August 1, 2014

Really?  Really?  August 1st?  Yikes!  Where is the summer going, or better question, where is the year disappearing to?  As Liam likes to say, "Holy jalapeno!"

This week we had one dinner voted to keeper status.  We all really loved the Cuban shredded beef that we made.  The kids and I saw it on an episode of America's Test Kitchen on PBS and added it to the meal plan for the week.  It was fantastic!  As we at dinner Liam announced that he loved it most of all!  This was quite the pronouncement since these days Liam barely eats any dinner.  He eats a huge breakfast and decent lunch but very little dinner.  So when he asked for seconds we all knew it was a unanimous keeper.  I will warn you that it takes a while to make, but the first part the meat is just cooking itself and you check on it every now and then.  If you have the time and the recipe looks good to you I wholeheartedly suggest you make this!

Happy Cooking!

New Recipe
Cuban Shredded Beef

Cuban Shredded Beef

Ingredients

* 2 pounds boneless beef chuck-eye roast, pulled apart at seams, trimmed, and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes 

* kosher salt

* pepper

* 3 garlic cloves, minced

* 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

* 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

* 2 tablespoons orange juice

* 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime zest plus 1 tablespoon juice, plus lime wedges for serving

* 1 onion, halved and sliced thin

* 2 tablespoons chicken broth

Directions

1. Bring beef, 2 cups water, and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt to boil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and gently simmer until beef is very tender, about 1 hour 45 minutes. (Check beef every 30 minutes, adding water so that bottom third of beef is submerged.) Remove lid from skillet, increase heat to medium, and simmer until water evaporates and beef starts to sizzle, 3 to 8 minutes. 

2. Using a slotted spoon, transfer beef to a rimmed baking sheet. Pour off and reserve fat from skillet. Rinse skillet clean and dry with paper towels. Place sheet of aluminum foil over beef and, using meat pounder or heavy sauté pan, pound to flatten beef into 1/8-inch-thick pieces, discarding any large pieces of fat. Some of beef should separate into shreds. Larger pieces that do not separate can be torn in half. 

3. Combine garlic, oil, and cumin in a small bowl. Combine orange juice and lime zest and juice in a second bowl. 

4. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons reserved fat in now-empty skillet over high heat (don't discard the rest yet). When fat begins to sizzle, add onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden brown and charred in spots, 5 to 8 minutes. Add sherry (or substitute) and 1/4 cup water and cook until liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes. Transfer onion to bowl. Return skillet to high heat, add 1 1/2 teaspoons reserved fat, and heat until it begins to sizzle. Add beef and cook, stirring frequently, until dark golden brown and crusty, 2 to 4 minutes. It's important to get it nice and crisp. 

5. Reduce heat to low and push beef to sides of skillet. Add garlic mixture to center and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and golden brown, about 30 seconds. Remove pan from heat, add orange juice mixture and onion, and toss to combine. Season with pepper to taste. Serve immediately with lime wedges.

Notes

We served this as a filling for tortillas, though I just ate it plain with the fresh lime juice.  Talk about yummy!  I don't really like red meat so I couldn't believe how much I really loved this! Yes, it was a a bit time intensive but I really do think it was worth making.  Even as leftovers the next day it was great.