Saving Mystery Beef

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RPCookin

Executive Chef
Joined
Apr 20, 2005
Messages
2,857
Location
Logan County, Colorado
Here on the island, beef (aside from ground beef) can be hard to find, and knowing what you have can be even harder to figure out. A couple of weeks ago I bought a piece of beef, and even in the store they couldn't tell me what it was. The other day I decided to try and figure it out. After thawing it out the only thing I could tell was that it didn't have any bones. I didn't want to ruin it straight off so I decided to go cautiously.

I started by marinating it for a couple of hours, then I roasted it to rare (125° internal). I tried a small piece - it tasted good, but chewed like old rubber. Clearly not an oven roast.

I then placed it in my cast iron Dutch oven with beef stock, red wine, balsamic vinegar, onions, carrots and celery and braised it on top of the stove for 2½ hours. This time it worked and I had what actually tasted like and had the texture of braised short ribs, only without the bone. It turned out quite good, although dinner was a couple of hours late that night. :chef:
 
Incredible story. Seems like it things would be a little better organized down at the store? How did the store know what to charge? How did you know you were paying a fair price?

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Incredible story. Seems like it things would be a little better organized down at the store? How did the store know what to charge? How did you know you were paying a fair price?

.40

Note in my profile where I'm at. This ain't the good ol' US of A. No supermarkets on this island - just several little stores. A typical shopping day starts out an hour north of our house, and hits 5 different stores along the way. Different stores can be more or less depended on for different foods. One has better meats, another has better produce, a third carries more imported products from the States than anyone else. Recipe substitution becomes a way of life.

Here in the Out Islands pork and chicken are the staples, aside from seafood. Beef tends to be a luxury, and most cuts other than ground beef and stew meat are pretty much incognito. One frozen hunk of beef looks pretty much like any other unless it's got an identifiable bone in it, which this one didn't. All beef is imported, so you take what you can get.
 
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Being from Texas, I guess I take beef for granted. Grocery stores here usually have 25 yards of beef coolers to choose from. Sometimes it's problematic finding the cut you want.

Great job on making what you had at hand edible.

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