Category: Meat

Posted on

Citrus Marinade

  • 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)
  • 1 medium Valencia orange, juiced
  • 4 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon dried cilantro
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • Salt and pepper

For Father’s Day I had to fire up the grill but I didn’t want to repeat the Iki Marinade which we use more than frequently.  I got online and started searching “Lime Marinade”.  Use this search term if you want to get instantly overwhelmed by the number and variety of lime juice based marinades. So I gave up and made my own.  I’m sure if you search far and wide enough I’ve probably “stolen” most, if not all, of the ingredient list from some other food blogger trying to make a living stealing recipes from other food websites, changing one ingredient, and calling it an original.  So if you feel this marinade is your property I apologize up front.  Any resemblance to your recipe is a pure coincidence.

I marinated some petite sirloins and boneless chicken thighs.  I think this marinade works better with chicken.

The propane tank ran dry before I finished cooking the meats.

TIP:

If you have a propane gas grill, keep a stove top grill or griddle around.  You can always finish the grilling indoors which is what I had to do.  Try fresh cilantro.  I used dry because I didn’t have any fresh on hand.  If you like your marinade a little sweeter, add another tablespoon of brown sugar.

 

Posted on

Turkey Meatloaf

By now you know the story: I never ate meatloaf growing up and rarely, if ever, made meatloaf when the kids were kids.  Funny things happen to you when you work from home.  I’ve learned how to take short mini-breaks of about five minutes to do prep work for dinner.  It helps to give yourself brain breaks during the workday and you also get a head start on dinner.  You reduce eye strain and the risk for carpal tunnel syndrome.  And did I mention you get a head start on dinner?  So the other week I found myself staring at a package of ground turkey that I found on sale, wondering what to make for dinner.

Meatloaf!  I went with a recipe that I sort of recalled from watching too many Food Network shows and stuff I had in the fridge.  Mirepoix (onions, carrots, and celery) formed the base of the flavor profile.  Thyme pairs well with turkey.  I was set to go.

Turkey Meatloaf

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 stalks celery diced

2 carrots diced
1 onion, diced
2 teaspoons (about 3 cloves) chopped garlic
1 1/4 pounds ground turkey
2 eggs
3/4 cup bread crumbs, Panko
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried parsley leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat and add the carrots, onions, celery, and garlic. Saute until just soft, remove to a large mixing bowl and cool.
  3. When the vegetables are cool, combine all of the remaining ingredients together.
  4. Form the meat mixture into a brain shaped loaf in an oiled oven tray or baking dish.
  5. Bake for approximately 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice and serve.

Tips –

If you have the loaf in the fridge for any amount of time prior to baking, take the meatloaf out of the fridge for at least 30 minutes before baking.  Bringing the meatloaf back to near room temperature reduces the possibility of under-cooking your dinner.  Do not use ground turkey breast.   There is not enough fat and your meatloaf will turn out dry.  Regular plain old ground turkey is a mixture of white and dark meat, skin, and fat.  Trust me, it tastes better.

Mashed potatoes is mandatory.  You can add a vegetable or salad and no one will care.  But mashed is mandatory.

This meatloaf makes great leftovers for sandwiches.

  

Posted on

Chicken Meatloaf

Chicken Meatloaf

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 green pepper, seeded, small dice

1 carrot small dice

1 onion, diced
2 teaspoons (about 3 cloves) chopped garlic
1 pound ground chicken and 1 pound bulk Italian chicken sausage
2 eggs
3/4 cup Panko bread crumbs moistened with a little milk
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped basil leaves
1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat and add the peppers, onions, carrot and garlic. Saute until just soft, remove to a plate and cool.
  3. When the vegetables are cool, combine all of the remaining ingredients together.  Start with the Panko and moisten with milk.  (Any milk will do. I used 2%).  Beat in the eggs next.  Add the meats and toss everything else in the pool.  Blend well with your hands.
  4. Form the meat mixture into 2 loaf (brain) shapes on an oiled oven tray or baking dish.
  5. Bake for approximately 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice and serve.

 

At one of the local stores I kept seeing ground chicken on sale.  There were also packages of bulk Italian seasoned chicken sausage.  It was fairly obvious that the plain chicken was a combination of white and dark meat while the sausage looked to be more dark meat.  I bought a pound of each with absolutely no idea what to make.

A little voice in my head said “Meatloaf, stupid”.

So I thought why not?

You’ll notice the seasonings are nearly identical to my Italian Meatloaf.  But you will discover using chicken and Italian chicken sausage gives this meatloaf an entirely different flavor profile.  The Italian Meatloaf is tasty.  This Chicken Meatloaf is YUMMY.

Yes, YUMMY.

Remember, I hated meatloaf as a kid.

Posted on

Confused by Beef

http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/beef/zen_of_beef_cuts.html

Confused by beef?  Don’t feel bad.  I get confused constantly in the meat aisle.  For example, I came across a Top Blade Roast this past week and immediately got confused.  Top Blade Roast?  Not a clue what it was.  But the roast was on sale so I bought it.  Now what do I do with it?  After some determined internet research I learned Top Blade is Chuck.

Pot roast.

During the course of my research I stumbled upon a great website run by a guy named Meathead.

Yes, Meathead.

Check it out and learn what a Denver Steak is.

 

 

Posted on

Tri Tip Too

Image

The good news is the tri tip steak I made a while ago was deemed very good.

The bad news is I didn’t get to have any.  The steaks were smaller than I thought so I didn’t get a piece.  Same as when I was growing up, Dad would serve dinner family style and let everyone else pick their protein first.  Dad got the pieces everyone else didn’t want.  The last time I grilled tri tip steaks I got chicken.

I had to buy more.  This time I bought the entire roast and carved it into steaks myself.  At roughly a pound and a half I saved $1.50.

Image

The triangle pieces are small and the first cut had a pretty thick cap of fat making the “steak” even smaller.  I now understand why butchers turned this muscle into stew meat.

Tonight I am marinating the steaks in a lemon soy bath.  We’ll see how they turn out.

Update 6:00 PM

The steaks turned out great.  I froze the strip steak like pieces and grilled the smaller chunks.  I managed to cook the meat until it was medium and it wasn’t tough or chewy.  Don’t cook tri tip past medium or you will end up with chewy odd shaped hockey pucks.  The marinade turned out decent for a throw together bath.

Posted on

Tri Tip Steak

The Tri-Tip roast/steak is a 1.5 to 2.5 pound triangular-shaped cut from the beef sirloin…

For years, the Tri Tip found itself as part of the bone-in sirloin steak, hanging off the end as an odd shaped strip that usually got cut off and made into kabob meat or cube steaks.  With a mere 4-5 LBS or so per animal, nobody really missed it.

via Supper is Ready!: Tri Tip: Good Eat’n, Great Price!.

Image courtesy of Supper is Ready! blog

As a kid growing up, steak was a rare treat.  Dad would pick up Top Sirloin from the local King’s Market, pop them under the broiler, and serve with baked potatoes and a vegetable.  For health reasons I don’t eat as much steak as I did when I was younger.  But every now and then I enjoy a nice steak.  My first experience with a Tri Tip was in a local restaurant and I felt this particular cut possessed extremely good beefy flavor.  At the store I found some Tri Tip steaks, grass-fed and drug free.  Tonight, we’ll be trying this cut marinated and grilled.

Posted on

Mike’s Pot Roast

Mike’s Pot Roast

Ingredients

  • 3 to 3 1/2 lb boneless chuck roast,  well marbled
  • 2 T extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 T butter
  • 1 large Sweet onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 3 stalks celery, diced
  • 3 carrots, peeled and diced
  • 3 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
  • 1/4 lb Porcini mushrooms, rinsed and sliced
  • 1/2 C Sweet Marsala wine
  • Pinch dried thyme
  • 2-3 T organic tomato paste
  • 1 C low sodium beef broth
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Use a cast iron enamel covered pot  large enough to hold roast and vegetables. Heat 2 T of oil and 1 T butter on medium high heat.  Sprinkle and rub roast with salt and  pepper. Brown roast in pot, several minutes on each side.
  2. When roast is browned, remove from the pot and set on a plate.  Drain all but 1 T of the fat from the pot.  Add the onions, diced carrots, and celery to the pot and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables start to brown.  Add the garlic, Porcini mushrooms and a pinch of thyme, and saute for another minute.  Add the Marsala wine and continue to saute until the alcohol evaporates.   Add tomato paste, beef broth and mix thoroughly.   Create a “well” in the center by pushing all of the vegetables to the sides of the pot.
  3. Place  the roast in the well you’ve created. (It’s OK if a few veggies are underneath the roast)  Sprinkle another pinch of thyme over the roast. Add extra broth if required to bring the liquid level up to the top of the roast.  Cover and adjust the heat down to a low simmer.
  4. Cook for 2 hours, or longer.
  5. Approximately 45 minutes before serving, remove the roast from the pot and set on a plate.  Allow to cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
  6. Increase heat to medium high and  reduce the gravy to one half its volume.  Add 1 T butter and the carrot chunks.  Reduce heat back to low.
  7. Trim all visible fat and gristle from the roast.  Slice the roast against the grain and return to the pot.  Stir to coat the roast slices thoroughly.
  8. Simmer on low heat for another 30 minutes.

Yield: Serves 4-5.

I have no memories of pot roast from my childhood.  I’m pretty certain we never had pot roast growing up.  Dad did all of the cooking for the family and if you ever tasted my Mom’s cooking you would understand why.  So for me pot roast was  and still is a special dish to be savored.  And this past week, I’ve been thinking about pot roast a lot.  It’s not a hard dish to make and everyone makes it differently.  I kind of made this recipe up and thankfully it worked.

I say thankfully because we were serving this pot roast to friends.  As things turned out, the pot roast turned out.  Mike had seconds.  Mike also won at cards.  So I’ve named this pot roast after Mike.

Tips – Find a nice chuck roast that has a lot of marbling.  This adds tremendous flavor and remember, you’ll be trimming the fat off before serving.  Remember the gravy makes this dish.  I found the addition of Porcini mushrooms to be quite a difference maker. MASHED POTATOES.  You need mashed potatoes, period.  Since we’ve added extra carrots, try a green salad on the side.  And bread.  Some good bread to sop up the gravy is also essential.  One of these times when I have leftover pot roast, I’ll post my Next Day Pot Roast Sandwich.  Sorry, no picture…we ate it all.

More Tips – I have also used a cut of beef called Cross Rib Roast and the results were superb.  Don’t confuse this cut with prime rib or rib roast.  The two are different.  The Cross Rib Roast is basically a different chuck cut.  It is leaner than a chuck roast and possesses a rich, deep beefy flavor.  I also started the dish on the stove top then put the enamel pot covered into a 250 degree oven for three hours.  The roast was fork tender, no knifes needed.

Even More Tips – One day I could not find a decent looking piece of chuck for pot roast.  Every roast I saw didn’t have enough marbling.  I did find some well marbled top blade steaks.top blade steaks.  If you’ve ever been out and had a flat iron steak, you have eaten this cut.  But since I bought top blade and not the flat iron cut, it was perfect for this recipe.

Tips Ten Years After This Recipe was Posted

The Ten Year Tip is Tri-tip.  A few weeks ago the local grocery store had a ton of tri-tips on sale for $3.99/pound.  I bought a few packages pre-cut into “steaks” and one entire roast which I cut into pot roast pieces.  Tri-tip is an excellent cut for pot roast.

Posted on

Italian Sausage and Beef Meatballs

I was at the grocery store this past weekend and found sweet Italian Sausage and Aged Angus Ground Beef both on sale for $3 a pound.

I’ll have a pound of each please.

When I got home I started thinking about what to make with a pound of Italian sausage and a pound of ground beef.  Meatballs!
Toss these into some Tomato Sauce 2.  You really didn’t want a vegetarian meal anyway.

Italian Sausage and Beef Meatballs

1 lb ground beef (80/20)

1 lb sweet mild Italian sausage, bulk

Leftover Italian or French bread, coarsely chopped

Milk

1 egg

1 cup Parmesan cheese

White wine

  1. In a large mixing bowl, mix the coarsely chopped Italian bread with just enough milk to moisten.  Beat in the egg, add a pinch of oregano or basil (optional) and incorporate the Parmesan cheese.
  2. Mix in the meats and blend well.  Chill for 20-30 minutes in the refrigerator.
  3. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
  4. Form 1.5 – 2 inch meatballs and spread evenly in a roasting pan large enough so that the meatballs don’t touch one another.
  5. Add a little white wine and water to the bottom of the roasting pan and bake the meatballs for 40-45 minutes.
  6. Cool and drain the meatballs on paper towels to absorb as much grease as possible.
  7. Toss into Tomato Sauce 2 and simmer for two hours.
  8. Serve over pasta or make into sandwiches.

 

Tips – note the basil and oregano are optional.  Go light on the herbs and spices because any Italian sausage you buy will already be seasoned well, and perhaps salted fairly well also.  When using sausage in meatballs, you won’t need a lot of additional spices.  When I was younger, I fried my meatballs.  Nowadays I prefer roasting my meatballs in the oven with a little wine.

Blog at WordPress.com.