Recipes And Cooking

Grass Finished Beef is very lean similar to game meat, so it is more sensitive to cooking temperatures and times; 15-25 percent lower temperatures are recommended. So if a recipe calls for 350 degrees, 300 degrees would be prudent for grass finished meat. The recipes below have already been adjusted. Cooking beef too hot, too fast destroys the structure of the proteins thus making the meat tough and chewy. Slower cooking retains the flavor and tenderness. Take extra care on the grill. Simply searing for just 3 minutes on each side can be plenty for a juicy medium rare steak. Ideal internal temperature is 120-140 degrees for steaks or 160 degrees for burger. Don’t forget the meat continues to cook for up to 10 minutes after removal from heat. The ground meat might even need a little fat added such as an egg to help keep burger patties together. You’ll notice there isn’t much fat to drain when browning the ground beef.

As we mentioned before, Eatwild is a great resource for cookbooks and pastured information. The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook is also full of good cooking tips.

Many of the recipes I have included are learned directly from Mike Rosenberg or adapted other recipes because of the cooking know-how I learned from him. He taught me to “have a feel” when cooking just like I do when riding a horse or moving a cow so I don’t follow precise measurements when cooking. Which was difficult for me at first because I am definitely a type A personality. My taste buds are forever indebted to Large Mike. Enjoy the fruits of his labor in the kitchen for many years.

If you think about it ahead of time, an easy marinade for any cut of beef is Dr Pepper or Coke. The sugar and carbonation break down the intermuscle fat and make the meat extra tender. Another option is equal parts Soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce.
As I mentioned above, add an egg and even some bread crumbs if burger patties aren’t sticking together very well.

Large Mike’s Meatballs
1 lb      Ground beef
2          Garlic cloves, minced
½         Onion, finely chopped
           Salt & Pepper

           Oregano
           Thyme
           Basil
2         Eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Shape into balls about the size of golf ball and place on cookie sheet. Brown meatballs in the oven for 15 minutes. Finish cooking the meatballs in simmering marinara sauce for 1 hour.

Swiss Steak
An easy and delicious marinara recipe

2 pkg Round Steak, tenderized
Flour
Salt & Pepper

Italian spices
3 Garlic cloves, minced

½ Onion, sliced

1 Bell pepper, sliced

2 Stewed Tomatoes – 14.5 oz cans

2-3 C Beef broth

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, salt, pepper and Italian spices together. Dredge steaks in flour mixture. Brown steaks in a skillet over medium high heat. Place steaks in 9x13 baking pan. Add garlic, onions, bell pepper, and stewed tomatoes with juices on top of beef. Add broth until steaks are covered. Bake in oven for 2 hours.

Mike’s RQ Brisket

2 ½ C Ketchup
½ C     Worcestershire Sauce
¼ C     Soy Sauce
16 oz. Dr. Pepper
1          Medium Onion, Diced
6-8       Garlic Cloves, Minced

2 Tbl Grey Poupon Mustard

2-3 Dashes Tabasco Sauce

Salt & Pepper

6-7 lb Beef Brisket

Place brisket in a baking dish fat side up. Combine all other ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together. Pour over brisket; cover and seal with foil. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours. Place in preheated 350 degree oven for about 5 hours. Skim off fat, slice thinly and serve with remaining sauce.

Asian Style Short Ribs

*This one is a little more involved but is a nice change of flavor from typical BBQ*

5 lbs Short Ribs

1 C Soy sauce

¼ C Rice Wine Vinegar

3 Garlic Cloves, peeled & smashed

1          Lemongrass stalk, 5 inches, halved and smashed
1 T       Ginger, peeled & minced
½ C     Brown Sugar
1 Qt     Water
½ C     Green Onions – white part only – sliced
¾ t       Crushed Red Pepper
¼ C     Orange Juice
¼ C     Hoisin Sauce
2 T       Lemon Juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a wide stockpot, combine the short ribs, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, lemongrass, ginger, brown sugar, water, green onion bottoms, crushed red pepper, and 2 tablespoons of the orange juice. Make sure that the stockpot is deep enough so that the short ribs are submerged in the liquid.

Bake the short ribs, covered, for about 3 hours, or until the meat is tender and falling off the bones. Remove the short ribs from the braising liquid and cover to keep warm. Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F.

Drain the fat off of the cooking liquid and discard. Place the remaining braising juices in a medium saucepan with the hoisin sauce and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the liquid until only about 1 1/4 cups remain. Strain through a fine-meshed strainer, discarding the solids. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of orange juice and the lemon juice.

Return the short ribs and the reduced sauce to the stockpot, coating the short ribs well with the sauce. Bake for 10 minutes, until the short ribs are heated through and slightly glazed.

DAN-O-MUFFINS

1 lb Ground Beef

1 Onion, diced

¼ C     Brown Sugar
½ C     BBQ Sauce
1 C      Shredded Cheese
1 roll    biscuit dough, such as Pillsbury

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sauté onion for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add ground beef and brown. Remove pan from heat and mix in brown sugar. Mix in BBQ sauce.

Pop open the biscuit dough (or make your own from scratch) flatten out biscuit dough to line a muffin tin, making a cup. Put BBQ beef mixture in biscuit cup. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until biscuits are done.

As a side note, I almost exclusively use spices from Savory Spice shop in Colorado. When I reference spice blends, they are from Savory. Check out their website www.savoryspiceshop.com. It is quite a treat to get a fragrant package in the mail.