Yummy Lummy

A blog about food and me

Tag: Beef

  • Beef congee

    Beef congee


    From time to time, I’m adding some starches to my diet. It’s been a while since I’ve eaten any rice. Having just spent a weekend with many Asians, an innate fondness for rice and chopsticks welled up to the surface. I often cook with chopsticks, e.g., when I make blue vein cheese sauce, wooden chopsticks are my go-to tool for stirring and mixing.

    The rice in the congee[i] is problematic. The starch constitutes carbohydrates I do not need. I can partially ameliorate the problem by freezing the cooked rice and converting it to resistant starch to lower the glycaemic index.

    Recipe

    Ingredients

    • Rice
    • Beef broth
    • Beef short ribs
    • Beef chuck steak
    • Water
    • Salt

    Equipment

    • Fast/slow cooker

    Instructions

    1. Wash a cup of uncooked rice and then add it to the slow cooker.
    2. Add a cup of beef broth and enough water to cover the rice by one distal phalange.
    3. Add the beef short ribs and beef chuck.
    4. Add some salt.
    5. Cook for 8 hours.
    6. At the end of 8 hours, add the optional sterilisation by steam under pressure in the pressure cooker. I sometimes do this if I’m using beef broth that has been in the refrigerator for a week or more. While the risk of bacterial contamination is low because of the hygiene precautions I take, this step is belt and braces.
    7. If you use a fast/slow cooker (or similar device), this can be achieved without changing cooking vessels.
    8. Transfer the contents into a large bowl and start to pull the meat and mix it with the rice gruel.
    9. Remove the rib bones.
    10. Refrigerate the congee overnight so the rice develops resistant starch.
    11. Aliquots can now be taken and reheated for small meals, like lunch.

    Reheating

    1. Divide the refrigerated congee into six portions.
    2. Add the portions to vacuum bags and seal the bags.
    3. Reheat the contents in water bath at 80 °C for 45 minutes. The solidified beef fat will melt, and the rice and meat with break up and become softer.
    4. Pour the hot congee into a bowl.
    5. Serve the reheated congee, which has now developed resistant starch, in a bowl and eat with a spoon.
    6. You can add shredded pork and lettuce.

    Photographs

    Select an image and scroll through.

    Thoughts on the meal

    My mother makes my favourite congee. It is chicken congee, and she uses a pressure cooker. She would always use a whole chicken and basic white long-grain rice. Mum would add soy sauce and other Chinese herbs and spices. In serving, we’d have shredded iceberg lettuce, shredded ham, plus extra soy sauce. We’d eat the jook (that’s what we called congee) for an evening meal most of the time in winter. It would keep us warm. If there was any leftover, we may get some reheated for lunch.

    My version of this recipe is a significant departure from my mother’s version. I’m incorporating some of my preferences. There is no soy sauce, no seed oils, no herbs and spices. The flavours come from salt and the meat, and the rib bones, which were in the slow cooker. This congee or jook is also laden with beef fat, gloriously unctuous[ii] beef fat.

    Nutrient values for rice.

    NutrientPer 1 Cup (≈186 g)Per 100 g% Daily Value (1 Cup)
    Calories242 kcal130 kcal~12%
    Carbohydrates53 g28.5 g~18%
    Protein4.4 g2.4 g~9%
    Fat0.4 g0.2 g~1%
    Fibre0.8 g0.4 g~3%
    Sugars0.2 g0.1 g—

    Walking Photographs

    Select an image and scroll through.

    [i] noun [mass noun] (in Chinese cooking) broth or porridge made from rice.

    [ii] adjective (of food or drink) having a pleasingly rich taste

  • Everyday beef brisket

    Everyday beef brisket


    The cost of living is getting higher. How many times a day do we hear or read that in the news and on social media?

    The majority of posts on this blog feature expensive cuts of meat.

    With the cost of food rising, I need to increase my consumption of more economical cuts. I will limit buying the more expensive cuts of meat.

    Most days, lunch is supermarket bought beef mince (ground beef for North American readers).

    To break up the monotony, other “economical” cuts include chuck and brisket.

    This beef brisket cost about $AUD30 for about 1.8 kg. That’s roughly $AUD17/kg.

    Most of the scotch fillet steak or rump steak I buy is more expensive than that. This is particularly true if the meat is Coorong Black Angus beef.

    This piece of brisket will give me with eight serves ($AUD3.75).

    Recipe

    Tonight I prepared some beef brisket meat with a creamy sauce, some broccolini, and sourdough bread.

    Ingredients

    • Brisket — Initially cooked in a slow cooker for 8 hours. It was then refrigerated. For this meal, the brisket is finely diced.
    • Sourdough bread — organic sourdough bread frozen to develop resistant starch, and then thawed and toasted.
    • Broccolini
    • Swiss brown mushrooms
    • Cream cheese
    • Blue vein cheese
    • Pure pouring cream
    • Beef fat — the fat separated from the cooking liquor from the slow cooker.
    • Beef broth — the cooking liquor from the slow cooker.
    • Butter

    Equipment

    • Frypan
    • Kettle

    Instructions

    1. Add the diced beef, beef broth, and beef fat to the frypan. Gently heat the contents until the liquid has evaporated. Continue heating until the meat has softened. Set the reheated brisket aside.
    2. Sauté the mushrooms in butter. The mushrooms will soften when they have absorbed the water from the butter. Then, add crumbled blue vein cheese and the cream cheese. Stir slowly and thoroughly. Finish with a dash of pure pouring cream and season with freshly cracked black peppercorns.
    3. Parboil the broccolini with boiling water from the kettle.
    4. Place the toasted sourdough bread on a dinner plate. Place the broccolini on the toast. Spoon the brisket next to the bread. Spoon the sauce over the broccolini and bread and let the rest settle next to the meat.

    Thoughts on the meal

    While beef short rib meat is more unctuous, as a cheaper cut, brisket is pretty good.

    Beef and blue vein cheese go well together and combine well on the toast which adds a crunchy mouthfeel.

    The broccolini adds some colour to the dish.

    Photographs

    These are photographs of the meal. Select one and then scroll through the rest.

    Questions

    • What is your favourite “cheap” cut of beef?
    • Do you like brisket? How do you cook it?
    • Do you eat leftovers for lunch?

    Some of the other meals from this brisket

    Other photographs

    Some other photographs from this week.


    Beef brisket. Slowly cooked beef brisket reheated in a frypan with beef fat and beef broth. Served on sourdough bread, which had been frozen to develop resistant starch. The photograph features a Dolphins NRL plate.

  • Creamed spinach with blue vein cheese and mushrooms

    Creamed spinach with blue vein cheese and mushrooms


    Today began with strange dreams. I know I tossed and turned a lot. My dreams involved family members in unusual predicaments. Friends’ faces appeared randomly. There were no clear actions in the dreams.

    This morning, I went for a walk along the beach and enjoyed the early sunrise. I expect to continue relishing this until October, when daylight saving time begins, which may affect my mood. Many people prefer walking later in the day. Daylight saving times makes this choice easier. I treasure walking in early morning light and sunshine.

    Recipe

    Ingredients

    • Butter
    • Spinach leaves
    • Swiss brown mushrooms
    • Cream cheese (softened)
    • Cream
    • Blue vein cheese
    • Salt
    • Freshly ground black pepper

    Method

    1. Roughly cut some Swiss brown mushrooms.
    2. Place a frypan over medium heat. Add the butter and allow it to melt (but not brown).
    3. Sauté the mushrooms.
    4. Increase the heat to medium–high and add the spinach in batches, stirring each handful until just wilted before adding more.
    5. Once all the spinach is wilted, reduce the heat to medium. Stir through the cream cheese and heavy cream until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
    6. Crumble in the blue vein cheese. Remember to stir constantly. Continue to cook for 2–3 minutes. Cook until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
    7. Season with salt and pepper.

    Make ahead and “safe” storage.

    • This dish can be prepared up to a day in advance.
    • Cool completely, cover and refrigerate.
    • To reheat, gently warm in a saucepan over low heat. Add a splash of cream if the sauce has thickened too much.
    • Enjoy with steak, roast chicken or simply on its own for a luscious side.

    Photographs

    This is a gallery of photographs. Select one and scroll through the rest of the images.

    Thoughts on the meal

    • Sometimes, I enjoy eating spinach leaves. I used to have steamed spinach leaves every morning with some cheese and a steamed egg. Later, I read about some issues related to eating too much spinach.
    • I had the creamed spinach as a side dish with a rump cap steak. The steak and creamed spinach go well together.
    • I enjoyed the meal. It was delicious.

    Questions

    • Do you dream a lot?
    • Do you remember your dreams?
    • How do you feel about daylight saving time?
    • Do you enjoy eating spinach leaves?

    Morning photographs

    ISO 280, focal length 24 mm, shutter speed 1/250th second, and aperture f8.

  • Beef Adelaide

    Beef Adelaide


    There’s been a lot reported recently on Beef Wellington and mushrooms. This post has nothing to do with that. That said, the reporting about the Beef Wellington got me thinking about cooking something a little more “fancy” than I usually cook.

    If this intrigues you, go to a search engine and type something like, “Australia, Beef Wellington, death cap mushrooms.”

    Recipe

    Ingredients

    • Puff pastry
    • Rump cap
    • Mushrooms
    • Spinach
    • Butter
    • Cream
    • Pâté
    • Blue cheese
    • Egg

    Equipment

    • Water bath
    • Precision cooker
    • Oven
    • Barbecue grill
    • Gas torch
    • Frypan
    • Small saucepan

    Instructions

    The meat

    1. Dry brine the rump cap for about 24 hours.
    2. Cook the rump cap for approximately 3 hours at 57 °C.
    3. Sear the steak on a barbecue grill along with a gas torch.
    4. Allow the meat to cool before wrapping it in the puff pastry.

    Duxelles[1]

    While I use this term, this meal is not a Beef Wellington.

    1. Finely dice or process the mushrooms.
    2. Sauté the mushrooms in beef fat and set them aside.
    3. Wilt the spinach in beef fat and set aside.
    4. In a small saucepan, gently heat a dash of cream and a small nob of butter.
    5. Crumble in some blue cheese and then gently stir in the wilted spinach leaves.
    6. Allow the mixture to cool.
    7. Combine the cooled mushrooms and creamy spinach.

    Assembly of the pastry creation (aka “Beef Adelaide”)

    I’m going to call this dish “Beef Adelaide” because I live in Adelaide, and the meat is Coorong Black Angus.

    1. Open the packet of puff pastry according to the instructions for use (IFU).
    2. Spread some pâté over the pastry.
    3. Scoop and spread the “duxelles” on the pastry.
    4. Place the meat on the pastry.
    5. Wrap the pastry around the meat and “duxelles.”
    6. Apply an egg wash.
    7. Cook the pastry “Beef Adelaide” in an oven set at about 180 °C until the pastry is golden brown.

    Serving suggestions

    • You can serve this dish on its own.
    • You could serve it with some vegetables.
    • You could slice it and present it neatly on a plate and then pour burnt butter over it.
    • I chose to eat it on a plate by itself and used a serrated steak knife, so that bits of puff pastry would fly all over the dining table and onto the floor, as well as my lap, leaving grease marks on my strides.

    Photographs

    This is a gallery of photographs. Click on one and scroll through them to see a larger version with more detail.

    Today had weather suited to this meal.

    Thoughts on the meal

    • I was pleased with how the meal turned out.
    • I’ve made Beef Wellington many times, and in my opinion, it’s Not worth the effort to do it traditionally.
    • My “Beef Adelaide” is a good cheat.

    Questions

    • Have you made Beef Wellington?
    • Do you like wrapping meat in pastry?
    • What do you like about meat in pastry?

    [1] Noun [mass noun] a preparation of mushrooms sautéed with onions, shallots, garlic, and parsley and used to make stuffing or sauce.

  • Low-Carbohydrate Ketogenic Blue Cheese Sauce for Steak

    Low-Carbohydrate Ketogenic Blue Cheese Sauce for Steak


    I was participating in a Microsoft Teams chat with some colleagues, and the subject of “butter making everything better” came up (again). Friends at work know I’m fond of butter.

    One friend (BC) said she feels the same way about cheese. I agreed and mentioned how I like a soft cheese with steak.

    Another friend (ER) queried the combination, to which BC specified blue cheese (also BC) with steak.

    As much as I’m happy to place a hunk of blue cheese next to a steak, tonight I thought I’d go a step further and make a blue cheese sauce with cream (also known as pre-butter) plus actual butter.

    Tonight I served myself the blue cheese sauce with a piece of Coorong black angus rump cap, which I cooked sous vide for approximately 3 hours at 57 °C. The steak weighed approximately 320 grams.

    Recipe

    Ingredients

    • 60 mL (¼ cup) cream
    • 30 g (2 tablespoons) blue cheese crumbles
    • Pinch of freshly ground black pepper (optional)
    • 15 g (1 tablespoon) of butter (optional — but not)

    Instructions

    1. Place the butter, cream and blue cheese crumbles in a small saucepan.
    2. Warm over low to medium heat, stirring constantly until the cheese begins to melt.
    3. Continue to cook for 3–5 minutes, until the mixture bubbles gently and thickens to a saucy consistency.
    4. Remove from heat, season with a crack of black pepper, and spoon directly over your cooked steak.

    Nutritional Information (per serving)

    Net CarbsTotal CarbsFatProteinCalories
    2 g2 g26 g4 g254 kcal

    This recipe yields approximately 2 g of net carbs per serving, making it suitable for a ketogenic way of eating (assuming the daily intake of carbohydrates remains <20 g).

    Tips and Variations

    • To serve two people, double the amount of all ingredients.
    • For extra richness, whisk in 1 tablespoon (15 g) of unsalted butter along with the cream.
    • Stir in chopped chives or a dash of white wine vinegar at the end for freshness.
    • Best served immediately—if reheated, the fats may separate.

    Pairing Suggestions

    • A juicy scotch fillet steak, cooked to medium-rare, amplifies the creaminess of the sauce. Cooking meat too rare can result in an unattractive mix of red meat juices and pale sauce. While choosing well-done is an option, I do not like well-done steak. I find for a fat-rich steak, 57 to 58 °C a good temperature. You’ll find a lot of sous vide experts who recommend 55 °C. The fat doesn’t render as well at that temperature in my experience.
    • Pair with a low-carb side, such as garlic and butter sautéed spinach or roasted asparagus.

    Photographs

    Thoughts on the meal

    I enjoyed tonight’s meal. Cutting the steak into slices so I could dip each piece into a small pot of blue cheese sauce felt luxurious. The umami-rich, beefy, thick, and juicy steak pairs perfectly with the salty-umami and funky flavours of the blue cheese, creating a harmonious blend of flavours and textures. It was almost Holy Matrimony. Being a lover of fat, the fat and the blue cheese also combined well.

    Questions

    • Have you tried blue cheese and steak? What did you think?
    • Do you have any tips on making a blue cheese sauce?
    • How would you serve blue cheese and steak if you were cooking?