Hot, Summer Beef....Stew?
May 26, 2012 8:05 AM Subscribe
Recipes using stewing beef for hot summer days?
When bonehead and I were married, my overly-generous sister and brother in law gave us a cow. Not a live one. Cut and wrapped in butcher paper. This all went in the freezer in the basement. Over the past two years we have been working down the inordinate number of packages of hamburger, roasts, etc. But there is something like 50 lbs of stewing beef still to use.
This wouldn't be a problem, except the hot weather is here and stews just seem kind of...ech. Does anybody have ideas for recipes that use stewing beef, that would be good for hot summer weather? Or recipes that could be adapted to use stewing beef? What about beef satay or something, if the beef were sliced across the grain?
Bear in mind the packages are frozen, and the cubed beef is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches square.
P.S.: did you know? One cow, cut and wrapped is 14 cubic feet. This I know from stuffing a freezer.
When bonehead and I were married, my overly-generous sister and brother in law gave us a cow. Not a live one. Cut and wrapped in butcher paper. This all went in the freezer in the basement. Over the past two years we have been working down the inordinate number of packages of hamburger, roasts, etc. But there is something like 50 lbs of stewing beef still to use.
This wouldn't be a problem, except the hot weather is here and stews just seem kind of...ech. Does anybody have ideas for recipes that use stewing beef, that would be good for hot summer weather? Or recipes that could be adapted to use stewing beef? What about beef satay or something, if the beef were sliced across the grain?
Bear in mind the packages are frozen, and the cubed beef is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches square.
P.S.: did you know? One cow, cut and wrapped is 14 cubic feet. This I know from stuffing a freezer.
For hot-weather cooking I think Thai food is unbeatable. There's a classic beef curry called Massaman Curry which uses chunks of stewing beef and potatoes in a coconut milk-based sauce. You can buy canned curry paste for this dish or make your own. I like Maesri brand, which comes in small cans in about a dozen flavors (I dislike most other brands). Canned coconut milk is also available, and a couple of brands are quite good: Chaokoh and Chef's Choice. Beware knockoffs with deceptively similar labels.
posted by Quietgal at 8:58 AM on May 26, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Quietgal at 8:58 AM on May 26, 2012 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Well, standing over a stove is never fun when it's hot out, and neither is eating a big heavy stew. How about a (mostly unattended) batch of barbacoa? Put it on tacos with some lime and onion and it should be a nice summer meal.
I had great success with this recipe from thekitchn, and I haven't tried it yet but I have great faith in this nerdy Food Lab recipe.
posted by ftm at 9:23 AM on May 26, 2012 [3 favorites]
I had great success with this recipe from thekitchn, and I haven't tried it yet but I have great faith in this nerdy Food Lab recipe.
posted by ftm at 9:23 AM on May 26, 2012 [3 favorites]
Best answer: In the crockpot I would make beef carnitas, Italian beef for sandwiches, and bbq shredded beef. if you've got a sturdy food processor you can also try grinding it for use in the things where you normally use ground beef--probably a lot of it is chuck or similar cuts, which makes for very tasty ground beef.
posted by drlith at 9:27 AM on May 26, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by drlith at 9:27 AM on May 26, 2012 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Yep, slow cooker. I think marinating and grilling would get sub-optimal results, but I've never tried it....
You could also make corned beef in the slow cooker. If the pieces aren't big enough to slice, shred them or dice into smaller chunks to saute with potatoes and make hash (serve with a fried egg on top).
Also, beef gyros.
posted by elizeh at 9:40 AM on May 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
You could also make corned beef in the slow cooker. If the pieces aren't big enough to slice, shred them or dice into smaller chunks to saute with potatoes and make hash (serve with a fried egg on top).
Also, beef gyros.
posted by elizeh at 9:40 AM on May 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
I like ropa vieja in the summer. I use this recipe. It's good over rice and as sandwich filling, and somehow, despite being a stew, it never seems too heavy for summer.
posted by Meg_Murry at 11:51 AM on May 26, 2012
posted by Meg_Murry at 11:51 AM on May 26, 2012
If you're not totally burnt out on burgers, you could just grind the chunks into burger. I've had great success with a food processor.
posted by Marky at 4:40 PM on May 26, 2012
posted by Marky at 4:40 PM on May 26, 2012
Beef Rendang is a good slow cooked recipe from a hot country.
posted by rhymer at 1:40 PM on May 27, 2012
posted by rhymer at 1:40 PM on May 27, 2012
Response by poster: Elizeh's comment got me thinking about schawarma, which is currently working away in my slow cooker. The other suggestions are awesome too! Any other suggestions you might have are also welcome!
posted by LN at 6:27 AM on May 28, 2012
posted by LN at 6:27 AM on May 28, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
You could simmer your meat with your mushrooms and some onions. Add some sour cream and noodles. Beef stroganoff.
You could do a beef curry, or a beef pot pie. Sometimes I just put it in a frying pan with a little water, add peppers and mushrooms some diced onions, and assorted spices. Simmer for 90 minutes to 2 hours on low heat, then serve on a plate of brown rice, with a few spoonfuls of the juice from the pan over it for flavor.
posted by magstheaxe at 8:31 AM on May 26, 2012 [1 favorite]