Meadow Maid Foods Favorite Grass Fed Beef Recipes

Using Economy Cuts of Grassfed Beef

Economy cuts of Meadow Maid^® Foods, llc grassfed beef discussed here include:

round, rump, tri-tip, chuck, brisket, sirloin tip, flank, skirt, soup bones and stew meat.

Some of the economy cuts are the most flavorful cuts on the beef. It is important to know how to prepare them to create that quality eating experience that you seek. Not all economy cuts have the same properties or should be cooked in the same manner. Know your cuts before you cook.

The difference between a roast and a steak is the size of the piece of meat. Roasts can be cut into smaller pieces called steaks, or smaller, into stew meat, to accommodate the style of cooking desired.

Round (top round, eye of round, bottom round, rump roast, tri-tip)

is a very lean cut taken from the rump and upper back leg of the animal. All Meadow Maid^® Foods stew meat is cut from top round. Our round steak is also cut from the top round.

Although some meat books recommend using round cuts for dry roasting or pot roasts, I find these grassfed beef cuts to be too lean to create a good pot roast. Rump and tri-tip roasts make nice oven roasts if not overcooked (see No Fail Oven Roast). Leftover oven roast makes fantastic roast beef sandwiches.

Recipes and Methods for Grassfed Round:

Pan-fry or Grill: provided that the meat is sliced thinly and marinated overnight in a tenderizing marinade prior to cooking quickly. Many tasty recipes may be created with round, from steak salads to stir-fries, but be sure to include the long tenderizing marinade step. Marinades also add great flavor. See recipes and tips for Marinades, Fajitas, Korean BBQ, Oriental Beef Stir-Fry.

Stew: cut round steak or eye of round into stew meat size pieces, or use Meadow Maid^® Foods stew meat, which is cut from top round. Use your favorite stew recipe, or try our Beef in Stout and Beef and Black Bean Chili recipes. Generally, a stew takes several hours to create, although it is simple to prepare and does not require constant monitoring once the stewing process is started. Brown the meat to sear in the juices prior to simmering slowly in water, stock, wine, or other liquids, perhaps adding vegetables for enhanced flavor and depth. See additional stew notes, below.

Slow Cooked: Slow Cooked Round Steak merges Swiss Steak with Oriental flavors for a rich-tasting, savory dish, and Round can also be used for the Oriental Beef with Potatoes Recipe.

Chicken Fried Steak: this is one of my family’s favorite recipes for eye of round, although not a very healthy dish. The meat is cut into thin, small steaks, then pounded even thinner with a mallet to tenderize. Dip pounded steaks in seasoned flour, then in beaten egg, and again in seasoned flour, and fry in butter or bacon grease. Top fried steaks with a cream gravy or creamed sausage gravy, and serve with hash browned or mashed potatoes. Yummy, but don’t do it very often!

Chuck

The Chuck is cut from the shoulder of the animal. Bands of fat and connective tissues run through the cut. Don’t stress the fat - remember, the fat contains most of the health benefits of grassfed beef (omega-3 fats, vitamin E, and CLA). Chuck steak can also be cut from the chuck roast.

The chuck is one of the most flavorful cuts of beef, but can be difficult to chew unless the connective tissues are tenderized or dissolved by long, slow cooking or by tenderizing marinades. Although chuck starts out tough, it becomes fork-tender and delicious when properly cooked. Cook a chuck roast slowly under moist heat for good results.

Recipes and Methods for Grassfed Chuck:

Pot Roast: chuck makes the classic, fall-apart, fork tender pot roast, but you must cook it slowly under moist heat to achieve good results - see No Fail Pot Roast for the basic recipe. Pot roast also provides great beef stock for making nutritious soups, and chuck releases nutritious gelatin into the stock. Pot roast can also be a starting point for making beef BBQ sandwiches, shredded beef burritos, or roast beef sandwiches. Oriental Beef with Potatoes provides a tasty diversion from standard roast fare.

Pan-fry or Grill: provided that the meat is marinated overnight in a tenderizing marinade prior to cooking quickly, chuck steaks may be grilled or pan fried. Many tasty recipes may be created with chuck, from stir-fries to fajitas, but be sure to include the long tenderizing marinade step to break down the chewy connective tissues. Marinades also add great flavor. See recipes and tips for Marinades, Fajitas, and Oriental Beef Stir-Fry.

Brisket

Although brisket is included in the economy cuts due to price, it is one of my favorite cuts of beef. Very similar to the chuck, and cut from the lower shoulder/upper leg area just below the chuck, it contains bands of fat and connective tissue similar to the chuck. These tissues give the meat a wonderful flavor, but can be difficult to chew unless the meat is cooked slowly in liquid. Brisket, like chuck, becomes fork tender when cooked properly.

Use brisket in any pot roast recipe, or make my favorite: home-made corned beef brisket without the chemical additives of store-bought versions! Brisket is also excellent when smoked very slowly over low heat for several hours.

Sirloin Tip (top sirloin, ball tip)

The sirloin tip is cut from the round, close to the top round. The sirloin tip contains more fat than the other, leaner “round” cuts, thus making it suitable for pot roast and other braising and roasting recipes, as well as oven roasts. Sirloin tip steaks are very similar in quality to top round steaks; thus make great fajitas, chicken fried steak, slow cooked round steak, oriental beef stir-fry, Beef in Stout, Beef and Black Bean Chili, and other “round steak” or stew recipes.

Important note on the name “Top Sirloin”:

At Meadow Maid^® Foods, we avoid using the common name “top sirloin” when talking about sirloin tip. We have found that “top sirloin” is a name often used in the marketplace to confuse the consumer (many people think “top sirloin” is the best cut of sirloin). “Top sirloin” is often sold as steak-sized cuts at prices comparable to or exceeding the price of “sirloin”, when in fact sirloin is actually a superior cut of meat. So, we stick with the name sirloin tip, whether we cut it into a steak-sized or roast-sized pieces.

Flank (London Broil, hanger steak) and Skirt Steak (Plate Steak)

I group these steaks together because they both come from below the rib area - flank from the front, skirt from the rear. Each side of beef yields only 1-2 pounds of each cut, and they may be used interchangeably in any recipe. Both steaks are very flavorful; the flank is slightly higher in quality than the skirt, although differences between animals may make that distinction hard to make.

(London Broil is actually a recipe, not a cut, but flank is often called by that name.)

Both the flank and the skirt should be cooked briefly over high heat, after first being marinated. Once cooked, slice these steaks thinly into strips to serve. You may wish to top with a savory sauce. Be sure to cook only to medium-rare, or they may get very dry. These cuts are excellent choices for recipes such as fajitas or Oriental beef stir-fry.

Soup Bones and Stew Meat

Meadow Maid^® Foods soup bones are cut from the shank, or lower leg. Each piece contains a central round bone filled with marrow, surrounded by shank meat. All Meadow Maid^® Foods stew meat is cut from quality top round, not scrap meat. Chuck, brisket, eye round, round steak, sirloin tip, flank, and skirt may also be cut into stew meat.

Making Beef Stock with our soup bones: Place the bones (with meat attached) in a large pot, and cover with water. Wine, herbs, onions, and other flavor ingredients may be added to flavor the beef stock. Or you may make a plain but versatile stock to store for later use. Simmer long and slow, covered in water, for at least one hour, but more is better.

Soup stock is nutritious and tasty, and may be used in many, many recipes. When you are finished cooking the stock, remove the bones. You may cool them, remove the meat from the bones and return the meat to the stock. Or, you may choose to cool the stock, skim the fat and strain to create a clear broth. Maximum nutritional value will be obtained by returning the meat to the stock and keeping the fat. Beef stock may be frozen for several months or refrigerated for several days.

For more comments on soup stock, see our recipe.

Stewing is a process of cooking meat slowly, covered in liquid, for at least a couple of hours, or all day. Other ingredients are added for enhanced flavor and texture. The stewing process itself improves tenderness in the meat. Tenderness may be further enhanced by first marinating the pieces of stew meat in red wine or other tenderizing marinade overnight, and/or browning the meat to seal in juices and enhance flavor prior to stewing. Personally, I think all stew meat should be browned first before adding to the stew. Marinades may be reserved to add to the stew with other liquids. Use your favorite stew recipe,and enjoy! Some of our favorite stew recipes include Beef in Stout and Beef and Black Bean Chili.