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Getting past the ick factor: Boiled Beef Tongue – a Fearless Friday Post

March 9, 2012 By 15 Comments

We haven’t done it for a while, but Fearless Fridays are where readers of this site share their culinary adventures. For some, it’s simply the act of preparing a meal in their home instead of hitting the drive through. For others it’s trying new foods, recipes, or techniques. It’s a chance to push against our boundaries and maybe discover new favorites. Not every attempt will be successful  but everyone is encouraged to share, if you wrote about it on your blog, post a link below. If not, just share in the comments.

How have you been fearless lately?  Tell us about it.

Bobbie says Bobbie says:

For over 25 years, my husband would, every so often, gently, and without much hope, ask if I would make beef tongue, so we could have cold tongue sandwiches, like his mom used to make. He would do this by pointing out a tongue in the store, or mentioning it was advertised on sale. I would respond, without fail, by immediately changing the subject, while trying to avoid cringing too visibly.

Now you know two things about me: 1) I’ve been married a really long time and 2) the idea of boiling a tongue really squicked me out. No, I mean really. Especially after I found out it involved peeling. A meat that you have to peel.

Well, it’d been a few years since he asked me, but eventually, it happened. My husband recently saw beef tongue on sale, in an advertisement for a butcher shop we like. And he, ever so casually, mentioned it to me. I did not say anything in reply, but did a little bit of self-talk instead. It went something like this:

You have cleaned and prepared squid, gutting it and fishing out that plastic-looking bit. For heavens’ sake, you have plucked and gutted freshly-killed chickens. You have not only changed countless diapers, but cleaned up after children who were being sick out both ends of their body. You tell people you’ll eat anything they serve as long as it’s not okra. You’ve killed rodents with a broom and a washing machine, and evicted snakes from the house. Repeatedly. You have cleaned men’s restrooms in several factories without batting an eye.* You most certainly can manage to cook and peel a tongue without fainting.

I had to admit, it was a good argument, but I didn’t completely believe me.

Still, I was determined to face my fears head-on. And? I was hoping Heather would let me use it to bring Fearless Fridays back to Home Ec 101 – so I could be all brave and determined kind of in public.

So…without telling my husband (in case I chickened out) I stopped by the butcher shop to buy the dreaded tongue, determined to cook it immediately. Unfortunately, it was frozen, so I had more time to think about it, which was…unhelpful to my determination. While it thawed, I found every reference to tongue in my cookbook collection, and armed myself with confidence. I was ready to rumble.

So, to paraphrase Zaphod Beeblebrox, “Let’s meet the meat.”**

Beef tongue in its unnatural habitat.

This was a two-pound beef tongue, shrink-wrapped and frozen. My books suggested a tongue no larger than 3 pounds. I got the impression that the larger they are, the tougher they can be. Once thawed, I slit the plastic (over the sink, in case it was messy) and removed it to a plate to pose for more pictures. There was a slit in the tongue, and I was unable to determine why. Bovine body piercing? The blue spots that look vaguely of tattoo is just an inspection stamp. They use food grade dyes for that, I’m pretty sure. 

hard core cow

 

Looking the tongue over, the red parts looked surprisingly like…beef. Go figure.

Then there were the not-red bits. Which looked like…a tongue. And felt rough, kind of like the wet sandpaperiness of a cat’s tongue, raised to the power of cow. I had to stop thinking about it at that point.

I’d found instructions that said to scrub the tongue with a brush, and to soak it in cold water for a couple hours, but it looked really clean and not bloody at all, so I merely rinsed it really well before it went into the pan.

 

Various seasonings were suggested by each source, from simple salt & pepper to an entire melange of aromatic vegetables and herbs. I opted for some of my basics for meat cookery. Onion, bay leaves, salt & peppercorns. I wanted to use white wine vinegar, but it was out, so I subbed some of the vinegar from a jar of pepperoncini, and threw in some of the pepperoncini as well. I added water to cover, and set it over high heat to bring it to a boil. It hadn’t quite reached the boiling point when the tongue was sticking up out of the water, and there was no room to add more. So, I switched to my stock pot, which I kind of knew I should’ve been using in the first place, but didn’t want to really wash the huge thing. So, instead I ended up having to wash it AND the deep skillet I shouldn’t have tried to use in the first place. Yep. *facepalm*

Anyway…brought it to a boil, reduced to simmer, and loosely covered…opinions varied on how long to cook it, so I was really unsure about this part. After about 3 1/2 hours, it seemed to be “tender enough” – which I determined by cutting into it with a sharp knife in the thickest part. Time to remove it to a plate to cool.

can a tongue stick its tongue out at you?

The tongue had stiffened up quite a lot, and the rough skin felt even rougher. Once it was cool enough to handle, I used my sharpest small knife to slit the skin on the underside. At this point, once the meat was cooked, the squick factor for me was reduced, but not entirely gone.

 

 

I’d assumed that it would peel away rather easily, but that was not the case. After it was slit, I took hold of the skin, trying to pull it off in one piece (as some sources said could be done) but it tore and only came away in small pieces. I had to use the knife to loosen more of it and keep pulling.

 

 

Once I’d pulled off all the rough skin, there still seemed to be a layer of skin on the tongue, which none of my cookbooks said anything about. It was softer, but still had tongue-like roughness. At this point I was pretty sure I’d done something wrong, but I still didn’t know what.

 

 

 

 

The remaining skin was even harder to remove – and in the end, I used my ceramic paring knife to carefully slice it away, revealing some very beefish-looking meat underneath. At last, it looked like something I could eat. Probably. Oh, and most of my sources said to cut away the roots. I didn’t know what that meant, specifically, and there didn’t seem to be anything that qualified, so I let that step go.

 

Once it was completely cool, I sliced it thinly to be used for cold sandwiches. And since I’d made it through the process without losing my lunch, I went ahead and made one for myself. I really wanted to use horseradish and ketchup (my favorite on cold roast beef) but the horseradish was out, just like the vinegar (time to go shopping) so I used ketchup, mild banana pepper rings, onion and lettuce, on a toasted roll.

Tastes like  chicken  roast beef.

 

After tasting the meat, which I liked, but the flavor was lacking, my husband and I are both pretty sure that I overcooked it. A lot. And that a good bit of the flavor ended up in the cooking water because of that. I think 2 hours is probably sufficient for a 2 pound tongue. That may have been a factor in making it harder to peel. Also, I think I let it cool too much before peeling. Next time (which will happen…..eventually) I’ll cook it about an hour per pound, and try to peel it while it’s still very very warm.

I was kind of proud of myself for getting over the squeamishness I’d so long associated with preparing tongue. There was nothing to fear, really, after all. It’s just meat from a different part of the cow, so I can handle it. But, I still won’t eat okra.

 

 

*I was a temp on a crew that cleaned the offices and restrooms of several industrial-type businesses in the city, after hours. As the fill-in person, I got restroom duty. I wish they had just let me take a firehose to some of them. Sheesh. Second-worst job I’ve ever had.

**Former president of the galaxy and quite the hoopy frood, in Douglas Adams’  The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (3rd book in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. Required reading for geeks.)

 

Bobbie Laughman is an elder caregiver and freelance writer who isn’t afraid of spiders or snakes, but will kill to avoid eating okra. Send questions, comments or offers to help hide the bodies to Bobbie@Home-Ec101.com

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Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe – Like Mom Used to Make

February 14, 2012 By 6 Comments

Bobbie says:

Have you ever caught a whiff of an unexpected scent that suddenly sent you back in time? Figuratively speaking, of course. The sense of smell is a huge memory trigger, and if there’s a smell that says “home” to me, it’s the comforting aroma of simmering Vegetable Beef Soup the way our mom used to make it. Packed with veggies and beefy bits, it’s a hearty full-meal soup perfect for cold winter days. Serve it alone, or paired with fresh-baked bread, it’s sure to warm the spirits as well as the tummies.

I didn’t get recipes for all the dishes my parents and grandparents used to make, but I’m thankful this is one I made certain to get written down before my chance had passed. When I asked her for the recipe, Mom said she’d give it to me next time she prepared it, because she didn’t think she’d remember everything unless she was doing it. So, she made the soup, telling me everything she did, so I could write it down. Some amounts were approximations, so I’ve had to work at it to get it to taste right. Mom always made it the day after we had a big pot roast, saving the leftover meat and all the meat juices to throw in the soup – which pretty much explains the nearly complete lack of beef gravy in family meals of our childhood. Chicken gravy? Yes. Beef? No. The meat stock always got saved for soup. But that’s okay: this soup is totally worth the trade-off.

To allow for room to stir and also to reduce the chance of boil-overs, I would suggest a 6 to 8 quart pot with a heavy bottom*. Thin bottomed pots will cook unevenly and are more likely to scorch and ruin your soup. (I make the mistakes so you don’t have to – just a public service I provide. Oh, and don’t try to pass off the burned soup as “Smokey Vegetable Beef Soup” – that doesn’t work, either.)  I prepare this in my 8 quart Tramontina stock pot, which I use for practically everything. Crockpot directions are also given, but if your slow cooker won’t hold at least 4 1/2 quarts, you’ll need to make a smaller batch.

When I was working to standardize this recipe, so it could be made as a standalone, rather than as a follow-up meal after pot roast, I decided to use beef shank cross-cuts, because I could obtain them at a fair price, and they’re great at yielding a lot of flavor, if you cook them right. Some stores label these “soup bones.” Feel free to use whatever cut of beef is cheapest – the long, slow cooking of soup-making is a great use for tough cuts of meat.

: Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe

: Traditional Vegetable Beef Soup for the Stove or Slow Cooker

  • 2 to 2.5 pounds beef shank cross-cuts, or any cheap cut of beef, preferably something with marrow bones
  • 2 quarts cold water
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 large can whole, peeled tomatoes (about 4 cups worth)
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
  • 1 teaspoon whole celery seed
  • 2 tablespoons pearled barley (not quick-cooking barley)
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 2 ribs celery, sliced
  • 1 1/2 cups peeled, cubed potatoes
  • 16 ounce bag frozen mixed vegetables (the one I used had green beans, peas, corn, carrots and lima beans – 4 cups worth. Use fresh veggies, if you prefer.)

 Vegetable Beef Soup Instructions

    • Set your soup pot over medium heat.

    • Once it’s hot, add the meat, turning to brown it really well on all sides.


    • Add the water, bay leaves, salt & pepper, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for about 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender. Be sure you’re just simmering, not boiling. Long cooking at a slow simmer helps to break down the collagen and tenderize the meat, while boiling can make the meat tough.
    • Remove the meat to a plate. When it’s cool enough to handle, cut it off the bones and either chop it up or pull it apart into bits. Discard gristle. Skim fat from the liquid, if desired. (I don’t usually, unless the meat was particularly fatty.)
    • Return meat to the pot. (I usually put any large bones back in as well, so that more of the minerals in the bones – calcium, postassium, phosphorus - can end up in the stock. Adding an acid, such as the tomatoes, helps this happen. Hmm. Maybe next time I’ll add the tomatoes before simmering the meat & bones. Never occurred to me until just now…Small bones are too hard to find again, amongst all the meat and veggies, so toss those out. )
    • Do not drain the tomatoes – add the whole can. Use a large fork or wooden spoon to smash up the tomatoes against the side of the pot.
    • Now, add everything else. If needed, add water to bring the volume up to 4 quarts. Stir to mix well, then turn the heat to medium-high to bring to a boil quickly. Reduce the heat to low and put the lid on. I always tilt the lid slightly. (Because I’m paranoid about boil-overs, even on very low heat. Don’t mind me. Move along.)

Vegetable Beef Soup - This is gonna be gooooooood

    • Simmer for at least one hour. Two is better, in my opinion, so the veggies are quite tender, and the flavors can mingle and have a chance to get to know each other. Remember to remove bay leaves and bones before serving. This recipe makes 4 quarts of soup: enough for dinner with some left for the freezer. Make plenty and freeze a bunch for easy meals later on.
    • To prepare in a slow cooker, brown the meat as described, then put everything in the slow cooker and cook on low 8 to 10 hours. The meat and vegetables should be tender. Remove meat to a plate. (Put the lid back on the slow cooker keep the heat in.) When cool enough to handle, cut meat from bones. Discard bones and gristle. Chop up the meat and return it to the slow cooker. Cover and cook at least one more hour. Remove bay leaves and serve.

Culinary tradition: USA (Traditional)

  Bobbie Laughman is a leaf on the wind. Watch how she soars. Or, just send her an email at Bobbie@Home-Ec101.com

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Beef Stroganoff, Gluten Free and for the Slow Cooker

January 7, 2012 By 9 Comments

Heather says:

Beef stroganoff is not an attractive comfort food, which is why it has taken me nearly five years to get around to posting this slow cooker recipe. It’s not the beef stroganoff’s fault it’s unattractive and the recipe itself is quite simple; it’s just a homely dish. People on the interwebz can be cruel and I just knew, no matter how hard I tried, this recipe would end up on the culinary equivalent of Awkward Family Photos. Today I swallow my pride and share the recipe, because the world can always use a little more comfort food. If you can have wheat, it’s just a straight substitution of all purpose flour for the rice flour.

I served this recipe over oven roasted potatoes seasoned with thyme.

: Beef Stroganoff, Gluten Free

: This is a gluten free recipe for beef stroganoff, adapted for the slow cooker or Crockpot

  • 2.5 – 3lbs beef round steak or cube steak
  • 3/4 cup rice flour*, divided into 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup
  • 1 tsp salt
  • fresh ground pepper
  • 3/4 tsp dry mustard
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • fresh ground pepper (I just use a few turns)
  • 2 onions sliced into rings
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 lb sliced mushrooms
  • 1 1/4 cups beef stock / broth / bouillon or 1 can beef broth
  • 1/4 cup wine (I use whatever I have on hand, nothing has been disappointing)
  • 1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 cup sour cream

 Instructions

  • Trim off any excess fat from the round steak. If you’re using cube steak, this should not be an issue. Cut the beef into strips, 1/2 inch wide and no more than 2 – 3 inches long, set aside.
  • In a bowl mix together: 1/2 cup of rice flour, salt, dry mustard, and fresh ground pepper.
  • Toss the beef strips with the flour mixture until thoroughly coated and place in the slow cooker.
  • Add the remaining ingredients except the sour cream and reserved 1/4 cup of rice flour. Stir.
  • Cook on low 6 – 8 hours or high for 4.
  • Turn off the slow cooker and mix together the sour cream and rice flour. Stir into the beef stroganoff and give it a few minutes to thicken.
  • Serve over potatoes or rice for gluten free folks and hot or hot buttered noodles for the wheat tolerant.

Rice flour is very inexpensive and can be found in many stores in the Asian / Ethnic food section or in any Asian grocery store, it can also be found in many health food stores.

*If you can have wheat, just use all-purpose flour in place of the rice flour.

Diet tags: Gluten free

Culinary tradition: USA (Traditional)

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What Is the Difference Between Cube Steak and Round Steak?

January 6, 2012 By 16 Comments

Dear Home-Ec 101,

I’m really trying to cook more at home, but sometimes I’d like to make substitutions but I’m just not sure when it’s ok to substitute round steak for cube steak or vice versa. I’m just not comfortable talking to the butcher, I just want to grab whatever happens to be in the meat case and make dinner. Is that so wrong?

Signed,
Shy Shopper

Heather says:

Cuts of Beef ChartNo, it’s not wrong at all, I know as customer it’s perfectly acceptable for me to ask the butcher questions, but I don’t want to bother him. Heck, on busy shopping days (which I try to avoid like the plague) I have a hard enough time just getting up to the beef case. I’m not sure what some of those people are doing hanging out over the meat cooler, but they sure do take their sweet time.

You’ll notice that the names of cuts of beef and pork can vary by region and country, which makes everything extra fun for the novice cook. In general cube steak IS round steak that has been run through a machine that tenderizes the cut by physically breaking down some of that tough connective tissue.

You’ll notice the round cut is from the hindquarter of the cow and is in general a tougher cut of beef. Sometimes cube steak is top sirloin that has been run through the tenderizer.

In some areas of the country you’ll also find cube steak labelled as minute steak, but in the rest of the US, minute steaks are generally thinner cuts of top round or top sirloin.

So when considering a substitution (like I’ll be doing later today in a gluten free beef stroganoff for the slow cooker), remember that cube steak is round steak that has already had some of the tenderizing work done for you. This makes cube steak slightly more versatile than round steak in the substitution game. It’s fine to substitute a more tender cut of beef for a tougher one, but the reverse is not always true.

Round steak has not had that extra tenderizing step performed so it’s best to stick with either very quick cooking methods (and very thin slices cut against the grain) like stir fry or to use a slow, wet cook like braising.

Cube steaks have a little more versatility and can be pan fried, which is a  slower cook than a stir fry, to make dishes like country fried steak or braised for dishes like country style cube steak.

In either case, you’ll find cube and round steak much easier to slice if cut while partially frozen.

 Submit your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

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How to Grill Meatloaf

June 11, 2011 By 11 Comments

Heather says:

Earlier this week I asked Home-Ec 101 readers to share their questions about grilling. Sandee asked how should I grill a meatloaf?

There are several methods out there on these wild, wild interwebz. Some of them are rather unsettling.

Foil packets are awesome for vegetables, but what foil packets create is an environment to steam food. Let that roll around in your mind for a moment, got that? Ok, now the most popular method I found while double checking my intended method to grill meatloaf was using a foil packet. No, we here at Home-Ec 101 do not steam our ground beef. No. Just no. I think I might make an exception for certain kinds of Asian dumplings, but I’ve not attempted to make those and that’s a very different taste profile.

The best meatloaves are moist, but have that wonderful caramelized glaze. If you weren’t going for the glaze, why not just have a meatball?

Try to keep the lid closed while grilling your meatloaf, you’re trying to create an environment similar to your oven. If you do not have a rack you can grill in a foil pan or a cast iron skillet, just be sure you are still grilling via the indirect method or you may scorch the bottom of your meatloaf.  Consider using carrots or celery ribs to raise the meatloaf off the bottom of the pan. Perhaps I’m a bit picky, but I find a greasy meatloaf completely unappetizing.

Use a thermometer, every grill is different and a thermometer is much more accurate than a timer. Your grill, with the lid down may approach 400°F, while mine was at 350°F. It’s going to vary a lot from grill to grill, especially if you are just getting used to grilling. Also keep in mind that thermometers do fail, if you can see that the loaf is nearly done, your ground beef was fully thawed when you mixed it, but the thermometer still says 60°F, maybe it’s the thermometer. Take it out and reinsert it in a new place or cut open the meatloaf and take a peek. If the meat is brown, it’s not 60°F. Cooking safely is a balance of using tools and using good judgement when the tools fail,as they do on occasion.

Finally, let’s talk about surface area. To reduce the amount of time on the grill, you’ll want to increase the surface area of the loaf as much as possible. A low, flat rectangle will grill much more quickly than the traditional loaf shape. You’ll also have much more area on which to spread the glaze. U

: Grilled Meatloaf
  1. 1.5 lbs lean ground beef
  2. 2/3 cup bread crumbs or rolled oats run through the blender or food processor
  3. 3/4 cup milk
  4. 2 eggs, beaten
  5. 1/4 cup finely minced onion
  6. 1 garlic clove finely minced
  7. 1 tsp salt
  8. fresh ground pepper
  9. 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning (or sage, basil, oregano, or my favorite Cajun)

    10. Optional Glaze – just mix together

  10. 1/4 cup ketchup
  11. 1 TBSP brown sugar
  12. 1 tsp dry mustard
  1. Gently crumble the meat into a large bowl. The key to a tender meatloaf is to handle the meat as little as possible. To ensure easy mixing, gently seperate the ground bits and make a well (depression) in the center.
  2. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs, you can substitute crushed crackers or stuffing mix if desired, evenly over the contents in the bowl.
  3. In a second bowl, stir together the milk, beaten eggs, and seasoning. Mix well.
  4. Pour the wet ingredients into the well you created in the meat. With clean hands fold the meat toward the center. Do this by grasping the side of the bowl with one hand, to hold it steady. Slide the other under the meat and fold it toward the middle. Rotate the bowl and repeat. Only repeat this step until the meat is just mixed. The less you handle the meat, the better.
  5. On a clean work surface pat the mixture into the desired shape, either several mini-loaves* or a single, flat loaf about 1.5 inches thick.
  6. Transfer the loaves to a baking rack, over a tray to catch drippings to reduce flare ups.
  7. Grill indirectly with the lid closed. Try not to open the grill as this lets the heat escape, increasing the cook time.
  8. Rotate the tray halfway through cooking to ensure the loaf is cooked evenly and glaze the meatloaf when the thermometer reads 120F.

Preparation time: 5 minute(s)

Cooking time: 1 hour(s) approximate, mini-loaves will take significantly less time, plan accordingly

Number of servings (yield): 6

Culinary tradition: USA (General)

 

Questions?

 

 

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Country Fried Steak

March 4, 2011 By 11 Comments

Heather says:

I can’t remember the last time I made country fried steak for dinner. Heck, it’s been a long time since I’ve fried anything, the last frying adventure was when I made fried chicken thighs almost a year ago. -Running this site, makes it pretty easy to keep tabs on our lives. So don’t worry, recipes for fried food are a rare treat around here. I must add that last night’s country fried steak with onion gravy was a big hit.  Besides, I balanced it out with oven roasted brussels sprouts,

I won’t lie, this recipe is more effort than I’m usually willing to make. It’s a Sunday afternoon or company dinner.

This combination was inspired by The Lee Bros Southern Cookbook; I love this book as a reference and use it often.

Country Fried Steak Recipe

Country Fried Steak Recipe

Serves: 4 – 6ish 6 if some of the people are small, don’t count on it being enough for 6 adults.

  • 2 lbs cubed steak or breakfast steak or bracciole
    If you choose to use breakfast steak or bracciole, pound the steaks with a meat mallet to break up the muscle fibers
  • 1 cup buttermilk (whole is best) divided
  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 tsps salt
  • fresh ground pepper to taste
  • 1 egg
  • Peanut Oil
  • paper towels… lots

About an hour before you want to start actually making dinner, pull the beef out of the refrigerator. Place the steaks in a shallow container and add 1/2 cup of buttermilk. Turn the steaks so they all get coated. Cover the container with a clean towel and go find something to do for an hour.

Heat 1/4″ of peanut oil in a heavy skillet. The goal temperature is 350°F. With this little oil, it’s really hard to get a temperature. Go with med-high on your stove, if the oil smokes, immediately turn it down a tiny bit. Carefully drip a TINY -a droplet, not even a drop- of water into the oil. If it sizzles, fabulous. If it pops and crackles, turn it down a little. If nothing happens, turn it up a bit. Got it?

If your oil is too hot, the outside will burn before the inside is cooked, if your oil is too cool, you’ll have very greasy food.

In a shallow bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and ground pepper. This is your frying dredge. If you want to play around with the seasonings, go ahead. Use a little more or less salt, add in a touch of garlic powder, whatever floats your boat. Just remember if you do reach for garlic salt to cut the amount of plain salt you use.

In another shallow bowl whisk together the egg and the remaining 1/2 cup of buttermilk. You can add a little additional fresh ground pepper to this, if you like.

Take the steaks out of the buttermilk and set on a clean plate with a few paper towels. You really don’t want them too drippy. Get rid of the marinating container. You need your counterspace.

Once the oil is at temperature, take a steak, dip it in the frying dredge and shake off the excess.

Now dip in the buttermilk & egg, let the excess drip, and then coat again with the flour mix. Shake off the excess and get that bad boy into the oil as fast as possible. Yes, it’s a pain. It’s worth it.

Fry for 2 – 3 minutes a side. Don’t overload your pan with too many steaks at one time, there isn’t much oil and you’ll drop the temp and everything will be extra greasy.  Now, if you used cube steak, there’s going to be some blood issues. This is the nature of the beast. When beef hits medium, the blood oozes. It’s not pretty but it’s not actually a bad thing, either. I just give it a quick turn and cook the top side a few seconds later so I don’t have to look at it.

Remove the steak from the frying pan and drain on paper towels. You will need to use a few in this process.

Set aside and make the gravy. You can hold them in a 200°F oven, but mine’s usually cooking something during this process. Poor planning on my part? Possibly.

Onion Gravy Recipe

  • 1 1/2 sweet onions, sliced thinly
  • 2 TBSP butter
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • 1 TBSP flour
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • fresh ground pepper to taste
  • salt to taste

Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the butter and sweet onions, cook stirring often until the onions are very soft. If the edges are crisping, the heat is too high.

While the onions are cooking stir the flour and chicken stock together. It’s very important to make sure there are no lumps, biting into a flour lump is kind of gross. When the onions are very soft, stir in the flour / stock mixture and the milk. Continue to cook over medium-low until it just begins to simmer and then turn it down to low. Cook until the gravy is the desired consistency.

Enjoy!

Send your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

This recipe has been shared on Mouthwatering Monday.

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How to Cook Steak Properly

February 9, 2011 By 8 Comments

Brian says:

As I mentioned in my last post, there are a great deal of people out there who cook their steaks half to death with the slightest bit of remorse. At first I was just going to let it go, hoping to play the ignorance-is-bliss card but I just can’t let it stand, people!

For this post, I’m going to show you the bare bones method to cooking a modest cut of meat the proper way. There are those who love to throw a hunk of beef on a spit fire until it reaches a toughness comparable to that of anodized rubber, but there’s an even better method that goes widely unused in most amateur and some professional kitchens: pan searing.

Now, you might be saying, “Brian! That’s not grilling!”, and you’d be right but that’s not necessarily the point. Instead of trying so hard to make a steak look good i.e. grill marks, etc., your primary goal should be to make sure the steak tastes good! Here are some tips to help you along:

- Know your meat. Love your meat (and the person cutting it for you).

More often than not, a cook will blindly choose a piece of pre-cut meat from behind a glass case without the slightest attempt at exhibiting any real competence–or confidence, for that matter. Whenever you’re in doubt, and I know I’ve said this many times over, ask the butcher! That’s why they are there. Even the generic “butcher-type” individual behind the counter at your local chain store knows a thing or two about the product you intend on purchasing. For your own sake, don’t go into the cooking process with rib eye on your mind when you have a Porterhouse in your hand.

- Prepare Yourself!

Over seasoning an already perfect cut of steak seems to be the common M.O. for some people, but I’m here to tell you that the most you’ll ever need for a perfectly seasoned steak is salt and pepper (gasp!). Put away the garlic, Worcestershire sauce and all the other hangups that you might have about cooking a great steak and go for what you know; coarse sea salt and fresh ground pepper, got it?

- Bring the heat.

High heat for short periods of time is your friend. Period. Once your meat is good to go, break out a stainless steel skillet and get it as hot as you can. The point is to get the pan hot enough so that it can sear the outside of your steak to seal in as much of the moisture (read: flavor) as quickly as possible. You will need no more than 2 minutes on each side to get a good sear. Before you start this lightning fast process, you should be preheating your oven to 500 degrees. This is going to serve as your springboard into the second portion of the cooking process.

- Out of the frying pan…

Once you’ve got the sear that you’re looking for, and your oven is heated, quickly move the pan into your oven and cook for about 2-3 minutes per pound. Disclaimer: There will be smoke, especially with fattier cuts of meat. But do not panic! This is part of the process. Just be sure you ventilate your kitchen accordingly or cook on an outside grill/oven combination if smoke isn’t your thing.

- Let it rest.

Once you’ve reached the perfect point–any good steak should be cooked to a medium rare state–you’ll reach the most crucial part of the cooking process: letting it rest. Place your steak(s) on a microwave safe dish or cutting board and let it sit. That’s it! Don’t immediately cut into it, touch it, flip it around or anything. The meat has been through a lot at this point and it needs a chance to get its bearings straight. You will not believe how many people neglect this step and go straight for it. In the end, it’s better to have a warm steak that was cooked to a tee than a scalding hot one that has yet to finish cooking at all.

Brian Wilder is a writer for Home Ec 101. You can also find him at Things My Grandfather Taught Me.
If you have a question you’d like Brian to answer send it to Brian@home-ec101.com.

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Cheeseburger Macaroni

January 17, 2011 By 4 Comments

Heather says:

There are some meals that are so simple that I’ve forgotten to include them in the recipe files here on Home Ec 101. This easy recipe for Cheeseburger Macaroni is one of the forgotten go to meals. This quick dinner is a great for busy weeknights.

It is as simple as it sounds, but the key difference between cheeseburger macaroni that is meh and cheeseburger macaroni full of awesome is how long you cook the hamburger. Seriously, if your hamburger is just barely grey with little or no browning from the Maillard Reaction you’re going to miss out on whole slew of flavors. Am I saying to crank the heat to high and turn the burger into a charcoal briquette? Heck no. Just let go a little past barely done before draining. This recipe takes no longer than the kind that comes in a pot, but it’s worth the extra pan.  Sometimes you pay for flavor with a couple of extra dishes.

Cheeseburger macaroni is a great starter meal for those just learning how to cook. Just be sure to serve it with some form of vegetable…Please?

Here’s your printable shopping list for this recipe.

Easy Cheeseburger Macaroni Recipe


Cheeseburger Macaroni

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

In a large skillet, brown the meat over medium low until nearly done and then drain off the grease. Return to the skillet and add the diced onion and minced garlic. Continue cooking over low heat until the meat has browned and the onions are soft.

While the meat is browning make:

1 Recipe for Homemade Stove Top Macaroni and Cheese

  • 1/2 lb elbow macaroni
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 tsp hot sauce
  • 1 tsp dry mustard
  • 4 TBSP butter
  • 5oz evaporated milk or 1/2 cup half and half
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • fresh ground pepper to taste
  • 10 oz sharp cheddar, shredded

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente. While the noodles are cooking, whisk together the eggs, evaporated milk OR half and half, hot sauce, dry mustard, and salt / pepper

Drain. While the noodles are draining melt the 4 TBSP of butter in the pan, then return the pasta to the pot. Stir to make sure all of the pasta is coated evenly. (The burner should be off). Add the sauce and turn the burner to low, stir the macaroni until it is evenly coated in the sauce mixture. Then stir in the shredded cheddar cheese and stir until everything is melted and wonderful.

Dump the contents of the pot into the skillet with the ground beef. Stir to combine and serve.

If you want to stretch the meal further consider stirring in:

2 cups of cooked pinto or kidney beans -stir into the ground beef just before adding the macaroni

or diced bell pepper -stir the bell pepper in just after the onions are added to the ground beef.

or diced tomatoes – fresh or canned.

It’s that easy.

Submitted to A Southern Fairy Tale’s Mouthwatering Monday – A Healthier Chicken Parmesan and Tasty Tuesdays.

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Albondigas Soup

November 30, 2010 By 14 Comments

Heather says:

This is my family’s version of the spicy Mexican meatball soup often called Albondigas. The recipe came from my mother, who I think got it from her sister or mother.

The meatballs are a little tedious to make, but if you crank the radio or bribe your kids, spouse, or a friend into assisting it goes quickly.

Warning: if you don’t like cilantro, albondigas is not the soup for you.

When I first adopted this recipe for albondigas I used to bring the soup to a roiling boil and drop in the meatballs, but this made the soup rather greasy. Baking the meatballs completely fixed the problem.

As with many meals, this one is even better the next day. The meatballs absorb more of the broth’s flavor and of course there’s no prep time for leftovers.

Double or triple this recipe, it freezes very well and goes well with margaritas (virgin if alcohol isn’t your thing). This is a meal people frequently request for the pot lucks I attend. (Pot lucks sound lame, but they fit the budget).

Here’s a printable shopping list for the ingredients.

Albondigas Meatball Ingredients:

albondigas.jpg

  • 2lbs lean ground beef
  • 1 small can diced green chilies
  • 1/2 bunch green onions – chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic – minced or pressed
  • 1/2 bunch cilantro – chopped
  • 1/4 cup rice
  • 1 egg
  • salt
  • pepper
  • Tabasco or Chalula to taste

Albondigas Meatball Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400˚F. Combine all ingredients by hand and roll into 1″ meatballs, bake on a cookie sheet for 10 – 12 minutes. Place on a papertowel to absorb grease. Set aside.

Albondigas Broth Ingredients:

  • 1 qt water
  • 1 qt beef stock (or substitute an equivalent amount of beef broth, base or bouillon)
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1 small can diced green chilies
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes (feel free to use fresh, in season)
  • 1/2 bunch green onions -chopped
  • 1/2 bunch cilantro – chopped
  • 1/4 cup rice
  • salt/pepper/hot sauce to taste

Albondigas Broth Instructions

Bring water, beef base, garlic, chilies, and tomatoes to a roiling boil. Add meatballs and rice. Reduce the heat and simmer until the rice is soft. Add cilantro, green onions, and season to taste, simmering for an additional 10 minutes to allow the flavors to combine. Longer is better, but I usually can’t wait.

Serve hot with fresh, warm flour tortillas.

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Sloppy Joes

August 3, 2010 By 24 Comments

Heather says:

I know a can of sloppy joe sauce is easy, but it’s often loaded with high fructose corn syrup, something we work hard to avoid. This recipe is our go-to alternative. If you’re also trying to cut out hfcs, be sure to check the label on your hamburger buns. Oh, and even though you get a “serving” of vegetables with every sandwich, it’s still a good idea to serve some on the side.

Add grocery list.

Sloppy Joe Recipe

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 small onion diced
  • 1 small bell pepper diced
  • 2 8oz cans tomato sauce
  • 2 TBSP tomato paste
  • 1 tsp Montreal steak seasoning
  • 3 TBSP brown sugar
  • 1 TSP Worcestershire sauce

Over medium heat brown then drain the ground beef. Return to the heat and add diced onions and peppers, cook until the onions and bell peppers are soft. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, brown sugar, Montreal Steak Seasoning, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low and cook for an additional five – ten minutes stirring occasionally. Serve on toasted buns.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

Suggested sides:

PS This turns out better if you sing along with Adam Sandler and Lunchlady Land1:
1Any offense to any specific lunchlady is not intentional and if taken should be directed to Adam Sandler for planting the song in my head back in the early to mid-nineties.

Enjoy.

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