Interesting uses for some leftover cuts of beef

June 3, 2014 1:44 PM

Dear Metafilter: Please help me use the last few cuts from the beef quarter I ordered last year. These are cuts I probably wouldn't normally buy, but i'd like to make interesting use of them if I can. I have a 2.5 lb blade roast, 2 lbs of braising ribs, 1 lb of stew beef and a tail.

I am not a huge fan of pot roast and it's getting pretty warm for stew in these parts. You can assume that I and my partner are generally culinarily adventurous, and I am a competent cook.

posted by torisaur to Food & Drink (7 answers total)

Well, you HAVE to stew the tail. And you MUST have ox tail stew. You can do it in a crock pot, but MAN is that some tasty stuff!

Or if you want more of an adventure, the Jamaican version. Source the Jamaican curry powder for this. Serve with Inca Cola and Ting, rice and peas.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:55 PM on June 3, 2014 [3 favorites]

Hmm, I would go Pho. If you cut your roasts or stew meat very thin, and against the grain, you'll get some really nice dressing for a bowl of pho. Depending on how the stew beef is cut up already.

This recipe is tailored for pork, but i've made it with some pretty tough beef roast bits, and it tastes great. The flavors play really well with beef.
posted by furnace.heart at 1:57 PM on June 3, 2014 [1 favorite]

the tail is a unique part of the animal, when stewed/souped, a lot of gelatin comes out of the bone to help provide a matrix for the savory cylinders. there are many international versions, including asian and north african as well as rb's jamaican.

the ribs can be used to make the stock and then provide the meat in borsch or shchi, which can be served cold with sour cream.

the blade roast is a pot roast, sorry, i got nuthin'.
posted by bruce at 2:07 PM on June 3, 2014

You could use that blade roast for curry
posted by Big_B at 2:23 PM on June 3, 2014

My favorite use of oxtail is the Cuban dish Rabo Encendido, which despite the name is only as spicy as you want it to be. My recipe is here.
posted by Muttoneer at 2:25 PM on June 3, 2014

I'd prepare the blade roast en crepinette.

If you like savory, rich dishes, how about a Eastern European Bigos for the ribs?

Tail and the other cut are good for stews, but you can also use the meat to stuff dumplings or tortellini.
posted by travelwithcats at 2:35 PM on June 3, 2014

If you marinade the ribs, you can probably get away with grilling them. They might be a tad tough, but they'll be perfectly edible. Or you could, you know, braise them, but braising is IMO a pain in the butt. They'd probably come out delicious in the crockpot with a bbq sauce marinade, though.

The stew beef and blade steak could make good carne asada/taco meat/whatever. You could also chop it into smaller pieces and use it in almost anything that calls for hamburger.

Tail is mainly good for soups and stews, maybe wait for a cooler day and make ox-tail soup?
posted by zug at 6:57 PM on June 3, 2014