Beef

• Barbacoa
• Beef and Broccoli
• Korean Beef Bowls
• Mom's Meatloaf
• Phở
• Skillet Steak with Compound Butter
• Taco Soup

Barbacoa

Servings: 12-15 tacos (or 25-30 street tacos)

Ingredients:

• 4-5 lb chuck roast (could use a mix of any of the following: beef cheek/brisket/short rib/chuck)
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1/2 cup water
• 6-8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 4 guajillo chiles, dried
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 cinnamon stick
• salt

Directions:

1. Cut the beef into even size pieces, about 3" across. Season on all sides with salt.
   
2. In a large dutch oven (or pot for which you have a lid), sear all sides of the beef over medium-high heat until browned. You'll likely have to do this in batches.
3. Once browned, turn off the heat and add the beef back into the pot followed by the stock, garlic, chiles, bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and cinnamon stick. Top with the water. 
4. Bring the pot to a boil, then cover with the lid and turn the heat to low. Let the pot simmer for 4-5 hours or until the meat it tender enough to shred.
5. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the meat to rest (with the lid still on) for an hour.
6. Remove the meat from the pot and shred with two forks. Mix a few ladles of your braising liquid to the meat as you shred.
7. Serve on tacos or in burritos/quesadillas/nachos. Goes really well on corn tortillas with salsa verde, chopped onions and cilantro, and some creamy jalapeño sauce.

Beef and Broccoli

Servings: 3

Ingredients 

Marinade

• 1/4 c coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
• 1 tsp ginger, grated
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Stir Fry

• 1 lb beef, cut into 1/4" strips (tenderloin is best but anything without too much fat is good)
  
• 1/2 lb broccoli florets
• 1/4 c coconut oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp fish sauce

Directions:

1. Combine marinade ingredients together and cover beef. Let marinade for at least 2 hours or, ideally, overnight
   
2. Heat a wok or fry pan over medium heat, then add the coconut oil. Stir fry the broccoli florets until they reach the desired tenderness, anywhere from 5-15 minutes depending on your preference.
3. Strain the marinade off of the beef and reserve (it will become the sauce). Stir fry the beef until just cooked through, 3-4 minutes, before adding the marinade and broccoli back into the pan. Cook 1-2 minutes more, allowing the marinade to thicken and coat the beef and broccoli
4. Serve over rice

Korean Beef Bowls

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 1lb ground beef (can easily sub with chicken or turkey)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 c brown sugar
• 1/3 c soy sauce/tamari
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 3 cups cooked rice
• sesame seeds for garnish

Directions:

1. Cook the ground beef over medium heat until cooked through and browned
2. Mix remaining ingredients together to make a sauce
3. Drain the oil from the skillet then pour the sauce over the beef, stirring it together
4. Serve the beef (and the sauce) over rice and garnish with sesame seeds

Mom's Meatloaf

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
  
• 3/4 c milk
• 1/2 c bread crumbs
• 1/4 c onion, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp parsley (or 1 tbsp dried)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground sage
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1 c catsup
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1 tbsp dry mustard

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
   
2. Combine eggs and milk, then stir in bread crumbs, onion, parsley, salt, sage, and pepper.
3. Add the ground beef and mix well.
4. Put the mixture in a baking disk or loaf pan for 50-75 minutes. Spoon off any fat that rises to the top.
5. In a bowl, combine catsup, brown sugar, and dry mustard. 
6. Spread about 1/4-1/2 of the mixture over the meatloaf, and return to the oven for 10 more minutes. 
7. Serve with remaining sauce on the side.

Phở

Servings: 10

Ingredients:

Broth

• 5-6lbs beef knuckles
• 2 medium white onions
• 4” piece ginger
• 1 pack Bao Long Pho Spice Cubes (Amazon)
• 1 pack Old Man Que Huong Pho Bac Spice Seasoning (Amazon)
• 1” piece yellow lump raw cane sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp salt

For the Bowls

• 1lb rice pho noodles
• Thinly sliced beef (eye of round works well, filet mignon if you're fancy)
• Bean sprouts
• Sliced jalapeños
• Cilantro
• Thai basil
  
• Hoisin sauce
• Chili sauce/sriracha
• Lime slices 

Directions:

1. Add the bones to a large stock pot and cover with water
2. Bring water to a boil and let it boil for 10 minutes
3. While water is boiling, quarter the onions and half the ginger. Place on a baking sheet and put under the broiler until charred (7-8mins). Flip onions and ginger to char on all sides
4. The first boil of the bones will release the “scum” and impurities. Dump this out, rinse the bones in cold water, and thoroughly wash the pot.
5. Add the bones back in and fill the pot with cold water. Bring to a very gentle simmer and add the sugar, salt, onions, garlic, and seasoning cubes. NOTE: Do NOT let the broth boil, a simmer with just a few bubbles is all you need. Boiling again will make the broth cloudy.
6. Let this simmer for 4-5 hours, checking every 30-60 minutes for foam and removing the foam/bubbles with a spoon.
7. If slicing your own steak, put your steak in the freezer to let it harden (for about an hour or two, depending on thickness) which will make it much easier to slice.
8. When 1 hour remains on the broth, fill the pot back up to replace any water that has boiled out and add the spice packet to the broth.
9. Bring a different pot of water to a boil and add the noodles. Let them collapse, then pour into a strainer and rinse in cold water. This won’t take long, only let the noodles cook for 10-15 seconds. 
10. Remove all solid items (bones, onions, ginger, spice packet) from the broth.
11. Take the beef out of the freezer and slice as thinly as possible. Place raw meat and noodles in a bowl, then top with the hot broth. The broth will be hot enough to cook the beef.
12. Add any other toppings to a plate and serve with the soup. 

Any leftovers can be easily reheated, just boil the amount of broth you need and pour it over the noodles and beef from the fridge. 

Skillet Steak with Compound Butter

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

• 2 steaks 
  
• 2 shallot
• 5 whole cloves garlic
• 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 sticks butter, softened (salted or unsalted)
• handful of chopped chives
• 6oz-8oz crumbled blue cheese/Gorgonzola
• Avocado oil (sub Grapeseed/Canola or beef tallow, something with a high smoke point)
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1.  Temper the steak by pulling it out of the oven and letting it sit at room temperature for ~30 minutes
2. Finely mince 2 garlic gloves and 1 shallot. Cook the shallot in butter until translucent (3-4 minutes), then add the garlic and cook until fragrant (1-2 minutes more)
3. Add the cooked garlic and shallots to 1 stick of butter along with the chopped chives and blue cheese. Mix well, then transfer to the center of a 10" piece of plastic wrap. Spread the butter out longways, then roll the butter in the plastic wrap to make a tight log. Transfer to the refrigerator to harden while you cook, then freeze/refrigerate any leftovers
4. Cut the remaining shallot into quarters and crush the 3 remaining cloves or garlic
5. Generously season the steaks with salt and pepper on both sides and the edges
6. Heat a large glug of oil (~2 Tbsp) in a skillet over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the steaks. If cooking something with a fat cap, like a strip, start by searing the fat cap for ~1 minute. Sear each side for 2 minutes
7. After searing the second side, lower the heat to medium-low/medium. Once the skillet has cooled down, add the stick of butter, crushed garlic, shallot, and thyme in with the steaks
8. Baste the steaks with the butter, flipping every 30 seconds, for 2 minutes. This will make a medium-rare steak. Baste 1 minute for rare, 3 minutes for medium (this is assuming 1.25"-1.5" thick steaks)
   
9. Let the steaks rest under foil for 5 minutes, then serve with the compound butter (I like to let the steaks rest with the butter on top to soften it up a bit)

Taco Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground beef (or chicken or turkey)
  
• 2 cups broth (I usually use chicken because that's what we usually have - anything will work)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 15 oz can black beans, undrained
• 15 oz can fire-roasted corn, undrained
• 15 oz can tomatoes with green chilis
• 2 tbsp hot sauce (or more, to taste)
• Sour cream to garnish
• Shredded cheese to garnish
• Fritos to garnish

Directions:

1. Heat a dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium heat. Add ground beef and mix until cooked through and browned. 
   
2. Add onion and cook until softened, then add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add tomato paste and taco seasoning and stir to combine.
3. Stir in beans, corn, tomatoes, and broth. Add hot sauce and lightly simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Taste for seasoning, then serve with sour cream, cheese, and Fritos.