Beef

At the Farm Shop we don’t treat cooking as a precise science, nor are we trying to give a comprehensive list of recipes. These are some of our favourite dishes and we hope you’ll give some of them a try. They’ve worked for us on countless occasions but that doesn’t mean, with a bit of imagination and a few tweaks, they can’t be improved. Good luck.
BeefCategories
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Carbonnade FlamandeBy Redpost MediaYou might think that a beef bourguignon becomes Carbonnade Flamande when you substitute red wine for beer but there's a bit more to it than that. Vinegar, sugar and mustard, combined with the richness of the slightly reduced beer gives a whole new ‘agrodulce’ dimension that’s guaranteed to knock your socks off. Serve as a casserole, as a pie with a pastry crust or, best of all, with a crusty topping of stale, mustard and jus infused bread. Be warned - it's all in the timing. Get it right, and it's not hard, and you're walking through the culinary pearly gates. It’s equally good with venison or other cuts of beef. Adjust the cooking times accordingly. Normally, I’m a great believer in padding our stews with plenty of veg but, here, the flavours are so intense that it’s best to treat it as a celebratory blow out or just serve less. Turnips might work but the only thing I’ve found that really adds to a carbonnade is a few sticks of celery, thickly sliced. Lots of recipes call for mushrooms but, for me, neither taste or texture work.  
Chunky chilli con carneBy Redpost MediaThere's chilli and there's chilli. Everyone has their version but I think this one, using diced chuck, is pretty good. Long, slow cooking breaks up the chunks of chuck steak and the vegetables, particularly the roast squash, adds a bit of unctuousness. The extra herbs and spices give it balance making it far more interesting than the standard mouth burner. Definitely one for a cold winters night and worth making in bulk and freezing. You don't have to worry about overcooking so gently thawing in the pan is, almost, an improvement.
Merguez MeatballsBy Redpost MediaUltra easy and tasty meatballs - good on a stick, in a wrap, as part of a mezze etc. We associate merguez with lamb but apparently, in Algeria, beef is often used. It certainly works just as well.
Poor Man’s TagliataBy Redpost MediaThe joys of a thick, BBQ’d and sliced on the bias, ‘Italian Tagliata’ style steak are worth striving for. Knock it into shape (literally) and it makes a fantastic, thick steak.
Broth of GodBy Redpost MediaStocks and broths are wonderful creations that we all should be making more of – not just because of their organoleptic qualities, but because it’s wasteful not to and if we’re going to go on enjoying meat, nose to tail cooking has to be the way to go.
Minced Beef WellingtonBy Redpost MediaUp the ante with a minced beef and mushroom duxelle sausage roll with homemade mustard and herb, rough puff pastry. The Minced Beef Wellington comes from John Torode - with a few variations. White wine isn't the norm in a duxelle but with all that rich meat and pastry it adds a welcome edge of acidity. You can buy good quality, all butter, puff pastry or aim even higher with  Dan Lepard's fancy rough puff - https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/mar/09/dan-lepard-chicken-bacon-pie-red-wine-mustard-crust.
Beef, Cabbage, Apple & Horseradish SoupBy Redpost Media

a.k.a. Austerity Soup

Is much a stew as a soup but, either way, it’s a robust and easy dish that doesn’t need constant attention. The beauty of shin is that it goes through a sudden damascene transformation from unchewably tough to mouth-wateringly tender in a matter of moments. It just takes some time to get there. The apple and horseradish adds a sweet piquancy which, when added at the end maintains its freshness.
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