Slow-Roasted Beef Eye Round

This recipe taken from America’s Test Kitchen.

Ingredients
4 t. kosher salt or 2 t. table salt*
1 3-4 lb boneless eye-round roast, trimmed of visible fat
4 t. canola oil
Pepper

Directions

• Sprinkle the salt evenly over the meat.  Place the roast on a large plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 18-24 hours
• Adjust the oven rack to the middle position in the oven, and heat oven to 225 degrees.  Set a rack inside a large, rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
• Pat the roast dry with paper towels, rub 2 t. of canola oil over the roast, and season with pepper.
• Heat the remaining 2 t. of oil in a 12 inch skillet over medium high heat until just smoking.  Brown the meat on both sides (~ 5 minutes per side).  Transfer the roast, fat side up, to the prepared wire rack and roast for 1 1/4 hours to 1 3/4 hours (or until internal temperature of the roast reaches 115 degrees).  DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR DURING THIS TIME.
• Turn the oven off and let the roast continue to cook in the oven for 20-35 minutes (or until internal temperature of the roast reaches 225 degrees).  DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR DURING THIS TIME.
• Transfer the roast to a carving board, lightly tent with foil, and let stand for 20 minutes.  Carve in thin slices and serve.

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*  You can try this with garlic- or onion-salt if you like.

Beef Stew a la Ed

Ingredients
3 lb beef stew meat
2 T. Worsteshire Sauce
Salt and pepper
Olive Oil
1 cup of flour
2 onions, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 bell peppers (green or yellow), chopped
2 parsnips, peeled and roughly cut
4 heirloom or regular tomatoes, chopped
1 32 oz can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 32 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 32 oz can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 T. Marjoram
1 T. Oregano
1 t. Summer Savory
1 t. Sage
16 oz mushrooms, sliced
6 carrots, peeled and sliced

Directions

1.  Separate stew meat and chop larger pieces into bite-sized pieces.  Place in a bowl

2.  Add Worsteshire sauce and mix until stew meat is coated.  Add more Worsteshire if necessary to coat all meat.

3.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Let stand 5-10 minutes.

4.  While meat is standing, saute onion, garlic, and green peppers in olive oil on medium heat for 5-10 minutes until onion is translucent and just starting to brown.  Remove vegetables and place in crock pot or dutch oven.

5.  Dredge stew meat in flour and brown in pan, a few pieces at a time, to a rich brown color on both sides.  Add more olive oil if necessary.

6.  Place meat, onion, garlic, olive oil, beans, tomatoes, oregano, marjoram, summer savory, and sage in crock pot or dutch oven.  Add sufficient water to just cover. Cook in crock pot on high for 2 hours, or in dutch oven on simmer for one.

7.  Add mushrooms and carrots.  Cook for 2 hours crock pot or dutch oven for one.

You can expand this dish by adding more beans, but I recommend that you use a different type of bean each time for variety and appearance.

Slow-cooked roast beef

(No, it isn’t a pot roast).

INGREDIENTS

1 Round or Top Round roast (3-5 lbs)
8 carrots, peeled and quartered
2 onions, sliced
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 Jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
6 cloves of garlic, whole
16 oz mushrooms, sliced
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

1.  Rub salt and pepper into the roast on all sides

2.  In a frying pan on medium high heat, brown roast on all sides (about 3-5 minutes per side)

3.  While roast is browning, place all ingredients except mushrooms and roast in a crock pot.  Set to “High”.

4.  Place roast on top of vegetables in crock pot, and pour mushrooms over the top of the roast.

5.  Cover and cook for 5 hours.

6.  Serve with mashed potatoes.

Mongolian Beef

Ingredients

1 lb sirloin or flank steak

Marinade:

1 T. soy sauce
1 T. rice vinegar
1 t. chile oil
1 T. minced fresh ginger
1 T. cornstarch

Vegetables:
2 bunches green onions, sliced into one-inch diagonal pieces
4 leeks (white part only) sliced into 1/4″ thick rounds
2 Anaheim peppers, diced (seeds and veins removed)
Chinese or other hot peppers to taste.
3 garlic clove, minced

Sauce:
3 T. hoisin sauce
1 T. water
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. dark soy sauce
2 t. rice vinegar
1/4 t. chile paste, or to taste

Sesame oil for stir-frying

Directions:

Slice the beef into long strips against the grain and place in a bowl or plastic bag.  Mix the marinade ingredients together and then pour over beef.  Allow to marinade for 30 minutes to 8 hours.  Drain on a rack or paper towels for 10 minutes.

Heat 2 T. sesame oil in wok on high heat.  Add the beef and stir fry until browned.  Remove and set aside.

Add a little more oil to the wok if necessary, then add vegetables.  Stir fry for 2-3 minutes.  Add sauce and bring to a boil, allowing sauce to thicken somewhat.  Return the beef to the pan and combine with the sauce and vegetables.  Serve over rice or noodles.

Beer Marinade for Steak

From Discovery Fit and Health

1 12-ounce bottle pilsner beer

1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice

1 medium onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Just sprinkle the steak with salt (not too much!) and fresh pepper, very lightly coat with heart-healthy olive oil, and place in a large plastic bag. Pour in marinade, making sure steak is entirely submerged. Marinate for at least two and up to six hours — then throw on the grill, cook to at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit for safety, and enjoy!

I just threw all the ingredients in a food processor and wazzed them all up together.  Took about 5 minutes.

Also, I decided to salt and pepper the steaks after marinating them.  I know the marinade won’t penetrate as well without the salt, so I am upping the marinade time to 24 hours.  I usually like to marinade for at least 24 hours anyway, because I think all the stuff about 8 hours being all it takes is horseshit.  No, I don’t care what Alton Brown says.  Or America’s Test Kitchen.  

My Mom’s Flank Steak

This was a favorite at our house growing up.  Really easy to make.

(Not a photo of my flank steak. But doesn't it look yummy?)

INGREDIENTS

1 flank steak

1/4 cup soy sauce (reduced salt)

1/4 cup mirin cooking wine

1 T. rice vinegar

Mix together the soy sauce, mirin, and rice vinegar in a plastic bag.  Marinate the steak in the liquid for 8-24 hours, turning occasionally.  Remove from bag 15 minutes before cooking and let rest.

Broil the steak on the top shelf of the oven for 3-5 minutes per side.  Remove from oven, let rest for 5 minutes, then carve into thin strips.

Serve atop stir fried noodles with vegetables.

P.S.  The marinade makes a fine sauce for the noodles.  Just throw it in the wok when you stir fry the noodles.  Make sure it boils thoroughly