the daily paleo

Cube steak revelation: Cuban-style Bistec de Palomilla

photo from the NYT

I grew up eating cube steak, a cheap, thin cut of mechanically-tenderized beef. Calling it steak was a bit of a stretch, but it cooked up quickly for the Swiss steak dish that was a staple in my house: cube steak braised in tomatoes.

When we got cube steak for the first time in our Herondale meat CSA bags recently, I poked around for something different to do with the cut. This recipe from the Times caught my eye because of the flavor profile: lime, garlic and onion. Additionally, I hoped the quick marinade would further tenderize the meat.

This is basic weeknight fare, but definitely an improvement upon Swiss steak, in my opinion. Keep your eye on the meat and don’t overcook it.

Bistec de Palomilla, adapted from the New York Times

Ingredients

2 pounds cube steak, cut into 4 or 6 pieces

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Juice of 3 limes

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley (optional)

Method

1. Season steaks with salt and pepper. Put steaks, juice from 2 limes and garlic in a 1-gallon zip-top bag or in a shallow glass pan or plate. Marinate for at least an hour (I did mine overnight.)

2. When ready to cook, put oil and butter in a heavy frying pan over medium heat. When butter stops foaming, add onions and sauté until soft and just starting to turn color, about 5 minutes. Remove onions to a bowl, cover with foil and set aside.

3. Turn heat under pan to medium-high. Add steaks, being sure not to crowd the pan and adding a little more olive oil if needed. Cook about 2 minutes per side, flipping when juices come to surface. Remove to a platter or individual plates.

4. Add any leftover pan juices to onions, along with juice from remaining lime, and parsley. Top steaks with onions.

The infamous Q+A that concludes the Starting Strength seminar. #myfavoritepart

Rickke’s Four-Hour Lamb Revelation

My pal Rickke has had a breakthrough. A lamb breakthrough.

He went from “meh” on lamb (too “gamey”) to WHOA in one recipe: the fantastic and dead simple 4-Hour Lamb from Ina Garten.

This recipe lists a really large leg of lamb; 6-7 lbs. The cuts in our share aren’t typically that large, thankfully, but you can still use the recipe pretty much as written. There’s no need to reduce the wine and other ingredients unless you want to deprive yourself of the wonderful sauce. In any case, don’t stress about the size of the cut - it’s going to be great as long as you don’t undercook it. If your lamb is in the 3-4lb range, check the meat for doneness starting at the 3hr mark.

You absolutely do need a large (big enough to hold your lamb comfortably) and heavy Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset.

Ina Garten’s 4-Hour Lamb

Ingredients
1 (6 to 7-pound) leg of lamb (see note)
Good olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 (750-ml) bottle dry white wine
2 heads of garlic, broken apart but not peeled
15 large sprigs fresh rosemary
15 large sprigs fresh thyme
6 bay leaves
Directions
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Rub the lamb all over with olive oil and season all over with salt and pepper. Heat a very large Dutch oven such as Le Creuset over medium-high heat until its hot. Add the lamb and sear on all sides for about 12 minutes, until its browned all over. Remove the lamb to a plate.

Add the wine and 2 cups of water to the pan and cook for a minute or two, scraping up all the brown bits in the bottom. Add the garlic, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves and the lamb on top. Place the lid on the pot and bake in the oven for 4 hours, basting occasionally. (If you dont have a lid, you can cover it tightly with 2 layers of aluminum foil.)

After 4 hours, the lamb should be incredibly tender and falling off the bone. Remove the lamb to a plate, cover it tightly with foil and allow it to rest. Strain the sauce into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes to reduce. The lamb will be too tender to slice; serve it warm with spoons and the sauce.

 

The April meat share from the Crossfit South Brooklyn/Herondale Farm CSA was delivered last night, and holy cow did we hit the jackpot.

Many of my favorite cuts were included, and below I offer a recap of the recipes I’ve made with them.

Beef short ribs

1. Short ribs provencale (oven method)

2. Short ribs braised in ancho-coffee sauce (oven method)

3. Slow cooker Korean short ribs (crock pot)

4. Charlotte K’s Asian short ribs (oven method)

And if you’re a taco lover, you might try this:

5. Short rib tacos with chimichurri sauce

Beef shanks (aka cross-cut shanks)

Like bone-in short ribs, shanks need to be braised (cooked long and slow with a lot of liquid.) But the payoff is immense; the meat is delicious and tender. If you don’t have enough shanks for a recipe (you’ll need more than 2), either wait til you receive more, or supplement from your local butcher.

This is one my very, very, very favorite recipes for any beef cut:

1. Peppered beef shanks in red wine (crock pot)

2. One of the many yummy things I did not eat on my Dominican vacation because the food was all Russian Immigrant Steamtable: Dominican sancocho

3. Butterflied leg of lamb

This was me when I saw the lamb in my bag:

I really, really love this cut. Especially grilled. But since I don’t have access to a grill year-round, I make it in the oven most of the time.

You can rub any manner of spices on lamb; it loves Mediterranean flavors (any combination of garlic, thyme, oregano, rosemary, and lemon) as well as the classic flavor pairing of mint. It’s also a good friend to both Middle Eastern and North African flavor profiles. 

Basic method: 1. Marinate overnight. 2. Roast. 3. Profit.

I strongly suggest you acquire a meat thermometer if you’re a beginner with roasting large cuts of meat. Eventually you will stop needing it, but it’s a very useful learning tool. I personally like my lamb rare so I take it out at 125 or so, and then let it rest,  but you should play around with that.

Here’s a straightforward recipe from Serious Eats. Here’s another basic one from Epicurious; if you don’t eat white potatoes, simply substitute sweet potatoes.

So that’s it for this month. Any CBSBK/Herondale CSA members who haven’t signed up to continue past April - contact the Farm now before all the slots fill up! Email info@herondalefarm.com.

iron-inside:

My co-worker is preparing for a bikini competition (and I’m super stoked for her), but I saw our lunches in the office fridge today and just had to take a picture.

Stoked is not the emotional reaction I have to this, but ok :)

A Ton of Sweet Potato Recipes

Apparently ever other food blogger in the world knew about this, but I didn’t.

In February, ONE, the charitable/activist organization that U2’s Bono co-founded, hosted a Sweet Potato Day. An inexpensive and hearty tuber, the sweet potato is a good candidate for helping to end world hunger, they argued, and asked food bloggers to submit their best recipes.

There are some lovely looking recipes here, particularly the sweet potato and chicken sausage stew, which looks right up my alley.

What looks good to you?

rogerwilkerson:

Meat in the meal for Health Defense