Beef and some uses

 Otto Say’s

Pasta sanza vino e come il cuore sanza amore

Pasta without wine is like a heart without love

PASTICCIATA

The robust flavors of Abbruzzo style cooking originated from thrifty “contadini” (peasants) of the Italian countryside who were constrained by economics, but not by ingenuity! What little beef they could afford often came from grass fed oxen or milk cows used as draft animals. As a result, these resourceful cooks devised cooking techniques, using the robust flavours of homemade wine, dried herbs, and home grown vegetables to transform relatively tough cuts of meat into flavorful, robust specialties.

This is family’s recipe for Pasticciata, An Abruzzi province specialty, Pasticciata is made from the eye of beef round, marinated overnight in wine and garlic, then slow cooked with garden vegetables until it melts in your mouth!

Ingredients

	675 dry red wine
	250 ml.olive oil
	3 cloves garlic, minced
	3 whole cloves (seasoning)
	4 kg eye of round roast
	500 ml. beef broth
	2 stalks celery, sliced
	1 white onion, sliced
	1 carrot, sliced
675	ml.whole plum tomatoes
	black peppercorns
	Salt
	hot, just cooked pasta

Instructions:

1. Combine wine, garlic, and cloves in stainless steel or glass pan.

2. Add roast. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 24 hours, turning once after 12 hours.

3. Place roast and marinade in roasting pan with tight fitting lid.

4 Add broth, celery, onion, carrot, tomatoes, peppercorns, and salt to taste.

5. Cover; roast at 185 C. for 6 to 8 hours (turn over every couple hours) or until cooked through and tender.

6. Remove from oven; let rest 1 hour. Strain and reserve juices.

6. Serve 6 about 200 gr portion over a bed of pasta. Pour 75 ml. reserved juice over top of meat and serve. Makes about 20 servings.

 Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers.Beef muscle meat can be cut into steak, roasts or short ribs. Some cuts are processed (corned beef or beef jerky), and trimmings, usually mixed with meat from older, leaner cattle, are ground, minced or used in sausages. The blood is used in some varieties of blood sausage. Other parts that are eaten include the oxtail, liver, tongue, tripe from, the  rumen glands (particularly the pancreasand thymus, referred to as sweetbread), the heart, the brain , the liver, the kidneys, and the tender testicles of the bull (known as calf fries, prairie oysters, or Rocky Mountain oysters). Some intestines are cooked and eaten as-is, but are more often cleaned and used as natural sausage casings. The bones are used for making stock, to make soups and sauces.Beef from steers and heifers is very similar, except steers have slightly less fat and more muscle. Depending on economics, the number of heifers kept for breeding varies. Older animals are used for beef when they are past their reproductive prime. The meat from older cows and bulls is usually tougher, so it is frequently used for ground beef, sausages or other processed meat. Cattle raised for beef may be allowed to roam free on grasslands, or may be confined at some stage in pens as part of a large feeding operation called a feedlot , where they are usually fed a ration of grain, protein, roughage and a vitamin/mineral  preblend.
Beef is the third most widely consumed meat in the world, accounting for about 25% of meat production worldwide, after pork and poultry at 38% and 30% respectively. United States (and Canada), Brazil, and the People's Republic of China are the world's three largest consumers of beef. On a per capita basis, Argentines ate the most beef at 64.6 kg per person; people in the US (Canada) ate 40.2 kg, while those in the EU ate 16.9 kg.7 REASONS TO EAT BEEF YOU ARE NOT AWARE OF

Is Beef good for you 
Consider the following?

Studies indicate that, if our ancestors had not eaten red meats, the brain of humans would be 1/4 of its present size! During human evolution, our adaptation to red meat and the vital protein and fats it provides, is one of the KEY reasons behind the rapid growth in our intelligence and brain capacity... without meat we still would be living in the trees eating bananas!

In regions where people have the longest lifespan, the diet is based almost exclusively on meat of ruminant animals and cultured dairy products.

Protein in beef and lamb provides plenty of building blocks for our body, ensuring strong lean muscles and healthy hormones.

Red meat is an excellent source of vital minerals like zinc, iron, and magnesium. In meat, these minerals exist in form that is much easier for the body to absorb compared to the minerals in grains and pulses.

Vitamin B12, which can be obtained ONLY from animal sources and which is abundant in beef, is crucial for a healthy nervous system and blood.

The carnitine in red meat is essential for balanced and steady functioning of the eart.

Beef and lamb fat is rich in linoleic and palmiotelic acids, which have strong anticancer effects and fight viruses and other pathogens.

The Canadian Beef Grading Agency

The Canadian Beef Grading Agency (CBGA) is a private, non-profit corporation which has been accredited by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to deliver grading services for beef in Canada. The grade standards are set by the Federal Government based on recommendations from the Industry/Government Consultative Committee on Beef Grading. The factors used in grade assessment are directly related to the tenderness, juiciness, consumer acceptability, and yield of a carcass.

Cattle are graded in plants at what is known as the grading station. Once the carcass sides are chilled (24-48 hours after slaughter),

                                                                     Grades Requirements

Grade	% Maturity (Age)	% Muscling	% Rib Eye Muscle	% Marbling	% Fat Colour and Texture	% Fat Measure
CANADA PRIME	Youthful	Good to excellent with some deficiencies	Firm, bright red	Slightly abundant	Firm, white or amber	2 mm or more
CANADA A, AA, AAA	Youthful	Good to excellent with some deficiencies	Firm, bright red	A – trace AA – slight AAA – small	Firm, white or amber	2 mm or more
B1	Youthful	Good to excellent with some deficiencies	Firm, bright red	Devoid	Firm, white or amber	Less than 2 mm
B2	Youthful	Deficient to excellent	Bright red	No requirement	Yellow	No requirement
B3	Youthful	Deficient to good	Bright red	No requirement	White or amber	No requirement
B4	Youthful	Deficient to excellent	Dark red	No requirement	No requirement	No requirement
D1	Mature	Excellent	No requirement	No requirement	Firm, white or amber	Less than 15 mm
D2	Mature	Medium to excellent	No requirement	No requirement	White to yellow	Less than 15 mm
D3	Mature	Deficient	No requirement	No requirement	No requirement	Less than 15 mm
D4	Mature	Deficient to excellent	No requirement	No requirement	No requirement	15 mm or more
E	Youthful or mature	Pronounced masculinity

Chunk Meat uses: chuck contains a lot of connective tissue, including collagen, which partially melts during cooking. Meat from the chuck is usually used for stewing, slow cooking, braising, or pot roasting.

Breast of beef: in a waste no meat value can be used

Beef shank: is the leg of the animal, and is extremely tough and full of connective tissue. (Note also that each side of beef has two shanks, one in the forequarter and one in the hindquarter.) Beef shank is used in making the luxurious Italian dish osso buco.

Prime rib (Rack) is one of the most luxurious, succulent beef roasts you can have. It's basically a tender, juicy beef rib roast, usually prepared with the bone in, which is called a standing rib roast. The boneless version is called a rib-eye roast. 

Loin:  is a cut of beef that comes from the back of the steer or heifer. It contains part of the spine and includes the top loin and the tenderloin. This cut yields types of steak including porterhouse, strip steak (Kansas City Strip, New York Strip), and T-bone (a cut also containing partial meat from the tenderloin). The T-bone is a cut that contains less of the tenderloin than does the porterhouse. It is defined as “a portion of the hindquarter of beef immediately behind the ribs that is usually cut into steaks."

Leg of Beef: leg portion of a steer or heifer. Due to the constant use of this muscle by the animal it tends to be tough, dry, and sinewy, so is best when cooked for a long time in moist heat. It is an ideal cut to use for beef bourguignon. As it is very lean, it is widely used to prepare very low-fat ground. Due to its lack of sales, it is not often seen in shops. Although, if found in retail, it is very cheap and a low-cost ingredient for beef stock. Beef shank is a common ingredient in soups.

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