We went to Boo at Zoo today. It was cool and rainy so I went for something easy and warming. Green Chili with Chicken in the pressure cooker from Serious Eats. Hubby and Small Girl Child had it with tortillas. I just had mine with some queso and a fork. The onions up the carb count but we were having so much fun we didn’t eat lunch.
Sorry, been very busy. Sunday usually has slim pickens on meat and especially fresh seafood. Middle of the week usually pretty good.
I like both dry aged and wet aged. Wife and kids like wet aged.
As far as marbling content, it’s hit or miss. Some days I go in there and 25% of the striploins are screaming, “take me home” . Other times there maybe only 1 nice one out of 20 and other times none of them are to my liking. I am also very picky and marbling comes 1st & usable yield 2nd. More often than not restaurant owners are the opposite.
Do watch the dates. I have been told by many employees in the RD meat department in several different RD’s that on “AVG”, the cases of BEEF subprimals sit in the store for 10-14 days or so before the cases are broken and contents put on display. They then print a sticker that shows the date the product was put on the shelf and another date 45 days later when the product must be pulled if not sold. That old RD thread covers this.
Also look for tight bags with no excessive blood sloshing around the bag and a nice white fat cap. If its tight & the fat is white, that means its fresh and not overly manhandled by people checking them out. Also marbling/intramuscular fat is firmer than lean. Often a soft subprimal has less marbling and a firm one more.
I will stop babbling and get to the point: Tight bag, white fat cap & no blood sloshing…give it 14 to 21 days wet age in the back of the bottom shelf of the fridge. Beer/soda cans in front of it help keep the cold surrounding it then the door gets opened.
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Excellent advice! I will see what I can find next time I head over there.
It’s been a busy few days! I just got back in the kitchen last night after subsisting on eggs and leftovers. I made one of DH’s favorites, the endlessly adaptable spicy, crispy beef and tofu. I fry thick slabs of tofu until crispy then drain on paper towels. Meanwhile, I fry ground beef in its own fat until it gets REALLY crispy (much browner than you’d want it for taco meat or something like that - takes quite a while to render out all the fat and get the water to evaporate), then toss in some diced vegetables (usually onions, peppers, broccoli stems, bamboo shoots, whatever I have that sounds good) and stirfry it all for a few minutes. Cut the tofu into bite-sized pieces and toss it in along with a BIG handful of chopped garlic, ginger and chiles. I only let it cook a minute or so after adding the aromatics so they retain a lot of bite! Season to taste with a bit of soy sauce and a TON of sambal oelek and Sriracha. Last night’s version was purposely on the mild side, but if you get some good hot jalapenos or serranos in there, it can be fiery. The tofu makes for a great texture contrast.
More tofu tonight, this time as mac and cheese! My tofu mac and cheese, with tofu instead of noodles, is one of my husband’s most favorite dishes (and he is not a tofu lover in general by any means). Cheese sauce is pureed cauliflower and a mixture of various cheeses. I top it with parmesan and run it under the broiler for a savory, crispy topping. It was a side dish, though - the main event was flap steaks with garlic-sage oil (EXCELLENT meat from Restaurant Depot - I unintentionally wet-aged it for two weeks so it was exceptionally tender and juicy). Salad of romaine, fennel and kalamata olives for freshness. Malbec to wash it all down. YUM.
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I was supposed to go out to dinner with a friend tonight but he came down with something nasty, so I’m heading home to figure out something quick from the fridge. I stocked up on meat at Costco yesterday, so there’s plenty to choose from. I’m guessing I’ll do some type of chicken stir fry to use up some Chinese chives and red peppers that are getting on in years. I was thinking of meatloaf and Brussels sprouts tomorrow (comfort food!), so I might start the prep for those so I can spend less time in the kitchen tomorrow and glue myself to the TV and my wine glass as the election results roll in.
Withdrawal 
Well, the meatloaf was a hit at my house even if the election results were not. I called it Meatloaf Parmigiana - seasoned it like an Italian meatball, then embedded lots of chunks of mozzarella in it and glazed it with tomato sauce, with extra alongside for serving. Some of the cheese stayed inside, creating oozy pockets of goodness, while some leaked out and burned on the bottom of the pan, creating crunchy burnt cheese deliciousness.
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Shepherd’s Pie was the name of the game last night! Usually I use lamb but all I had was beef, so beef it was. Browned with an onion, some garlic and chopped kale, then made a gravy out of Guinness and beef stock (just barely thickened with about a tablespoon of flour, so only a modest addition of carbohydrate). Topped with cauliflower puree (cauli, cream cheese, cheddar and a little cream) and then into the oven to brown. Delicious.
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Back to LC basics after a four-day festival of carbohydrates. Last night was a grilled flank steak and this roasted red pepper recipe from Bon Appetit, which was quite delicious despite the fact that I subbed mint for basil: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/roasted-red-peppers-and-cherry-tomatoes-with-ricotta I served it warm to start, but my second helping was room temperature and it was MUCH tastier that way. I also roasted the tomatoes along with the peppers. This one will be a do over for sure.
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Greek lemon BISO chickie thighs roasted in the oven at 375 for 45 min, then finished under the broiler to crisp up the skin. Still have 4 thighs left. Side was maroulosalata with the last of TJ’s Greek feta crumbled in.
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Feeling lazy tonight. I picked some salmon sashimi, wrapped it in a piece of nori with leftover avocado & cucumber. Hubby wanted the last of rack of lamb & stuffing, Small Girl Child shared between our two plates. She loves raw fish. I’m not what I’ll do when she gets an adult appetite.
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While this is in Italian you can follow the recipe without having to translate, this really seems like the ultimate low carb (minus the bread crumbs) breakfast!! Yuuummmmmm
Actually, I think it’s Portuguese, but still, YUM!!!
Hi, been extremely busy but finally tried a version of your low carb bread crumbs…2.5 oz bag of Herr’s pork rinds ground up in the food processor, 1/2 a green can of parm cheese & a 1/2 cup of Soybean flour.
Non cooking wife bought a 2 lb bag of 26-30 farm raised EZ-Peel shrimp. Because they were small and farm raised, very little if any vein. When peeling them, no need to run under water so they stayed a little sticky. Quick toss in coconut flour, let sit, then egg wash and dredge in above bread crumb mixture, let sit, then deep fry.
Crispy, crunchy & delicious. No mealy texture & no off flavors. Chicken parm next!!
Thank you, Thank you !!!
Tom
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Awesome! The shrimp sound delicious and I’m so glad the pork rinds worked for you. Here’s to many more delicious deep-fried meals in 2017!
For breading, try buying superfine blanched almond flour; it’s a revelation to me after years of less than ideal texture and taste from almond meal that’s more coarse and has the skins in it. Perfect pancakes, just add eggs, oil, a bit of salt, sweetener (a bit of maple sugar is great) vanilla if you want and use SF syrup with a bit of natural maple extract added.
Costco has a really good price on a 3 lb bag of it, at least here on LI. It’s on amazon for $$$ and also various nut sellers online.
Also, mixing this almond flour with a bit of grated parmesan makes a great coating.
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