What to do with Chuck Steaks

So some of the cuts of beef I am unfamiliar with - especially the non-tender variety. My total beef buying before buying this beef in bulk consisted of mainly tenderloin or NY Strip/Porterhouse cuts (with the occasional package of stew beef in the winter).

Chuck is basically the term used for the shoulder/arm part of the cow. It is very flavorful meat, but is full of connective tissue which can make it tough and chewy. One of the reasons why I love my 1956 Woman's Home Companion cookbook is because it shows the different cuts of meats and tells you how they are best cooked. Most chuck is best braised. Braising is basically browning the cut of meat on all sides and then cooking it low and slow with a small amount of liquid.

Today I chose to make Swiss Steak with the chuck steaks I pulled from the freezer. First off, I cut out the bones and wrapped them in foil so I could make stock with them later this week.

I then rubbed the meat with seasoned flour. Basically I used approx. 1 c. flour for my two steaks (about 2lbs). I mixed the flour with a homemade seasoned salt and some pepper. I rubbed the flour into both sides of the meat and then I took my mallet and beat the crap out of the beef with the side that has "teeth".

I then took out my cast iron skillet, added EVOO and a pat of unsalted butter, heated the pan until just about smoking and browned all the beef placing it into a large casserole on top of a few carrots & celery stalks cut into chunks. I turned off the burner and de-glazed the pan with a can of diced tomatoes and then added those plus some onion and garlic over the top. At this point, I added about 1/4 c. of POM Wonderful pomegranate juice, covered it with foil and stuck it into a slow oven (300F) for about 3 hours.

Can I just say that this meat pretty much melted in my mouth? It had great flavor and had a nice thin gravy once it was cooked. I served it with creamed spinach & cheese, peas and mashed potatoes. For dessert, I made a Chocolate Pudding cake which came from the King Arthur cookbook that has become my go to book for anything to do with flour(s).

Here are the recipes for both the Swiss Steak & the cake:

2 lbs. beef (chuck, round or rump)
1/3 c. seasoned flour (I used more & you can season it however you'd like)
2 carrots, cut into pieces
1 med. yellow onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 c. diced tomatoes, undrained (I used a 14 oz. can of ready prepared, but fresh Romas would work well)
1 large stalk celery, cut into pieces
EVOO/unsalted butter for browning
1/8-1/4 c. Pomegranate juice or red wine

Grease casserole dish and add cut carrots and celery into bottom. Rub beef on all sides with seasoned flour. With mallet, beat beef both sides (it should flatten out some and become less firm). Brown on med. high heat in large skillet with EVOO/butter mixture. Remove to casserole. Pour tomatoes, onions & garlic over the top adding a bit of juice or wine over the meat. Cover with foil and cook at 300 for about 3 hours. (You can also do this on the stove top with a dutch oven - simmering gently for about 2 hours. Just add in the veggies, etc. after browning the meat.)

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1 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
6-8 Tbsp. cocoa
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/3 c. sugar (I used half brown/half white)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. vegetable oil or unsalted butter, softened
2 c. water
1 c. total, choc. chips and/or coconut, pecans, walnuts....or none of these things

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 8" square cake pan. Mix together all dry ingredients. Pour oil and vanilla into dry ingredients. Pour water over all and mix well. Fold in chips/nuts. Pour batter into well greased pan and cook for 45 minutes. (The center will not be totally set when cake comes out.) Served warm, this cake will be like a molten cake. Served cooled, it will seem like there is pudding mixed in with the cake.

It is a very RICH cake. I added some milk into mine, but it would be great served with some vanilla ice cream or some freshly whipped cream.

Beef Stew

Now that we have approximately 90lbs. of grass fed, local beef in our freezer, I probably will have quite a few beef recipes coming at you. I cannot tell you enough how much TASTIER and TENDER this beef is. I understand that buying local meat in bulk can be challenging financially & space wise, but find friends or co-workers to go in with you or ask the farm to consider selling you a partial package. If you are my age or older, you will remember how YUMMY food actually tasted when you were a kid. AND really? Less is more when things actually taste like something.

This is one of my all time favorite winter meals. Sometimes I change it up and add barley & mushrooms instead of potatoes. Stews are hearty and when served with some crusty bread make for a very happy tummy. I start this particular stew in the morning on low around 10am to be ready by 5-6pm.

Beef Stew
Makes a 3/4 full 6qt. Slow Cooker (so it probably serves 10/12 depending on portion size)

1 lb. stew beef, cut into bite sized pieces
1/3 c. seasoned flour (flour mixed with some salt, pepper & maybe onion & garlic powder)*
EVOO
Beef stock, water, red wine
2-3 med./lg. potatoes, cut into 1" pieces
2-3 lg. carrots, cut into 1" pieces
1 large onion, diced
2-3 stalks of celery, cut into 1" pieces
Whatever other veggies you like (I usually add a cup of frozen corn and peas about 15 minutes before serving and stew/soup is a great way to use up any leftover veggies that are hanging around in your fridge.)
Salt, pepper & seasonings (I like thyme, rosemary, basil, oregano, garlic)


Coat the stew beef with the seasoned flour. Brown it in a large heated skillet or pan that has been coated with EVOO.
*Flour is what helps to thicken up stews. You can add more flour mixed with hot water towards the end if you are not happy with the stew's thickness...and next time you make it, add less beef stock/water in the beginning.

Once meat is browned, remove from pan and place into the crock of the slow cooker, turn the heat down and de-glaze the pan with about 1/2 c. red wine, water, beef stock or a mixture of these. Pour de-glazing mixture over the beef in the crock once all the bits have lifted from the bottom of the pan.
De-glazing the pan simply means dredging up all the browned bits off the bottom of the pan by stirring it over low heat. Trust me. It's worth the extra step. Also if you use wine, the alcohol will cook off, but it does add another layer of rich flavor.

Add the potatoes, carrots, onion and celery into the crock. Add in equal amounts of beef stock and water to reach about 3/4 of the way up the crock (maybe 8 cups total?). Cook on low all day.

Cook's Notes:
I want to add two things: You can cook the onion, celery & some garlic in with the beef while it is browning or before you add the beef in to brown. Sometimes I do, most times I don't. Also, my recipe measurements are pretty rough since I don't measure anything. Definitely use them as a guide, but do what YOU think. We all have different taste buds and different likes. Recipes are great for guidance, but you should be making them yours by substituting, etc. when you think you might like something a little bit different.

April 28, 2010

Welcome to my first food blog entry.
On tonight's menu:

President Ford's Round Beef Steaks in the slow cooker
Whole wheat oatmeal bread
Mixed frozen veggies (OK - so we ended up with some broccoli)
Triple Lemon Cake

I found the recipe for the round steak at www.allrecipes.com and then tinkered with it to my liking. It wasn't a slow cooker recipe, but I turned it into one because I needed it to be. Tonight is a busy taxi night for me and I won't have time to cook the recipe traditionally on the stove top.

Whole wheat oatmeal bread is a recipe of my own that I've morphed from two different oatmeal bread recipes. It is made with mixture of whole wheat flour, molasses, maple syrup, honey, oatmeal, butter, salt, cinnamon, yeast & water. It is truly one of our all time favorite breads. When we have company, we have served it with honey or maple butter.

The frozen veggies are standard fare around here. It has been proven that frozen veggies have retained more vitamins & minerals then their fresh counterparts. We do eat fresh as well especially when our garden is in full swing, but I'm very happy with frozen.

The cake is also from www.allrecipes.com. It was actually some one's spin off of a popular lemon cake. It has four layers of light lemon cake with a filling of homemade lemon curd and topped with a homemade lemon butter icing. I bought a big bag of lemons at BJ's. I can't let them go bad, right?

The steaks came out fork tender. The onions, peppers & tomatoes broke down considerably, but they all tasted really good. Bread was as yummy as ever and the broccoli was perfect.
I'm bringing the cake over to my in-laws and having tea with my MIL, SIL, & GMIL. I'll let you know how that is later.