Venison Smoked Tenderloin- The perfect meat addition to a wine and cheese party.

    There are few things that are as enjoyable as a smoked venison tenderloin. This part of a deer  is extremely lean yet tender enough to use as a lunch meat. Cured via smoking it should be sliced thin and will hold its own if not better than and cured sausage. Absolutely perfect as a protein for accentuating dry red wines such as a Cabernet. Also this cure will blend well with the milder cheeses. It is a roof of the mouth smacking taste.

Recipe Template:

    First you will need to brine the tenderloin. This will help retain moisture during the smoking process. Deer tenderloin is not very salty and letting it sit in a brine the meat will pull in the saltwater. Deer meat is also lean and tougher than most due to the extremely fit nature of the animal. The brine will kick start the break down process of the meat and give it the perfect texture for eating as a lunch meat. In the fridge, let the meat sit in the mixture for at least 12 hours but no more than 18.

     Second step is to use a desired rub and coat the piece. Then wrap the meat in bacon. Pork bacon is great but I prefer lamb bacon.   The fat drippings will also aid in retaining moisture during smoking process. You want it to cook with it's moisture and dry it post cooking.

*Note* lamb bacon is not readily available in most places so pick up lamb belly at your butcher shop and ask them to remove the riblets after weighing. You can salt  this the day before. Then that morning  smoke it for about 2 1/2 hour at 250 degrees. Slice and apply

    Now to smoke the venison tenderloin. Having your smoker at 250 degrees place the venison inside. Then, add your desired hardwood and let it smoke for  2 1/2 hours. The internal temperature should be around 150 degrees. This temperature is higher than if you were to rest and serve it. This is because you will be applying another step and want this on the well side. Don't worry it won't be dry when consuming.

     Lastly, you are going to hang this back strap overnight til about an hour before your party. Hang it in a cool dry place. In late fall through early spring a secure garage is perfect but your kitchen will be fine. Just do not hang it over the sink because if you are washing dishes with hot water the steam will obstruct the drying process.

      All done! Remember to slice thin. Your guests will talk about this morsel for months to come.

In ending

   This obviously is a loose recipe. I feel the flavors should be up to you. Some suggestions I would give are: 

1. Use a brine recipe that uses Soy or Worcestershire  in it
2. Use a rub with a sweet taste
3. take the time to make lamb bacon
4. Use a hard wood like cherry or hickory. 

I hope this finds you well let us know how your party goes!

Szabo

   

An old live feed- Cutting a Beef Rib Section

Quick Beef Rib Cut for my buddy Rod

Above is the link to my bitchute hit to watch and  please like and subscribe.

or watch on youtube below.

Happy eating!

Szabo

QUICK  BEEF RIB CUT FOR ROD (LIVESTREAM)

   This is a live stream from last spring. Just a quick cut for a buddy I decided to tape. I do it nice and slow. It's a very easy piece to work with. The rib is very tender and you will see how tender. So, long slices front to back to remove the ribs from the eye. Then slice the eye with a combined cut. Which is a both direction cut done in a smooth one motion action. This is a forward stroke til about an inch before the heel of your blade then in one motion continue the stroke pulling the blade back all the way through. Depending on the size of the rib will determine if you need to repeat. You do not want to saw at all it will rip meat this tender. However, if you ad enough pressure holding steak to sub-primal you can saw the bottom end if there is a little left to cut.
     In the video below I make a steak in a single combined cut but must in the multiple cut I also described above.  Let us know how this works out for you. I would like to remind the other meat cutters who comment to keep in mind this isn't a skill tutorial but a demo for novices and home cooks looking to save money on high end pieces of meat at their local supermarkets. 

ENJOY!BEEF RIB VIDEO ON BUTCHER BEAR CHANNEL (BITCHUTE)

Click for video

Meeting Meat with Szabo the Butcher extension: Become Engaged

Meeting Meat with Szabo the Butcher extension: Become Engaged: Let Us Know What You Think? We would like to here from you!      This is a newer blog in it's first year. We have 2 Blog spots as...

Meat Cutting Creation "Perfectly Portioned Burgers"

Why I Love Prepping and Cooking for Large Gatherings

Prepping and Cooking a Successful Gathering

By Phillip Szabo

Writer for Meeting Meat with Szabo the Butcher

Linden, N.J      Sept. 2018

     Welcome to my first true editorial here on the Meeting Meat blog. I will be doing these from time to time. Mostly on topics pertaining to the meat industry as a whole but will also delve into other related topics. As you see I'm doing this today. Hope You enjoy!

     So, prepping and cooking for parties large and small is something I truly relish. In the moment, I find myself fully engaged. Feverishly working to beat the clock I tend to raise my game as I move from project to project. With every experience I continuously add to my  repertoire, learning new ways of cooking entrees, presenting dishes, and ways to save on time and money. I go into gatherings as a personal challenge in which satiating all comers is the ultimate goal. Completing this is extremely gratifying and I hope that you may also find catering parties for friends  and family just as satisfying.
     I am going to make a few suggestions for beginner or intermediate home cooks that may be doing a large party for the first time.

1. Choose a dish that you know well even if it's something you have never made. Knowing what something should taste like eliminates worry and will lead to saving time. This will also boost your confidence as you will find you will probably get it right.
2. Don't be afraid of mountains of prep work. This is a matter of allotting time and for many things you can do much of that work the night before. (dicing, cleaning, precooking etc.)
3. Interactive dishes are fun for parties and a great way to deal with ranging pallets. Examples: Taco building platters. Sandwich building platters. Burger stations all are easy ways to feed a large number of people while limiting your kitchen time as people will be platting themselves. This also gives you the ability to accommodate vegetarian and vegan guests as you will be able to separate ingredients allowing for everyone to enjoy gustation.

     I think these interactive meals are extremely fun and 85% percent or more is actually prepping so stress goes way down. Stress is probably the biggest deterrent for someone taking on a large meal for the first and even more the second time.
     Myself, I like large family oriented meals. Some I would include are Jersey Red Gravy which is a large pot of tomato sauce slow cooked for 4 to 6 hours using peeled and diced garden tomatoes (Choice) peeled and crushed  tomatoes, finely diced onions, thin sliced garlic. a bit of shaved carrots, olive oil, bay leaf, oregano, salt, pepper, crushed and dried red pepper, a few chopped red or yellow peppers. and different meats. Meat balls, homemade sausage, and bone in country style pork ribs (rib end of a pork loin) are my favorites.
      Other meals like My Oma's Goulash (see recipe in this blog) are also great for a big gathering. One more I really enjoy is the Polish comfort food Perogies which I admittedly do not make by hand but If you have a Polish market or Deli in town go get them fresh. Boil them for about 5 minutes then fry with butter. I saute my onions separately  and add them to the serving dish. With a little dollop of sour cream you can't go wrong!

     I'm going to add one more tip that has done me well. When planning a party if you want to try something new.....Do IT! Just make sure to give the dish a trial run a week or so before. Cut the recipe down to 2/3 or so. Let's say a dish for 12 people try making it for 4. This is an easy fractional way of learning your cooking times and estimating your prepping times. Plan it out because although size will directly alter the prep time it may not alter cooking times. Things that are baking yes they would. However, how long you fry a perogie obviously wouldn't change and how many you can do at a time would vary by pan size etc. These are all things to consider.
      Remember this doesn't have to be work. Parties can be fun as the cook. Events can also be extremely satisfying so I hope you get in there and get your family involved too!

Happy Creations til next time!

Szabo 
        

My Oma's Beef Goulash

Meine Oma's Danube Schwäbisches Rindergulasch.

By Phillip Szabo

      Beef Goulash is a central/east European comfort food staple. Recipes for this dish vary by region and family alike as recipes are handed down generation to generation. My Hungarian ancestors are credited with the birth of this paprika flavored dish. The original Hungarian style would be better described as a soup of beef, egg noodles, potatoes, onions, carrots and other vegetables on hand optionally added. The Slavic versions would be better described as stews laid over noodles, also extremely tasty and hearty. Today, I will be sharing a family recipe of Schwobisch origin in which the texture is between both. It's a simple rendition, full of flavor, using 7/8 beef shoulder to 1/8 pork shoulder and onions. (optional additions below)  Laid over spaetzle this meal is perfect for an extended family, mid afternoon,  Sunday  dinner.  For my American readers especially from my home State of New Jersey, I would liken it to a Sunday pot of red gravy. 

(*Note red gravy is a very Jersey family meal assimilated into our distinct culture North and South. It was introduced to all Jerseyans by our American/ Italian friends and neighbors who often refer to it as sauce. There is always a debate over if its proper name is gravy or sauce. I refer to to any sauce with meat as gravy that me.)

     I hope that many readers will try this for a family Sunday dinner. Starting  it after Mass, denominational Service or simply around 10:30 am, It is an all day stew best done in a large pot on the stove that will fill your home with inviting smells.  Our Schwobish Goulash is a minimal prep and minimal fuss meal. This allows for plenty of bonding time in the kitchen or watching football. Perhaps you hold your family over with a platter of smoked sausages, cheese, and some sliced bread. Not to much now, believe me everyone will want to save plenty of room for the goulash!

What you will need and options for 10 people:

1. 5 lbs. of  beef shoulder (boneless)
2. 1/2 -3/4 lbs of pork butt (boneless)
3. 11 (2 1/2 inch diameter max) small yellow onions or 6 large onions (4 inch diameter)                I like to use large onions and occasional will make 2 of them medium sized red onions. Basically you want a 2:1 volume ratio of onions to meat (uncooked)
4. 5 tbls. of Sweet Hungarian Paprika (Szeged)
5. 4 cloves of garlic (smashed)
6. 12 oz. of dry red wine (Bulls Blood) or 18 oz of beer (Pilsner) Enjoy the other half beer.
7. 2 cups of beef stock (optional if you are without add more water and that other half of beer, sorry, you should have had beef stock)
8. 1 medium carrot thinly sliced (optional)
9. Salt and Pepper to taste.
10. Oil to lightly coat bottom of pot, extra virgin olive is great but soy of vegetable are fine.

Directions:

Prep time 20 mins

Cook time 4 hours+

    Take your beef chuck and cut it into 1 inch cubes. Leave the fat, there no need to trim as the fat will render into the gravy. Then cut your pork shoulder into 3/4 inch cubes. Pork slow cooked is stringier and you simply want it to break up into the gravy. Next, go ahead and smash your garlic and peel leaving them whole. Pour yourself a glass of wine or crack a beer you deserve it! Now the most tedious part of prep cutting your onions. Many will simply half them then large dice them 3 cuts by 3 cuts which is fine. What you need to know is you want most of your onions to be completely broken down so taking time to cut them very thin will ensure cooking time does not exceed 4 hours. Not necessary but I usually cut 2 yellow and my  2 red onions very thin in slivers and then dice them 4 by 4. I cut the other two as fore mentioned to maintain some texture.

Cooking:

    Lightly coating the bottom of your large pot with oil heat on high and brown your cubed meat. Lower your heat to medium and remove the meat into a dish to ad again later.  Use tongs as to leave dripping in your pot.

     Then add a light amount oil if necessary and under the medium heat add your onions and garlic (carrots if you opt for them) with a few pinches of salt saute them for 2- 3 minutes until the start to significantly soften. You do not want to caramelize them just jump start the cooking process. 

     Next, pour in your beer or wine and one cup of stock stirring it in. Continue by  re-adding  your meat and applying the paprika. Stir the mixture well and then stir in the other cup of stock. Raise heat to high.

     The last initial step is adding enough water to cover the mixture to the consistency of a normal soup. Stir the mix thoroughly. Bring to a boil, cover then reduce heat to a simmer for 1 hour. 

     After 1 hour remove cover and swiftly stir well. Taste the soup, add salt and pepper to taste and recover for another hour. 

     The third hour repeat a thorough stir and examine the onions. They should be starting to significantly break down. If so, cover again leaving a small gap from the lip of the pot and pot top. This is to slowly start the reduction of the soup into the stew. If you are not happy with the break down of your onions cover fully again. 

     The fourth hour you will remove the top and the goulash will remain uncovered. As it continues to simmer and reduce, stir the goulash every 15 minutes until you reach your desired consistency. This Is to your personal preference it may take a 1/2 for some others 1 1/2 hours but 1 hour is a good rule of thumb.

     Once you near your desired thickness do not stir for about 5 minutes. Now, you may skim some fat off the top if you so choose. Some people do some people do not. I do not I just drink more wine when eating. 

Serving:

    Our Danube Schwobisch Goulash is done. To serve lay a bed of spaetzle (directions below) in a bowl then ladle a portion on top. Many goulash lovers will add a dollop of sour cream on top. It is very complimentary but not necessary. Gather around your dinning table with loved ones and enjoy this central/eastern European version of Sunday gravy. You will be a hero for the day at least and most likely begin a tradition that keeps your kids home on Sunday. Even more likely it will be a way to truly get to know their friends as your kids will be very proud to invite friends for Sunday dinner.

Making the Spaetzle:

    Spaetzle is a German form of egg noodle. You certainly can use American style egg noodles or several forms of Italian pastas. If you choose pasta I would use rigatoni or bow tie. Both do well in soaking up the gravy. A good time to prepare the spaetzle is when you are doing your prep because the dish is best with the noodles cooled. They will be sticky which is partly why this is the way to serve them but for so Americans you may want to add some olive oil after straining and mix.

     I suggest that they are made while you prep because this is an opportunity to have a younger member of the family join you in the kitchen.  If you are comfortable with your older child (11-12) using the stove and boiling water spaetzle is quick and easy and includes them in making the meal for the whole family. This is always something we like to encourage here at Meeting Meat.

     They bring a pot of water to boil add the noodles for about 4 minutes then strain. Pour into a bowl and stir some oil in if that is what your family prefers. Once the noodles are cool they can cover them and leave on the counter. That little step gives them responsibility to reenter the kitchen after about a half hour. You will thank me for this when they become teenagers.

     Now, I do not make my own spaetzle. I know, I know, why not, right? However, if you would like to try doing this I am adding a link below to a tutorial from cooks I trust and have tried other dishes from before. Who knows, maybe next Sunday I will try making Spaetzle!

Guter Appetit

Spaetzle Recipe

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/11793/german-spaetzle-dumplings/

My Thoughts on the Benefits of Small Farmed Cattle and Ethically Raised Live Stock

My Thoughts on the Benefits of Small Farmed Cattle and Ethically Raised Live Stock

by Szabo the Butcher

   Well first things first, small farmed cattle ethically raised is certainly a much higher initial cost. The argument for and against in this respect can be looked at in one very important way. Risk. There is no doubt the amount of stress a large tightly packed ranch and slaughter line will incur upon animals in such conditions. While the price is significantly lower in the short term it is my belief this sort of husbandry and slaughter can result in unexpected health risks for the ingestor. Now, this is a hypothesis I have developed over some time. There has not been enough research  delineating the differences of the night and day practices as related to health risks associated with meat consumption. If my theory is correct further studies will show that intake of flesh from large unethical farms as opposed to smaller more humanly raised cattle ranches will show that risks of Colorectal cancer linked to meat consumption will be night and day.

    I believe the stress hormones released by the animals in poor condition ultimately fuels the identified risk factors. All these hormones are released into the muscles just like added hormones and antibiotics are. From a meat cutter perspective it's relatively easy to identify major differences in the quality of meat. The major maker that led me down this way of thinking is tenderness. I have cut tons upon tons of meat from both conventional cattle and from small farm ethically treated cattle. I have routinely cut very lean small farmed cattle and felt then cooked round meat as tender as conventional loin. That's an astounding discovery. The most logical reasoning I have pondered to is the release of stress hormones tightening the animals muscle groups as is apparent to any human with a high stress job. This idea is main stream because of the results attained from the Japanese beef industry.

(*Note lean meat is not forgiving and over cooked lean meat from ethical and grass fed meat will still be tougher. Prepare this meat rare to just medium rare to maintain tenderness) 

   Grass fed does not necessarily determine what level of ethics is applied to the raising of live stock but grass fed cattle,even at worst case scenario, will release less stress hormones than a penned force feed animal.  If my assertion above is studied further and proven to be accurate I contest the initial savings are nothing more than a bet. If one looses this bet the cost for going this route is not only washed away but increased in ones health care cost. Buying better meat from low stress animals is truly an insurance investment. 

This is a short post and meant to open a discussion. Below are some links to studies done on red meat and cancers. As you will see, although extremely important, I believe further studies on my premise should be undertaken. I ask all readers to share there opinions and absolutely any more facts that may add to this discussion.

https://www.wcrf.org/dietandcancer/exposures/meat-fish-dairy

https://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/the-relation-between-meat-and-cancer/

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/link-red-meat-cancer-need-know/

https://www.pcrm.org/health/cancer-resources/diet-cancer/facts/meat-consumption-and-cancer-risk

Treating animals with respect while continuing to enjoy the protein is a win/win. We are part of the food chain. No one need apologize for that but we aware to the point to be responsible.