Braised Beef Tips

Today, I turned 32.  I used to think that was so old when I was young, but it’s amazing how young you still feel even when the wrinkles from your smile seem to be becoming permanent and the hairs on your head get a weekly inspection (and plucking) for grays.  I am not one of those people who freaks out about getting old (for now anyways) because I am loving this stage of my life; I have an amazing husband who understands me like no one else and two beautiful children that fill every day with so much joy, okay maybe not every day, but most of them 🙂

I just have to share one of my birthday presents with you.  My sweet mother made me a beautiful apron (I LOVE aprons!).  I was very excited when I pulled it out of the wrapping paper but it wasn’t until I got it on that I realized she stitched “Something Sweet Something Salty” accross the front pocket.  Instant tears!… I could not have thought of a more meaningful gift.  So, needless to say, I am going to be making one of my favorite recipes from my momma’s kitchen. This will forever be one of those meals that takes me back to being young.  It will always be one of the dinners that I request my mom to make when we visit because for some reason, it always tastes so much better when she makes it. The tender chunks of beef and full flavor of the gravy make it heavenly.  It fills the house with the most amazing smell. My mom always has to poke my hubby’s and my hands out of the pan because we keep stealing little bites before it is ready to serve.  You can serve this over white(or brown) rice or egg noodles.  Either one is fabulous.  This recipe originated from a good ol’ Betty Crocker cookbook and has been altered slightly over the years.

Ingredients:

2 lbs beef, cut into 1″ cubes (I usually use sirloin because it comes out really tender, but stew meat or whatever you have will work just fine, tougher cuts may just need to cook a little longer).

2 Tbsp shortening

2 cans condensed beef consume (I use Campbell’s soup brand)

1/3 cup red burgundy wine

1 Tbsp soy sauce

2-3 cloves minced garlic (depending on size of clove)

1/4 tsp onion salt

1 Tbsp cornstarch (or more if needed)

1/4 cup water

Noodles or Rice

Directions:

Cut meat into 1″ squares.  Melt shortening in a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown meat on all sides.  As always, be sure to preheat your pan before adding your meat so you sear in all of the juices instead of letting them seep out and boil your meat.  I would recommend breaking the meat up into two batches to brown it.  This way your pan stays nice and hot and reduces your chance of boiled meat.  If you do happen to get a lot of juice seeping out of the meat, soak it up with a paper towel and turn the heat up in your pan until it gets smokin hot again. 

Add beef consume, wine, garlic, onion salt, and soy sauce.  Heat to boiling.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer 2-3 hours or until meat is very tender.

In a separate small bowl, blend cold water and corn starch.  Stir gradually into meat mixture.  Cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils.  Boil and stir one minute.

Serve over rice/noodles. Pair with Garlic Green Beans (omit ham) and some Rosemary French Rolls.

Biscuits and Ham Gravy

Sounds kind of crazy right? It is seriously crazy good! I like the flavor of sausage but I never like feeding it to my family.  First of all, seeing all of the fat and little pieces of veins and whatever else is ground up in there is mildly off-putting.  I always seem to bite into little chunks of gristle or bone . Frankly, it kind of grosses me out.

That being said, my mom makes the BEST biscuits and sausage gravy on the planet so I took a version of her recipe and replaced the sausage with ham.  You can definitely eat it with confidence. We are using canola oil instead of sausage fat and milk instead of heavy cream so even though it’s not really a low-fat recipe, it is so much better for you and your family and it tastes amazing.  As far as the biscuits go, I have made a ton of different recipes and they always come up short to the good ol’ Pillsbury Grands.  I love the fluffy flakiness and always seem disappointed in the homemade kind. If you have a recipe that produces fluffy, flakey biscuits, I would be forever thankful if you would share it and with  your permission, I would love to share it on my blog.

OK! Let’s get down to gravy…

Ingredients:

2 cups diced ham (Get out your leftovers *see “Fall-Off-the-Bone Crock Pot Ham”) or replace with sausage

4 Tbsp butter (vegetable oil or vegetable shortening will also work just fine)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup beef broth (as mentioned in other recipes, I use 1/2 c. water and 1/2 tsp beef base)

2 cups half-and-half (add a splash of heavy cream if you want to gravy to be extra creamy)

2 cups milk

1 tsp white pepper

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp seasoning salt, or salt to taste

Directions:

First order of business, preheat your oven and get your biscuits cooking.  (Don’t forget to set your timer).

In a large skillet, over medium-high heat add oil and ham.  Cook ham until it starts to turn a little golden around the edges.

Add the flour to the ham and oil.  Cook for 2-3 minutes stirring constantly.  You have now made a roux (plus ham) which is the basic thickening agent for most gravies, sauces, soups and stews. A roux is most commonly made with butter but can be made with any kind of vegetable oils, lard or rendered fat (aka meat drippings). When making a roux, you want to cook the mixture, stirring constantly for at least 2-3 minutes to eliminate that “floury” taste, cooking until the desired color is reached.  The darker your roux, the less thickening power it will have but darker colors = more flavor.  When cooking brown meat gravies, you should cook your roux until it is golden brown.  Darker brown roux is generally used for Cajun or creole cooking.  For our white gravy, we want the roux to have very little color and flavor so 2-3 minutes will be sufficient.

At this point you want to add your beef broth in a steady stream while stirring constantly.  The goal is to make our sauce smooth, not lumpy, so be sure you are always stirring.  This will thicken up fairly quickly so have your milk handy to start pouring before you have ham play dough on your hands.  Add the milk and half and half one cup at a time in a steady stream, stirring constantly. Stir until thickened before adding the next cup.  Once all of the milk is added and the mixture is thickening nicely, it is time to add your spices.  Taste your gravy before you add your seasoning salt.  I have a salty palette so you may not feel that the seasoning salt is necessary.  Again, always taste your food as you are cooking it to make sure you are adding the proper amount of spices along the way.

Once thickened, serve over biscuits (or hashbrowns).  I’m pretty sure after you have had ham gravy, you might be a convert for life.

I found the BEST biscuit recipe on the planet over at http://www.thechunkychef.com/buttermilk-biscuits-and-sausage-gravy/. They are crisp on the outside but so fluffy and moist on the inside. They are the perfect combination of salty and buttery. Check it out!