Jessica Rowe isn’t giving Jamie Oliver a run for his money anytime soon. However the TV personality who shares her domestic woes on her website Crap Housewife, says her cooking efforts have thankfully improved this year with a little help from Australia’s best butchers.
As host of MLA’s Greatest Butcher on Your Block: Ask Your Butcher video series, Jessica has learnt some great tips on how to cook meat.
“Steak has long been the bane of my existence – I’ve always been nervous about cooking it,” Jessica says. “Usually I burn the outside and serve it up raw and uncooked on the inside. However, now I finally understand how to cook one!”
Jess features in all new videos alongside butchers learning tips including how to brown meat to perfection, how to make the perfect kebab skewer and how to carve a leg of lamb like a pro.
Brad Callaghan from Auburn Meadow Meats in Sydney’s Rose Bay, says browning beef or lamb before adding the pieces into a casserole, curry or stew is the best way to ensure juicy, succulent meat packed full of flavour. “Use the same pan for the dish to ensure you capture all the beautiful flavours and save time with washing up,” he says.
“Quite simply I never knew you had to brown meat when making a curry or a stew,” says Jessica. “I would just bung it in the pot and hope for the best! However, thanks to Brad, I’ve now been taught to coat the meat in flour to start with, and then lightly brown each side before making a stew. It makes for the tenderest, tastiest meat. Just delish!”
Here Brad shares his best tips and recipe.
How to brown your meat to perfection
1 Dice your meat into even cubes 2-3cm is a good size. Place a small amount of oil in the casserole pan on a medium heat.
2 Using a ziplock bag add your meat to flour, salt and pepper and shake together until it is all covered lightly.
3 Add your meat cubes to the pan. Remember the meat needs to sizzle as it hits the pan. The aim is to sear the meat and lock in the flavours (if it does not sizzle the pan is not hot enough). You may need to cook your meat in batches depending on the size of the pan. This stops the meat from stewing.
4 Cook until all the meat is brown. Return all the batches back to the pan and start to add in your other ingredients whether you are making a casserole, curry or stew.
Coconut Beef Curry
Serves: 4 – 6
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 2 hours
Ingredients
- 1 kg beef chuck, cubed
- 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
- 1 brown onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 Tbsp grated ginger
- 2 Tbsp curry powder
- 2 x 400ml tins coconut milk
- 1 cup water
- 500 g cauliflower florets
- 200 g snow peas
- salt & pepper
To serve
- steamed rice
- lime wedges, fresh coriander leaves and sliced spring onion
Method
- Pat beef dry with paper towel and season with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Drizzle 1 Tbsp oil into a large heavy-based pot over medium-high heat. Add half the beef, cook 4 minutes to brown, and transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining beef and a further 1 Tbsp oil.
- Reduce heat to medium and add onion, garlic, ginger, and remaining oil to the pot. Cook 2 – 3 minutes, stirring regularly, until onion begins to soften.
- Add curry powder to onions and cook 30 seconds further. Add coconut milk and water and stir well. Return browned beef and any resting juices to the pot.
- Bring stew to the boil then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 90 minutes.
- Add cauliflower to the curry and return to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, 15 – 20 minutes until beef and cauliflower are tender. Stir through snow peas and cook 3 minutes further.
- Serve curry with rice, coriander and lime wedges.
Check out The Greatest Butcher campaign page here.