Tag: beef

Braised Beef Shanks (Instant Pot)

Braised Beef Shanks (Instant Pot)

Braised Beef Shank (Instant Pot)

Chilled sliced beef shanks is a popular Taiwanese appetizer. You can find whole boneless shank meat at every Asian, usually labeled as whole beef muscle. Since beef shank meat is extremely tough, it will take some time to cook. Using an Instant Pot pressure cook drastically cuts down the cooking time from 4-5 hours if braising on the stovetop to around 100 minutes. Once the beef shanks are finished, they will need to completely cool, then chill in the refrigerator overnight. The shank meat is served cold, thinly sliced with a drizzle of sesame oil and a few sprigs of cilantro.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 40 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Taiwanese
Keyword: appetizer, Beef, East Asian, Taiwanese
Author: Alex Gorgos

Equipment

  • Instant Pot pressure cooker

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 3 green onions chopped
  • 3” ginger sliced
  • 1 1/2 lbs whole boneless beef shank meat
  • 1/2 cup light soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp dark mushroom soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup shaoxing cooking wine
  • 2 tbsp rock sugar
  • 1/2 tsp 5 spice powder
  • 2 star anise
  • water

Garnish

  • sesame oil
  • cilantro

Instructions

  • Turn your Instant Pot setting to sauté on high heat. Heat up the cooking oil. Sauté the green onions, ginger, and star anise for 2 minutes.
    Taiwanese, appetizer, beef
  • Add in the beef shanks, soy sauces, cooking wine, rock sugar, and 5 spice powder. Pour in enough water to cover the beef shanks. Place the cover on the pressure cooker. Set the function to pressure cook on high for 100 minutes. Push start.
    Taiwanese, appetizer, beef
  • Release the pressure from the Instant Pot.
    Taiwanese, appetizer, beef
  • Remove the beef shanks from the pressure cooker and let completely cool. Place in the refrigerator overnight.
    Taiwanese, appetizer, beef
  • When ready to serve, thinly slice the beef shanks.
    Taiwanese, appetizer, beef
Taiwanese, appetizer, beef
Drizzle with sesame oil. Add a few leaves of cilantro.
Pique Macho

Pique Macho

Pique Macho

Pique macho translates to “big portions;” and this is exactly that. This highly caloric meal can satisfy the mightiest of appetites of any stoner. Pique macho originated in Bolivia in the 70’s and has become one of their most popular and beloved dishes. It is said that a group of workers went to a restaurant in Cochobamba towards the end of closing. The chef put together all of the ingredients he had over a large amount of fries and told the customers to “Eat if you’re a man”(piquin machos in Spanish).
So what all is in pique macho? Marinated sirloin, hotdogs, tomatoes, onions, jalapeños, hard boiled eggs; all over a mound of fries. It is then drizzled with mayonnaise and mustard. I chose to bake my fries instead of frying. Just trying to keep the calories under 3000. I recommend eating this meal no more than once a year if you are trying to live a long life.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time12 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Bolivian
Keyword: Beef, Bolivian, Latin American, main course
Servings: 2
Author: Alex Gorgos

Ingredients

  • 1 lb top sirloin sliced into strips
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 hotdogs cut into 1” pieces
  • 1 large jalapeños sliced
  • 1 medium white onion sliced
  • 1 large tomato sliced
  • 2 hard boiled eggs quartered
  • 1 lb french fries
  • mayonnaise
  • mustard

Instructions

  • Marinate the sirloin with the garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper for 30 minutes.
    Bolivian, main course, beef
  • Heat up 1 tbsp of cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the hotdogs for 2 minutes. Remove from the pan.
    Bolivian, main course, beef
  • Add 2 tbsp of cooking oil to the pan. Sauté the jalapeños for 2 minutes.
    Bolivian, main course, beef
  • Add in the onions and tomatoes. Sauté for 2 more minutes.
    Bolivian, main course, beef
  • Add in the sirloin. Sauté for 4 minutes.
    Bolivian, main course, beef
  • Stir in the hotdogs and cook for 1 more minute.
    Bolivian, main course, beef
Bolivian, main course, beef
Place the stir Fry over a mound of fries. Top with hard boiled eggs, mayonnaise, and mustard.
Coarse Ground Beef Hotdogs

Coarse Ground Beef Hotdogs

Coarse Ground Beef Hotdogs

It’s wiener time and I’m ready to stuff some sausage. I like to use an overhand grip with my left hand to guide. I’ve seen other people use underhand grip. Whatever grip you like to use when handling tubed meat, get ready for a process.
The type of hotdog I’m making is with coarse ground beef. This is not the same as a bologna-style hotdog that most people are used to. This is more sausage like in texture. I used about 3 lbs of chuck and 2 lbs of fatty beef trim that I’ve saved in the freezer. Since most people don’t save their meat trimmings, you can use just 5 lbs of fatty chuck. Cut the pieces into smaller strips. Place them on a baking sheet and freeze for just 30 minutes. This will make the grinding process easier.
Since these are coarse ground hotdogs, you will need to use a coarse ground grinding plate. Grind the beef through 2 times. Mix in the seasonings and ice water. You will really want to make sure that the seasonings are mixed well into the meat, so I recommend mixing for at least 2 minutes. If you were going to make a bologna-style hotdog, you would add all of the meat to a food processor and purée to a smooth paste. Place the meat in the refrigerator until ready for stuffing.
Hotdogs require the use of lamb casings. Any meat cutter will tell you that they are a huge pain in the ass to deal with. Make sure to soak them before hand. Stuff the sausage into the casings. Make sure to not over stuff them or the hotdogs will pop when twisting them. Speaking of twisting wieners; twist them around 6”to 8”. 6” hotdogs will be about 8 to 1 lb. My hotdogs were 8 to 1 1/4lbs; so just a little bigger. This recipe yielded me 32 hotdogs, or 4 packs if you were to by these at a grocery store.
Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. I used hickory wood chips for smoking. It is a good neutral flavored wood for smoking. Smoke the hotdogs until they reach an internal temperature of 150 degrees. This will take about 90 minutes. Let them completely cool before recooking, either on a grill, a sauté pan, or boiled in water. Or you can take a fork and go old school open stove top burner. Don’t act like you’ve never done that. No mother, I have no idea why the forks are charred to shit.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course: Main Course
Keyword: Beef, electric smoker, main course
Author: Alex Gorgos

Equipment

  • meat grinder
  • sausage stuffer
  • Electric Smoker
  • Probe Thermometer

Ingredients

  • 5 lbs chuck cut into strips
  • 3 tbsp ground mustard seeds
  • 2 tbsp sea salt
  • 2 tbsp paprika
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp pink curing salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground celery seeds
  • 1 cup ice water
  • lamb casings soaked

Wood Chips

  • hickory wood chips

Instructions

  • Mix together all of the hotdog seasonings. Set aside.
    Smokers, main course, beef
  • Cut all of the beef into small strips. Place on a baking sheet and throw it in the freezer for 30 minutes. This will make grinding a little easier.
    Smokers, main course, beef
  • Using a coarse ground plate, grind the beef through.
    Smokers, main course, beef
  • Grind the beef through one more time.
    Smokers, main course, beef
  • Mix in the seasonings and ice water into the ground beef. Mix well for 2 minutes. Place in the refrigerator until ready for use.
    Smokers, main course, beef
  • Stuff the meat into the lamb casings. Make sure to not over stuff the hotdogs.
    Smokers, main course, beef
  • Twist into your desired wiener length. This recipe yielded me 32 hotdogs.
    Smokers, main course, beef
  • Place the wieners on your smoking rack.
    Smokers, main course, beef
  • Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Place the hotdogs in the smoker.
    Smokers, main course, beef
  • Smoke the hotdogs until they reach an internal temperature of 150 degrees. This will take about 90 minutes.
    Smokers, main course, beef
Smokers, main course, beef
I like mine with sauerkraut and spicy brown mustard.