Friday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $13 breakfast + $30 for 2 bottles wine
Found money - $0.21 (sidewalks, road, stair step)
Saturday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $13 breakfast + $17 groceries + $4.50 cat toy
Found money - $0
So we are unburnt. We've had several nights of rain, thunderstorms, and hail. I was at a potluck last night where several people collected and put hail in the freezer. Not quite sure what purpose saving hail in the freezer serves, but to each his own.
I didn't realize that roasting beef bones would cause such a stir! We got the beef soup bones - mostly joints, with meat and cartilage attached - as part of our 40 lbs of beef. The only part that needs pre-planning was to ask that the bones get chopped into 3 inch pieces. 3 inches is critical for marrow, because if you think of a bone as deviously shaped straw, 3 inches is about the length you can comfortably fish out the marrow from the bone using a knife.
Roasting bones is dead easy. Pull out large heavy metal pan that's a couple of inches deep (need a place for the beef suet to go and it shouldn't be the bottom of the stove), set unfrozen bones on pan, set oven to 350F, no oil, no cover. Marrow is done quickly, when the center pulls away from the bone. Pull it out and spread it on toast. So much for the 1/2 recipe.
But we're not done, I put the marrowless bones and meat back in the oven and keep roasting for 2.5-3 hours. Bone and meat should be deep brown. Pour off the suet (beef fat). If you are into authentic Christmas mincemeat or feeding winter birds, suet's your thing. Put the roasted bones and meat into a pot, add water to barely cover and set on a low heat. Water should simmer lightly for a couple hours more. Strain the solids from the liquid - pick out and retain the meat. Chill the liquid overnight, and scrape off the rest of suet from the top. You should have a brown jelly - the beef stock - and if you made it right its pot roast in a bowl.
If you liked that, perhaps you all will appreciate what I did with the flank steak. Flank steak (cow abs) is a tricky cut - its either best as london broil or fajita (quick sear), or its a long slow braise. I took a first stab at making matahambre - butterflied, stuffed, rolled.
Matahambre (hunger killer)
2 lbs flank steak
4 whole raw carrots, quartered
1 c raw spinach
6 garlic cloves, minced
6 hard boiled eggs, whole and peeled
salt, pepper, water
Butterfly the flank steak, meaning cut the steak along its width to within 3/4 of an inch off the side, forming a hinge. (Hinge should be along the grain of the meat). Open and flatten steak like the pages of a book. Spread plastic wrap over the top of the steak, take a mallet and whack it thin.
You now have a wide, flat piece of meat with the grain going up and down. Salt and pepper the meat on both sides, spread the garlic all along the meat. Spread the spinach throughout. Align the carrots up and down, with the grain), set in three piles. Place hard boiled eggs on top of the carrots.
Tightly roll the flank steak and fillings - and by tight, think sleeping bag into tube tight. When you have your tube, truss it secure with string.
Place flank steak tube in pan, add water to half way up the tube (it sounds like a lot, but I didn't add enough water, so I believe it) Braise the tube, covered, for 2.5 hrs, turning the tube once.
Slice your hunger killer like a jelly roll.
Mine was messy - didn't quite roll it tightly enough - but delicious.
2 1/2 meat recipes
November 8th, 2009 at 04:45 am
November 8th, 2009 at 12:39 pm 1257683947
November 8th, 2009 at 03:23 pm 1257693836