Archive: February 2016

Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef: Year of Beef

Woohooo! Our first Year of Beef recipe in what seems like forever! Unfortunately, the past couple weeks around here have been a bit crazy, so cooking and writing got put on the back burner (see what I did there?). For the first few days of last week, I was in Boise for board meetings with ICA. They always say “if you don’t use it, ya lose it”, and boy are they right. After three years of not being in an office, sitting in one spot for that long was quite the challenge. I’m pretty sure all my board member counterparts probably refer to me as “Squirmy Sally”! I also spent the three following days in Reno, for the AgChat Foundation’s Western Regional Agvocacy Conference. This is the fourth time I’ve been to an AgChat event, and I definitely recommend all my fellow agriculture friends attend a future event.

As much as I loved getting dressed up every day (something that doesn’t happen much on the ranch), and getting involved in some of my industry’s most important aspects, it sure does feel good to be home. I’m now officially back in the saddle, and ready to whip up some delicious recipes! This week’s recipe was emailed to me by fellow Idaho Cattlewoman, Trish. She and her family ranch in Ellis, Idaho—you might remember seeing her featured as one of our Women in Ag—last November.

During my time in Reno, a fellow planning committee member gave me a box of California-grown products, which included a bag of Lundberg Family Farms Brown Basmati Rice. No Mongolian meal is complete without rice, so I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to try it out.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs. Brisket, Round Steak, or Flank Steak

¼ c. Cornstarch

1 Tbs. minced garlic

1 Tbs. ground ginger

3/4 c. brown sugar

3/4 c. soy sauce

3/4 c. water

2 Tbs. Siracha sauce

2 Tbs. olive oil

Directions:

Raw-Brisket-Whole-Map-3First things first, take your meat and slice it thinly, across the grain. Don’t know what that is? Meat is made up of long muscle fibers that are laid out parallel to one another. In some muscles, like the loin (think New York strip steak, Ribeye, etc.), that grain is very fine. Meaning, the muscle fiber bundles are thin enough that they don’t form a significant grain. Cuts from these muscles are going to be very tender, no matter how you slice them.

Cuts from harder-working muscles (think about the Brisket or Round areas from the diagram) are going to have thicker muscle fiber bundles, with a noticeable grain. If you slice WITH the grain, you’ll end up with pieces of meat that are difficult to chew, aka not tender. But if you slice against the grain, you’ll be breaking those muscle fibers into smaller sections, which helps to add that tender aspect we all love. In the Brisket I used, you can see just how visible these muscle fiber bundles are.Beef Brisket

Next you’re going to put your meat in a gallon-sized bag, add the ¼ c. cornstarch and shake until the meat is covered. You can set aside this bag aside while you add the rest of the ingredients into your slow cooker. Once you’ve got everything in, finish off by adding your meat.Mongolian Beef

Your cooking options are setting your slow cooker on High for 2-3 hours, or setting it on Low for 5-6 hours. As mentioned earlier, I paired this meal with a side of rice; a move that I definitely recommend! I actually added about two tablespoons of my slow cooker mixture to my water/rice combo before cooking, and it really helped to give it that extra little bit of flavor.

This shot was my “before”…crockpot

And here’s my after!

finshedproduct

Categories: Beef, Idaho Cattlewomen, Recipes

Dinner for Two: Year of Beef

Ahhhhh, the weekend of love. While Valentine’s Day is my least favorite holiday (for the sheer reason that it often gets people feeling left out), I still feel inclined to celebrate with my fellow cattlewomen!

Originally I was planning on cooking up a “V Day Filet” this week, specifically for those of us who would rather spend the evening at home, or don’t have the time to make reservations somewhere. As it turns out, I couldn’t even reserve a day to make this meal in my own home…every time I attempted we either had a heifer calving or had plans that required sack lunches. Case in point on why reservations don’t really work for us Jarvis’!

Instead, I’m going to throw it back to a few of my favorite ICW recipes, cooked by none other than the wonderful Maggie Malson. This Grilled Skirt Steak is a super easy recipe that can be paired with a variety of sides! And if your “sweetie” isn’t sweet enough, I suggest making this Rustic Shortbread Apple Pie for dessert. It’s sure to brighten the day of whoever might be the apple of your eye.

PicMonkey Collage

Happy Valentine’s Day weekend, from our ranch to yours!

Categories: Beef, Recipes

Steak Bruschetta: Year of Beef

I know this week’s Year of Beef installment was supposed to feature a Blade Roast, but in honor of Sunday’s big game I decided to switch things up a bit. I’ll be saving the roast for a later date, and turning this week’s focus on my ALL TIME favorite beef appetizer, the Steak Bruschetta! The first time I had these was last year at an Idaho Cattlewoman meeting, and I’ve been in love ever since. Megan Satterwhite (Idaho Cattlewoman President) brought these to Sun Valley, and they were a hit! So good, in fact, that a month later I made these and took them to my parent’s house on Christmas Eve!

The original recipe calls for Flank Steak, but if you notice my pictures, that’s not what I used. Unfortunately I couldn’t get one thawed out in time, so I took the liberty of heading to the meat case of our local grocery store. beefdiagramThere wasn’t any Flank Steak available, but there was a great selection of Carne Asada. Carne Asada is a thin beef steak that’s usually cut from a flank, skirt or flap steak, which is why I felt confident in my choice. Flank steak comes from the Flank area, Skirt comes from the Plate area, and Flap comes from the Bottom Sirloin. As you can see, all of those cuts come from close to the same abdominal area, which is why they’re pretty interchangeable in this recipe.

I hope you all have a great Super Bowl Sunday, may the best team win!

Ingredients: (Hang tight on measurements, I’ll go into detail on those in just a bit!)

Flank Steak

Baguette

Onion

Blue Cheese (slices are easiest, but crumbles work just fine)

Measurements: I suggest making these based on sheet quantity. One baking sheet worth, two baking sheets worth…you get the picture! I used an 18”x13” baking sheet, and could have easily fit 25 bruschetta bites on my sheet, without being too crowded (and I had the makings for that many as well). I used 1 pound of Carne Asada, ½ of an extra-long baguette, and one entire large onion. One block of blue cheese would easily cover your bruschetta bites, and leave you with extra as well. On Christmas Eve we made one sheet worth of bruschetta (along with other appetizers) for four people, and didn’t have any leftover—so you can use that as your scale for however many you think you’ll need.

Options: The options/substitutions on this recipe are almost endless. As mentioned above, Flank Steak, Carne Asada, Skirt Steak or Flap Steak are all similar, and can be utilized in this recipe. The original recipe calls for blue cheese; however, Mr. Jarvis isn’t a very big BC fan, so instead I put Feta on his. Gorgonzola would also work, as would thinly sliced smoked Gouda. I’m an onion lover, but I know there are those out there who aren’t. Although my heart breaks at the thought of no onion, taking it away would still leave you with a flavor-full bruschetta bite (and you’ll notice I also made a row of those for Mr. J). If you’re cooking for a crowd and are unsure of their preferences, I’d go ahead and make a row of each—that way nobody gets left out!

Directions: Now, on to the fun part! First, I sliced my onions and started sautéing those up until they were tender.onions_steakbruschetta I also took this time to line my baking sheet with tin foil, making for easy clean up! While the onions cooking, I turned the Traeger up to high, and waited for it to heat up. My onions were done as soon as it was time to put the meat on, which worked out perfectly. While the meat cooked, I got busy slicing up my baguette into pieces approximately ½ inch thick. My favorite baguettes come from the Costco bakery, and can usually be found next to the bagels.

carneasada_steakbruschettaI cooked my meat for about 3 minutes per side. Personally, I don’t like to get my meat too done, because I know it’ll cook even more after everything is assembled and in the oven. After my meat was cooked enough to be considered as rare, I brought it inside and sliced it into 1-2” sections, or whatever size will fit nicely on your baguette.

The assembly for these bites is unbelievably easy!

Step 1) Grab a slice of baguette;

Step 2) Grab a slice of meat, and add that to your baguette slice;

Step 3) Top steak with cheese;

Step 4) Add onion, and set the bite on your baking sheet!

_steakbruschettaThese go in a 350 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. (If you’re going to use Feta, be aware that it’s not going to melt like blue cheese does…so 10 minutes should work just fine.) This recipe is perfect if you like making stuff ahead of time (or the night before), that way all you have to do is assemble the parts and throw your pan(s) into the oven. I hope you enjoy!

And now for a little extra fun…the winners of our “Make Mine Beef” giveaway are:MakeMineBeefWinnerYou can send us an email (info(at)idahocattlewomen(dot)org) to claim your prize!

Categories: Beef, Idaho Cattlewomen, Recipes