Fast-5 Diet and Lifestyle: Re: [fast5] OT - Heather

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Re: [fast5] OT - Heather - cuts of beef

You know, pretty much any roast makes good steak.
A sirloin roast makes sirloin steak. A rib roast makes
rib steak. Basically all you have to do is slice it to the
thickness you like your steak. Since you likely don't
have a meat saw though, it's more convenient to get
one of the boneless ones (actually the ones I've gotten
from Costco have all been boneless anyway). All you
need is a nice sharp knife (serrated is helpful too).

The only one I don't like for steak is round roast. There
is zero fat in it (esp. grass fed cows). But it makes great
jerky!

The main differences I see in the roasts are 1) amount
of fat and 2) amount of connective tissue. You can
judge both of these by eye: just look at the roast.
I've never had a problem with toughness but then,
we cook our steak rare. If you like well-done steak, and
it's tough, I'd suggest marinating it or using steak
tenderizer (this is not MSG, it's made from papaya,
and it works).

The bits and pieces you have left over after slicing you
can grind to make really, really good hamburger. If it's
too lean, you can add chopped vegies, bread crumbs,
or even fruit. I add 1tsp Penzy's Italian Sausage seasoning
per pound and make Italian sausage. It's not difficult
to grind meat in a hand-meat-grinder ... it is a little messy
but you just do a lot of it and then freeze it. Cleanup
is pretty easy ... just put the grinder pieces in the dish
washer! Be sure to oil the "heads" before storing though
(the best ones are not stainless).

Alternatively, use the bits and pieces in stir fry or soup.

And yeah, you can save a LOT of money this way. I know
people are intimidated by "wholesale" quantities, but
it just makes a lot more sense. Freezers just don't cost
all that much, nor do good knives and a knife sharpener.

On Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 9:15 AM, Karen <laurvick@charter.net> wrote:
>
>
> Heather
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> You mentioned getting a roast at Costco. Since then, I have not been to
> Costco to check their prices but noticed an ad for sirloin tip roast at a
> local grocer for $1.87 #. Another store has beef chuck roast for $1.68 #.
>
>
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> I'll confess to being meat-ignorant, but would that be a good cut of meat to
> get? Price is way better than the $2 whatever for ground beef (and garbage
> beef, at that!).
>
>
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> Thanks!
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> Karen, on her third Fast5 day! And I weight-trained this morning for the
> first time in 2.5 wks as I've had a nasty virus!
>
>