Tag: beef
Kefta Tagine with Saffron Butter Sauce
Kefta Tagine with Saffron Butter Sauce
Never have meatballs been so luxurious until now. These mini meatballs are poached in a saffron butter sauce with onions and Moroccan spices in a tagine. If you don’t have a tagine, you can definetily use a sauté pan. Traditionally, the meatballs are scooped up with a Moroccan bread called khobz; kind of like pita. If that’s not the way you want to go, serve the meatballs and sauce over basmati rice or mashed potatoes. Either way, you’ll be full and satisfied.
Equipment
- tagine
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb 90% lean ground beef
- 1 small onion grated
- 2 tbsp parsley chopped
- 2 tbsp cilantro chopped
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Saffron Butter Sauce
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 medium onion grated
- 1/4 cup parsley chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
- 1/2 tsp saffron threads
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 cup beef stock
- salt to taste
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Mix all of the meatball ingredients together.
- Form into small meatballs; about the size of a cherry.
- Melt the butter in your tagine over medium low heat. Add the onions, parsley, cilantro, spices, and cinnamon stick. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the beef broth. Season with salt. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Add the meatballs into the sauce.
- Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Pastrami
Pastrami
Pastrami has it’s origins in New York; introduced by Jewish Romanian immigrants in the 1880’s. The pastrami cut comes from the navel portion of the whole beef brisket, but the brisket flat is a suitable choice if you can’t find just that part of the muscle. The brisket gets cured for 6 days, then dry rubbed; sitting in the refrigerator for an additional 3 days. It is then smoked for many hours, then steamed, then broiled quickly to form a crust. A 10 day process to make the best cured meat you’ll ever eat.
Equipment
- large bin for curing
- Electric Smoker
- Probe Thermometer
- roasting pan with rack
Ingredients
- 6 lb flat cut beef brisket
Brine
- 1 gallon water
- 1 cup sea salt
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp pink curing salts
- 1 tbsp mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp allspice berries
- 1 tbsp whole cloves
- 1 tbsp crushed red pepper
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4 bay leaves
- 3” ginger sliced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
Dry Rub
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp dry mustard
- 1 tbsp coriander
- 1 tbsp allspice
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp ground cloves
Wood Chips
- 1/2 cherry wood
- 1/2 pecan
Pastrami Sandwich
- pastrami sliced
- rye bread
- pickles
- brown mustard
Instructions
- Place the brisket in a bin large enough to cure.
- Mix together the brining ingredients.
- Pour the brine over the brisket, making sure that it is completely submerged. Cure the brisket for 6 days in the refrigerator.
- Once the brisket has cured, rinse off the brine and place on a rack.
- Mix together the dry rub ingredients.
- Rub the dry rub on all sides of the brisket. Let rest in the refrigerator for 3 days.
- When ready to smoke, let the brisket rest at room temp for 2 hours. Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Place the brisket in the smoker.
- Smoke the brisket for 8 hours.
- Fill up a roasting pan with a rack with 2” of water. Bring to a boil. Place the pastrami on the rack, making sure that it doesn’t touch the water. Cover. Reduce the heat to medium. Steam for 2 hours.
- Turn on your oven’s broiler. Place the brisket fat side down on a rack on a baking pan lined in foil. Broil for 10 minutes until a crust forms on the pastrami.
- Let rest for 30 minutes before slicing.
T’fina Pkaila (Instant Pot)
T’fina Pkaila (Instant Pot)
Tfina pkaila is a traditional Jewish Tunisian dish served during Rosh Hashanah. The dish consists of stewed spinach with white beans and beef. I used my Instant Pot in preparation to speed up the cooking process; taking about an hour to make as opposed to 3+ hours it would take if using your stove top. The pkaila is always served over couscous with crusty Italian bread.
Equipment
- instant pot
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups dry white beans soaked overnight
- 1 lb fresh spinach
- olive oil
- 1/2 large onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 lb beef shank meat cubed
- 1/2 tbsp harissa
- 1/2 bunch mint chopped
- 1/2 bunch cilantro chopped
- 1/2 bunch parsley chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat up the olive oil in you instant pot on the sauté function over medium heat. Add in the spinach.
- Allow the spinach to cook down and release it’s liquid until it evaporates. Remove the spinach from the pot.
- Turn the function to high heat. Add in the onion, garlic, beef shank, and harissa. Brown for 5 minutes.
- Drain the beans and add into the pot. Stir in the spinach.
- Turn the function to pressure cook on high for 30 minutes. Put on the cover and push start.
- Release the pressure. Turn the function back to sauté on high. Add in the chopped herbs, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 10 more minutes until thickened.
