Making Beef Stock

I first made beef stock last winter and was amazed by the difference between homemade stock and stock from a cube or a granule. There is no doubt that this is a time-intensive endeavor requiring maintenance as you skim the impurities from the surface of the stock, but I think that it is worth the time and effort.

I was inspired by this video and make stock basically the same way, with a few of my own changes.

I started with 8 lb. of bones and meat: 4 lb. of oxtails on the left, 2 lb. of beef marrow bones in the middle, and 2 lb. of beef shanks on the right.

Preheat in the oven to 450 F.

Cover the bones with 12 oz. of tomato paste.

Add 2 large carrots on top of the beef and then roast for an hour.

Meanwhile, grab your largest stock pot. I use my monster 20-quart pot for beef stock.

Heat some olive oil and sweat down onions, leeks, carrots and celery. I used 2 large onion, chopped roughly, about 2 cups of leeks, both the white and the green parts, 2 more large carrots, roughly chopped, and a large bunch of celery, chopped.

Cook until it starts to soften.

Then add 2 bay leaves, a large amount of parsley, fresh thyme and 2 large roma tomatoes, quartered.

See the lovely roasted bones?

Take the roasted bones, carrots and tomato paste and add it all to the stock pot.

Deglaze the roasting pan with some white wine and a bit of water and and scrape up all of the lovely fond at the bottom and then add it to the stock pot as well.

Add enough cold water to cover the everything in the pot and bring up to between 180 and 200 F, and let simmer uncovered for 8 - 12 hours.

As the stock simmers, skim off any fat, scum and impurities.

In about 10 hours, the stock will be finished, at which point I'll strain it and cool it in an ice bath and then freeze in ice cube trays. Stay tuned... Tweet

Pan-Seared Filet Mignon with Mushroom Wine Sauce

I am not a big beef-eater. I mean, I like it just fine when I have it, but I don't feel the need to gorge on red meat every day. I think that stems from the fact that my dad is a Meat-and-Potatoes guy who didn't think that it was a real meal unless there was some sort of 4-legged animal on the plate. Growing up, beef was on the menu at least 3 out of the 7 days, and of course, in order to swing that, we had a lot of the cheaper cuts: ground beef, cube steak and pot roast for example.

I remember the first time I ever had filet mignon I was stunned at how tender it was with no sign of gristle running through it interrupting every bite, which was my recollection of cube steak. Last night I wanted to treat myself to something special, and I was craving beef, so I opted for a little home-cooked filet. I started by pan-searing the meat on both sides to develop a crust, and then roasting it in a preheated pan really hot oven. Topped off with a mushroom-wine sauce, and you've got everything you need: the tender meat which literally almost melts in your mouth, and the rich flavor of the sauce.

Pan-Seared Filet Mignon with Mushroom Wine Sauce

Ingredients:

• beef tenderloin cut into two 1-1/2 in. - 2 in. thick filet mignons
• butter
• salt
• pepper

For the sauce:

• 3 T butter
• 2 T chopped shallot
• 1/4 cup cremini mushrooms, finely diced
• 1/2 cup dry red wine (I used a Bordeaux)
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1 T tomato paste
• 1/2 t sugar
• 2 T fresh thyme
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 450 F.
• Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil and spray lightly with olive oil cooking spray and place in the oven to preheat for 30 minutes.
• Season the filets with salt and pepper on both sides and let come to room temperature
• Place a heavy skillet over high heat and melt 1 T butter. Sear the filets for 3 minutes on each side, flipping with tongs, NOT a fork. You don't want to pierce the meat.
• Once the meat has browned on both sides, remove from the skillet and place in the preheated roasting pan and roast for 4 to 6 minutes for rare, 6 to 8 minutes for medium-rare, or 8 to 10 minutes for medium. If the filets are thicker cut, opt for the longer cooking times of the ranges given.
• Take the meat out and let rest on a plate, tented with foil.
• While the meat is roasting, melt 3 T butter over medium-high heat in the same pan you seared the meat in. Add the chopped shallots and mushroom and stir up all the browned bits (fond) from searing the meat.
• Cook for 2 minutes and then add the wine, bring to a boil and really scrape up all of the fond. Once most of the wine has cooked down, add the beef broth, thyme, sugar and tomato paste and let reduce. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as necessary.
• Additionally, you can stir in 2 T cold butter to the sauce, but this is good as-is.
• Slice the meat across the grain and serve with the sauce.

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Supper Popover

Growing up, this was my most-requested dinner dish. My mom said she'd found it in a magazine years ago (we're talking back in the 70s here, people). I've seen some people cite this as from a Betty Crocker cookbook. Whichever it is, I have always loved it. This and Pizza Without a Crust were my favorite meals growing up.

They were certainly way better than cube steak, which I had to eat all the time, my dad being a meat and potatoes kind of guy, and I could never stand it. I haven't eaten cube steak in almost 25 years now and despite Pioneer Woman's recipe for her husband's favorite sandwich, I don't think I will be able to eat it ever again. I have not-so-fond memories of trying to chew through grey bits of gristle, and yes, gagging.

This dish, on the other hand, I would eat once a week for dinner and gladly eat the leftovers for lunch the next day. My kids love it too.

Supper Popover

Ingredients :

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 can (15oz) diced tomatoes in juice
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 T sun-dried tomato pesto (optional)
• 2 T all-purpose flour
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t black pepper
• 1/2 t garlic powder
• 2 t Italian seasoning
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 t salt

Instructions :

1. Heat oven to 425.
2. Brown the ground beef in 10-inch skillet until brown and cooked through; drain.
3. Stir in the diced tomatoes, red bell pepper, garlic, onion, sun-dried tomato paste, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, garlic powder and Italian seasoning.
   
4. Raise heat to high. Cook 1 minute, stirring to make sure nothing sticks and burns.
   
5. Add 1 T flour. Stir until well-combined.
   
6. Pour into ungreased 9 x 13 baking pan. Sprinkle the cheese on top.
7. Beat eggs, milk, oil, 1 cup flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt with hand beater; pour over cheese.
8. Bake until puffy and golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Notes:

• I once made a version of this using salsa in place of the diced tomatoes and substituted 1 cup of pepperjack cheese for some of the cheddar.
  

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