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Category Archives: Meat

How to Cook Beef Tongue & Tacos Recipe

16 Monday Dec 2013

Posted by in Beef, Meat, Mexican, Recipe

≈ 5 Comments

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Beef Tongue Tacos

The time has come.  I have teased you enough about my adventures with beef tongue.  Today, I share with you my adventure in cooking this somewhat mysterious piece of protein and a simple way of turning it into a delicious meal ~ Beef Tongue Tacos.

I grew up eating beef tongue, prepared by my mom in a slow cooker, with lots of garlic, sliced super thin, and served on sandwiches, open-faced.  Later on in my life, I would often order lengua tacos from Mexican restaurants or tacos truck, always noticing the tender, melt-in-your-mouth (pardon the pun) character of the meat.  Needless to say, I am not squeamish about the tongue.

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When the opportunity presented itself, thanks to Farmstr, to try cooking the beef tongue for myself, I decided to give it a try.  The tongue came from Fluit Family Farm (Wallowa, OR). Cow breed: Rotokawa Devon / Grass-fed.  For details: http://specialty.farmstr.com/beef_offer.html

Beef Tongue Tacos

Ingredients

1 (2-3#) beef tongue

2 carrots, halved

1 onion, quartered

2 bay leaves

6-8 whole peppercorns

4-6 garlic cloves

salt to taste

For tacos: corn tortillas, radishes, cilantro, lime, salsa, sour cream

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Directions

1.  Rinse the tongue in cold water and place in a large pot.  Unless you are buying the tongue from a reputable source, preferably a local, organic farm, be sure to soak the tongue in cold water for several hours, switching the water a few times, to draw out any impurities.

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2.  Add vegetables and seasonings to the pot and pour in enough cold water to cover the tongue and vegetables by a few inches.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Then lower the heat to low and simmer for several hours, until the tongue is completely tender.  I simmered the tongue for almost four hours, though I am pretty sure it was done at the end of two hours.

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3.  Remove the tongue and cool slightly.  Peel off the skin and thinly slice across the grain.

4.  Make tacos!  For our tacos, I grilled corn tortillas over gas flame and filled them with slices of tongue and radishes.  Garnish with cilantro, lime juice, sour cream, and salsa.  I also enjoyed these tacos with Russian-Style Pickled Cabbage.

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If you would like to experience Farmstr and what it has to offer for yourself (and why wouldn’t you), please sign up for the Farmstr newsletter and Hot Sheet to learn about the great deals offered, in season produce, and the farmers.  To sign up, scroll to the bottom of the page www.farmstr.com and click on ‘Join Mailing List’.

To learn more, feel free to ask more questions and/or read How it Works and FAQ.

Disclaimer: I was offered the produce at no charge in exchange for the recipe and review.  All opinions stated in this post are my own.

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Lasagna Recipe: Meat Sauce, Sauteed Vegetables and No Boil Noodles

24 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Cooking, Dinner, Meat, Pasta, Recipe

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There are times when it’s easier to let someone else decide what’s for dinner.  On this particular night, I turned to my brother and asked him to figure out what I should make for a family get together.  “Lasagna!” he said.  Perfect!  This hearty, comforting dish is relatively easy to make, feeds a hungry crowd and is not too time consuming.  Plus, just in time for our trip to Italy, I thought I should make something Italian-esque.

This was the first time I tried using no boil lasagna noodles and I believe I will never return to the other kind.

Lasagna Recipe: Meat Sauce with Creamy Tomato Basil Sauce and Sauteed Vegetables


Ingredients

Filling

1 # ground beef
1 jar creamy tomato basil sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
2 cups spinach leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 can diced roasted tomatoes, drained

Cheese

1 # ricotta cheese
2 cups grated Peccorio Romano cheese, divided
2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese, divided
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Noodles

12 no boil lasagna noodles





Directions

1.  Saute ground beef in a skillet over medium high heat for 5-7 minutes, breaking it up with a back of the spoon into small pieces.  Stir in 1/3 of the tomato sauce, lower the heat to low, and simmer the sauce with the beef as you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

2.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion, garlic, and mushrooms.  Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables caramelize, about 12 minutes.  Stir in spinach, season with salt and pepper, and cook just until the spinach wilts.

3.  Stir together ricotta, 1 cup Pecorino Romano, 1 cup Mozzarella, 1 egg and parsley.

4.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

5.  Layer lasagna in a 9×13 baking dish:

  • 1/3 tomato sauce
  • 4 noodles
  • 1/2 cheese mixture
  • meat sauce
  • 4 noodles
  • 1/2 cheese mixture
  • sauteed vegetables
  • 4 noodles
  • 1/3 tomato sauce
  • diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup Mozzarella cheese
  • 1 cup Pecorino Romano cheese
6.  Bake lasagna in the oven until the cheese melts and bubbles, 30 minutes.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing to serve.  Reheats wonderfully the next day, if you have any leftovers.


What is your favorite recipe for lasagna?

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Pomegranate Molasses Roasted Leg of Lamb

18 Monday Jun 2012

Posted by in Cooking, Dinner, Lamb, Meat, Recipe

≈ 3 Comments

It’s not every day you arrive home to a box of lamb.  Ground lamb, rib roast,  and boneless leg, the three cuts were nicely packed and kept cold by bags of ice inside the styrofoam box.  I stacked the ground lam and rib roast in the freezer and stared at the boneless leg of lamb.  The gift arrived from Superior Farms to promote their Supper Club facebook group. Have you liked it yet?

I decided to skip the traditional rosemary that so often adorns the lamb, and instead, opened a bottle of pomegranate molasses – the fantastic, dark ruby-red liquid with both sweet and sour tones.  I married the molasses with olive oil and garlic and appropriately called the recipe Pomegranate Molasses Roasted Leg of Lamb.  Do you think it’s worth $500 photo contest prize? … I hope so!

Are you curious about the colorful rice dish pictured along the lamb?  I will be posting the recipe for the Jasmine Rice Pilaf with Dried Apricots, Prunes and Toasted Walnuts later this week, so be sure to come back!

And now we are ready to roast some lamb!  Let me just say that this recipe got rave reviews from both my mom and the Artist.  I would like to thank both of them for their patience while I cooked, photographed, stressed, and then served.  And many thanks to Superior Farms for the lamb, I look forward to cooking more delicious lamb-y meals in the future.


Pomegranate Molasses Roasted Leg of Lamb

Ingredients


1 boneless leg of lamb

1/4 cup pomegranate molasses

1/4 cup olive oil

6-8 garlic cloves, chopped

salt

coarsely ground black pepper

Directions

1.  Marinate the leg of lamb in pomegranate molasses, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.  If you have time, marinate over night, in a large ziploc bag, in the refrigerator.  Be sure to massage and flip the bag from time to time to allow the lamb to marinate evenly.  If short on time, marinate the lamb for at least one hour.

2.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees and heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat.

3.  Remove the lamb from the marinade and sear fat side down in the cast iron skillet for 5 minutes.

4.  Flip the lamb and roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes until it is cooked to your desired doneness.

5.  Remove the lamb from the oven and rest on the cutting board for at least 15 minutes to allow the juices inside the lamb to redistribute.

6.  Slice the lamb against the grain into slices.

7.  Serve the lamb with your side of choice, or check back this week for a  Jasmine Rice Pilaf with Dried Apricots, Prunes and Toasted Walnuts recipe.  And don’t forget a glass of red wine.

One of the best parts of this lamb was the crisp skin, coated in the sweet and sour pomegranate molasses.  The lamb itself was buttery and tender.  I’m excited to have it as leftovers for lunch.

Hope you try this recipe along with many products from Superior Farms.

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Trying to find Love Second Time Around at Uneedaburger

23 Thursday Jun 2011

Posted by in Bread, Burger, Meat, Restaurant Review, Seattle

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Have you gone out on a perfect blind date?  You meet, you see, you talk, and you fall in love.  You can’t wait to see that person again.  Sounds familiar?  That was my experience at Uneedaburger – a Fremont burger joint in Seattle.  I love their buttered buns, they were crisp and so decadent.  They perfectly held a medium rare beef patty, covered with charred chile peppers.  I must’ve talked Uneedaburger so much that people started asking me if I was working on commission – I wasn’t, I just wanted to share my burger joy with others.

So when it came time for my friend’s birthday celebration, I suggested we go to Uneedaburger. As I waited for her, somewhat impatiently, sitting outside at one of the benches, I had butterflies in my stomach.  Would the 2nd time around be just as good?  Memories of some of my second dates filled my mind and my heart.  Remember seeing someone for the second time and feeling the original magic disappear right before your eyes?  I was silently saying the prayer that the same wouldn’t happen with my new favorite burger joint.
This time around, I chose to order #8: Crimini mushroom burger with procini mushrooms, black truffle salt, shallots, and Gruyere cheese.  Sounded amazing, but I wanted a stronger punch from the cheese, so I asked for Blue.  Medium rare please, with pickles on a side.  The burger was slightly overcooked and needed a bit more seasoning.  I was slightly let down – 2nd date, what are you doing to me?

The onion rings, however were perfect!  Greasy, crisp, with sweet onion hiding inside.  They had a certain glow to them!

My friend chose the same burger I had on my first “date” – #5 Sonora burger with roasted chili relish, and cilantro (no cheese for her).  She was expecting a bit more heat from the relish and more cilantro flavor.

Next time – I will order an extra side of pickles and perhaps will try their Lamb burger.  Yes, there will be date #3 🙂