Braised Flanken, Just Like Grandma Used to Make

We got over a foot of snow this week. That’s flanken weather. And I’m in the mood for plain old. No frills, no riffs.

This recipe is tried (many times) and true. No fuss, no bother. Good old fashioned eats. For cold weather. For comfort.

If you don’t have flanken, you can make the same recipe using “English cut” short ribs, large chunks of chuck or really any “stew” type beef.

Braised Flanken

• all-purpose flour

• salt, freshly ground black pepper, garlic salt and paprika

• 6 pieces flanken

• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 2 medium onions, sliced

• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 4 large carrots, cut into chunks

• 2 large all-purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

• 2 cups red wine

• 2-3 fresh thyme sprigs

Mix the flour with some salt, black pepper, garlic powder and paprika. Coat the meat with the flour mixture. Heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a saute pan over medium heat and cook on both sides for 5-6 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove the meat and set it aside on a plate. Pour the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil into the pan. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Mix the tomato paste into the ingredients. Return the meat to the pan. Add the carrots and potatoes. Pour in the wine. Place the thyme sprigs on top. Turn the heat to low. Cook for about 3 hours or until the meat is soft and tender.

Makes 4-6 servings

Chuck Pot Roast

When it comes to cuts of beef, I think chuck is one of the tastiest. It’s got lots of beefy, meaty flavor. It’s also comparatively cheap and, when cooked right, is as tender as a ripe peach.

Cooked right?

I have to confess that I like chewy meat so I grill chuck steaks and love it!

But most folks prefer meat more tender, and chuck, which has lots of gristle, does better when slow-cooked in low heat.

It’s best when braised: stew, pot roast, soups, pot pie and casseroles.

Now that it’s getting cold and dark early where I live, this dish will be on my menu for the next few months of culinary comfort.

Chuck Pot Roast

• 3 pound chuck roast

• 4-6 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

• 2-3 medium all-purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

• 2 parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks

• 2 medium onions, sliced

• 4 ounces mushrooms, cut into chunks

• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 1 bottle (about 11 ounces) beer, ale or stout

• salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme

Place the meat inside a large casserole. Scatter the carrots, potatoes, parsnips, onions, mushrooms and garlic over and around the meat. Pour in the beer. Sprinkle the ingredients with salt and pepper. Place the thyme sprigs on top. Cover the casserole. Place the covered casserole in the oven and turn the heat to 250 degrees. Cook for 4-5 hours or until the meat is tender.

Makes 4-6 servings

A new day, a new year, a new website

After years and years of always making the same New Year resolutions to go on a diet or exercise more, or to be more organized with my papers, or to keep my car neat and clean, I finally have realized that I am who I am and love to cook and to eat, so giving up “all carbs” or “never eating another bowl of caramel corn” are vows I cannot keep.

I do exercise. More is unnecessary. 

Alas, my sloppy desk is, I am sure, a permanent thing.

Ditto, the car. I eat popcorn in my car. Some of it falls out onto the floor. I drive my grandkids around. They discard grain bar wrappers, banana peels and half-done artwork in the back seat. I don’t always get around to tidying up right away.

So be it.

So this year’s resolution was different. I decided to start a new website. And, thanks to my son-in-law Jesse Hertzberg, here it is!

Today is cold and dreary, dark, and about to snow. It’s stew weather. Any kind of stew. For warmth and comfort and filling up. For my new website? A recipe for Beer Braised Beef (you can call it stew).

This recipe is just the right dish for a day like this, and for some months to come.

You might notice that I don’t use stew meat. I get a large chunk of chuck instead, and cut it into big pieces. That’s because most of the time the packages of stew meat at the supermarket contain pieces that are too small. Stew meat shrinks — if you start with pieces that are too small, you wind up with tough little chewy bits rather than tender succulent, meaty nuggets. Also, chuck is the tastiest cut of beef for stew — I recommend it above any other cut.

Beer Braised Beef

• 6 pounds beef chuck roast

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 1 teaspoon dried herbes de provence

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 12-14 ounces beer or ale

• 4-6 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

• 6 medium carrots, cut into chunks

• 3-4 tomatoes, cut into chunks

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Cut the chuck into large chunks. Combine the flour, paprika, herbes de provence, garlic powder and salt and pepper in a dish. Coat each piece of meat with the flour mixture. Pour the vegetable oil in a large, deep saute pan over medium heat. Working with a few pieces at a time, cook the flour-coated beef for 6-8 minutes, turning the pieces occasionally, or until crispy on several sides. Return all the meat to the pan. Pour in the beer. Cover the pan. Turn the heat to low. Cook for 1-1/2 hours. Add the potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and parsley. Cover the pan. Cook at a bare simmer for another hour or until the meat and vegetables are tender.

Makes 8 servings

Basic Beef Stew and Sun-Dried Tomato Ketchup

I don’t like ketchup.

Is that un-American?

Almost everyone else I know douses french fries with ketchup. They use it on hamburgers. Even hot dogs.

NONONO, hot dogs are supposed to get mustard!!

My husband Ed gets the ketchup out whenever I grill a steak, make pot roast or serve anything he doesn’t really love, like fish.

NONONO, you don’t splash ketchup on branzini!!

Do you?

A neighbor of mine poured ketchup over scrambled eggs and into his mother’s homemade chicken soup.

OHNO! Absolutely not.

During the Reagan administration the USDA declared ketchup a vegetable, suitable for school lunch.

WHAT??????????

Fortunately, that decision was later reversed.

Okay ketchup lovers, do your thing. Have ketchup on whatever you wish. I am not convinced.

Except I got this new kind recently. I will confess here that it was given to me by Traina Foods, who asked my stubborn, anti-ketchup self if I would try it. If they could convince me I suppose, it might be a winner.

It IS!

No, I still would not, IMHO, ruin homemade french fries with ketchup of any kind. And I wouldn’t use it for steak.

But this stuff is splendiferous with braised brisket or other kinds of pot roast, beef stew and grilled burgers. It’s got more of a tang than standard ketchup, so the taste is roasted-toasted and tomato-y, not sweet. It’s thicker than most other ketchups too.

If you see this in the stores, it’s worth a try. Here’s a good, warm-you-up winter Beef Stew recipe you can use it with:

Basic Beef Stew

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon thyme leaves

1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

2-1/2 to 3 pounds beef chuck roast

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

1 large clove garlic, chopped

1 cup red wine

3-4 carrots, cut into chunks

2 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

Traina Foods sun dried tomato ketchup

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Combine the flour, thyme, salt, pepper and paprika in a dish. Cut the meat into large chunks, about 2-inches. Dredge the meat in the flour mixture, coating all sides. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large, heat-proof casserole over medium-high heat. Using a few chunks at a time, cook the meat on all sides for 5-6 minutes or until lightly browned. Do not crowd the pan. Remove each piece to a plate as it browns. When all the meat has browned, add the remaining tablespoon vegetable oil to the pan. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook briefly. Pour in the wine. Return the meat to the pan. Cover the pan and place in the oven. Cook for 1-1/2 hours. Add the carrots and potatoes, cover the pan and cook for another hour or until the meat and vegetables are very tender. serve with sun dried tomato ketchup.

Makes 4 servings