Tag: Idaho Cattle Make Great Steak

Resources for Healthy Beef Meals

In today’s busy households, consumers are looking for ways to put nutritious meals on the table – fast! The Idaho Beef Council answered the call by creating a new mini-series of cooking videos that take under a minute to watch and demonstrate how to make flavorful beef meals in 30 minutes or less.

Just launched this month, these quick-view cooking demonstrations showcase recipes available on Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. and will help home chefs get more comfortable cooking with beef. The recipes come with nutrition information and a convenient new feature that allows viewers to place an on-line order for the ingredients at their local supermarket. The segments are rolling out on YouTube and will be further promoted on IBC’s social media channels. Take a sneak peek at the first 2 here!

Mongolian Beef – Prepare this flavorful and satisfying Top Sirloin Steak Stir-fry in 20 minutes!
Ground Beef and Pasta Skillet Primavera – Nutrition box, checked…this is an American Heart Association Certified Heart-Healthy Recipe.

With YouTube a social media powerhouse, it is a prime channel to promote Idaho’s beef industry. During the month of July, IBC’s YouTube channel had 173,034 views. With that many eyes looking for beef information, beef checkoff dollars are delivering engaging and educational information to Idaho homes.

Visit and share IDBeef.org with your friends and family. We also encourage you to take advantage of the power of social media and follow, like and share IBC’s posts on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, All Recipes, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube!

Categories: Beef, Lifestyle, Recipes

Let’s Grill Beef ~ Carne Asada

With Labor Day quickly approaching, we thought we’d share another beef recipe. And rest assured, Idaho’s ranching and cattle feeding families are always working hard to bring you healthy and delicious beef for you to enjoy!

Here is a quick and easy carne asada recipe. We love how simple it is and lets the wonderful taste of beef shine through. Cumin gives it a smoky flavor and who can argue with the combo of garlic and lime?!

This is really versatile too and can be used with any cut for grilling. Slice it thin and serve over rice or in a homemade tortilla.

Wishing you a Happy and Safe Labor Day Weekend!

webCarneAsadawebCarneAsada_2

Categories: Beef, Blogging, Recipes

Cereal for Cows and 4th of July Travels

Hello! I’m Laurie, a 4th generation rancher from south central Idaho. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend and are staying cool this summer.

Western Nevada Cattle Feeders

4th of July weekends are always very busy for Idaho’s farming and ranching families, and ours was no different. With second cutting hay a week or two off, we marched off to Nevada and the Silver State International Rodeo, an invitational rodeo open to contestants from their respective states who placed 5-15 and did not qualify for nationals. This provided not only an opportunity to spend time with other rodeo families, but also to brand a bunch of cattle on the ranch we have in Nevada. We also visited Western Nevada Cattle Feeders in Lovelock.

While many families reach for the cereal box for breakfast, this feedlot uses cereal in their feedlot rations, or more simply put, they feed it to cows. They take a product, Fruit Loops in this case, that cannot be used by the company or the consumer, and feed it to a cow. A cow’s feed ration is specially formulated by a nutritionist. They decide what ingredients can be used based on availability and nutrient level. The cereal replaces traditional grain or carbohydrates sources and provides energy for the animal. In turn, that cow ultimately provides a healthy source of protein for people—beef! That’s pretty amazing if you ask me!

~Laurie

Laurie and her family farm and ranch on land homesteaded by her husband’s family in 1908. She is passionate about the industry and the Western lifestyle. Stay tuned to hear more about her family and their adventures with hosting a foreign exchange student.

 

Categories: Idaho Cattlewomen

Grilled Skirt Steak

skirtsteakongrill_ICW

One cut of beef that isn’t talked about a lot, but is delicious and easy to prepare is skirt steak. This cut is sometimes called Hanger steak. In fact, it’s one of our favorites of the less utilized cuts of beef. Skirt steak comes from the plate or the belly of the beef animal. It’s great for making stir-fry or fajitas, or just slicing thinly and eating. Skirt steak isn’t super tender, but it’s flavorful. It works best if it’s marinated prior to cooking. Most of the time I just pour some things together to form a marinade—some spices, a little oil and some sort of acid like juice or vinegar. This time I asked my daughter to look up a recipe and see what she could find. She found one on the Food Network and it basically is everything I already used, but it gives some actual measurements. Here are the ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil (I don’t use this much-more like 1/4 c.)
1/3 cup soy sauce
4 scallions, washed and cut in pieces
2 large cloves garlic
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar or Mexican brown sugar (I used light because it’s what I keep on hand)
2 pounds inside skirt steak, cut into two equal pieces

The directions say to mix all ingredients then blend until smooth. We’ve actually made this recipe twice so far. We really like the combination of flavors in this marinade. It has a little sweetness, but with a kick. *The second time I made it I didn’t blend the ingredients, which I really do recommend. They combine better and give the meat even better flavor.*

skirtsteak_0004

This is what the skirt steak looks like. I usually slice it in two pieces. It makes it easier to fit in the plastic bag to marinate and it fits on the grill better. In the essence of full disclosure, we have a freezer full of beef, so I don’t have to buy meat at the store. I do, however, enjoy looking through the meat counter to see what they are offering. I did look at one of the local groceries this week and skirt steak was selling for $6.98/lb. I saw packages ranging from .87 lb. to 1.28 lbs. Two pounds of meat easily feeds our family of six.

skirtsteak_0005

After meat is split, I drop it into a large plastic baggie then pour in the marinade. I close it up tightly to get all the air out, move the bag around to coat all the meat, then place it on a plate in my fridge to marinate.

skirtsteak_0010

I usually marinate meat either all day and sometimes overnight. I try to plan meals so that I thaw meat first thing in the morning, then it can marinate in the fridge during the day so we can cook it that night. Sometimes I’ll prep a few meat dishes at the same time then all I have to do is grab them from the fridge each night and they are ready to cook. This recipe said to marinate at least one hour.

We have a gas grill so my cooking method was different than the original recipe. I took the bag out of the fridge to come up in temperature while I lit the grill. You don’t want very cold meat to be thrown directly onto a hot grill. I light the grill and let it heat up to 375-450 degrees. If you can hold your hand about five inches over grill for about 4-5 seconds, it’s hot enough. I put the meat on then I DON’T TOUCH IT! I want to wait long enough for the meat to get a good sear on the first side and not stick to the grill before I turn it. This usually takes 7-8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the meat. Once it is nice and brown, turn it over and repeat on the other side. You can use a meat thermometer to get an accurate measure. (For rare, remove the steak(s) at 120°F – 125°F; medium rare 125°F – 130°F; medium 130°F – 135°F.)

If the meat is browned properly on both sides, but not quite cooked enough in the middle, I’ll place it to the side and shut off one burner then close the lid to let it cook a little longer.

Once it’s ready (we like our meat medium to medium rare), I’ll take it off grill and let it rest on a platter so juices can redistribute. Then I slice it thinly and against the grain of the meat. (If the meat gets long and stringy, chances are you’re cutting with the grain.) Now you’re ready to enjoy!

skirtsteak_0011  skirtsteakonplate_ICW

I hope you try this recipe and enjoy!

skirtsteak_ICW

We found the original recipe here at this link, and we adapted from it.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/skirt-steak-recipe.html

From our ranch to you, we wish you a fun weekend!

Categories: Beef, Recipes

July is Idaho Beef Month

It’s July and with that comes Idaho Beef Month. We celebrate the ranching and cattle feeding families who raise beef for your plates and contribute to the economy of our state, as well as summer grilling. Beef is always great on the BBQ, and we’ll have some tried and true recipes to share with you. beefmonth_steak

Categories: Beef