Hello Bovine

Beef. My experience in handling, cooking, and eating beef is very limited. I don’t understand people who say they can eat steak all day every day (gag) because I have the occasional burger every quarter and eat a filet mignon once a year, on my birthday.  I am ashamed to admit that I also request it well done. Yes go ahead and gasp, shake your head, tsk, judge me.  I just can’t handle the rawness, the texture of the uncooked meat, chewing it and chewing and wondering when the heck it’s going to finally disintegrate in my mouth. Did I also mention the blood? Anyways, I digress. As a food lover I’m an equal opportunity cook so bring it on beef.

On the menu: Beef Bourguignon with spaetzle
                            Braised stuffed vegetables (tomatoes & peppers)
                            Roast beef w/ jus
                            Steak tartare

I don’t know much about cuts of meat but I do know that marbling is tres bon.   Tender cuts like filet mignon don’t have too much flavor – you need the fat. For last night’s dishes we used sirloin. 

Beef Bourguignon

Beef Bourguignon is a stew prepared with braised beef in red wine, traditionally Burgundy. Will Merlot do? Sure. For best flavor marinate beef (cut up in not too small pieces or it will cook too fast and become nice and tough) and your mire poix, as well as: thyme, bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns, a splash of vinegar and olive oil and slice of orange if you feel like it, overnight.   When you’re ready to cook drain mixture and pick out your meat. It’s time to sear. Sear over very high heat. If you lose temperature, which you will because the meat will be cold, remove meat, drain and repeat.  You don’t want to boil your meat! In a seperate pot clarify your marinade sans mire poix.  Blood will coagulate and foam up, which you get to skim!  Not clarifying your marinade will result in gritty sauce. Blach. 

Got a nice color on your meat? Add some tomato paste and cook (~ a tablespoon depending on how much you’re making) then toasted flour. (toast the same way you would nuts) Not too little, not too much. Let it cook then add mire poix , give it a stir and add marinade.  Bring to a boil and add a little veal stock to cover the meat completely. If you have no veal stock you can use chicken stock or beef boullion. Cover, turn heat on low and finish in the oven, starting at 325 and turning it down from there.  How long do you cook it? A long time. Check for doneness by 1.) tasting the meat or 2.) squeezing it together – if it seperates it’s done.  Remove meat and mix up with whatever garnish you’d like – caramelized pearl onions, sauteed mushrooms, bacon – and cover.  Strain your sauce, then mix with meat and garnish.  Ready to serve with boiled potatoes, pasta, rice or….spaetzle!!!

In Germany we’d have spaetzle cooked in butter with bacon, cheese, onions, etc. Yummy! I never realized how easy they are to make though.  Nine ounces of flour, 5 eggs, a little nutmeg, salt, love, and if the dough needs moisture, a splash of water or cream. In the mixer it goes – you want a firm dough.  In a pan bring water to a low boil and place whatever perforated contraption (colander is the only thing I can think of in my kitchen) you can find on top. With a spatula type tool press the dough through the holes by a back and forth motion across the surface so you’ll end up with little dough raindrops in your water.  Cook for a minute or two but not longer and throw in a hot pan with butter. Get a nice color, season and serve with your Beef Bourguignon.  Your mouth will be happy, I promise. 

Let’s stuff some vegetables

I’m a huge fan of stuffed anything because it makes for a nice presentation and is great for individual servings, especially at a party. Take whatever vegetable you want to stuff, making sure to think about the cooking time. If you want to stuff potatoes pre-cook them since they take a while to cook; if you cook everything at once they won’t be done but your stuffing will be. Hollow out your vegetables of choice (tomatoes and peppers in our case). Mix ground meat, chopped onion, garlic and parsley.   You need fat for flavor and to bind it all together so mix leftover crusty bread with cream to make a nice paste.  Add to meat and season, then dig in and start mixing with your hands.  Need more fat? Some shredded cheese can go in too. Take a nice amount and stuff your vegetables and sprinkle with cheese on top.  In the pan add some fortified chicken stock (chicken stock and tomato paste) and cook until done, starting at 400 and dropping the temperature until it’s done.  Cooked rice should go in your stuffing too but last night we forgot to add it. I liked it without the rice but my friend observed that it was very ‘meatbally’ this way, and it kind of was.

Roast beef au jus

Never been a fan. If your cut of meat has no fat, wrap it in pork back fat. Yes, back fat. Good luck finding it. In France the butcher will gladly wrap your cut of meat in back fat, and make a pretty pattern while he’s at it.  Since you’ll probably have a hard time locating back fat you can buy a cut of meat with fat on it.  Insert small cloves of garlic into the meat, add sprigs of thyme on top and tie it nice and tight.  Tying the meat is crucial because it helps perserve moisture and all that lovely juice.   Season well and sear on all sides in clarified butter. Pan goes into the oven on low heat for a long time. Remember to baste baste baste! When it’s done (and that means medium rare), let it rest for 1/3 of the time you cook it. Slice thinly and serve with jus. I’m glad I had it but I don’t foresee many roast beef sandwiches in my future.

And then there’s tartare

I can’t help but picture Genghis Khan sliding a big steak under his saddle and riding around for hours before deciding it’s tender enough to break for lunch. You know the myth, right? Like tuna tartare, steak tartare is raw. Cut lean meat into small little cubes – or if you happen to own a meat grinder, throw it in there – but NEVER ever use  ground meat from the store. Yuck. Last night Chef Patrice mixed ground meat, 2 egg yolks, chopped parsley, capers, cornichons (little spicy French gherkins), chopped red onion, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, salt & pepper and a dash of Tabasco. Serve on top of toasted French bread.  In France it’s served with fries, yes, FRENCH fries! Apparently the hot-cold contrast creates an unbevlievably delicious flavor explosion in your mouth.  Uh-huh. None of that happened in my mouth last night and the first thing my mind registered was capers, followed by mustard, followed by “oh my God I’m eating raw meat, raw ground  meat”!!!

Well?

Last night’s class was very informative and a little challenging because for once I was not thrilled about the ingredient we were going to be cooking and eating. But if I am to follow my own rule (rule: taste everything before declaring whether you hate it or not), I have to at least know what something tastes like before making up my mind on whether I like it or not. Even if it’s raw, even if it’s not aesthetically pleasing.  I learned that I still will never enjoy eating a massive, bleeding steak. I also learned that I do in fact love beef, when it’s cooked.

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