Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Braised Grass-fed Beef Meat Sauce – Because I'm Down on the Ground

If you saw the video recipe for the London Broil I did using the Normanton Farm's grass-fed beef, you saw me save some of the top round, which had a little more connective tissue in it, to make a meat sauce recipe. This is that.

Most meat sauce recipes call for ground beef, and as most butchers will tell you (off the record), it isn't exactly the premium cuts that go into making ground beef. In fact, usually included somewhere in their answer is the statement, "you really don’t want to know."

This super-easy video recipe for a braised beef pasta sauce is similar to regular ground meat sauces, but instead uses freshly cubed beef as the base. The advantages are obvious and quite delicious.

Using this method, you get to choose the cut you like; I used top round, but rump roast, or chuck steak would be just as good. You can also control the fat content, trimming as you and your summer Speedo see fit. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
1 pound top round steak (may substitute rump roast, or chuck steak)
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
red pepper flakes to taste
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch green onions, white and light green parts only, chopped
1/2 cup beef broth or water
1/2 cup milk
1 (28-oz) jar prepared pasta sauce
1 (14.5-oz) package penne pasta, cooked
grated Parmesan cheese as needed

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

this is up there with the duck leg ragu......mmmmm.....duuuuuckkkk.....

I love pasta dishes because they're sooo flexible.....granted i didn't have any london broil.....so I (braces) used left over skirt steak cut across the grain.....that was flavored with garlic herb butter......

sigh.....

keep up the great work C.J.

mb

anugrah15 said...

yay.........the little wooden spoon makes its appearance again!!

this looks delicious, chef!!

love you.

Seenor Drew said...

Would it be okay to replace the braised beef with meatballs? Is there a better option for a sauce to go with meatballs?

Thanks!

Chef John said...

They're your balls, do whatever you want. They would be fine in that sauce.

Anonymous said...

This dish inspired me to make a lasagna! Only instead of ground beef and ground pork, I finely chopped up both a pork and beef roast for my tomato sauce! simmered all day so the meat chunks where melt in your mouth tender.. and let me just say.. fantastic! Great insperation Chef John!

Ghada said...

Hey Chef John,I just want to know what's the pasta sauce you are using in this recipe , because it looks really delicious?

Natalia said...

I just found this site and I fell in love with it. Thank u very much, chef John. This meal is in process, I hope my men would like it.
One question: why should we use only white and light green parts of onions?

Chef John said...

The darkest green parts are tougher, and less "onion-like" nut you can use it all here, really not a big difference.

Danielle said...

I learned something very valuable from this video... not to fear caramelization! Thx!

Unknown said...

Chef, can i use diced up veal instead of beef, and is cooking veal different than cooking beef?

Chef John said...

It's the same. Enjoy!

Unknown said...

Rookie cook here. Single man. Just tried this recipe and it turned out very well! I didn't screw it up. Hooray! Thanks for your video it helped a lot.

Unknown said...

i done this with chicken before and it turned out really good!!!!!

Unknown said...

Made this tonight, following the recipe to a T and it was absolutely the BEST pasta sauce I've ever had! It was so simple and delicious...thank you thank you thank you Chef! My husband was never a big pasta lover but this was a hit!

mark atia said...

Hey Chef John - Love your blog.

what is the purpose of the part that is cut off from the top round or london broil for this recipe? is it because it is still tough if we were to grill it with the rest of the top round? Just curious. Thanks!