Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with beef

Bruch dish with leftover roast beef?

bondcliff — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:30:43 -0800

I'm cooking an enormous standing rib roast for Christmas dinner. I expect to have a lot of leftovers. On Sunday I'm cooking a brunch. how can I use the leftover roast beef? Are there any good brunch dishes that use leftover roasts? Some sort of hash? An egg dish? Should I just serve slabs of cold roast?

Ground Beef for dummies

sunshinesky — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:59:44 -0800

IsitstillgoodFilter: Ground Beef Edition. So normally I'm pretty brave about these things, and I understand that nothing goes bad at the stroke of midnight.... but I noticed today that my family-pack of ground beef which I bought on Monday has a 'best-before of yesterday. It has browned a little from its original bright red dye colour, and that's what squicks me out. I had initially planned on separating and freezing it into 4 bags of single pounds, but I'm afraid that I'll be pushing it if I freeze it today and then thaw for a day as needed.

Should I be worried about it? Can I mitigate my fears by just making sure I cook it extra well when I do end up using it? I don't intend to make anything too rare with it... it's for stuff like taco-night and hamburgers and pasta sauce.

Please hope me!

What's the backstory behind "Beef and Beer" parties?

scblackman — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:50:09 -0800

PhillyFilter: So .... what's the story with the "Beef-and-Beer" benefit parties that I keep hearing about as a new arrival in Philadelphia? I understand the point (Pay $X.XX at the door, eat as much beef and drink as much beer as you can, proceeds to the designated charity). My question is, is this only a Philadelphia thing? Does anyone know the history of these things, or some other entertaining back story? Or is the Philadelphia "Beef and Beer" the gastronomical equivalent of the Bostoian "wicked" ... just part of the cuture of the place?

Beef. Noodle.

peachfuzz — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:04:33 -0800

Can you help me figure out what this delicious beef noodle thing I ate years ago was? I used to work at a PR firm at Vermont and K in DC. A tiny pan-Asian place opened up in the building next door for a brief, glorious couple of winter months. I used to go and get takeout to get through late nights.

My favorite thing was something they described as "beef noodle". That's it. It was a dark, silky, soupy stew with chunks of rich braised beef (something short rib-y) and wide, flat rice noodles. It had a complex, caramelized sweetness. There was a strong star anise flavor, ginger, maybe some lemongrass or something else citrusy. It was not spicy, and the broth was clear. I've been trying to figure out what it was for years, with no luck - so I turn to you, hive mind!

It was NOT: pho, bun bo hue, galbi jjim, or a curry. It was very straightforward: thick broth/braising liquid, very wide rice noodles (like 3/4"), beef. There may have been a garnish of herbs, but that was pretty much it.

This restaurant served mostly Thai, Vietnamese, and Malaysian food, if I remember right. But I never seem to find anything matching the description on appropriate menus, and it's been driving me crazy.

Do you recognize this delicious, delicious thing?

Bone with a juicy center?

tasty — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:20:12 -0800

I purchased some expensive beef bones by accident $3/lb, and was planning to make stock with them. However, after a quick roast, I saw the inner circle became something soft and edible, while the outer circle remained bone. What did I get, and should I still make stock with these?

Vegetarian seeks most humane and delicious steak.

a.steele — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:40:32 -0800

Help me pick the best option for humanely raised and slaughtered beef (Local? Kosher?) I'm having a hard time deciding between certain criteria. After some deliberation and 7 years of being vegetarian/pescetarian I've decided to jump off the wagon for one delicious steak (which may lead to more occasional meat-meals). Because of my ethical convictions I would like for this steak to have come from a cow that lived a happy life and did not die in fear or pain. Onto my options:

There are two local beef farms that sell at the local farmer's market. I plan on asking them this directly, but in the meantime, is there a "standard" way for smaller farms to slaughter cattle? I know in most cases they are transferred to a separate place, but do smaller farms usually send their cattle to "humane" slaughterhouses?

Despite living in the meat-loving, bbq capital, most obese city in the South, we do have a Whole Foods, which opens up a ton of other options for kosher and "humane" beef. Can anyone explain what the distinctions mean? Does something being slaughtered humanely mean it was treated well it's whole life?

I like the idea of buying from a local farmer for reasons of freshness and legitimacy, but I would really rather not be thinking of all the horrors that occurred after it left the quiet little farm. I'm having trouble finding resources to help me make the most informed decision. And if anyone out there has first-hand experience, spare no details. I want my experience to be as delicious and guilt-free as possible. Thanks!

Holy cow that's a lotta beef.

lwclec072 — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:46:25 -0800

Help us think of roast recipes and chili recipes would be welcome, too. Boyfriend and I found a wholesale beef farm in our town and we got lots of meat, 20 pounds to be exact. We have 2 roasts and some stew meat. One of the roast we are going to slow cook with carrots, potatoes, celery and the works, but the other roast we're not exactly sure what we should do with it, other than just turning it into a slow cooked roast like the other, any ideas like maybe philly cheese steak would that be possible to turn a roast into shredded beef? If so help us do it! :)

We also have stew meat and my boyfriend wants to make chili with that and i'm never heard of such, any ideas with that?

Why is Chicken Different from Beef?

DMan — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:13:48 -0800

Why is chicken meat so much different from beef? To narrow that very broad question, one thing I've always wondered is why beef (like steak, not hamburger meat) will bleed if it's not cooked enough, but chicken doesn't do the same thing. Why is that? What's different about the two meats?

I asked a friend who is a food science major, and she had no clue either, and said she's always wondered why intact beef muscle sterile, but not chicken. So why are chickens so much different from cows?

What's the best way to cook beef heart?

jason's_planet — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 10:34:23 -0800

What's the best way to cook beef heart? I just bought a pound's worth of beef heart, in three slices, about a half inch thick. In the past, I've cooked beef heart in the pressure cooker but the result was always chewy and not terribly appetizing.

So what's the best way to prepare beef heart? Is it the traditional Peruvian style? Are anticuchos the way to go? Can I use the pressure cooker without turning the meat into grey rubber?

How would you prepare a half pound of sliced beef heart? What's your recipe? Fancy and complicated recipes are OK (for later), but the simpler, the better. This is meant to be an unemployed bachelor's lunch.

Many thanks in advance!

Recipe for truly succulent, traditional Jewish brisket?

roxie110 — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 19:01:41 -0800

How do you make truly tender, succulent Jewish-style brisket? I've had a craving for brisket-like-my-grandmother-used-to-make for about a year now. I finally got the meat and my mother's recipe and cooked it today. The taste is great and the thin end of the meat turned out close to what I was hoping for; the thick end is cooked through but not moist and falling apart like brisket in my world should be, and when I stick a fork in it gives a lot of resistance. I don't know if I over- or undercooked it. I should mention that my "dutch oven" (really a stockpot) was too narrow so I used a Calphalon deep covered 13" nonstick skillet instead--maybe a big mistake? I am such a brisket novice.

Below is a quick recap of how I cooked it. I've looked up a ton of recipes but each one is slightly different, and life's too short to try every one. My question is this: who has a foolproof (mostly) recipe for truly tender, traditional Jewish brisket!? And just as important, how do you know how long to cook it and when it's done? (Can you overcook a brisket, as long as there's still liquid in the pan?)

Recipe I used for half a first-cut brisket, about 3 pounds, fat trimmed:
Preheat oven to 350. Place thickly sliced onions, carrots, and a couple chopped garlic cloves in bottom of Dutch oven. Rub ketchup, ground pepper, paprika, and one envelope onion soup mix on all surfaces of brisket. Add liquid to 3/4 inches deep (I used 1.5 cans low-sodium beef broth; most of liquid was absorbed by the end of cooking). Place chunks of potato around meat. Cover tightly and roast for 2.5 hours. Baste two or three times during cooking. Remove from heat, cool meat, and slice across the grain.

Help! And thank you!

What to do with a brisket?

tavegyl — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:02:39 -0800

Went to market, came back with a brisket. Now what? I have a 1.5 kilo beef brisket sitting in the fridge, asking to be cooked for dinner tomorrow. It's now nearly 9pm and I won't have time to go get additional supplies. What can I do with a brisket to have it ready by 7pm tomorrow?

When buying it I'd thought vaguely of searing it like a steak, but it looks like this is a more demanding cut of meat than that.

I've looked through recipes online, but as a novice brisketeer would appreciate tried and trusted or wildly experimental advice.

Some limitors:

1. I work from home, so can dash to the kitchen when needed.

2. Available implements: an oven, a small roasting pan, shallow casserole dishes, and cooking pots of various sizes. No grill, barbeque, crock pot, pressure cooker or Dutch oven.

3. Available condiments: Soy sauce, worcester sauce, brown sugar, basil, star anise, 5-spice powder, crushed chillies, black pepper, garlic, ginger, onions, white wine, chicken stock cube, vegetable stock cube, miso, lemon, fortnight old rosemary, maple syrup, honey. No coffee, but could be arranged in the morning. Cardamom, mustard seeds, cinnamon, fennel seeds.

4. Available vegetables: peas, carrots, new potatoes, chinese broccoli, spinach, 3-4 mushrooms, 1/4 leek

5. Preferences: I'm a total novice. That said, this searing thang that many of the recipes recommended sounds like fun. As did one recipe which recommended a layer of caramelised onions on top. I'm not a fan of hearty stews, gravies or excess sweetness with my meat. I like pink in my meat. Red too.

6. The Brisket: Must be used tomorrow so that a grain fed Devonshire cow should not have died in vain. Rolled into a little cylinder, with a layer of fat about 1/2 cm thick. Gently oozing.

7. Added bonus if any marinading tips come before I go to bed.

Save my dinner! (and, judging by the size of this animal, several dinners to come.)

braise and re-braise

Foam Pants — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 22:14:28 -0800

Can I keep re-using the same cooking liquid over and over forever and ever amen? Say I braise myself a tasty piece of beef. Yum! I have some savory liquid left over that I de-fat and then freeze. a week later, I take out this liquid, bring it to a boil, cut it down to a bare simmer, insert another slab of beef, braise, eat (yum), de-fat, and refreeze. I do this week after week, infinitely, until the world runs out of beef or I die of cholesterol induced heart failure (more likely).

I have heard of a Chinese cooking method similar to this called red cooking. Does this practice of saving the braising liquid for frequent re-use over an extended period of time set off any alarms with anybody cuz all I am hearing is a distinctly tasty dinner bell.

USDA Prime Beef in Oahu?

Osmanthus — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:48:10 -0800

Where can I buy USDA Prime beef in Honolulu? I know Costco carries it sometimes, but its not a regular item. Is there a butcher that carries it on a regular basis?

What is this raw beef dish from Texas or Louisiana?

fiercecupcake — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:50:28 -0800

I can't remember or successfully Google the name of a raw meat dish that may have originated in East Texas or Louisiana. It involved raw ground beef and possibly raw onions, peppers, and maybe egg -- very much like steak tartare. (Another comparison: as with citrus in ceviche, the "heat" of the onions/peppers was supposed to have some effect on the meat.) It's on the tip of my tongue -- I think it started with a P and sounded vaguely like it could be a girl's name, but I don't want to lead anyone astray. I think it was eaten with bread or crackers. I was quite young and didn't like the idea, though I suspect I would love it now, if I only knew what it was!

Roast Beast on a BBQ?

Richat — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 08:58:32 -0800

Barbecue question here...Can we do a sirloin roast on a gas barbecue? I am sure we can but any tips? What about drippings? Is that possible? We've barbecued many items before, but...not a roast of beef. We'd like to not heat up the house today and have a couple of smallish (3-4lbs) sirloin roasts we'd like to throw on our barbecue. Some info:
-It's not a charcoal BBQ (hangs head in BBQ shame)
-We'd like to make gravy still, if possible.

Looking forward to your answers!

What song did I hear?

swiffa — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 03:56:00 -0800

Name of rap song that imagines if other genres of music had beef like hip hop? Very clever lines, all I remember is a few lines about Johnny Cash fighting Willie Nelson and Paris getting stitches and Bon Jovi telling Springsteen NJ ain't big enough for them both. It ends with "they laughing at us..."

What do you do with leftover rump roast?

originalboo — Sat, 10 May 2008 06:59:27 -0800

I have nearly 3 pounds of rump roast left over from a few days ago. Half of it is sliced, the other half not. I think maybe soup is in order. It would certainly be freezer friendly and wouldn't go to waste. Any suggestions on what to do with all this beef? Recipes?

Where's the beef?

mds35 — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 07:07:32 -0800

Where can I get a great roast beef sandwich in Boston? The wife and I love the roast beef sandwiches from Bill & Bob's, Kelly's, Jimmy's and even Toula's. Problem is, we live in Roslindale and we don't want to drive all the way to the Saugus, Lynn, Andover, Georgetown, Revere, or Natick to get really good roast beef sandwiches. Are there any really awesome roast beef sandwiches to be had in Boston, Brookline, Newton, Quincy, Milton or the near South Shore? I know about Chowhound and Yelp, but I'm looking for recommendations from MeFites based on their own experiences.

Cooking topside of beef

mooreeasyvibe — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 10:01:46 -0800

I have a topside of beef - it weighs 0.65 kg - it's not huge really. What's the best way to cook it? I don't have a slow cooker or anything fancy. I have a roasting tray and foil. Anyone got any ideas?

I don't want my meat to have to come too far to see me.

andifsohow — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:27:33 -0800

I was told there are only a dozen slaughterhouses in the US - which seems absurdly low to me. However, I am having trouble finding any evidence of this. Minor caveats are that it might have been beef-specific. Regardless, I've been searching for slaughterhouses, list of licensed slaughterhouses, and things of this nature, and am not turning up anything. Anyone got an answer, or pointers for better searching?

How do we know if food used to be better?

L. Fitzgerald Sjoberg — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 21:02:33 -0800

Were produce and meat really better in the old days? How can we be sure? The most recent Achewood got me thinking about food. Seems to me that in my youth, the tomatoes at the supermarket used to be more red. I've heard people of my mother's generation say that beef used to taste better, the way only the best beef does today. And now we have the idea that chicken used to taste more chickeny, at least to cartoon cats.

Here's my question: is there any way to determine objectively whether this is so? Sure, lots of people will tell you it is, but lots of people will tell you that teenage crime and pregnancy are higher than ever, even if it's not true. Can we be sure this isn't just a rose-colored -- or red-colored, in my case -- look back at the foods of a mythical youth?

I almost put this question in pets & animals.

sugarfish — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:08:08 -0800

How do I make a cutting order for a half of a side of beef? My long-awaited quarter of a grass-fed cow (or half of a half, as the rancher calls it) will be ready in a couple of weeks, but I have to decide what sort of cutting order to put in with the processor within the next few days. I have no idea what I should ask for. How do I figure out what cuts of meat I want?

It

I_Love_Bananas — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 09:22:42 -0800

Help with crock pot roast recipe! I won't lie, my cooking sucks. Even I have screwed up crock-pot recipes.

I have a nice roast, 2.4 lbs, in the crock pot and have about 6 hours or so to cook. I want to do the basic beef and noodles.

- Should I cook on Hi or Lo (those are my only options) given the time frame?
- Should I turn the roast over during the cooking process?
- If so, when?
- Regarding the amount of liquid- should there be enough to cover the meat?
-When do I add the noodles? I have regular, dry egg noodles, about 3/4 inch wide not the really wide ones).

Any other tips wuld be welcome. Thanks!!

Prime Rib in Edinburgh?

you're only jung once — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 11:31:35 -0800

Does anyone know where I can eat Prime Rib Beef in Edinburgh, Scotland? Also known (?) as fore rib of beef? This is a matter of urgency.

Give my steak some flavor

timelord — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 14:29:25 -0800

How do you jazz up a tender (but bland) steak? I recently got a good deal on some New York (cut) steak. After grilling a few (seasoned w/ salt + pepper), I'm less impressed w/ the flavor than I am w/ the texture. I understand that the tender cuts tend to be the bland ones, but I'd like to do something w/ this steak.

What would you recommend? I find that simpler is usually better w/ steak, but I'm open to all suggestions (marinades, seasonings, etc).