Beef BEERguignon – A French Recipe with a Hoppy Twist
Beef BEERguignon is born. Though I do enjoy cooking with wine, we’re going to stir things up a bit (pun intended). We’re going to cook this recipe with BEER!
Tag: recipe
Low and Slow Roast Beef, Pork, Lamb, Wild Meat in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Recipe Low and Slow Cast Iron Dutch Oven Roast
How to Tenderize Chicken Breasts
This how to tenderize chicken breast process will help you with two of the main “Chicken For Dinner” problems:
- Dry and Chewy
- Flavorless and Blandness
This Chicken Breast Tendering process will help resolve the “chewy” consistency of the chicken meat and “open up” the chicken meat to spices and other flavors that will enhance the chicken breast flavor. That flavor is in there; sometimes you need to tenderize it so the chicken breast can “take in” that flavor.
I have made two videos for this process that may help you along the way. The first one here is the short. A quick 3-minute video to show you how I tenderize chicken breasts. The one at the bottom of the page is the longer version with a “Cooking Montage” at the end.
Chicken breasts are a staple at our home. Not because they are inexpensive either. The price of a pack of chicken breasts are as spendy as a nice roast of equal weight these days. We like chicken breast meat for many different reasons and the main reason is the flavor.
That’s going to surprise many of you reading this when I say, “Flavor.” Most of us do not associate boneless, skinless, chicken breast and flavor.
Bacon? There’s flavor! Ribs? Delicious! Ribeye? Mouth-watering! Chicken breast? Not really. But, consider many things we eat and drink. Beer for instance. Take away the hops or the malts and what do you have? Iceberg lettuce, celery, black coffee, and a bunch of other foods and drinks are often added to or something added with to bring out and enhance the flavors of those foods and drinks. Even our most delicious meats are “dressed” up a bit to enhance the flavor.
The flavor of chicken is enhanced with things like Sage (my chicken go-to), rosemary, and even ranch dip
Then there’s bacon…who needs no help…at all.
Yes. Baked or even “skillet-ed” chicken breast cooked all by itself and without any seasonings does not taste very well. The blandness is only complicated by the consistency and “chewiness.” Eventually your mouth tells your brain, “Hey! We’ve kinda been chewing this for a bit too long; take a sip of something and help me out.”
I am preaching to the choir; I know I am. So, let’s get started with the process of tenderizing chicken breasts.
The Supplies
You will need three items. I’ve placed links at the bottom of this article if you need to find these items:
- Tenderizing Hammer
- Tenderizing Needles
- Cutting Board
Ready to Cook
Step 1: Place the cutting board out on the counter top.
Step 2: Start with the chicken breast’s tapered end (the thinner end) to your dominant side. I am right-handed; I “point” the chicken breast to my right side.
Step 3: Using the tenderizing needle, start on the thin end and “drive” the spikes into the meat and through to the cutting board. Work in a side to side motion and overlap the areas you’ve started to tenderize by ½ the width of the needle tenderizer.
Step 4: When you have reached the thicker areas of the chicken breast meat, your needle tenderizer may “stick” and “pull” the meat upward. If this happens, back up a bit and re-tenderize a thinner area as you move back forward.
A few considerations before step five:
As we thin the chicken breast, the meat will “spread” out and become wider. We need to “coach” this by first using the needle tenderizer and then the tenderizing mallet. The “holes” the needle tenderizer creates will help the tenderizing mallet from “tearing” the meat up too much.
Some tearing is inevitable and should be expected. The meat has been hit with metal tools and the tenderized meat will not “look” as pretty raw as it does before the tenderizing process. After it cooks, it’ll look as “pretty” as tenderized meat and taste MUCH better.
The little holes in the meat from the needle tenderizer will move and even “clip” some of the meat fibers; it will start to thin down with the needle tenderizer. Then, the tenderizing hammer can “spread the meat out even more.
Step 5: When you have gotten to the thickest part of the chicken breast, start moving the needle tenderizer in a circular motion to “press” the meat out (it’s got to go somewhere, right?).
Step 6: Eventually the needle tenderizer will enter and exit the meat without much resistance. That’s the indication that it’s time to get the tenderizing mallet out.
Step 7: Using the smaller, finer spike-side of the mallet, start from the thinner area of the meat and work up toward the thicker area. Overlap the hammer strikes by ½ of the width of the hammer.
Step 8: Once you reach the thicker parts of the chicken, start the circular pattern of tenderizing to finish spreading the chicken out.
What to Expect
FIRST: If the chicken breast was initially very thick, the meat may “tear up” a bit more than the smaller, chicken breast pieces. This is okay. It’s the thicker pieces that are usually the toughest.
SECOND: This method will create much more surface area. The nature of the tenderizing process is to stretch and separate the meat. It will make it easier to cut and enjoy. And, it will take a brine much faster than a non-tenderized chicken breast. Keep this in mind when you are brining the meat.
Use a red cutting board for meat and one that is both dishwasher safe and can actually fit inside the dishwasher. Nope. You don’t have to dishwash the cutting board; there are other ways to clean the board.
Tenderizing is a process. We will often tenderize many pieces of chicken and brine them on one evening. Then, after the brining process, we’ll pat-dry them all and stow some of the breasts in a zipper bag for later. Note the expiration date of the chicken and ditto this on the zipper bag to keep up with that important information. Toss in a dry paper towel in the zipper bag with the chicken breasts. Later in the week, when you need to make a quick meal, the meat is brined and tenderized and ready to cook.
Affiliate Links to the Items Used in the Video:
Tenderizing Mallet: https://amzn.to/3VZe4KB
Tenderizing Needle: https://amzn.to/3VZe4KB
Red Cutting Board: https://amzn.to/3BhXu0p
Zipper Bags: https://amzn.to/3FzmDX1
Salt: https://amzn.to/3Y4eIIw
Welding Gloves: https://amzn.to/3HjIvXN
Lodge Cast Iron 15” Skillet: https://amzn.to/3HjIvXN
Cast Iron Grill: https://amzn.to/3h6o1XT
Thermometer: https://amzn.to/3UUBOPf
Drying Rack: https://amzn.to/3Bhu3fd
PS: At the time this article is being published, our local Safeway (https://www.safeway.com/) has these prices:
Chicken Breast Boneless Skinless Hand Trimmed – $5.49 per Pound
O Organics Chicken Breasts Boneless Skinless Air Chilled – $8.99 per Pound
USDA Choice Beef Roast Round Tip – $6.99 per Pound
USDA Choice Beef Ribeye Roast Bone In – $9.99 per Pound
Salt to Taste
“What does ‘salt to taste’ mean anyway? Just give me a measurement that works, right? After all, I am reading your recipe and need to know what works!” – My Past Self Salt. Alone it’s overwhelming to the senses, leaves you thirsty, and lingers on…
Beer and Chicken Bone Broth
Does making your own broth take time? Sure, it does! So does eating a meal. But, I can “Guar-Ron-Tee” dat eating a bad meal takes longer than eating a good meal. Do you want them plates and bowls to end up at the sink with…
Beef Cookie Treats for Dogs
We’re creating treats for the pups in your life with left over parts and pieces that we cast iron chefs would just have thrown away otherwise. This is a beef and whole wheat treat you can make as easy as cookies.
We make a lot of bone broth. Seems there’s always a jar in the fridge with a brown-colored liquid filling most of the bottom of that jar with a “cap” of a white-ish fat just under the lid and resting on top of that brown liquid. It doesn’t look very appetizing; that’s for sure. But, the soups, stews, chilis, and even gumbos we create with that broth…well…they are memorable moments for sure!
Don’t Eat That!
Once upon a time, I am finishing up a broth and my wife comes home, “Ohhh, something sure smells good in here.” There’s a colander of steaming “meat” and, before I could say anything, she picks a piece up and is about to “enjoy” the before-dinner, sneak-a-bite. Luckily, she paused for a moment. After taking a closer look at what she had in her fingers and two inches from her mouth, “What is this?!”
And not one of those, “what is this that you are cooking because it’s so amazing” questions either. This was a “what is this that you are cooking and please tell me this is not for dinner because there’s other stuff in here that ain’t meat” accusatory questions.
Beef Bone Broth Recipe: https://beerandiron.com/2022/05/beer-beef-bone-broth-recipe-in-a-cast-iron-dutch-oven
Chicken Broth Recipe: https://beerandiron.com/2023/03/beer-and-chicken-bone-broth
It’s not Meat; It’s a Meat-ish Mix
It did smell good in the house. For sure. That broth was all jar-ed up and ready for the fridge, and that colander of meat-ish stuff sat there ready for the trash but I always had a hard time tossing it. It looked like meat and smelled like meat. But, it sure ain’t meat…at least most of it ain’t meat. I’d even save some of it to give to the dogs as is; you know, a bite-at-a-time. Even storing in the fridge, the hassle of reaching in that greasy zipper bag and pulling out a piece as a bite-at-a-time treat resulted in the dogs really not getting much and then eventually the this-has-been-in-here-too-long worries start. Then…trash.
Dog Cookies!
So, eventually I created this dog cookie recipe that has been such a success with our dogs. I figured I’d share it with you all. No, there’s no beer in these cookies…none that “survived” the cooking process. This recipe is just lagniappe… Bon Appetit! to the pups in your life!
P.S. Dare you to try one…
The Cast Iron
Most all y’all gonna have a large, flat cast iron reversible grill/griddle.
(affiliate links in this article)
These work best; you can really load up the cookies on all that cast iron “real estate.”
However, piece of cast iron you have will work just fine. A large cast iron skillet will work well to…or a small one with multiple batches.
The Supplies
Food Processor – You’ll be hard pressed to create this recipe without a way to grind the meat-ish mix into the flour and parsley mix.
Rolling Pin – To roll the dough out for cutting.
Fork – Optional to score the raw cookies
Cookie or Biscuit Cutter – I can totally see someone getting a bone-shaped cookie cutter LIKE THIS ONE to cut these cookies out.
- Wax Paper – Optional. We use it to keep the cookies from sticking to the counter top. But, given enough oil, you’ll likely not have any stickage.
Ingredients
1 – 1 ½ Cups of Meat-ish Mix
1 ½ Cups Whole Wheat Flour
½ Teaspoon of Salt
¼ Cup of Oil or Fat
1 Bunch of Parsley (cut the stems off; they will not grind very well)
Prepare the Ingredients
Step 1: Measure all the ingredients out and separate the dry from the wet.
Step 2: Get the food processor at the read.
Step 3: Pre Heat the oven to 350°F / 175°C.
The Dry Stuff
Step 4: Add the 1 – 1 ½ Cups of meat-ish mix to the food processor first. Order is not that important but if you start with the thicker materials and add the flour afterwards, the processing part will work a bit better.
Step 5: Add the Bunch of Parsley. Dogs may like the meat flavor but some of their breath compares to that of Satan himself. Holy moley! Parsley is like a tic tac for doggies (well…not really).
Step 6: Add the 1 ½ Cups Whole Wheat Flour
Step 7: Add the salt. This is optional but encouraged; it’ll enhance the flavor (yes…I have tried one or two).
Step 8: Run the food processor for a few moments until the mixture resembles a crumbly, dry cake mix texture.
The Wet Stuff
Step 9: Add the two eggs. This is the “glue” to hold the cookies together.
Step 10: Add the fat. You could just add some beef fat that you’ve been saving or some bacon fat. You’ll not need too much. We use ¼ of a cup and add more fat if the cookie dough does not form or is too crumbly.
Step 11: Process all the ingredients to a semi-sticky dough ball. Trust me; you’ll have to be patient as the dough comes together. I’ll take a few minutes.
If you add any more “wet stuff,” it’ll just get gummy, and you’ll have to add more flour. If the dough is just not coming together then add more flour. Feel free to drop me an email if you are having trouble with this process. It’s the same process we use to make a pie crust.
Once you start seeing the “wad” of dough start to “orbit” around those food processor blades, the dough is ready to pull out.
Step 12: Remove the dough ball from the food processor and roll the dough flat on an oiled surface. We use oil on wax paper or parchment paper to keep the cookies from sticking. Wetter cookies will be stickier. If the dough is sticking to your fingers; it’s too wet.
How thick do we roll the cookies out?
I like a thinner cookie; it gives the cookie a “crunch” and, as the theory holds, will help keep the dog’s teeth a bit cleaner. But there’s nothing wrong with going from “cookie” to “biscuit.” A thicker cookie (like in the video at time 4:20), will be softer and easier to chew…a good choice for your older, “dentally-challenged” pups.
Step 13: Cut the cookies out. Any shape is A-OK. I suggest not cutting them in squares of you plan to toss them to the dog for catching. Ever had a corn chip “hook” sideways in your mouth? Those edges will cook harder than the center and will likely poke the inside of the dog’s mouth.
Step 14: (Optional). Use a fork to score the cookies for more even cooking. They will not rise; there’s no soda or yeast in these cookies.
Step 15: As round shapes go, there are always those bits and parts left from cutting the cookies. Stack the cut and scored cookies up and gather all the bits and pieces. Roll them back up and cut more cookies out. Keep going until all the dough is cut out into cookies.
Step 16: Place them on the cast iron griddle (the flat side). You could add some oil but it’s not usually necessary unless your cookies are a bit sticky.
Step 17: Bake the cookies in the oven for about 30 minutes. After about 20 minutes you could give them a turn, but this is not necessary.
Step 18: After they are baked, pull them out for cooling. You can either use a cooling rack (LIKE THIS ONE), lay them out on a towel, or you can just let them cool on the griddle surface.
And that is about as easy as it comes.
Beer and Iron’s Beef Cookies for Dogs
We’re creating treats for the pups in your life with leftover parts and pieces that we cast iron chefs would just have thrown away otherwise. This is a beef and whole wheat treat you can make as easy as cookies.
Equipment
- Large, cast iron griddle.
- Food Processor Essential
- Rolling Pin
- Fork Optional
- Wax Paper Optional
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Meat-ish Mix 1 – 1 ½ Cups of Meat-ish Mix – This is any left over ligaments, cartilage, marrow, and meat bits you would normally throw away after cooking or making bone broth.
- 1 ½ Cups Whole Wheat Flour
- ½ Teaspoon Salt Optional
- 1/4 Cup Oil / Fat / Lard
- Bit Oil Just a bit of oil to keep the cookies from sticking to the surface you are rolling the dough out on.
- 1 Bunch Fresh Parsley Cut the stems off; they will not grind very well
Instructions
- Measure all the ingredients out and separate the dry from the wet.
- Get the food processor at the read.
- Pre Heat the oven to 350°F / 175°C.
The Dry Stuff
- Add the 1 – 1 ½ Cups of meat-ish mix to the food processor first. Order is not that important but if you start with the thicker materials and add the flour afterwards, the processing part will work a bit better.
- Add the Bunch of Parsley. Dogs may like the meat flavor but some of their breath compares to that of Satan himself. Holy moley! Parsley is like a tic tac for doggies (well…not really).
- Add the 1 ½ Cups Whole Wheat Flour
- Add the salt. This is optional but encouraged; it’ll enhance the flavor (yes…I have tried one or two).
- Run the food processor for a few moments until the mixture resembles a crumbly, dry cake mix texture.
The Wet Stuff
- Add the two eggs. This is the “glue” to hold the cookies together.
- Add the fat. You could just add some beef fat that you’ve been saving or some bacon fat. You’ll not need too much. We use ¼ of a cup and add more fat if the cookie dough does not form or is too crumbly.
Create the Dough
- Process all the ingredients to a semi-sticky dough ball. Trust me; you’ll have to be patient as the dough comes together. I’ll take a few minutes.
- Remove the dough ball from the food processor and roll the dough flat on an oiled surface. We use oil on wax paper or parchment paper to keep the cookies from sticking. Wetter cookies will be stickier. If the dough is sticking to your fingers; it’s too wet.
- Cut the cookies out. Any shape is A-OK. I suggest not cutting them in squares of you plan to toss them to the dog for catching. Ever had a corn chip “hook” sideways in your mouth? Those edges will cook harder than the center and will likely poke the inside of the dog’s mouth.
- (Optional). Use a fork to score the cookies for more even cooking. They will not rise; there’s no soda or yeast in these cookies.
- As round shapes go, there are always those bits and parts left from cutting the cookies. Stack the cut and scored cookies up and gather all the bits and pieces. Roll them back up and cut more cookies out. Keep going until all the dough is cut out into cookies.
- Place them on the cast iron griddle (the flat side). You could add some oil but it’s not usually necessary unless your cookies are a bit sticky.
- Bake the cookies in the oven for about 30minutes. After about 20 minutes you could give them a turn, but this is not necessary.
- After they are baked, pull them out for cooling. DONE!
Notes
Tip on Processing the Dough Ball: During the blending process as the dough starts to form, please be patient. I’ll take a few minutes to form.
If you add any more “wet stuff,” it’ll just get gummy, and you’ll have to add more flour. If the dough is just not coming together then add more flour. Feel free to drop me an email if you are having trouble with this process. It’s the same process we use to make a pie crust.
Once you start seeing the “wad” of dough start to “orbit” around those food processor blades, the dough is ready to pull out.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Beer Beef Bone Broth Recipe in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Beer Beef Bone Broth a rich and nutritious broth made from what most call soup bones and butcher scraps. And it makes the most amazing soup, chili, and stew base you’ve ever wanted to taste.
Broth from a box will get you “this is good stew” complements but, this broth will make stew so good they’ll start trying to speak “this stew is amazing” before they even swallow (so keep a napkin ready).
This is not a typical bone broth recipe and is not for drinking like a “normal” bone broth recipe. We will not add any salt, apple cider vinegar, or vegetables.
Mexican-Style Ground Turkey and Beer-Rice Stuffed Bell Peppers in Cast Iron
As rumor has it, there was this fella named Christopher Columbus that sailed the ocean blue in 1492. Poor fella; was searching for India and the peppercorn plant and found the Bahamas and the bell pepper. Good ‘ol Christopher saw all those peppers and said,…
Homemade Taco Seasoning
We’re talking easy here. Like in measure, mix, DONE! This is our go-to Taco Seasoning that we’ve been using for years and years.
Sorry, there’s no beer here as an ingredient. I put this little recipe here to reference from other recipes that are found…and will be found…on BeerAndIron.com.
Chili and Taco Seasonings – What’s the difference?
Have you ever been dog-tired after a long day and ready for bed? And, as soon as your head hits that pillow, your brain goes, “So, what should we talk about? Health, Money, or the differences between Taco Seasoning and Chili Seasoning?”
The primary difference between the two is that chili seasoning will have a higher concentration of chili powder and paprika (maybe…if you want). Taco seasoning will most likely have a higher amount of cumin (again…your preference). When you feel like chili and find yourself two-beers into the evening and already in your skivvies then whip up that chili with the Taco seasoning you already have mixed up; they ain’t gonna know and they ain’t gonna care because you’re the one cooking tonight!
All you have to do here to be awesome is to mix these ingredients together.
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Store the left-overs in an air-tight container. You can double, triple, or even sextuple this mixture for future use if you enjoy recipes with the South-of-the-Border piquancy (nope, I couldn’t use that word in a sentence either).
Sextuple…yes…I liked saying the 6x word very loudly in my 8-grade math class to show my mathematical inclination and potential numerical brilliance…no other motivations (lounge-in-cheek).
Homemade Taco Seasoning
Have you ever been dog-tired after a long day and ready for bed? And, as soon as your head hits that pillow, your brain goes, “So, what should we talk about? Health, Money, or the differences between Taco Seasoning and Chili Seasoning?”The primary difference between the two is that chili seasoning will have a higher concentration of chili powder and paprika. Taco seasoning will most likely have a higher amount of cumin. When in a pinch, you can use these two spices interchangeably with only a subtle difference in taste. All you have to do here to be awesome is to mix these ingredients together.
Yield: 0
Equipment
- 1 Air Tight Container For mixing and storing.
Materials
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ⅓ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Measure all the ingredients into a bowl and mix everything together.
- Store the left-overs in an air-tight container. You can double, triple, or even sextuple this mixture for future use if you enjoy recipes with the South-of-the-Border piquancy (nope, I couldn’t use that word in a sentence either).
Notes
Store the left-overs in an air-tight container. You can double, triple, or even sextuple this mixture for future use if you enjoy recipes with the South-of-the-Border piquancy (nope, I couldn’t use that word in a sentence either).
Sextuple…yes…I liked saying the 6x word very loudly in my 8-grade math class to show my mathematical inclination and potential numerical brilliance…no other motivations (lounge-in-cheek)).
Recent Comments