Category Archives: Beef

Calf’s liver with sweet onions

Beef

Serves 2

Ingredients

1oz butter

2 tbsps virgin olive oil

2 thinly sliced red onions

Thin slices calf’s liver cut into strips, enough for 2 people

1 tbsp sherry vinegar

1 tbsp sloe gin or the like

Chopped flat leaf parsley

Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

Heat one tbsp of the olive oil and butter in frying pan and fry the onions over a low heat for a half hour or until soft. Season and leave aside. Now heat another tbsp of oil until hot. Season the liver with salt and pepper and stir fry for 30 seconds. Remove and add the liver to the onions and mix. Then put mixture back into frying pan and quickly heat adding the vinegar, slow gin and parsley. Serve imediately!

Heather’s note I only use calf’s liver and certainly not lamb’s liver.

Boxing Day Tongue

Beef, Family Favourites

IMG_0984Boxing Day Tongue isn’t really a recipe but more a method of preparation.  It is always a favourite on Boxing Day along with Spiced Beef and Auld Grannie’s Meatloaf.Both these recipes are on HeathersKitchen

Ingredients

2 small salted (these need to be ordered at least 3 weeks in advance so that your butcher can “salt” in the brine)

6 pieces of leaf gelatine

Method  Soak overnight in fresh water, drain and put tongues into pressure cooker with enough water to almost cover.  Cook at full pressure for one and a half hours.  Skin the tongues when still hot and curl into smallest possible container like a straight sided non-stick pot. Taste the cooking liquid and if not too salty, dissolve the gelatine in a pint of the stock.  Pour over the tongue and place a plate and a weight on top and leave to get cold in the fridge. That’s it.

Christmas Spiced Beef

Beef, Family Favourites

IMG_1021NB,the butcher needs to keep this in the brine for 3 weeks so order early! Also remember this takes a couple of days to prepare and best kept for a week before serving.

Ingredients
1.5 K  Boned salt silverside brisket
Ground black pepper
Soft dark sugar
1 tablespoon Whole Allspice berries
1 tablespoonful Juniper berries
2 teaspoonfuls Whole cloves

Method
Soak the joint in cold water for 3 hours, changing the water a couple of times.  Make several incisions into the beef to allow the spices to get all the way through.  Cover the joint generously with the black pepper then cover thickly with the sugar.  Crush the allspice and juniper berries in a mortar then press into the sugar.  Stick the cloves all over the meat.  Wrap the beef in foil, place in an overproof dish and leave overnight at room temperature.

Set oven at 140C, cook beef for 4 hours.  Pour off juices, seal the foil and place a board and weights on top and leave in a cool place overnight.

Now wrap in fresh foil and store the Christmas Spiced Beef in the fridge for up to a week.

Steak Tartare

Beef, Family Favourites, Main Courses

IMG_1022This is a distillation of several recipes, this is how we like it.

Ingredients for two people
10 oz fillet beef
1 tbsp finely chopped shallots
1 tbsp chopped capers
1 tbsp chopped gherkins
1 teasp dijon mustard
1 teasp tomato ketchup
1/2 teasp worcester sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
Ground pepper & quarter teasp salt
1 egg yolk (please excuse the picture)

Method
Chop fillet in a food processor, be careful, not too fine. Mix everything together and press into a food ring to give a nice shape although it’s not essential.

Serving recommendation.
Of course, serve it with chips, salad if you must!

Italian Beef and Macaroni bake

Beef, Family Favourites, Holidays, Main Courses

  • Basically I make this by putting a layer of bolognese sauce in a shallow dish. Cover with a layer of macaroni cheese. Cover this with a layer of grated cheese. This can then be kept until ready to serve when you put it into the oven at about 170 until hot and bubbling. This also freezes well although I always thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.

As you can imagine this can be made any size from 2 portions to 20 depending on occasion so is very good for a big crowd