From hearty beef stew to the best-ever burger recipe, beef is very versatile and will be the king of many dishes you decided to make. There are many techniques and many recipes that go with these techniques. So, the first step into this adventure is to familiarize ourselves with the different terms.
- Grill – this is the technique of cooking foods hot and fast. It is usually done over direct heat. You want to consider steaks, hamburgers and hot dogs for this technique. It is awesome for Summer recipes – and we are all longing for those. However, there is a possibility of grilling in the Winter using our oven. This is known as broiling.
- Broil – think of your broiler as an upside-down grill. Instead of heat coming from the bottom, it comes from the top. It’s a high-temperature technique where the beef is cooked near the heat source. Again, for this technique, you may want to consider the same cuts of beef as well as thin cuts, as well as the shoulder tender.
- Barbecue – even though this term is used as a synonym of grilling, there is a difference between these two. When you barbecue, you are cooking foods low and slow. You want to use this technique with cuts like beef brisket. These types of meats tend to be tougher, and need the low, slow heat of a barbecue in order to get them good and tender. This is the reason why the best barbecue chefs pride themselves on a very long cooking time to get the tenderest, most flavorful meat.
- Stew – Beef Stew is perfect for the colder weather! It uses slow, moist heat and the meat cut up into cubes or other smaller pieces. It’s usually made up of chuck and round which are among the toughest cuts of beef. You can buy it already cut in cubes or you can buy your own beef round or chuck and cut it up in cubes yourself to your liking.
- Roast – this is a dry-heat cooking technique that uses either high temperature or a combination of high and low. The difference is the crispy, brown exterior for the high temperature, while the low temperature is what cooks it to its proper done state. Here you have several options: Tenderloin roast (The most tender beef roast that is well known for being lean and succulent), the ribeye roast (flavourful and fine-textured, famous for the holiday roast), and Eye of round roast (a lean, flavourful cut often used for roast beef at the deli) to name only a few.
- Skillet – if you are not going to use your ground beef to make burgers, chilli con carne or meatloaf, then the best way to prepare it is the skillet, especially if you are thinking of making tacos or burritos or bolognese. It’s best to add your ground beef to a cold skillet and then heat it slowly, as adding it to a hot skillet will cause the meat to stick and possibly burn.
Don’t forget that the staff at Pavão Meats is always waiting to help you with tips for your recipes and to provide you with the best cuts of meat.