Cooking Weekends! - Beef

Love beef? Like who doesn't right? Beef are like one of the best meat to eat!

Knowing your beef cuts is very important because it's all about the marbling, fats and tenderness of each cut. Its like the hardworking legs and shoulder sections are generally tougher than the ribs and loin due to the activity level of the muscles.

CHUCK

Possessing a generous amount of fat and collagen. Best suited for slow, moist cooking methods like braising and roasting, which render the meat lusciously tender and succulent. Chucks are also often used to grounded into minced for making burgers. 

RIBS

The generously marbled meat from this beef cut has a full-bodied flavour. Smaller cuts like the Rib-eye steak and Rib steak are ideal for grilling and panfrying, whereas larger cuts such as Standing rib roast are obviously better for roasting. Slabs of meaty Short ribs, cut between the ribs or across the ribs, respond best to braising.

SHORT LOIN

Most of the popular steaks come from this part: the Porterhouse, consisting of a T-shaped bone between a strip steak and a juicy piece of the tenderloin; the T-bone, a smaller version of the porterhouse; and the Strip steak, cuts from the porterhouse. And my favourite and one of the more expensive cut located at the center section of the tenderloin; the Filet Mignon.

SIRLOIN

Just behind the Short loin, the more hardworking region yields the prized Sirloin steaks. Sirloin steaks are chewier than steaks from the Short loin, but are a good value. They are usually labelled according to the bone they contain such as flat, round, wedge or pin.

ROUND

The meat in the leg region has the most minimal marbling which is usually used to make Burger patties or Sausages as they are not expensive and comes in big quantity. The lack of marbling from the Round is also a plus when the meat is eaten cold like in a cold beef salad.

FLANK & PLATE

Running along the underside of the animal, the Flank and plate produce the Lean flank steak, Skirt steak and Hanger steak which benefit from marinating, and are delicious quick-seared or grilled.

BRISKET

This tough cut gains flavour by braising or by slow smoking. Brisket is also delicious when cured.

One of the easiest way to check if your beef cut is cooked to your choice of doneness!

Or....

Maybe after cutting it. 

I always kinda like Gordon Ramsay's style of cooking. Because they just make sense and damn easy to relate to! Watch the above to get your perfect beef cut cooked!

Start cooking for your loved ones today!

Cooking Weekends! - Almond with Lemon Zest Madeleines.

Inspired by the tools at home, finally set myself to make some traditional french pastry, Madeleines! 

Madeleines are very small sponge cakes with a distinctive shell-like shape acquired from being baked in pans with shell-shaped depressions. Aside from the traditional moulded pan, commonly found in stores specialising in kitchen equipment and even hardware stores, no special tools are required to make madeleines.

A génoise cake batter is used. The flavour is similar to, but somewhat lighter than, sponge cake. Traditional recipes include very finely ground nuts, usually almonds and variation uses lemon zest, for a pronounced lemony taste, which are the ones I'm doing! 

Recipe
(adapted from Art of the Home & TheLittleTeochew)

Yields 24-30 madeleines

- 6 eggs
- 150 grams (about 10.5 Tbsp) of softened unsalted butter+extra to butter your madeleine moulds
- 170g caster sugar
- 170g flour, sifted
- 100 grams finely ground almonds (I used 120g)
- 1 tsp lemon zest (or more, if you like)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Confectioners sugar for dusting (optional)

1. Combine flour, baking powder and ground almonds in a bowl. Whisk to mix well and set aside.

2. In another bowl, beat soft butter and sugar until creamy.

3. Add in eggs one at a time at high speed. You want to get a pale yellow mixture. Add lemon zest.

4. Add flour-baking powder-ground almond mixture in 2 to 3 additions, folding gently with a spatula. It is important not to overmix. As long as the ingredients are combined, stop.

5. Using a spoon, carefully scoop batter onto greased madeleine moulds. Allow the madeleine batter to rest in the fridge (use a cling wrap for cover), as this will relax the gluten and give a light texture. Also, it helps in giving your madeleines those knobbly humps.

* Note: I was short of time, so I chilled the batter for only 20mins (and uncovered, at that!) but thankfully, the humps managed to appear, as you can see.

6. Pre-heat oven to 200°C (390°F) and bake for about 10 to 12 minutes or until golden yellow on the top and golden brown on the bottom. Start monitoring at the 10-minute mark, it can go fast and overcooked madeleines turn out dry instead of light and airy.

7. Gently loosen the madeleines using a small silicone spatula or a knife. This should be easy if you have greased the moulds. Place on cooling rack (hump facing up otherwise you’ll marks on your madeleines) or plate.

8. Dust with confectioner's sugar if desired. I skipped that and went straight to photography. :D