Winter beef dishes

With winter on the way, it’s time to bring beef from the barbecue to the cooking pot, and swap kebabs and wraps for comforting casseroles and satisfying stews.

While beef is a family favourite all year round, the colder weather brings the perfect excuse to indulge in the rich, hearty dishes that warm the palate and satisfy our appetites. And there is no better way to warm up than by indulging in one of these scrumptious beef dishes.

Tip – the best slow simmer beef cuts include chuck, topside, shin, brisket and skirt. For quick braising use round medallions or round steak (also known as knuckle) or oyster blade.

Beef and red wine casserole

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Serves: 4

500g diced beef (use chuck or beef topside)
2 tbsp olive oil
6 small onions, peeled and left whole
2 carrots, thickly sliced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup beef stock
1 cup red wine
200g button mushrooms
Mashed potato and sugar snap peas to serve

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Coat the beef in 1 tbsp of the oil. Brown in small batches in a large preheated fry-pan over a medium-high heat. Set beef aside.

Reduce heat in pan and add remaining oil, add onions, carrots and tomato paste, and cook, stirring for 1 minute.

Add the stock and wine, scraping up the meat residue from the bottom of the pan. Heat until the mixture boils, then pour into a large casserole dish.

Add the beef to the casserole dish, mix well. Cover the casserole dish tightly and cook in the preheated oven for 1 hour.

Add the mushrooms. Cover and cook for a further 20-30 minutes. Serve with creamy mashed potatoes and sugar snap peas.

Beef brisket and mushrooms in burgundy

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours
Serves: 6

1.2kg rolled piece beef brisket, fat trimmed
10g packet dried porcini mushrooms
¼ cup boiling water
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup burgundy wine (or other red wine)
1 cup beef stock
2 tsp fresh rosemary leaves
25g butter
300g mixed mushrooms, thickly sliced
Mashed potato, roasted baby carrot and parsnips to serve

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Soak the porcini mushrooms in the boiling water for
10 minutes. Drain, reserving the soaking liquid. Roughly chop the porcini and set aside.

Pat beef dry with paper towel and sprinkle with the seasoned flour. Brown the beef on all sides in the fry

Add the oil to the fry-pan. Stir in the onion and cook for 5 minutes over a medium heat until golden. Add the garlic, rosemary, wine, beef stock, porcini and soaking liquid, stirring up residue from the base of the pan.

Bring to the boil, remove from heat and pour over the beef. Cover casserole dish tightly and cook in the preheated oven for 1½-2 hours or until very tender. Turn the meat over halfway through the cooking time.

Just before serving, heat the butter in a fry-pan, cook the mushrooms until golden and tender. Stir into the casserole dish.

Cut the brisket into thick slices and spoon over the mushrooms cooking liquid. Serve with mashed potato, roasted parsnips and baby carrots.

Shepherd’s Pie

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking tine: 30 minutes

500g beef mince
750ml bottle of tomato pasta sauce
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1kg potatoes
butter
grated cheese

Cook the bolognaise sauce until it is just a little drier than you would normally serve over pasta. Add frozen mixed vegetables.

Lightly grease an ovenproof/freezer safe shallow baking dish or six individual freezer to oven containers. Spoon the mince mixture over the base of the dish or dishes.

Make some mashed potato or use a mix of potato and pumpkin for the topping. Season the mash well and add a little butter and grated cheese. Dollop and then roughly spread the mash over the mince.

Cover tightly with plastic wrap and freeze. To use defrost in the refrigerator overnight.

To reheat: remove the plastic wrap, rough the mash up a little with a fork, and sprinkle with extra grated cheese.

Cook uncovered in a moderate oven 180°C for about 30-40 minutes (large cottage pie) or 20 minutes (individual pies) or until thoroughly hot.

Recipes: Meat and Livestock Australia

<<HOME>>