14 DAYS OF COOKING - BEEF BROTH GELATIN, BEEF JERKY

This is the start of my 14 day break where I make home cooked meals from scratch. These recipes are fairly simple and easy to make, yet are perfectly seasoned and packed with flavor...at least the ones adopted from Gordon Ramsay's recipes.


DAY 1
I got four 16oz slices of sirloin that were too tough to eat as steaks, so I decided to turn them into something creative. As I had been wanting to make beef jerky for awhile, I figured why not put this meat to good use to make jerky?

SPICY JERK BEEF JERKY


Meat
3lbs steaks, trimmed of all fat and bone
Jamaican Jerk Seasonings

Amber's / Aquakittie's Marinade:
1 part soy
2/3 - 1 part sugar (I prefer sweeter and brown but white is just fine)
1-2 Tbps liquid smoke (depending on how large your batch)

That's the base I use...then I add all kinds of fun stuff:
squirt of BBQ sauce
couple of squirts of Lee & perrins
couple of squirts of teriyaki if that's the kind you wanna make
squirt of balsamic vinegar (helps tenderize)
approx 1tsp ground pepper
squirt of favorite brand of hot sauce (optional of course)

1. Sliced the semi-frozen steaks into 1/5th inch slices
2. Marinade overnight.
3. Arrange onto trays, coat with jamaican jerk seasonings
4. Put in a warm-200 degree slightly open oven for 5 hours.

I didn't use the marinade and it came out very very spicy, but tasted of aged beef. Next time I will use the marinade which will give it a traditional jerky flavor. This was my first time making beef jerky!

SIRLOIN BEEF GELATIN




Meat:
Sirloin beef trimmings & fats
Sirloin beef bone

Moir Poix:
1/2 onion, sliced
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery, chopped

1/4 cup red wine
Salt and Pepper

1. Place raw beef and trimmings in pot with water.
1. Saute moir poix in olive oil on low heat till soft. Add to pot.
2. Roast bones in pan, about 10 minutes each side. Transfer to pot
3. Deglaze pan with red wine, salt, and pepper. Add contents to pot.
4. Bring to boil and then simmer until reduced by half .

The bone and fats contribute to making the gelatin. This gelatin can be then be used to flavor stocks, use as a sauce base (like a light demi-glace), make demi-glace, or for use in a meat pie.

RICE & BOILED BEEF

3 cups cooked rice
1 cup boiled beef from stockmaking
Soy sauce

1. Lightly coat rice with soy sauce.
2. Season beef with salt and pepper, then add to rice.

It's not terribly flavorful, but it's rustic and traditional, plus you've found a use for the leftover beef.

COMPOST



As for the beef fat and vegetables left over from stockmaking, mash them up in a bowl to use as compost. You can compost anything that's biodegradable, including shredded paper and cardboard, vacuum bag contents, fireplace soot, egg shells, discarded egg whites, expired cream/milk, fruits, etc. Why throw everything into the garbage when you can use them as compost to improve your lawn and garden?