On a Ford Ranger pickup with California plates parked in West Seattle today, I espied this sticker (below left). It proclaims, "Beef - It's What's Rotting In Your Colon," a take-off on the well-known ad tagline of "Beef - It's What's For Dinner." Sigh. More punitive liberalism from the anemic Nader-ite "activist" dweebs who define Seattle's sensibilities less and less each week. 
Beef is the stuff of life. Beef is also a thriving business in Washington state and elsewhere. I am inspired by the PETA meatbeaters. In the spirit of the great Western states and man's inherent primacy over beast - and with our great Beef Nation's birthday but two days hence - I do hereby issue a call for your favorite beef recipes, one of which shall be anointed the best, the self-esteem of all other entrants be damned. WHAT TO DO: In the comment section, please share your favorite beef recipe. It need not be grill-based, nor July 4-centric, but it certainly can be either or both. Nothing fancy required; we all love a good steak (well most Republicans, anyway). But extra points accrue for creativity, including distinctive flavorings, sauces, marinades, and such. I will also bestow a multicultural beef recipe award for the best ethnic entry.
Myself, tonight I'm slapping on the grill a nice fat T-bone and a beef tenderloin dressed with a dry-rub blend of red pepper flakes, thyme, sea salt, crushed fennel seed, and scant dollops of dried mustard powder, Spanish smoked paprika and Spanish bittersweet paprika. On the side will be sauteed garlic and shallots, napped with fresh chopped parsley. Rounding things out will be some sweet corn; and a Caesar-kissed salad of baby lettuces, (Trader Joe's) Salem Blue crumbled cheese, cashews and dried cherries. As it happens, my beef is from Vashon Island and naturally raised. Which in this case means "grain fed and raised without hormones, antibiotics or growth stimulants," plus no artificial coloring, chemical preservatives or helicopter transport. If I had to proclaim my own favorite beef recipe, it would probably be Matt's Galbi Ribs. That's a Korean-inspired concoction whereby thin and flat-sliced "flanken" style beef chuck ribs are marinated lengthily in a Maui teriyaki potion (equal parts soy and sugar, plus scallion, garlic and ginger) that's also been dosed with sake and black sesame seed. After a nice bath of at least 24 hours, the ribs are then removed, blotted dry and grilled to crisp brown perfection over charcoal. Advocates of disciplined spending will appreciate how budget-friendly is this yummy dish. Accompany with copious amounts of distinctive kimchi; plus the chilled Japanese spinach dish called Goma-ae; and sticky white rice. Kim Jong-Il couldn't do any better, although he likes to spend a lot more on his own foodstuffs, if not the wages of his loyal subjects.
Deadline for entries: Noon Wednesday July 5.
Posted by Matt Rosenberg at July 02, 2006 05:42 PM | Email ThisPeople Eating Tasting Animals
Posted by: JCM on July 2, 2006 06:44 PMAny kind of beef (T-bones are especiially good)
Pepper
Lot's of gariic powder
Onion powder
Cajun seasoning
Grill 5 minutes a side.
Serve with a fresh salad or microwaved asparagus.
Posted by: Mike S on July 2, 2006 07:29 PMPersonally, I am a ribeye guy. On occassion a Porterhouse (go figure) finds its way to the grill too.
Posted by: J Hoffa on July 2, 2006 07:35 PMHow do you cook a flat-iron on the grill? I thought they come out really tough if you aren't careful. I'd like to try one but I hate ruining a good cut of meat. Don't want that cow to die for nothing.
Posted by: The Dude on July 2, 2006 07:43 PMThis is a fairly easy recipe... take you favorite cut of steak and marinate it for a day or two in your favoite italian dressing. Grill to taste. Cheap, simple, but amazingly good. It also works pretty well for chicken.
Posted by: Mike H on July 2, 2006 07:45 PMFor great meat recipes I would refer you to the all time greatest cookbook for men:
"Eat What You Want and Die Like a Man" by Steve Graham. The recipe section on page 50 for chicken fried steak begins w/ the requirement for a minimum of 1/4" of lard in which to fry your two ribeyes...
Posted by: j hoffa on July 2, 2006 08:23 PMBut anyway...beef recipes...I like Fajitas!
Here's a tex-mex recipe (and note that shrimp, chicken, horse, armadillor or anything other than beef is not a fajita, and will get you flogged in the Lone Star state.)
Flank steak, cut into strips.
Marinate in lime juice.
Grill over mesquite charcoal, with peppers and onions on the grill.
Serve on flour tortillas, with a good salsa, and some nice guacamole. Don't need no sissy stuff like lettuce or tomatoes--that's a salad that goes on the side, not on the fajita!
Posted by: pseudotsuga on July 2, 2006 09:36 PM
I've eaten at least all the following and hope to continue doing so..
cows
pigs
sheep
deer
elk
moose
buffalo
grouse
goose
duck
squab
pheasant
chicken
turkey
ostrich
gobs of diff fish
conch
crabs
lobster
scallops
must be some other critters I missed.
sure tastes good.
Posted by: righton on July 2, 2006 09:52 PMBroiled in an oven prepares it nice.
"Admiral Style"
Posted by: Erik on July 2, 2006 09:57 PMPlace a large beef brisket in a deep roasting pan. Season it with Lawry's seasoned pepper, 1/3 cup Worchester sauce, several dashes of A-1 steak sauce, 2 tablespoons of mustard, and a dash of galic pepper.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees and cook the brisket for 10 minutes or so turning it several times in the sauce. Lower the temperature of the oven to 250, add 1 or 2 cans of beer so that the beer is up to the top edge of the brisket, cover the pan with foil and cook for 2 to 4 hours until the brisket falls apart with a fork and the beer has reduced to a thick sauce.
Best served at an outdoor party with baked beans and lots of fun!
Posted by: sgmmac on July 2, 2006 10:29 PMTake 1 large package of bacon and remove the plastic top and while the strips are still together, take a large sharp knife and slice the bacon strips into 3 inch pieces by slicing into them sideways. Put all of the strips in a frying pan and partially cook them until they are about 3/4 done. Drain them well and discard the grease.
Get several large cans of Bush Baked Beans, throw in a large pan, add 1 large package of dark brown sugar and the cooked bacon pieces. Bake for several hours in a medium heat oven (300 to 350) stirring occasionally.
These are sticky sweet!
Posted by: sgmmac on July 2, 2006 10:39 PMHow about a best moonbat bumper-sticker and/or sign contest?
Check this one out, courtesy of Lifelong AIDS Alliance & King County. (Warning: explicit content follows).
Posted by: Patrick on July 2, 2006 10:48 PMYou know, those anti-meat folk should figure it out that you can win more people over to your side if you stop scolding and start being more positive!
Posted by: Michele on July 2, 2006 10:56 PMthat would be "Nugent" Posted by: Liberals writhing as they read this on July 2, 2006 11:00 PM
For the Fourth it will be beef ribs rubbed with Konriko Creole Seasoning and California style garlic powder, slow smoked for 3 hours with mesquite chunks around the side and a big ol' under a pan of beer below to keep them moist. Then some (yet to be determined) BBQ sauce slathered on for the last 30 minutes.
Double yum - now I'm hungry again!!
Any suggestions on BBQ sauce? No mail order - I need to buy it in Issaquah tomorrow!
Thanks!
Posted by: EricR on July 2, 2006 11:49 PMI'll be grilling up some fillets and burgers for the 4th. And don't forget, chicken and pork are great meat too.
It's been my experience that most vegetarians really can't articulate a rational defense for why they don't eat meat.
Fire up the grill, humans are omnivores.
Posted by: Jeff B. on July 2, 2006 11:55 PMEricR: It's a little bit of a drive to get there from Issaquah, but I like the sauce from the General's BBQ ( http://www.thegeneralsbbq.com/ ) which you can buy bottled for a reasonable price. They advertise on talk radio, so you might have heard of them. They're down in Kent these days, not far from Ikea.
Posted by: Vexorg on July 3, 2006 12:26 AMFor wonderful spices, try thespicehouse.com
They have the best spices I've ever tasted. My brother went to Univ of Southern Ill and I got gift boxes of spices from him every christmas.
They have ethnic neighborhood spices from Chicago that are great for steaks and their lake shore drive spice is perfect in potato salad.
Posted by: sgmmac on July 3, 2006 12:37 AMA great Japanese dish is sukiyaki. Get well-marbled beef precut into thin strips (I know they have it at Uwajimaya). This is a do-it-yourself dish, so if you are able to put a hot plate or gas burner in the middle of the kitchen table (or a camp stove on the picnic table or the ground) so everyone can grab straight from a small wok/sautee pan.
Start with soy sauce and sugar. When this starts to caramelize, add a few strips of beef to create a good sauce, then a good variety of mushrooms (shiitake are ok, if you can get small clusters of ones like ennoki they will work better and break into bite-size pieces). The mushrooms will add a lot of flavor and moisture. Once these soften, add other vegetables- thinly sliced carrot, cabbage, bean sprouts...be creative.
Let everyone keep adding more until they are stuffed. Make sure you have a small dish of lightly beaten raw egg for each erson to dip the beef in before eating. It will cool it down and add a nice gloss. Serve with sticky rice, daikon salad and a huge frosted mug of lager.
Don't just think about beef. How about pork? Here's a good recipe for babyback ribs:
1. Get a couple a-sleeves of babybacks.
2. Get yerself 1/4 cup of olive oil and 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar. Whip this up into an amalgam.
3. On a sheet of HEAVY DUTY aluminum foil, lay out your babybacks (bone side down) and rub in the olive oil/balsamic mixture. Heat yer oven to 275 degrees
4. Get yer favorite pork rub and rub into the meat. Seasosn to you're likin' - I usually go easy here.
5. Wrap up the meat (meat side up) with the long ends folded over so as to not let anythin' drip when you put the ribs in the oven.
5. On a big cookie tray, lay out yer ribs and put 'em in the oven for 2 hours & 15 minutes.
6. About 20 minutes before the time is up, fire up yer gas grill to a nice medium high heat. Get a brush and some barbeque sauce in a small bowl ready to "paint" the meat.
7. Place yer ribs meat-side down and "paint" the bone-side with yer barbeque sauce using about half of the sauce.
8. Close the grill lid and let the ribs seer for a few minutes. Flip the ribs onto the bone side and paint the meat side with the remaining barbeque sauce. Give another few minutes and remove fromthe grill.
9. A two or three minuted rest period helps the flavor a bit, so give the ribs a little breather. They should pretty much fall off the bone at this point.
10. Enjoy! I like to have a little container of barbeque sauce on the side for diping my meat before I put it down my throat.
Posted by: Larry the Cable Guy on July 3, 2006 08:20 AMFlank Steak - simple, easy and very tasty.
2 tbls soy; 2 tbls sherry; 1 tbls honey; 1 teaspoon Adolf tenderizer
[w/o salt]
Combine all of the above and put in pan to marinate....add steak...and thoroughly fork....cover and put in refrig all day - turn it once and then broil or BBQ. Slice thinly for a great meal.
Posted by: sharon on July 3, 2006 08:31 AM1 packet Montreal Steak Marinade - next to the gravy packets and such in your grocer.
Prepare the marinade according to the package. Using a fork, poke the steak in several places on each side. This will allow the marinade to penetrate the meat easily.
Marinate each side of the steak for 15-20 minutes.
Immediately cook over a hot grill.
Posted by: pbj on July 3, 2006 08:44 AMIn and unused/desterted gravel pit, prefferably far from the planned barbeque, combine:
As many PETAfiles as can be found/cubed
Bag of rock salt/crushed
Bag of common rock lime/crushed
Bag of dried tofu chunks/crushed
Large Box of Sangria/consumed
Cumin to taste
Place in large preheated caldron, preferably cast iron, bring quickly to a rapid boil. Stir once.
Leave Posted by: JT on July 3, 2006 09:37 AM
I fire up the Weber and arrange the coals on each side with no coals in the middle. This is called the indirect method. In between the two banks of coals, I place an aluminum foil drip pan. It also reflects the heat up to the grilling surface.
I like my steaks simple, so that means just salt and pepper. I sear the steaks over the coals on both sides and then I move them to the center of the grill over the drip pan. Some nights I smoke the steaks using wood chips soaked in water, then placed on the coals. Nothing beats a good charcoal-grilled steak.
Posted by: Gary on July 3, 2006 10:15 AM
Folks love eatin' pretty much anything that used to have a face on it and they think that the free-range TOFU eatin' KLOWNS are a bunch of pussies. Posted by: Mr. Cynical on July 3, 2006 01:03 PM
For 24 hours marinate brisket in:
36 oz beer (I use homebrew, but any beer you like to drink will work)
1 cup apple cider vinegar
Juice of one orange, and peels from 3 oranges
6-8 cloves of freshly crushed garlic
1 chopped sweet onion
1/2 cup olive oil
Coarse sea salt
Fresh ground white and black pepper
Pinch of cayenne (or more if you like a little heat)
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp of ground mustard
1 tsp coriander
To cook, remove meat from mixture but save the liquid. Prepare wood chips (mix of apple and hickory wood) for your smoker. Fill smoker liquid bowl with your marinade, and fill the rest with water. Smoke for 3-4 hours depending on size of brisket, replacing wood chips every hour as necessary. You'll be able to cut the meat with a butter knife when you take it out of the smoker.
You could also use an aluminum cooking tray in your smoker using more liquid marinade if you like your brisket pulled instead of sliced.
Posted by: Palouse on July 3, 2006 01:27 PMTomorrow on the 4th we'll barbecue some insanely good Allen Brothers Wagyu "steak burgers" we've been saving, (thanks for the tip, Rush). The burgers will be dressed with avacado, swiss cheese and mushrooms. I will make my infamous potato salad which will feature a healthy infusion of Walla Walla onions and fresh hard-boiled eggs courtesy of my liberal lawyer neighbor. Seasoning will depend on my mood and will likely be influenced by a very dry martini. The salad will certainly include vinegar, dijon mustard, and probably a little curry powder. There will be no products involved that are labeled "low fat", or "light".
Oh yes, the meal will be washed down by some Scuttlebutt "Gale Force" India Pale Ale, which is brewed in Everett. It's darned close to the great IPA Bert Grant used to make. And we will set of some fireworks even though the nannies in charge have long forbidden them.
Posted by: Bill Cruchon on July 3, 2006 02:10 PMIndependence Day -- tomorrow -- it's all American hamburgers, homemade potato salad (with farm fresh eggs), sweet onions, chips, and a few Fat Tire brewski's. Happy Birthday America!!!!
Posted by: balanced but fair on July 3, 2006 06:10 PMRight outside the bars, set up an "Open House" consisting of one full sized Jenn-Aire barbecue with a 90 day supply of T-Bones, NY Strips, Porterhouse steaks, Idaho bakers, Bush's baked beans and Mom's tater salad. Barbecue meat to taste, add joyful singing of christian songs, a supply of nice merlot and/or stout, waive American flags, praise freedom, the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air force, and GW Bush, . . . and SMILE FRIEND SMILE.
I love America.
Thanks especially grunts and jarheads.
Happy 4th of July!
How some of the "patriotic" can't resist the urge to spin their twisted fantasies on the glorious fourth.
Posted by: Saddened by right wing intolerance on July 5, 2006 03:20 PMa "saddened" liberal at the notion of patriotism on the fourth. Posted by: Amused by liberal twinks on July 7, 2006 09:17 PM