Frank's Recipes! All About Beef

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Cooking Hints and Tips

All About Beef

Aging With Grace
Beef, like fine wine, improves with age. The term "aging" simply means the length of time beef sides or wholesale cuts are stored under controlled conditions of temperature and humidity before they are prepared for the meat counter.

Aging allows naturally occurring enzymes within the meat to slowly break down connective tissue that contributes to toughness. Beef aging by natural enzymes increases tenderness.

Aging times vary considerably from 3 to 21 days, with 10 to 14 days considered optimum. Check with your butcher on his aging policy.

Barbecue A Roast
Select an evenly shaped boneless roast that has some outer fat to prevent the roast from drying out.

To spit-roast, balance roast on rotisserie rod, securing with holding forks so meat does not slip when turning.

To grill-roast, cook over direct heat. Place roast, fat side up, on lightly greased grill over drip pan. For charcoal barbecue, surround drip pan with coals. For gas barbecue, heat grill on opposite side of roast only.

Keep drip pan topped up with 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water to prevent burning and help keep roast moist.

Barbecue Roast Guidelines

min/lb	min/kg	Internal Temperature
20	45	Rare (140F/60C)
25	55	Medium (160F/70C)
30	74	Well-Done (170F/75C)

Barbecue A Steak
Trim off fat to avoid smoking and flare-ups.

Salt steaks after cooking to avoid drawing out juices.

Turn steak when you see surface bubbles on top of steak. Turn with tongs, never a fork, to avoid piercing meat.

Brush on barbecue sauces near end of cooking time.

Thickness

Minutes Per Side

	Rare	Medium	Well-Done
1/2 to 3/4 inch	3 to 5	5 to 7	7 to 9
1 inch	5 to 7	7 to 9	9 to 11
1-1/2 inch	7 to 9	9 to 11	15 to 18
2 inch	12 to 14	15 to 18	25 to 30

Four C's For Safety

COLD
Life begins at 40, a fact of life for bacteria. Above 40 deg F (4 deg C), growth increases rapidly. Bacteria that double every 15 minutes at room temperature double every 6 to 8 hours at refrigeration temperature.

If meat is not cooked within 4 days, wrap and freeze it. Use ground meat within 2 days or freeze. Defrost meat in the refirgerator, not on the counter.

Refrigerate left over cooked meat immediately.

CLEAN
Wash hands before and after handling raw meats.

Clean utensils, chopping boards, plates and barbecue brushes with hot soapy water. Scrub work surfaces with a solution of 2 tsp (10ml) bleach for every 4 cups (1 L) water.

Never place cooked meat on the paltter that held the raw meat.

Any leftover marinade used to marinate meats should be discarded unless it has been boiled for at least 2 minutes after marinating.

COVER
Ensure that raw meat juices do not drop onto other foods in the refrigerator. Foods not usually cooked, such as cheese, salad greens or cold cuts, can cause illness if they become contaminated. Covering helps prevent cross-contamination between foods.

COOK
Bacteria are destroyed by adequate cooking.

In steaks and roasts, bacteria are found only on outside surfaces; therefore, meat an be eaten rare or medium, provided the outer surfaces are well cooked.

In ground meats, surface bacteria can spread throughout because of the grinding process; therefore, they must be cooked until well done (until juices are clear and no pink remains in center of meat).

Grounds For Good Cooking
Ground beef remains one of the cheapest and most versatile sources of high-quality protein.

Labelling regulations require that ground beef be labelled as either:

Extra Lean - up to 10% fat Lean - up to 17% fat Medium - up to 23% fat Regular - up to 30% fat
Suggested used for ground beef
Extra Lean/Lean - Use in recipes such as cabbage rolls and meat loaf, in which the ground beef is not precooked and drained of fat before it is added to other ingredients.

Medium - Use in recipes such as hamburgers and meatballs, in which the ground beef is not cooked before other ingredients are added but in which the fat can be drained off during cooking.

Regular - Use in recipes such as spaghetti sauce and tacos, in which the ground beef is cooked and fat is drained off before being added to other ingredients.

Marinades and Rubs
Seasoned mixtures, both liquid marinades and dry rubs, enhance flavor and can help tenderize beef.

A rub is a blend of seasonings that flavors the surface of uncooked meats. Paste-type rubs often contain oil, crushed garlic or mustard.

A tenderizing marinade must contain an acidic ingredient, such as lemon juice, yogurt, wine or vinegar, or a natural tenderizing enzyme, found in fresh papaya, ginger, pineapple and figs.

Marinate in the refrigerator, never at room temperature.

Rib eye, rib, wing, strip loin, T-bone, tenderloin and sirloin steaks, which are tender steaks, can be marinated briefly for flavor, 15 minutes to 2 hours.

Inside, outside and eye of round, blade, cross rib, sirloin tip and flank steaks need to be marinated for 6 hours to increase tenderness.

Larger cuts such as roasts and thick steaks need up to 24 hours of marinating.

Smaller cuts such as strips or cubes need only 1 to 2 hours of marinating.

Marinades than have been in contact with raw meat must be brought to a full rolling boil for a few minutes before they can be served as a sauce.

Perfect Patties
Juicy burgers require a light touch, so be gentle when shaping ground beef patties. Overmixing and excessive patting, pressing and shaping result in tough, dry hamburgers.

Use medium ground beef for more juicy, flavorful burgers. Hamburger patties made with lean ground beef tend to lose moisture during cooking and become dry.

Patties hold together better if chilled for 1 hour before cooking.

Flat hamburgers of a uniform size ensure even cooking. A thickness of 1/2 to 3/4 inch (1 to 2 cm) will allow thorough cooking, until no longer pink in center, without drying.

For juicy burgers, turn once. Don't press or flatten with spatula while cooking because this presses out juices.

Serve burgers in a variety of buns, pitas or firm textured breads. Toasted buns are less likely to become mushy when topped with juicy burgers.

Roast Beef
There are 2 methods of roasting beef, depending on the cut. For both methods, remove the roast from the oven when the meat thermometer reaches 5 degrees below desired doneness. Tent with foil and let stand for 15 minutes before carving.

Ribs, Sirloin And Tenderloin Roasts Place roast, fat side up, on rack in roasting pan. Season and insert meat thermometer into center of the roast; cook, uncovered, in 325 deg F (160 deg C) oven for :

	min/LB	min/kg	Internal Temperature
Rare	20	45	140 F/60 C
Medium	25	55	160 F/70 C
Well-Done	30	65	170 F/75 C

Round, Rump And Sirloin Tip Roasts Place roast, fat side up, on rack in roasting pan. Season to taste. Insert meat thermometer. Add 1-1/2 cups (375ml) water to pan. Cook, uncovered, in 500 deg F (260 deg C) oven for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 275 deg F (140 deg C); roast until meat thermometer registers desired doneness, 1-1/4 to 1-3/4 hours for 2 to 5 lb (1 to 2.5 kg) roast. The meat is best if not cooked past medium.

Smart Grilling
Girlling time can vary with cut of beef, rack height, temperature of coals, weather and desired doneness.

Trim excess fat from meats to reduce fat dripping onto coals, which can cause flare-ups. If flare-ups do occur, use a water spritzer bottle to spray the flame. Fewer flare-ups occur during covered grilling.

Always place cooked meats on a clean serving plate, not one that has previously held raw foods. Returning cooked meat to the platter with raw meat juices can ause bacterial contamination of cooked meat. Wash platter, boards and utensils with hot soapy water after each use; rinse well.

Try using your finger in a touch test instead of a knife to test doneness of steak; if the steak is soft to the touch, it is rare; if it springs back when touched, it is medium; if it is firm when touched, it is well-done.

Stir-Fries
Wok ready stir-fry strips, cut from inside round or sirloin tip, are available at many meat counters. Or you can cut very thin slices yourself after chilling or partially freezing meat to make it firm. For maximum tenderness, slice beef across the grain. Always use a well sharpened knife.

Stir-fry over high heat in a preheated heavy bottomed skillet or wok. Keep the meat dancing so that as much of it as possible touches the hot surface. Stir-frying meat in batches avoids crowding the pan, which lowers the heat and creates steam that stews rather than browns the meat.

Overcooking will toughen lean beef. Stir-fry the strips just until pink on the surface disappears, then remove them from the wok. Stir-fry the vegetables and then return the meat to the wok with the sauce just long enough to glaze and heat through.