New Menu Classics

Hold on, you’re probably saying. What exactly are new menu classics? Well, it’s simple. They’re steaks and sandwiches and burgers – with a twist. They’re favorites from around the world. Or from right here at home. In short, they’re recipes that reflect what’s going on in American menus today: Easy, Informal delicious cooking. And at the center of it all? Beef, of course. Beef’s got versatility and plenty of variety. So it’s perfect for these New Menu Classics. We hope you’re as excited about them as we are. It’s time to read, cook, and enjoy.

Beef LT

This twist on a menu classic will satisfy your customers’ craving for a delicious, mouth-watering steak sandwich. The innovative steak sandwich is made BLT-style, with sliced sirloin steak, bacon, lettuce, tomato and black pepper mayonnaise on grilled tomato bread.

Black Pepper Mayonnaise

In bowl mix ingredients until thoroughly blended. Cover and refrigerate. Yield: 3 cups.

For each sandwich to order: Grill 1 steak to desired doneness. Cut into very thin slices; keep hot. Lightly spread both sides of 2 bread slices with butter. Grill or griddle both sides until brown. Spread 1 tablespoon Black Pepper Mayonnaise on one side of each bread slice. Top one slice with 2 lettuce leaves, 2 tomato slices, reserved steak slices and 2 bacon slices. Top with other bread slice; cut in half. Plate and serve with Pickled Onions (see below).

Try This!

Signatures – Tuscan Steak Sandwich: Replace lettuce with arugula, and bacon with pancetta. Black Pepper Mayonnaise is a versatile condiment for burgers and roast beef sandwiches. For an upscale version, prepare it with freshly cracked pink and green peppercorns.

Accompaniments – Pickled Onions: Slice red onions into thin rings; sprinkle with kosher salt; let stand 20 minutes. Rinse and pat dry; toss with olive oil, red wine vinegar and parsley. Other suggested accompaniments: dill or half-sour pickles, pickled pepperoncini or jardinière vegetables.


Earth & Turf

A tender grilled filet, smothered in a golden porcini sauce, served with a medley of colorful grilled vegetables. This contemporary beef recipe satisfies your customers’ desire for a lighter version of an old favorite.

Mushroom Sauce

Soak porcini in hot water 30 minutes. Strain through fine sieve, reserving liquid. Chop porcini. In saucepan reduce wine to 1 cup; reserve. In skillet sauté button mushrooms in oil 5 minutes; add porcini. Whisk flour into chicken stock. Add stock, reserved porcini liquid and wine to mushrooms. Cook over medium-low heat stirring, until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk in butter. Keep hot. Yield 6 cups.

24 Beef Loin, Tenderloin Steaks, Side Muscle Off, Skinned, 1 inch thick (IMPS/NAMP 1190A)

For each serving, to order: Grill 1 steak to desired doneness. Plate steak; ladle 2 ounces Mushroom Sauce over steak. Serve with Grilled Vegetables (see below)

Alternative Cuts:

Try This!

Signatures – Smothered Steak: Replace mushroom sauce with sliced mushrooms, sautéed in olive oil with garlic, parsley and red wine. French Onion Steak: Replace mushroom sauce with onions sautéed until brown, seasoned with thyme and deglazed with beef stock. Top with melted Gruyere cheese.

Accompaniments – Grilled Vegetables: Season zucchini, yellow squash, red onion wedges and red peppers with salt and pepper, and grill until crisp-tender. Roasted Root Vegetables: For a cold-weather alternative, serve a medley of roasted potatoes, turnips, rutabagas and carrots.


Steak Verde

Customers will keep returning for this delicious strip steak, seasoned with garlic, grilled and topped with a piquant Italian Verde sauce made with parsley, onions and capers.

Ingredients: (Yield 24 Servings)

Verde Sauce

Place ingredients in bowl of food processor; puree. Cover and reserve. Yield: 3 ¼ cups.

24 Beef Loin, Strip Loin Steaks, Short Cut, 1 inch thick (IMPS/NAMP 1179)

In bowl thoroughly mix garlic, salt and pepper. Season both sides of each steak with 1 teaspoon garlic mixture. Place in utility pan. Cover and refrigerate.

For each serving, to order: Grill 1 steak to desired doneness. Plate steak and ladle 1 ounce Verde Sauce over steak. Garnish with 1 tablespoon tomatoes. Serve with Italian Vegetable Sauté (see below).

Try This!

Signatures – Roast Beef Verde: For a warm-weather appetizer or light entrée, serve thin slices of prepared roast beef with Verde Sauce and shaved Parmesan cheese. Or use Verde Sauce combined with mayonnaise as a roast beef sandwich spread.

Accompaniments – Italian Vegetable Sauté: Peel garlic cloves and place in sauté pan; add olive oil to cover; simmer slowly until garlic is golden and tender; drain oil. Add summer squash and blanched green beans to pan; sauté until vegetables are tender.


Thai Cobb Steak Salad

A Thai-style Cobb salad topped with chunks of grilled sirloin, avocado, tomatoes and bean sprouts in a light peanut dressing. This tasty, crunchy salad delights the taste buds and adds menu variety.

Ingredients: (Yield 24 Servings)

Lemongrass Dressing

In bowl whisk ingredients. Cover and refrigerate. Yield: 3 ½ cups.

24 Beef Loin, Top Sirloin Butt Steaks, Boneless, (IMPS/NAMP 1184B)

For each serving, to order: Grill 1 steak to medium. Meanwhile, in bowl toss 6 ounces lettuce with 1 ounce Lemongrass Dressing. Plate lettuce. Top with parallel rows of 3 ounces tomatoes, 2 ounces avocados, 2 ounces bean sprouts and ½ ounce onions, leaving an empty space or row in the center. Chop steak into bite-size pieces; fill in empty space/row with steak. Garnish with 2 tablespoons cilantro. Serve with 1 ½ ounce Peanut Dressing in ramekin.

Lime Vinaigrette: Into processor or blender, measure 1 cup honey, 1 cup fresh lime juice, ¼ cup cider vinegar, 3 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard, 2 tablespoons grated ginger, 2 teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper; blend until smooth. With motor running, add 1 cup peanut oil and ¼ cup Oriental sesame oil in a thin stream; blend until emulsified. Over and refrigerate. Yield: 3 ½ cups.

Peanut Dressing: Into processor or blender measure 1 cup honey, 1 cup soy sauce, ½ cup fresh lime juice, ¼ cup cider vinegar, ¼ cup water, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon grated ginger, 1 tablespoon curry powder and 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes; blend. With motor running, add ½ cup vegetable oil and 2 teaspoons Oriental sesame oil in a thin stream until emulsified. Add 2 cups peanut butter to blender; blend thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving. Yield: 5 ½ cups.


BEEF COOKERY RECOMMENDATIONS

For a higher yield, keep the temperatures low.

Low temperatures are usually preferred for all methods of meat cooking. When meat is roasted, there’s less shrinkage at low temperatures. In the days when meat had more fat cover, cooking losses during roasting were especially great. But even with today’s leaner cuts, higher temperature cooking causes excessive drip and evaporation.

Only broiling may call for a higher temperature. But even during broiling, too-high of a temperature will burn the outside of a cut, shrink it unnecessarily and cook it unevenly. For years, cooks were told to sear roasts first, to "seal in the juices." But today, experts realize that searing actually dries meat out and increases shrinkage.

Cooking time: Keep it as short as possible.

Usually, the longer a roast is in the oven, the more it shrinks. And this is particularly true if the meat is overcooked. Generally, the larger the cut, the longer cooking time needed. The most important measurement of meat size is the distance from the outside to the center of the cut.

A flat roast such as a boneless top loin, for example, might take half the cooking time of a thicker inside round roast of the same or greater weight cooked to the same doneness.

Another element that affects cooking time is the cooking load. Four roasts placed in a conventional oven at the same time will take longer to cook than one roast because the heat is being dissipated into a greater mass of meat. However, even though the minutes-per-pound increases with a greater load, the cooking time should not be calculated on the basis of the weight of the entire amount of meat. Instead the time should be figured on the minutes-per-pound for the smallest roast, with adjustments made for the cooking time of the larger roasts.

Carving up meat losses.

In addition to shrinkage, meat losses can occur during slicing or carving. Since these losses often depend on the expertise of the person doing the carving, training kitchen personnel can really pay off. Carving training should include directions on the correct amount to serve by actual weight. In addition, uniform thickness is important to the size and appeal of the slices and this can only be achieved with knives or slicers that are sharp.

It is important that meat be carved against the grain for optimum tenderness. An experienced carver should be able to recognize which direction the grain in the meat being carved runs.

Dry heat and moist heat.

The natural tenderness of a cut usually determines the best way to cook it. A good cook will always cook a less tender cut with moist heat because it breaks down tough connective tissues. Some less tender cuts can be enhanced by mechanical tenderization to break down elastin which does not break down during moist heat cooking. Cooking with moist heat is also called braising. Cooking in liquid is used for pot roasts, stews and soups.

On the other hand, dry heat cookery is used for cuts that are already tender, and those cuts are primarily in the loin and rib areas. Tender cuts, such as rib, tenderloin and top loin steaks, are usually cooked faster, and at a slightly higher temperature with dry heat. Dry heat methods include roasting, broiling, or grilling, pan- broiling or griddle broiling and frying (pan-frying or griddle frying, deep-fat frying and stir-frying).

How done is "done"? (steak color guide)

What does it mean when you order a steak medium-rare? It means that the internal temperature has reached 150° F. The degree of doneness is always measured at the very center of the cut. A good guide for cooking beef follows:

RARE 140° F

MEDIUM RARE 150° F

MEDIUM 160° F

MEDIUM WELL 165° F

WELL 170° F

Holding procedures for beef.

Holding beef after cooking for up to 3 hours in a low temperature holding oven will not significantly affect the flavor of the roast; however, holding cooked beef for up to 8 hours will result in a deterioration of the beef and could result in potential foodborne illness. Beef will retain juiciness when held as a whole roast, instead of sliced.


Beef Favorites on the Cutting Edge

What’s old is new again…and more appealing than ever. Recent menu sightings showcase the collective creativity of operators from coast to coast who are cashing in on the comfort craze.

· Italian Loafers are actually meat loaf sandwiches, Italian-style, sliced and layered on a semolina roll with fresh mozzarella, tomato and roasted red peppers.

· Sonoran Texas Chili, a regional reissue of ever-popular chili, features small pieces of beef stew, browned and simmered until tender with pinto beans, ancho chilies, cumin, onions, beef stock, jalapenos and tomatoes.

· Blackened Pot Roast, another play on regional cooking, is partnered with Cajun rice and red bean salad.

· Beef Cacciatore, a stew-pendous variation on traditional beef stew, features beef braised with red wine, peppers, mushrooms, onions and tomatoes. Parmesan mashed potatoes provide the perfect accompaniment.

· The Spanish Wrap features carnitas-style, slow cooked beef in a flour tortilla, along with Spanish rice, black beans, and roasted chili-onion salsa.

· Carolina Barbecue Sandwich, beef in a Carolina-style marinade of vinegar, pepper, and crushed red pepper, is slow cooked, chopped, then served on a bun with sour slaw and Carolina barbecue sauce.


Homestyle Beef Recipes

Hearty Beef Stew with Dried Tomatoes (Yield: 24 Servings)

Method:

Cook bacon in braising pan until crisp; remove and set aside. In same pan over high heat, brown beef on all sides in ¼ cup bacon fat; remove and set aside. Add onions and garlic. Brown lightly; mix in flour. Mix in wine, stock tomato julienne, bay leaves, herbes, salt and pepper. Return bacon and beef to pan; mix thoroughly. Cover and bake in 350° F oven 2 to 2 ½ hours, stirring occasionally, until beef is tender and sauce is thickened. Keep hot.

For each serving: Plate 1 cup potatoes; form well in center. Portion ¾-cup ladle stew into well.


Southern BBQ Meatloaf Sandwich (Yield: 50 Servings)

Meatloaf:

Sauce:

Method:

Combine onions, bread crumbs, barbecue sauce, milk, eggs, salt and pepper; mix to blend. Add ground beef. Mix thoroughly but gently to combine. On 18x26-in. baking sheets form loaves 22-in. long, 4-in. wide (about 6 lb., 5 oz. each). For 50 servings, form 2 ½ loaves. Bake at 350° F for 55 to 60 minutes until done. Let stand 15 minutes before slicing. For Sauce: Combine barbecue sauce, vinegar and pepper; cover and reserve.

For each serving: Cut meatloaf into 50 slices (4-oz. portions)). Cut each slice in half. Place 2 slices on bottom half of bun. Top each with 1 Tbsp. Sauce, 2 Tbsp. coleslaw. Top sandwich with bun top; serve immediately.

For more great homestyle beef dishes, including recipes for Western Ranch Beef Stew and Pot Roast with Rich Root Vegetable Sauce, contact MBIC at (517) 347-0911 or E-mail us.




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Michigan Beef Industry Commission
2145 University Park Drive, suite 300
Okemos, Michigan 48864
(517)347-0911 FAX: (517)347-0919
MIBeef@aol.com