Smoked Tri-tip

Living in SoCal for some 35 years a lot of the local favorites are imbedded in my food memories.  Chief among those memories is a Santa Maria Tri-tip.  A good Tri-tip is hard to find here in SE Texas but when I find one, I stalk up them.  

What's not to love about a good Tri-tip simply rubbed then smoked to a perfect medium rare.  I used an oak hardwood blend from Traeger as in Santa Maria they use oak logs to slow roast the meat.  To get a good crust I broil both sides of the tri-tip when done in the smoker.

Also, to ensure I get a good medium rare I use a meat thermometer.  The Traeger meat probe once calibrated is as accurate as Thermpro thermometers that I use when I have multiple slabs of meat to smoke.

Smoked Tri-tip

• 1 2-3 pound Tri-tip roast.
• Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning

The evening before season the Tri-tip heavily with the Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate over night.  

One hour prior to start of smoking remove from fridge and allow it to come to room temperature. Unwrap the plastic wrap and set on a baking sheet.  Preheat smoker to 180F.

Insert temperature probe in thickest part of the tri-tip.  Place meat into the smoker and smoke at 180 until the probe registers 125-130F.   Allow 4-5 hours to reach temperature.  (It took me 4 hours 15 minutes on an 85F day to get to temperature).  Once the meat is at temp, remove from smoker and remove the probe.

Take the smoked meat and place under broiler for 4-5 minutes per side to develop the crust.  Rest covered on a foil lined baking sheet 10-15 minutes.

Slice against the grain.  I served with our last bottle of Saarloos & Sons "The Crown", a 2019 Syrah that was the best danged Syrah I ever had.

 

Mississippi Pot Roast

 

I'm new to the Gulf Coast, the Third coast as it were.  I'm still catching on to local food culture and bringing it into my repertoire for weekly menu planning.

I kept hearing "Mississippi Pot Roast" is so (insert superlative here).  Then Food Network mentioned it a few times and I thought what am I missing?  I googled and found out its stupid easy, crock pot friendly, super tasty pot roast.  In fact since I discovered it its the only Pot Roast the family lets me make any more.  Now if I could find out why its called Mississippi Pot Roast with a definitive answer...but I digress.

Ingredients

• 2 -3 lb Chuck Roast
• 1 package au jus mix
• 1 package Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing dry mix
• 4-5 Pepperoncini peppers
• 2T pepperoncini pickling juice
• 1 can low sodium beef broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2-3 carrots peeled and cut to 3" pieces
• 1 package brown gravy or onion gravy mix*

Method

Lightly salt and pepper both sides of Chuck Roast.  Heat a non-stick searing skillet over medium heat.  Sear each side 8-10 minutes until rich deep crusty brown.

Place seared chuck roast in a large crock pot.  Sprinkle Au jus mix and Ranch Dressing mix over the top of seared beef.  Pour beef broth over seared beef.  Place pepperoncini on top of roast and sprinkle the pickling liquid over the seared beef.  Place carrots along side the beef submerged in the broth.

Cover and cook 6-8 hours on low.  At end of cooking time remove pot roast and place on platter.  Remove carrots to small serving bowl.  In the hot liquid whisk in gravy mix until lump free and thickened.

Serve with  Anne Burrell's Garlic Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes

*If you haven't tried Ah Bisto! brand gravy granules yet, I highly recommend you do so.  Its a British product I got hooked on for easy lump free perfect gravy every time.  You can pick up at your local British Market (even my local H*E*B stockes the basic beef in their international aisle) or by mail order.  Add it to pan juices and add enough liquid to make a cup for awesome gravy.

Wild Mushroom Barley Wild Rice and Beef Soup

Yup, the name is a mouthful, but this is a thick and hearty soup. Something I do a lot of in the days leading up to the holidays to save room for the BIG feasts and treats.  The soup is full of woodsy mushrooms, whole grains and veggies in a very tasty beefy broth.

This is one of those rare situations where I won't reconstitute a dried mushroom.  No need as it imparts its woodsy deep flavor right into the broth while absorbing the herbs and other flavors.  Makes a lot more sense then just rehydrating and adding a lot of water to the 'shroom when it should be all about adding flavor.

I use pearled barley.  Tried the unpearled, or barley with its husk on once.  The texture was too crunchy and it took forever to cook up.  What you loose in the lack of the bran coating you more than make up for with texture and ease of cooking.  Even pearled barley does take a while to cook up.  45-60 minutes depending on the age and dryness so it needs to go in before the wild rice.

Wild Mushroom Barley Wild Rice and Beef Soup

• 1 lb beef roast - 1/2" cubes
• 1 onion - diced
• 3 ribs celery with tops - sliced
• 3 carrots - sliced
• 1 c dried porcini mushroom pieces
• 2 t Thyme
• 1 t salt
• 1 t black pepper
• 1 c pearled barley
• 1/3 c wild rice
• 1 large (48oz-ish) can beef broth (I use swansons)
• 1 small can beef broth

In large stock pot add enough olive oil to cover bottom of pan.  Add onion, carrot, celery, salt and pepper, cook over low heat until onion is translucent.  Add barley and cook 2 minutes longer.

Add large can beef broth, thyme and dried mushrooms.  Raise heat to medium and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer 20  minutes. 

Add wild rice and cook another 30-45 minutes until barley and wild rice are cooked through.  Add additional broth from the small can as needed to keep it at a thick soup consistency.  Check for seasoning and add salt if needed.  Serve hot with crusty buttered bread.

Monitor liquid levels as the soup simmers dryness of barley and wild rice determines how much additional borth needs to be added during the cooking process to keep it at a thick soup consistency.

Braciole, or Beef and Cheese Pinwheels...it sounds better in Italian

I've seen it done a dozen times over the years and never got around to trying it myself until last night.  Why?  I thought was a bit fussy for dinner on the fast and I was only partially correct.  It is a bit labor intensive with the prep of ingredients but once done it goes pretty fast.  The braise to completely tenderize the meat takes about an hour, but that is all hands free so its really not an issue...unless you need dinner on the table in 30 minutes.

This recipe is a blend of many from several sources.  I took meticulous notes of what I used to save you the guess work.  The end result is quite tasty with all but one in my house actually enjoying the final product which makes it a win in my book.  The lone dissenter is one who isn't a fan of cheese to start with.

Braciole

• 1 lb, about 4 thin cut round steaks
• 1/2 lb Fontina cheese - shredded.
• 1/2 c Parmesan, grated
• 1/2 c panko bread crumbs
• 1 small bunch parsley - chopped
• 4 cloves garlic- minced
• salt 
• pepper
• 1 can beef broth
• 1 can tomato puree
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 T parsley - chopped
• 1 T basil -chopped

Combine Parmesan, panko, parsley and garlic, toss to combine.  Take a piece of meat and season with salt and pepper.  Add 1/4 of the bread crumb parsley mixture and spread evenly over the meat. Top with 1/4 of the shredded Fontina.  Roll up from widest end jelly roll style,  Secure with toothpicks.  Repeat with remaining slices of meat.


In large skillet add some olive oil and over medium high heat sear all sides of the beef rolls.  When seared remove meat from pan and set aside.  Stir in your beef broth to deglaze pan, then add in tomato puree and tomato sauce.  Return meat to pan.  Cover and put in a 325F oven for 1 hour.

Beef Tamale Casserole

It was Iron Chef night in my neighborhood this past weekend. Rather than pick a secret ingredient we opted for a theme. We chose "Mexican" in honor of the coming cinqo de mayo celebrations. I came up with this casserole and took 3rd place out of 20 entries. Not bad, eh!?

Beef Tamale Casserole

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 c onion chopped
• 1 4 0z can diced green chiles-drained
• 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 2.25 oz can sliced olives
• 2 cups frozen corn - thawed
• 3 T taco seasoning
• 1 1/2 c milk
• 1 c cornmeal
• 2 eggs - beaten
• 2 c shredded cheese (I use a cheddar/jack blend)

Heat oven to 350F. Spray a 9 X 13 pan with nonstick cooking oil spray.

In large skillet brown ground beef and onion. Cook until beef is well browned and onion is translucent. Off the heat add chiles, tomatoes, olives, corn and taco seasoning. Stir well to blend.

In bowl add milk, corn meal and eggs stirring well to combine. Pour over meat mixture and fold in.

Pour into prepared baking dish and even out. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle on the cheese. Return to oven and bake another 5 minutes until cheese is melted. Let set on wire rack 10 minutes to set when done baking.

Cut and serve with a dollop of salsa fresca on top and some refried beans on the side.

Beer Braised Beef Short Ribs

Meat eaters have their place in the food chain too. I love my red meat in moderation. The other morning when asked what to make for dinner that night the overwhelming response was meat. So I grabbed a pack of boneless short ribs I had in the freezer and proceeded to thaw for use that night.

Beer Braised Short Ribs is stupid easy with barely a hand full of ingredients and a couple of easy steps to get dinner going. Braising is the secret to getting an inexpensive and tough cut of beef "fork tender"by cooking it long, low and slow. The added bonus is when you braise is that there is enough liquid that stirring and scorching isn't much of a concern so its low maintenance once its in the oven.

Beer Braised Beef Short Ribs

4-5 lbs boneless beef short ribs

1 bottle beer

1 can beef broth

3 bay leaves.

1 c flour

4T Montreal Steak Seasoning blend

4 strips bacon.

1 large onion

2 medium carrots sliced

2 T garlic minced (or less to taste)

EVOO

In large dutch oven of similar cooking pot add just enough EVOO to cover the bottom of the pan and add the bacon strips. Cook until crispy. Remove bacon and set aside.

Mix flour and steak seasoning blend. Increase heat in dutch oven to medium-high. Dredge short ribs in flour and add to hot pan. Sear all sides, 3-5 minutes per side. Cook in batches so you do not crowd pan.

When short ribs are all browned let them rest on a platter and add onions and carrots to the pan. Stir constantly and scrape up browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When onions are translucent and starting to caramelize add garlic and cook 1 minute longer, stir constantly so as to not burn the garlic. Add bottle of beer and scrape up all remaining bits from bottom of pan.

Arrange short ribs over the browned vegies. Wedge bay leaves in between the short ribs. Add enough beef broth to bring the liquid to just below the top of the meat. (See photo).

Cover and bake in 325F oven for 2 hours. Serve hot with mashed potato or similar on the side using the braising liquid as a "gravy".

The liquid in a braise should just come to the top of the meat. Covering the meat with the liquid would be stewing and yields a similar but not the same result as a braise.
Cooking the short ribs in batches ensures a good sear to the meat. Overcrowding a pan winds up "steaming" the meat in its own juices and does not yield good color. To quote Tyler Florence, "color is flavor and you don't want to lose it".

Easy and Healthy...slide into the New Year

I have to admit that a lot of nights I don't have much time to cook, hell many not enough time to spend prepping for a meal.  When I do cook I always put on a little extra for two reasons.  If the kids have someone along extra I can feed them with no hassle.  The other is that the little extra can be for those nights I don't have time to cook and having a "left over" on purpose makes life easier.

New Years Day at my house has been steaks since I was a kid in MO.  Largely because my parents but a half-a-cow at a time and there were always ample steaks.  Even if it was below freezing my Mom would still be out there grilling for us in the carport to carry on the tradition.

Costco has these multi-pack rib eyes for a fraction of the cost of only a couple at a regular market. That makes it possible to feed the fam and still have an extra one or two for adding to salads to round out a lighter meal a day or so later.

One of our favorite combos around here is bleu cheese and steaks or bleu cheese and pears.  Putting both on the plate is pretty much taste heaven.    The dressing can varie but one of our regular favorites is one made with a barbecue sauce as the base.  Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce is our most favorite variety.  Add some greens, sliced pears and stilton (or gorgonzola as was the case for this salad) on one half the plate, then lightly warm the beef and thinly slice on the other half.  Drizzle with the dressing and you have some pretty tasty eats.

Raspberry Chipotle Salad Dressing

• 1/3 c Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce
  
• 1/4 c olive oil
  
• 1/4 c red wine vinegar
  
• 1/4 t fresh cracked pepper
  
• salt to taste
  

Combine first 4 ingredients in a small jar, shake well until combined.  Taste and adjust salt as needed.

Steak and Gravy

Growing up in the mid-west Steak and Gravy was a regular meal for us. Thursdays I believe was the day. It was made using a cheap cut of beef that was braised until it was fork tender. The meat of choice was "round steak" which in LA is becoming next to impossible to find.

I was too tired to think yesterday about what I wanted for dinner and after wandering back and forth through the meat dept at Pavilions I spotted "Thin sliced Top Round Roast". Pretty much the same cut of meat my Ma used for our "Steak and Gravy Night". Old fashioned comfort food has its merits, this is one that is tasty and perfect for one of those brain dead days where one is too tired to think.

With my version I had to do some changes as my picky eaters (4/5 of the house) canNOT bear the sight of onion in their food. Feel free to include a thinly sliced medium yellow onion and cut out the onion powder from the dredging. Just add the onions after the beef is browned off and cook until soft. Then add the beef back in and continue cooking as per the instructions.

Steak and Gravy

• 1 1/2 lbs thin cut "Round Steak" or "Top Round Roast"
• 1 can beef broth
• 1/2 c flour
• 1 T Montreal Steak Seasoning
• 1 T onion powder
• nutmeg
• 1 pkg brown gravy mix.
• 2T oil

Cut the steak into serving sizes of about 1/4 lb each. Pound each side with the serrated side of a meat mallet until about 1/2 their original thickness.

Heat large skillet with oil over medium high heat until just smoking. Combine flour, steak seasoning and onion powder. Dredge each piece of steak in the flour mixture. Sear each side until brown in the hot oil. Do a few pieces at a time, moving cooked pieces to side while searing the new pieces.

Add the beef broth and scrape up browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Using a grater add 3-4 good scrapes fresh nutmeg to the pan, stir in well. Bring to boil. Put lid on the skillet and let it simmer on low for 1 hour. At the end of the hour prepare gravy mix according to pkg instructions then add to the Steak. Stir constantly until gravy is cooked. Server over egg noodles or mashed 'taters.

Braised Beef Short Ribs Provencal

Some days I just want something beefy. Something really hardy. Beef Short Ribs are a good way to go on the cheap. It is a tougher cut of meat that needs a long slow cooking, either stewing or braising to make it fork tender.

Beef Short Ribs are a good cut to work with. Bone-in when you can get them as that adds even more flavor to the final dish. The added boner to the deal, pun intended is that if you like the marrow you have a nice bit in each bone.

This recipe is a combination of a couple of Beef Burgundy recipes. French food isn't always about pissy saucing and fancy prep taking hours. A large majority I have found to be very simple for both categories. Provence is in the southern part of France where they can grow citrus and you find it in a lot of their cooking. Ditto things like tarragon and thyme.

The end result is a dish very close to what I had for lunch one day in Paris last year. The only thing I have not been able to duplicate or find a recipe for is the lentil stew that the Mono Prix Cafe served along side their braised beef short ribs. Someday maybe?

Braised Beef Short Ribs Provencal

• 4 - 4 1/2 lbs Beef Short Ribs
• 1 c all purpose flour
• 1/4 c Montreal Brand Steak Seasoning
• 1 large yellow onion
• 1 c carrot
• 1T chopped garlic
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 T tarragon
• 1 T Thyme
• 1 T parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 can beef broth (12 oz)
• 2 c +/- red wine
• Salt
• Pepper
• 6T butter
• olive oil

Mix flour and steak seasoning. Dredge beef short rib through flour and coat well. In fry pan over medium-high heat add a couple of tablespoons olive oil and 2T butter. (Oil keeps butter from burning). Add beef short ribs to hot pan. Sear each side well. Do in batchs so the ribs get a good seared crust.

Put seared short ribs on platter while cooking up the others. Reserve the unused flour mixture. When done with the searing deglaze pan with 1C wine. Scrape up all the bits from the bottom.
Set pan and all the bits aside.

While searing the beef in heavy large dutch oven heat over medium flame. Coarse chop onion. Cut carrots into 1/2" thick cubes. Add 2T oil and 2 T butter. Add carrots and onion. Add tarragon, thyme and parsley. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir often until soft and onion is beginning to caramelize., about 10-15 minutes. Add garlic, orange zest and cook 1 minute, being careful to not burn the garlic. Deglaze pan with the beef broth, scraping up the brown bits.

Add the reserved beef ribs to the dutch oven include any juices that collected on the bottom of the bowl. Add the wine from the deglazed skillet. Add another cup of so of wine to the dutch oven to just cover the beef short ribs. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning as needed.

Bring to a boil then cover with the lid. Reduce heat to simmer and 1 1/2-2 hours. (Or put in 300F oven for same time period).

At end of cooking period take 2T of the reserved flour seasoning mixture and 2T butter. Cut butter into the flour with a fork to make a beurre manie'. Add the beurre manie in little bits and stir in well to make a thick gravy.

Serve with small boiled herbed potato or mashed potato on the side.

Use just enough oil to coat the vegies and stir often so they cook evenly. Salt at this stage helps the vegies sweat out their liquid and caramelize faster.

It is really important to get a good sear and crust on the ribs as that color is flavor.

You get the idea...damn new camera phone is extra sensitive to jiggles but you get the idea.

Beef Bourginon aka French Beef Stew

Being part carnivore I can say I do like my beef, more so than some of the other "red meat" options. Stewed is common and so many cultures have their own version.

The French version is called "Beef Bourginon" or "Beef Burgundy" which indicates the braising liquid of choice is a good burgundy wine. I've picked up a few versions over the years with odd bits here and there tossed in making it that particular chef's version to suit his tastes. What you get here is my version with a lot of the same additions and a few deletions. Enjoy....

Beef Bourginon

• approx 3 lbs boneless beef short ribs
• 6 strips bacon
• 2 T olive oil
• 2T butter
• 1large onion - coarse chopped
• 2 large carrots - 1" slices
• 2 large stalks celery with leafy tops, coarse chopped
• 2 T Garlic - chopped
• 1 c flour
• 1 Orange
• 1/4 c Steak Seasoning Salt like Lawry Montreal brand
• 2 whole clove sticks
• 6 whole allspice berries
• 1 t rosemary
• 1 T thyme
• 2 whole bay leaves
• 2 T parsley
• 1 bottle good red wine
• 1-2 cups beef broth
• 2T flour and 2T butter

Using vegetable peeler remove orange zest in long strips. Avoid getting pith. Take the large strips of orange peel, stack and tie with a piece of kitchen string. Set aside.

Cut short ribs into large 2" cubes and dry . Mix flour and steak seasoning. Roll beef cubes in flour. Heat the largest dutch oven you have. Add olive oil and heat over medium flame. Dice bacon and add to oil. When bacon edges are starting to brown add enough of the beef to do a single layer in the pan. Stir often until all sides of beef are seared and brown. You will need to do the searing in several batches. As each batch is seared put aside in a bowl until all beef is seared.

In hot pan add butter, onion, celery, carrots, clove and allspice. Cook stirring often and scraping up browned bits for about 10 minutes until onion is translucent. Add garlic and stir 2 more minutes.

Slice the orange and squeeze the juice into the pan. Pour in about 1/2 bottle of wine to deglaze the bottom of the pan. Scrape up all brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add beef, orange peel bundle, thyme, rosemary, parsley and bay leaves. Add the browned beef and any juices from the bowl. Add remaining wine. Add enough of the beef broth to just cover the meat.

Cover and simmer 1 1/2- 2 hours on stove top. In the alternative you may put in oven and slow cook at 300 for the same time period. (I use the latter on cold days when the extra heat is welcomed in the house).

At end of cooking remove lid and bring to low boil on the stove top. Remove the Orange peel bundle. Mix the remaining 2T butter and 2T flour with a fork to make a beurre mange. Add bits of the beurre mange and stir constantly but softly to thicken the "gravy" for your stew.

Serve with either smashed potatoes or boiled small red potatos on the side.

Now for the fun bit. For the wine I used good old "2 Buck Chuck" merlot. When it first came out all those years ago it was a drinkable wine, a bit sharp on the tannins but still a decent wine. For kicks and giggles I bought a case and stuck it in a cool dark place to see what would happen.

Flash forward to the end of 2006 we popped open that case of 2000 Merlot and found it aged beautifully. Full round fruity flavors, not a bit of tannin left. Who'da thought "2 Buck Chuck" would age so well. For this Beef Bourginon I used that Merlot and it was wonderful. Now I wish I had bought a couple of cases worth at the beginning as it really does age well and is simply a wonderful old red.

This is "stew season" so the next version will be a traditional Irish Beef Stew.