. The meat should be well browned and spongy when pressed in the center.
It should be firm at the sides and any beads of juice on the surface should be deep pink. The meat when cut is read, juicy and aromatic.
Third finger stage: For medium cooked meat, game or duck, or well done fish.
Touch your third finger to your thumb and press the ball of your thumb. The ball will feel resilient.
The surface should be crusty brown and the meat should resist when the center is pressed. Firm at the side, the juices on the surface should be pink, and when cut the meat is juicy, deep pink and well flavored.
.JPG "Rib Eye Steak")
Fourth finger stage: For well done meat, or poultry.
Touch your fourth finger to your thumb and press the ball of your thumb. The ball will feel firm.
The surface of the meat will be crusty brown and dry and the meat will feel quite firm when touched in the centre. Beads of juice on the surface of the meat will be clear and when cut no pink juices will be visible.
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I like my steaks medium rare. This is something I learned not to ask for in France. It always came raw, or blue. 😖 Apparently the term medium rare takes on a whole new context on the continent!
Anyways, I really enjoyed my steak the other day, cooked simply in the garlic and butter, with those lovely flavored herbs pressed into its surface. It was beautiful.
I enjoyed it with some of the Broken Potatoes Recipe I shared the other day and some fresh steamed green beans. It went down a real treat!
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Here are a few more steak recipes you might be interested in!
GARLIC STEAK BITES AND POTATOES - Quick, easy and delicious, the steak is sliced and marinated in a soy/sriracha marinade while you cook the potatoes.
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This is a tiny bit spicy and a tiny bit salty. In short, incredibly tasty!!
GRILLED STEAK SANDWICH - This pub style steak sandwich is an open faced sandwich that even a lady can feel comfortable eating. Light enough to please a delicate palate, but hearty enough to please a man, especially if you add some chips (fries) on the side!
Rib Eye Steak
Yield: 2
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 10 MinInactive time: 6 MinTotal time: 26 Min
A delicious steak, rubbed with fresh herbs and browned in butter and garlic. Perfectly cooked and delicious!
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound (bone in) rib eye steak (about 1 to 1 1/2 inch thick)
- fine sea salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 TBS butter
- 1/2 TBS olive oil
- 2 small cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- chopped fresh parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Remove the steak from the fridge. Pat it dry with paper towels and season it generously on both sides with salt. Leave it to sit on the counter for 30 minutes.
- Season with black pepper and rub the herbs into the surface of the steak on top and bottom.
- Place a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. (Cast iron is ideal if you have it.)
- Add the butter and oil, swirling to coat the bottom of the pan.
- Add the steak to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes on one side, or until browned on the bottom. Turn over and add the garlic to the pan.
- Continue to cook or a further 3 to 5 minutes longer, basting with the butter drippings. (This is easily done by tilting the pan to spoon the butter drippings.)
- Thicker steaks will take longer to cook. Mine was about 1 inch thick and it was perfect at 3 minutes. The steak will continue to cook after you remove it from the pan.
- Remove to a cutting board and leave to rest for 5 to 6 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Serve garnished with chopped parsley and your favorite sides.
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
This Chinese Pepper Steak was always one of my family's favorite dishes. I can't tell you how often I cooked this for the growing up. It was on rotation at least once every two weeks.
Not only was it the best pepper steak recipe, but it was a great way to get some vegetables into my children and to make a small amount of meat stretch really far.
I raised five children, three of them boys with hollow legs, so you just know that recipes such as this are what kept my food budget afloat!!
.JPG "Quick & Easy Pepper Steak")
Of course there is just me in my household now. I only ever very rarely get to cook for more than one person, and so I am on a quest to downsize some of my old favorites.
Just because you are only one person that doesn't mean you can't enjoy some of your old favorites! You just need to adapt them and reduce them to smaller amounts.
I reckon I am getting pretty good at that. So much so that when I go to cook for more people than just two, I find it challenging! Funny how that goes! I cooked for 7 people for years and years without blinking an eye and now . . . its hard for me.
I suppose it is all dependent on what you are used to doing. Habits and all that!
.JPG "Quick & Easy Pepper Steak")
There is nothing tastier than a delicious dish with Asian flair that is not only easy to make, but also tastier than take out!
This pepper steak stir fry is a restaurant quality meal that can easily be made in the comfort of your own home. That makes it a winner in my books!
Its also very adaptable. You can use any vegetables you like really. Or any color of peppers. I used green today because that is what I had and to be honest that is what I have always used.
Occasionally I have bulked it out with additional vegetables such as carrots, but most of the time I kept it simple just as I am showing you here today!!
.JPG "Quick & Easy Pepper Steak")
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE QUICK & EASY PEPPER STEAK FOR TWO
I like to keep this really simple. Simple ingredients, cooked simply with delicious results!
- 1/2 pound of rump steak
- 2 TBS dark soy sauce
- 1 small clove of garlic, peeled and minced
- 3/4 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 1 TBS mild flavored cooking oil
- /2 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced into wedges
- 1 green pepper, cored, deseeded and thinly sliced
- 1/2 rib of celery, thinly sliced
- 1/2 TBS cornstarch
- 1/2 (120ml) cup water (can use beef stock)
- 6 cherry plum tomatoes, halved (or half a large tomato cut into wedges)
- salt and black pepper to taste
.JPG "Quick & Easy Pepper Steak")
In the UK I always used rump steaks, but here in Canada, I use eye of round. You can usually buy them in a package containing two small steaks, which is what I used today. It cost me $2 for the meat.
Now that's what I call economical.
You can use any kind of steak you like actually. Flank steak works very well. Just use what you can afford and what you can buy in a smaller amount.
.JPG "Quick & Easy Pepper Steak")
Normally I use a larger tomato, but I had cherry tomatoes in the house today and I thought why not! Cooking is all about adapting what you have in the house to use! There is no waste here!
I have often used the bits and ends of what is in my veggie bin that I need to be using up, making more of a stir fry than a pepper steak, but hey ho! It all tastes good!
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HOW TO MAKE QUICK AND EASY PEPPER STEAK
Nothing could really be easier than this. If you have everything cut and ready to go before you start, it goes together in a flash!!
Slice the steak across the grain into thin strips, about 1/8 inch thick. Whisk together the soy sauce, garlic, and ginger. Add the steak and toss well together.
Heat the oil in a large deep skillet. Add the steak. Cook, stirring, over medium high heat until browned. Cover and simmer for about 15 to 20, until nice and tender.
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Return the heat to high and add the onions, peppers and celery. Cook, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are crispy tender.
Whisk together the water and corn starch. Add to the pan and cook, stirring for 4 to 5 minutes, until nicely thickened. Add the tomatoes and heat through. Serve hot.
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HINTS AND TIPS FOR MAKING QUICK & EASY PEPPER STEAK
To make your steak much easier to slice, you can place it into the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes. Partially freezing the meat firms it up and makes it easier to get super thin slices!
I have a handy tip that I use for cutting up peppers. Just cut the top off and the bottom off and then take a sharp knife and cut out the core. You then have a round hollow pepper, ready to slice up. Easy peasy. The ends get chopped and added to a container I keep in the freezer, ready to use in soups and sauces, etc.
.JPG "Quick & Easy Pepper Steak")
Some other Asian flavors for two recipes from my kitchen that you might enjoy are:
SHEET PAN BEEF & BROCCOLI FOR TWO -An easy Asian dish with crispy tender broccoli and deliciously tender strips of beef. Just as good or better than a takeaway. No frying involved either so its probably healthier!
CHINESE ORANGE CHICKEN FOR TWO - This has a fresh orange flavor and a slight sweetness, but not overly so. At the same time it is garlicky and tangy, a bit gingery and there is a tiny bit of heat. Perfectly delicious!
CURRIED BEEF FRIED RICE - Everything you would expect with a fried rice recipe, except this one has the addition of ground steak and a bit of zip from the use of curry powder. Yummilicious!
Quick & Easy Pepper Steak for Two
Yield: 2
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 45 Min
Delicious and simple to make. One of my old time family favorite recipes, cut back to feed only two people.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound of rump steak
- 2 TBS dark soy sauce
- 1 small clove of garlic, peeled and minced
- 3/4 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 1 TBS mild flavoured cooking oil
- /2 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced into wedges
- 1 green pepper, cored, deseeded and thinly sliced
- 1/2 rib of celery, thinly sliced
- 1/2 TBS cornstarch
- 1/2 (120ml) cup water (can use beef stock)
- 6 cherry plum tomatoes, halved (or half a large tomato cut into wedges)
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Slice the steak across the grain into thin strips, about 1/8 inch thick. Whisk together the soy sauce, garlic, and ginger. Add the steak and toss well together.
- Heat the oil in a large deep skillet. Add the steak. Cook, stirring, over medium high heat until browned. Cover and simmer for about 15 to 20, until nice and tender.
- Return the heat to high and add the onions, peppers and celery. Cook, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are crispy tender.
- Whisk together the water and corn starch. Add to the pan and cook, stirring for 4 to 5 minutes, until nicely thickened. Add the tomatoes and heat through. Serve hot.
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
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.jpg "Salisbury Meatballs & Gravy")
Just because you are a small family or only one or two people, that doesn't mean that you have to give up your old favorites! I have found that most of the time it is quite easy to cut our old favorite recipes in half to make a much smaller amount.
This Salisbury Meatballs & Gravy recipe is one that I cut down from an old family recipe. My children used to love it when I made them these for supper. Of course I used to have to double it back then!
.jpg "Salisbury Meatballs & Gravy")
I had five children, three of them boys and we all know boys (especially teens) have hollow legs. I am sure there were times I had to triple the recipe.
My home and arms are empty now. There is only one of me and I am having to cut everything back. I like to cook and I like to eat and so I am in the process of halving some of my old favorites to please myself.
.jpg "Salisbury Meatballs & Gravy")
This delicious recipe will feed two people. If you are singleton like myself, it will make you a decent meal for one night and then give you another single serving sized meal to freeze. Win/win!
And this really is a winning combination. Tender, juicy meat balls in a beautiful onion gravy, just right for serving with a nice fluffy pile of mash or rice, or even noodles. Pick your own favorite winning combination!
Plus (Bonus!) they are quick and easy to make as well!
.jpg "Salisbury Meatballs & Gravy")
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SALISBURY MEATBALLS & GRAVY
Plain wholesome every day ingredients. Nothing special required!
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound extra lean beef mince (ground beef)
- 1 heaped dessertspoons of dried bread crumbs (about 1/8 cup)
- 1/2 TBS tomato ketchup
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder (not salt)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder (not salt)
- oil for frying (If you want to save calories and fat, you can bake in a hot *220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7 for about 10 minutes until browned. Just shape the meatballs and place on a baking tray which you've sprayed with some low fat cooking spray.)
For the gravy:
- 2 TBS butter
- 1 medium cooking onion, peeled, cut in half and then thinly sliced into half moons
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder (not salt)
- 2 cups hot beef stock
- 2 TBS plain flour (all purpose)
- 1 TBS tomato ketchup
- 1 TBS BBQ Sauce
- black pepper and salt to taste
.jpg "Salisbury Meatballs & Gravy")
True confession here. I left the gravy the full size as my old recipe. I like lots of gravy, and I am betting you do too!
I buy my ground beef at the Goucher's farm market, just down the road a few miles. It is organic and it is fresh, fresh, fresh. Its also very lean.
I have always found that buying cheap fatty beef is a false economy as most of what you are paying for gets poured away in fat.
.jpg "Salisbury Meatballs & Gravy")
You can either fry or bake the meatballs. I usually bake them to cut back on fat myself. Baking them in a hot oven gives excellent results.
My gravy has a few extra ingredients that you probably don't find in most Salisbury meatball recipes, in the main being a bit of ketchup and some BBQ sauce. That is the way my family always enjoyed them.
You can leave them out if you wish! There's not a lot of either one, just a bit to give the gravy a certain je ne sais quois!
.jpg "Salisbury Meatballs & Gravy")
HOW TO MAKE SALISBURY MEATBALLS & GRAVY
Nothing could be simpler.
Mix all of the meatball ingredients together to combine well. Shape into 1 inch balls.
Heat a bit of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the balls and brown them on all sides. Alternately they may be baked in the oven. This is what I usually do. (See above in the ingredients list.)
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the onions. Cook, stirring frequently, over low heat until the onions are softened and translucent.
Season with the garlic power and salt and pepper. Whisk in the flour. Cook for one minute. Add the beef stock slowly, whisking constantly, until the sauce begins to bubble and thicken.
Whisk in the ketchup and BBQ sauce. Drop in the meatballs. Simmer for about 15 minutes, until the gravy has thickened nicely and the balls are cooked through and tender.
Serve hot with mashed potatoes or rice.
.jpg "Salisbury Meatballs & Gravy")
Tender meatballs in a flavor filled onion gravy . . . served with creamy mash. Nobody's complaining! Everybody's happy!
All you need is a couple of vegetables or a salad on the side and dinner is served!!
Salisbury Meatballs & Gravy (small batch)
Yield: 2
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 35 Min
This is a delicious stove top entrée that is a real pleaser. Tender, delicious meatballs in a fabulous gravy. Mashed potatoes go very well.
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound extra lean beef mince (ground beef)
- 1 heaped dessertspoons of dried bread crumbs (about 1/8 cup)
- 1/2 TBS tomato ketchup
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder (not salt)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder (not salt)
- oil for frying (If you want to save calories and fat, you can bake in a hot *220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7 for about 10 minutes until browned. Just shape the meatballs and place on a baking tray which you've sprayed with some low fat cooking spray.)
For the gravy:
- 2 TBS butter
- 1 medium cooking onion, peeled, cut in half and then thinly sliced into half moons
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder (not salt)
- 2 cups hot beef stock
- 2 TBS plain flour (all purpose)
- 1 TBS tomato ketchup
- 1 TBS BBQ Sauce
- black pepper and salt to taste
Instructions
- Mix all of the meatball ingredients together to combine well. Shape into 1 inch balls.
- Heat a bit of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the balls and brown them on all sides. Alternately they may be baked in the oven. This is what I usually do. (See above in the ingredients list.)
- Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the onions. Cook, stirring frequently, over low heat until the onions are softened and translucent.
- Season with the garlic power and salt and pepper. Whisk in the flour. Cook for one minute. Add the beef stock slowly, whisking constantly, until the sauce begins to bubble and thicken.
- Whisk in the ketchup and BBQ sauce. Drop in the meatballs. Simmer for about 15 minutes, until the gravy has thickened nicely and the balls are cooked through and tender.
- Serve hot with mashed potatoes or rice.
Thank you so much for visiting! Do come again!
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