Beef Bulgogi

Date Published: April 18th, 2025 | Last Updated: April 18th, 2025
Author: Abby |Category: mains, asian, quick, easy,
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 12 hours (marinate overnight) | Cook time: 10 minutes

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Bulgogi is a Korean dish that consists of thinly sliced meat (most commonly beef, but you can find pork and chicken variations too) marinated in soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic and ginger. Once marinated, this dish is so quick to cook that it only takes a few minutes on the grill, perfect for a busy quick weeknight dinner if you marinate the meat the night before. Serve it over rice, lettuce wraps, or perilla leaves with a side of veggies. This flavourful dish will surely be a hit!

3 Methods for thinly sliced beef:

For best and most uniform results: Freeze the raw steak for 20-30 minutes until semi-firm, then use a meat slicer to slice as thin as possible. I have this model of meat slicer that I chose for the decent price and its relatively small size.

2. Freeze the raw steak for 20-30 minutes until semi-firm, then use a sharp knife to slice as thin as possible.

3. Buy pre-sliced frozen beef from the hotpot section of most asian grocery stores. This will be the easiest method but will also likely be more expensive.

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

Marinade:
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsps freshly grated ginger
- 4 green onions, sliced to 4cm pieces
- 1/2 small pear (80g), peeled and coarsely grated
- 1/4 cup (66g) soy sauce (Kikkoman is fine)
- 1/4 cup (40g) brown sugar
- 2 Tbsps (30g) toasted sesame oil
- 1.5 Tbsps (30g) gochujang (Korean red chilli paste)
700g/1.5 pounds boneless rib eye steak, sliced thinly (for cheaper options, flank steak or skirt steak will also do)
Garnish: chopped green onion and sesame seeds

Directions:

Put all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix well: 3 cloves minced garlic, 2 tsps grated ginger, 4 green onions sliced to 4cm pieces, 1/2 of a pear, grated (80g), 1/4 cup (66g) soy sauce, 1/4 cup (40g) brown sugar, 2 Tbsps (30g) toasted sesame oil, 1.5 Tbsps (30g) gochujang.

Add the thinly sliced steak into the marinade and massage well. Pour the contents into a resealable bag and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

Take out the marinated steak 20 minutes prior to cooking to let the meat come to room temperature.

When ready to cook, use a flat skillet or grill pan on MED-HIGH heat and add a drizzle of oil. Add the marinated steak and cook for roughly 2-3 minutes per side until slightly charred and cooked. Done!

Serve with rice. Garnish with more green onion and sesame seeds.

Summarized Recipe:

Beef Bulgogi

Ingredients:

Marinade:
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsps freshly grated ginger
- 4 green onions, sliced to 4cm pieces
- 1/2 small pear (80g), peeled and coarsely grated
- 1/4 cup (66g) soy sauce (Kikkoman is fine)
- 1/4 cup (40g) brown sugar
- 2 Tbsps (30g) toasted sesame oil
- 1.5 Tbsps (30g) gochujang (Korean red chilli paste)
700g/1.5 pounds boneless rib eye steak, sliced thinly (for cheaper options, flank steak or skirt steak will also do)
Garnish: chopped green onion and sesame seeds

Directions:

Put all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix well: 3 cloves minced garlic, 2 tsps grated ginger, 4 green onions sliced to 4cm pieces, 1/2 of a pear, grated (80g), 1/4 cup (66g) soy sauce, 1/4 cup (40g) brown sugar, 2 Tbsps (30g) toasted sesame oil, 1.5 Tbsps (30g) gochujang.
Add the thinly sliced steak into the marinade and massage well. Pour the contents into a resealable bag and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
Take out the marinated steak 20 minutes prior to cooking to let the meat come to room temperature.
When ready to cook, use a flat skillet or grill pan on MED-HIGH heat and add a drizzle of oil. Add the marinated steak and cook for roughly 2-3 minutes per side until slightly charred and cooked. Done! Serve with rice. Garnish with more green onion and sesame seeds.

April 18, 2025April 20, 2025

Abby1 Comment

French Dip with Caraway Focaccia Bread and Horseradish Chives Cream Cheese

Date Published: Feb 10th, 2025 | Last Updated: Feb 10th, 2025
Author: Abby | Category: mains
Serves: 6 | Prep time: 3 hours | Cook time: 3 hours

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If you haven’t guessed it already, my last three published recipes have been gearing up for this one! This recipe makes the most incredible juicy roast beef sandwich that is balanced with a subtle hint of horseradish masked in the chives cream cheese, and placed between soft fresh focaccia bread topped with caraway seeds. The homemade jus made from the roast beef drippings bring it all together in this amazing sandwich. *chef’s kiss*

I’m going to admit, this combination of flavours is not my original idea. This sandwich is a copycat to a French dip that we had at WINNER Bakery in Brooklyn on 7th Ave a few months ago. If you’ve never been, you should definitely hit them up. There’s usually a queue but their sandwiches and breads are well worth it! I tried this sandwich for the first time a few months ago when I was strolling home from the farmer’s market, and the combination of flavours were so good that I had to bring Toby back to try it. I wanted this sandwich all the time, but at $20 a pop for a small sandwich and the long queue, it wasn’t going to be an everyday sandwich. I thought about this sandwich frequently and knew I just had to give it a go and try to make it myself – and I did! In my humble opinion (and Toby’s), I think my version is even better than the original with a more flavourful jus. I use a focaccia instead of a bun and fresh roast beef. The best part is that I can pack on as much roast beef and cream cheese I want and have it again and again. This recipe make enough for at least 6 sandwiches (if you’re a cream cheese fiend, you may want to double the horseradish chives cream cheese portion).

Where it all began – the French Dip sandwich at WINNER Bakery, Brooklyn

Everything is made from scratch in this recipe. I mean everything, from the bread to the roast beef to even the prepared horseradish. It is a labour of love so you’ll need to dedicate your morning to this. The good thing is, there’s a lot of waiting (ie. for the beef to come to room temperature, for the dough to proof, for the beef to cook), so you can do multiple steps while you’re waiting to cut down on the overall time to make this sandwich. If you’re in a rush, you can cut corners by using store bought roast beef deli slices, pre-made jus, and any kind of sandwich bread. The only thing you can’t buy is the horseradish chive cream cheese, which is pretty easy to whip up anyway. I’d highly recommend not cutting any corners to get the full experience of this beauty.

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

Roast Beef:
- 2 lbs chuck roast/whole eye round/rump roast (I like to use chuck roast with some marbling)
- 2 + 2 Tbsps salt
- 10 cloves of garlic, peeled
- Fresh ground black pepper
- Olive oil
Caraway Seed Focaccia:
- 1 x basic dough ball
- Olive oil drizzle
- Salt
- 1/4 cup Caraway seeds
Au Jus:
- 1 cup beef stock
- 1 Tbsp Worccestershire sauce
- 2 Tbsps red wine (ie. pinot noir)
- +/- butter
- +/- beef bouillon cube
- Salt to taste
Horseradish & Chives Cream Cheese:
- 1 package (8oz/226g) of plain cream cheese, softened
- 3 Tbsps (7g) of fresh chives, chopped
- 1-2 Tbsps horseradish (or more to taste) – check out how to make your own horseradish from scratch here
- Salt to taste

Directions:

Roast Beef:

Take the beef out of the fridge 2 hours before. Rinse, pat dry and salt all sides. Wrap it back up in plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature.

You can make the caraway focaccia bread in this time.

After 2 hours, preheat the oven to 400˚F/200˚C (if it’s not already preheated from baking the focaccia). Unwrap the beef and pat dry with a paper towel. Use a pairing knife and create 5 slits into both sides of the roast and push a clove of garlic into each slit. Rub salt (yes, more salt), fresh ground black pepper, and olive oil on all sides of the beef. Cover again and leave at room temperature for another 20 minutes.

Prepare a baking tray with a metal rack over top and place the beef on the rack. Rub a small amount of olive oil on the outside one more time. If you have a layer on your beef, face the fat layer on top so the fat will drip onto the meat as it cooks. Insert an oven-safe thermometer into the middle of the beef if you’ve got one. Bake in the preheated oven at 400˚F/200˚C for 15 minutes to start the browning process, then turn the heat down to 325˚F/163˚C and continue to cook until the internal temperature reaches 120˚F/49˚C (roughly 1.5-2.5 hours, depending on the size of your beef).

You can make the horseradish chives cream cheese in this time.

Once done cooking, let the roast rest for 20-30 minutes at room temperature before slicing.

You can make the au jus in this time.

When rested, use a sharp knife or deli meat slicer and slice the roast into very thin slices.

Use a knife or deli slicer to slice the beef into thin pieces

Caraway Focaccia Bread:

Follow the recipe for Easy Focaccia Bread. When you get to the toppings part, use 1/4 cup caraway seeds and a sprinkle of salt with the olive oil. Bake according to instructions at 400˚F/200˚C for 20-25mins.

After baking, brush on another 2 Tbsps of olive oil over the top. Let it rest for a few minutes then transfer on a cooling rack and let it cool completely before slicing.

Horseradish & Chives Cream Cheese:

In a mixing bowl, add the softened cream cheese, chopped chives, and the horseradish 1 teaspoon at a time until desired taste (horseradish can be very strong and some brands are hotter than others, so add small amounts until you’re happy).

Au Jus:

Once the roast beef has finished cooking, collect the drippings from the roast tray into a small saucepan. You should have about 1/4 cup (if not, add enough butter to make it 1/4 cup).

Add 1 cup of beef stock, 1 Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce and 2 Tbsps of red wine to the saucepan and heat on MED heat until simmering. Taste and adjust salt as needed. To make it a more robust beefy flavour, add in 1 beef bouillon cube.

Assembly of the sandwich:

Slice the focaccia into desired sandwich size rectangles, then slice it horizontally.

Apply a layer of the horseradish & chives sour cream onto one slice of the bread, then sandwich a few slices of roast beef in between. Serve with the jus. Done! Serve immediately with a hot jus.

Summarized Recipe:

French Dip with Caraway Focaccia Bread and Horseradish Chives Cream Cheese

Date Published: Feb 10th, 2025 | Last Updated: Feb 10th, 2025
Author: Abby | Category: mains
Serves: 6 | Prep time: 3 hours | Cook time: 3 hours

Ingredients:

Roast Beef:
- 2 lbs chuck roast/whole eye round/rump roast (I like to use chuck roast with some marbling)
- 2 + 2 Tbsps salt
- 10 cloves of garlic, peeled
- Fresh ground black pepper
- Olive oil
Caraway Seed Focaccia:
- 1 x basic dough ball
- Olive oil drizzle
- Salt
- 1/4 cup Caraway seeds
Au Jus:
- 1 cup beef stock
- 1 Tbsp Worccestershire sauce
- 2 Tbsps red wine (ie. pinot noir)
- +/- butter
- +/- beef bouillon cube
- Salt to taste
Horseradish & Chives Cream Cheese:
- 1 package (8oz/226g) of plain cream cheese, softened
- 3 Tbsps (7g) of fresh chives, chopped
- 1-2 Tbsps horseradish (or more to taste)
- Salt to taste

Directions:

Roast Beef:

Take the beef out of the fridge 2 hours before and salt all sides. Wrap it back up in plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature.
- You can make the caraway focaccia bread in this time.
After 2 hours, preheat the oven to 400˚F/200˚C (if it’s not already preheated from baking the focaccia). Unwrap the beef and pat dry with a paper towel. Use a pairing knife and create 5 slits into both sides of the roast and push a clove of garlic into each slit. Rub salt (yes, more salt), fresh ground black pepper, and olive oil on all sides of the beef. Cover again and leave at room temperature for another 20 minutes.
Prepare a baking tray with a metal rack over top and place the beef on the rack. Rub a small amount of olive oil on the outside one more time. If you have a layer on your beef, face the fat layer on top so the fat will drip onto the meat as it cooks. Insert an oven-safe thermometer into the middle of the beef if you’ve got one. Bake in the preheated oven at 400˚F/200˚C for 15 minutes to start the browning process, then turn the heat down to 325˚F/163˚C and continue to cook until the internal temperature reaches 120˚F/49˚C (roughly 1.5-2.5 hours, depending on the size of your beef).
- You can make the horseradish chives cream cheese in this time.
Once done cooking, let the roast rest for 20-30 minutes at room temperature before slicing.
- You can make the au jus in this time.
When rested, use a sharp knife or deli meat slicer and slice the roast into very thin slices.

Caraway Focaccia Bread:

Follow the recipe for Easy Focaccia Bread. When you get to the toppings part, use 1/4 cup caraway seeds and a sprinkle of salt with the olive oil. Bake according to instructions at 400˚F/200˚C for 20-25mins.

Horseradish & Chives Cream Cheese:

In a mixing bowl, add the softened cream cheese, chopped chives, and the horseradish 1 teaspoon at a time until desired taste (horseradish can be very strong and some brands are hotter than others, so add small amounts until you’re happy).
- Making your own horseradish:
  - 1. Add 240g horseradish root (peeled and chopped) to a small blender or food processor and add enough water to blend the horseradish into a smooth purée (I added about 1/4 cup).
  - 2. Once blended, strain out any excess water, then add in 1 Tbsp of white vinegar and a pinch of salt to offset the spiciness. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month.

Au Jus:

Once the roast beef has finished cooking, collect the drippings from the roast tray into a small saucepan. You should have about 1/4 cup (if not, add enough butter to make it 1/4 cup).
Add 1 cup of beef stock, 1 Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce and 2 Tbsps of red wine to the saucepan and heat on MED heat until simmering. Taste and adjust salt as needed. To make it a more robust beefy flavour, add in 1 beef bouillon cube.

Assembly of the sandwich:

Slice the focaccia into desired sandwich size rectangles, then slice it horizontally.
Apply a layer of the horseradish & chives sour cream onto one slice of the bread, then sandwich a few slices of roast beef in between. Serve with the jus. Done! Serve immediately with a hot jus.

February 10, 2025December 24, 2024

AbbyLeave a comment

Classic Juicy Roast Beef

Date Published: Feb 5th, 2025 | Last Updated: Feb 5th, 2025
Author: Abby |Category: mains, easy
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 2.5 hours | Cook time: 2 hours

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This classic roast beef recipe is easy and guarantees juicy and tender results. All you need is beef, garlic, salt, and pepper as the ingredients and a little patience. Most of the work is in the prep, which is essentially rubbing salt and pepper and inserting cloves of garlic, then slow roasting it in the oven. The hardest part of this recipe is waiting for it to rest before diving in!

Which cut of beef to choose?

When it comes to choosing which cut of beef to use, there are many choices. The most common cuts are top round, bottom round (rump roast), eye of round, and top sirloin. These are leaner cuts and are best suited for slicing thinly for sandwiches, but it can be a little tough and chewy if you can’t slice it thin enough.

If you’re making a roast beef to serve on its own in thick slices, choose a cut with some fat marbling for better flavour and tenderness (such as chuck roast, prime rib, sirloin, or rib eye).

If you’re struggling to find a specific cut of meat, this roast beef recipe is pretty forgiving – essentially get anything that is a big chunk of meat that resembles a roast and it should be fine. If it’s on the leaner side, then it’s best to slice it thin for sandwiches.

What’s the secret to a juicy roast beef?

Browning the outside to seal in the juices – This is achieved either by searing the meat separately before putting it in the oven, or cranking up the heat briefly at the start of cooking, then turning it down low. You can do either with this recipe. I’ve done it the oven-method to save on cleaning.
Cook it low and slow – After the browning process, turning down the heat and slowly cooking the roast will ensure that the juices are slowly released as it cooks.
A meat thermometer is important – Overcooked beef becomes dry and tough. The best way to avoid this is to get an oven-safe thermometer, ideally with a temperature timer so you can set it and forget it.
Letting it rest appropriately before resting – As tempting as it is, slicing a piping hot roast that has just come out of the oven will make the juices drip out from the meat and evaporate from the heat, causing it to dry out quickly. To avoid this, you must let the roast rest for at least 20-30 minutes after taking it out of the oven to allow the juices to be maintained in the meat. I usually leave my meat thermometer in after taking it out of the oven and once the temperature stops climbing, that’s when I know it’s time to slice.

What to do with leftover roast beef?

A 3 pound roast is a hefty amount of meat and you’re bound to get leftovers, especially if you’re only cooking for 2 people. Here are a number of ideas to help you use up the leftovers:

Steak & Blue Cheese Salad
Beef stroganoff
Shepherd’s/Cottage Pie
Beef stew
Chillis
Quesadillas
Nachos
Philly Cheesesteaks

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

2-3 pounds/1-1.3kg chuck roast/whole eye round/rump roast (I like to use chuck roast with some marbling)
2 + 2 Tbsps salt
10 cloves of garlic, peeled
Fresh ground black pepper
Olive oil

Directions:

Take the beef out of the fridge 2 hours before. Rinse, pat dry and salt all sides. Wrap it back up in plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature.

After 2 hours, preheat the oven to 400˚F/200˚C. Unwrap the beef and pat dry with a paper towel. Use a pairing knife and create 5 slits into both sides of the roast and push a clove of garlic into each slit. Rub salt (yes, more salt), fresh ground black pepper, and olive oil on all sides of the beef. Cover again and leave at room temperature for another 20 minutes.

Once done cooking, let the roast rest for 20-30 minutes at room temperature before slicing.

If you’re using this for sandwiches, use a sharp knife or deli meat slicer and slice the roast into very thin slices.

Summarized Recipe:

Classic Juicy Roast Beef

Date Published: Feb 5th, 2025 | Last Updated: Feb 5th, 2025
Author: Abby |Category: mains, easy
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 2.5 hours | Cook time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

2 – 3 lbs chuck roast/whole eye round/rump roast (I like to use chuck roast with some marbling)
2 + 2 Tbsps salt
10 cloves of garlic, peeled
Fresh ground black pepper
Olive oil

Directions:

Take the beef out of the fridge 2 hours before and salt all sides. Wrap it back up in plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature.
After 2 hours, preheat the oven to 400˚F/200˚C. Unwrap the beef and pat dry with a paper towel. Use a pairing knife and create 5 slits into both sides of the roast and push a clove of garlic into each slit. Rub salt (yes, more salt), fresh ground black pepper, and olive oil on all sides of the beef. Cover again and leave at room temperature for another 20 minutes.
Prepare a baking tray with a metal rack over top and place the beef on the rack. Rub a small amount of olive oil on the outside one more time. If you have a layer on your beef, face the fat layer on top so the fat will drip onto the meat as it cooks. Insert an oven-safe thermometer into the middle of the beef if you’ve got one. Bake in the preheated oven at 400˚F/200˚C for 15 minutes to start the browning process, then turn the heat down to 325˚F/163˚C and continue to cook until the internal temperature reaches 120˚F/49˚C (roughly 1.5-2.5 hours, depending on the size of your beef).
Once done cooking, let the roast rest for 20-30 minutes at room temperature before slicing.
- If you’re using this for sandwiches, use a sharp knife or deli meat slicer and slice the roast into very thin slices.

February 5, 2025December 22, 2024

AbbyLeave a comment

Czech Tomato Gravy (over Sliced Beef) – Rajská Omáčka

Date Published: May 28th, 2024 | Last Updated: May 28th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: mains, Czech, easy
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 45 mins

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I’m told that “Rajská Omáčka” (pronounced: rays-ka oma-ch-ka) directly translates to “tomato sauce”. This is one of Toby’s childhood dishes that his grandmother used to make him. Every time he says it, all I hear is “racecar” 😅. To me, this sauce pretty much tastes like a tomato soup without the herbs, but it’s served over slices of beef or pork and some knedliky (Czech dumplings – potato or bread). There are other versions of this sauce that vary in tartness and sweetness (like my original attempts), but I’ve written this recipe to be as similar to babička’s as possible.

You have no idea how hard it is to get a picture of babička standing still and smiling 😅

To be honest, this is not my favourite dish, but its got nostalgic value for Toby so I set out to try and make it for him. After a couple of attempts from online and cookbook recipes, he said it “just wasn’t like babička’s” but he couldn’t tell me what was wrong with it 😒. So I put it on the back burner up until our recent trip to Czech a couple weeks ago and we asked babička to show us how she makes it. Her version was a little less tomato-y than the versions I made and although it’s still not my favourite dish, seeing Toby’s happy face slurping down his second helping of the tomato sauce was enough reason for me to add this recipe to the collection.

This recipe is easy and cooks up quickly. You can pair the sauce with whatever meat you wish including a vepro, but for a quick lunch or dinner with minimal effort, I’ve included the instructions to cook a rump roast in a pressure cooker in 30 minutes and it’ll be ready around the same time as the sauce.

Happy cooking!

Recipes that pair well together with this sauce:

Vepřová Pečeně – Czech-style Pork Roast

Czech Potato Dumplings – Bramborové Knedlíky

Czech Bread Dumplings – Houskové Knedlíky

Ingredients you’ll need:

Beef:
- 900g (2 lbs) rump roast/chuck steak
- 1/2 Tbsp salt
- Enough water to cover the beef
Sauce:
- 1 Tbsp pork lard
- 2 medium (~800g) onions, diced
- 1 large can (793g/28oz) diced tomatoes
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups (1L) beef broth
- 1 tsp salt
- 1.5 Tbsps granulated sugar
- 5 black peppercorns
- 3 allspice berries
- 2 bay leaves
- 2-4 Tbsps heavy cream (to taste)
To serve: with slices of knedliky/Czech dumplings (potato or bread)

Directions:

A. Cook the beef: in a pressure cooker/instant pot: *This step is optional. You can serve this tomato sauce with whatever type of meat you like, but if you’re looking for a quick cooked beef, the instant pot will be the fastest.

Add the beef, salt and enough water to cover the meat. Put the lid on and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 30 minutes, then quick release. Remove the beef from the liquid and let it rest for 10 mins before slicing.

Alternatively if you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can boil the beef in water over the stove until the beef is tender. This will take about 2 hours.

B. Make the sauce while the beef is cooking:

In a small pot on MED-HIGH heat, melt the pork lard and sauté the onions for 5-8 minutes until softened.
Add the salt, sugar, black peppercorns, allspice berries, and bay leaves. Stir for 2 mins until the sugar has fully dissolved.

Next, add in the flour and stir for 2 minutes until well incorporated and the flour cooks a little. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan so nothing sticks.

Pour in the beef broth and stir everything together. Bring the heat up to HIGH to let it come to a boil then back down to MED heat and let it boil for 8-10 minutes until the sauce thickens into a gravy-like consistency.

Once it has thickened, pour in the can of diced tomatoes including all of the liquid. Bring the sauce to a boil again, then simmer on MED heat for 20 minutes.

Note: Make sure to stir and scrape the bottom of the pot every few minutes so nothing sticks to the bottom.

After 20 minutes, turn off the heat and discard the bay leaves and all spice berries.

Next, use a stick blender (or transfer the sauce to a blender) and blend the sauce until you get a smooth texture. If you want an extra smooth sauce, strain it through a fine sieve.

Add 2 Tbsps of heavy cream then taste and adjust salt, sugar, or more heavy cream as needed. (Babička will sometimes add in some ketchup if she wants it more tart and tomato-y 🤫.)

Serve the sauce ladled over the cooked sliced beef and a few knedliky. Enjoy!

Summarized Recipe:

Czech Tomato Gravy (over Sliced Beef) – Rajská Omáčka

Date Published: May 28th, 2024 | Last Updated: May 28th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: mains, Czech, easy
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Beef:
- 900g (2 lbs) rump roast/chuck steak
- 1/2 Tbsp salt
- Enough water to cover the beef
Sauce:
- 1 Tbsp pork lard
- 2 medium (~800g) onions, diced
- 1 large can (793g/28oz) diced tomatoes
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups (1L) beef broth
- 1 tsp salt
- 1.5 Tbsps granulated sugar
- 5 black peppercorns
- 3 allspice berries
- 2 bay leaves
- 2-4 Tbsps heavy cream (to taste)
To serve: with slices of knedliky/Czech dumplings (potato or bread)

Directions:

A. Cook the beef: in a pressure cooker/instant pot: Add the beef, salt and enough water to cover the meat. Put the lid on and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 30 minutes, then quick release. Remove the beef from the liquid and let it rest for 10 mins before slicing.

Alternatively if you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can boil the beef in water over the stove until the beef is tender. This will take about 2 hours.
*This step is optional. You can serve this tomato sauce with whatever type of meat you like, but if you’re looking for a quick cooked beef, the instant pot will be the fastest.

B. Make the sauce while the beef is cooking:

In a small pot on MED-HIGH heat, melt the pork lard and sauté the onions for 5-8 minutes until softened.
Add the salt, sugar, black peppercorns, allspice berries, and bay leaves. Stir for 2 mins until the sugar has fully dissolved.
Next, add in the flour and stir for 2 minutes until well incorporated and the flour cooks a little. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan so nothing sticks.
Pour in the beef broth and stir everything together. Bring the heat up to HIGH to let it come to a boil then back down to MED heat and let it boil for 8-10 minutes until the sauce thickens into a gravy-like consistency.
Once it has thickened, pour in the can of diced tomatoes including all of the liquid. Bring the sauce to a boil again, then simmer on MED heat for 20 minutes.
- Note: Make sure to stir and scrape the bottom of the pot every few minutes so nothing sticks to the bottom.
After 20 minutes, turn off the heat and discard the bay leaves and all spice berries. Next, use a stick blender (or transfer the sauce to a blender) and blend the sauce until you get a smooth texture. If you want an extra smooth sauce, strain it through a fine sieve.
Add 2 Tbsps of heavy cream then taste and adjust salt, sugar, or more heavy cream as needed. (Babička will sometimes add in some ketchup if she wants it more tart and tomato-y 🤫.)
Serve the sauce ladled over the cooked sliced beef and a few knedliky. Enjoy!

May 28, 2024May 28, 2024

Abby1 Comment

Damn Good Short Rib Ragu (in an Instant Pot)

Date Published: Feb 27th, 2024 | Last Updated: Feb 27th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: mains
Serves: 4-6 | Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 1 hour 30 mins

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After making my first ever short ribs dish through this insanely good recipe, I’ve become hooked! Short ribs was never a cut of meat I’ve worked with before and it often requires extremely long cooking times to break down the connective tissue, but praise the Instant Pot! It cuts down cooking times from 3 hours to just 1 hour and it produced extremely soft fall-off-the-bone results. If you’re unfamiliar with short ribs, you can check out my other short rib recipe for a bit of background information, including the differences between the cuts of short ribs.

This recipe is originally from Giada. I’ve altered it for Instant Pot cooking methods to cut down on cooking times and still produce identical results.

Unlike the classic braised short rib with red wine sauce, this meat is shredded then served in a slightly more subtle tomato-base sauce with a touch of Dijon mustard and a cup of red wine (rather than half the bottle). The rich meaty sauce is tossed through your choice of any style of pasta and served with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. The deliciously flavourful sauce with the soft shredded meats is balanced out by the pasta, making this the perfect pasta dish to make to impress. You’ll be amazed by how much flavour you can get from so few ingredients!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

1.8kg (4 lbs) beef short ribs, English cut (Cross cut/Korean cut is fine too but it will take longer to sear and it’ll be annoying to remove all the little round bones at the end)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
5 Roma tomatoes, cut into eighths
1 cup red wine – any will do, even the cheap stuff! I use cabernet sauvignon
3 Tbsps Dijon mustard
2 cups beef broth
4-6 portions of pasta – any kind you like
Parmesan cheese for sprinkling when serving

Directions:

Sprinkle salt and pepper over the short ribs.

Turn your instant pot on to the SAUTÉ setting on HIGH heat. Add a drizzle of oil and sear the short ribs in batches, making sure you brown every side. Set aside the seared ribs.

Tip: Watch out for the oil splattering! A splatter guard will work wonders here and extra long tongs or extra long chopsticks will be even better to avoid getting hot oil on your hands when you turn the ribs to sear each side.

Turn the heat down to MED and add in the onion and garlic. Sauté for 2 minutes until fragrant, making sure you scrape up any browned bits from the beef on the bottom and sides of the pot (the precious brown bits give us extra flavour and the moisture from the onions will help soften it from the bottom of the pot).

Add in the tomatoes, red wine, Dijon mustard, and beef stock. Mix everything together and simmer for 3 minutes for the alcohol to cook out.

Add back in the seared ribs (from step 2) and submerge them in the liquid. Cancel the instant pot sauté setting and put on the lid. Set the instant pot to PRESSURE COOK and HIGH for 1:00 hour with 10 minutes of natural release.

When the timer has finished, turn off the instant pot and open it. You should have a very tender fall-off-the-bone short rib! Very carefully, remove all of the meat and bones into a separate bowl. Discard all the bones and use two forks to shred the meat. Cover the meat to keep warm and set aside.

Liquid left over after the meat and bones have been removed

Make the sauce: Once all the meat and bones have been removed, you should only have vegetables left in the liquid. Skim off any excess oil that may be floating on top. Use a stick blender to blend the liquid until smooth (you can also pour it into a blender if you don’t have a stick blender) then pour it into a saucepan or wide based pan. Turn the heat to MED and simmer for 15-20 mins to reduce the sauce until you get a thickened syrupy consistency. This will take a while because there will be a decent amount of liquid to cook down since the instant pot does not evaporate any liquid as it cooks. Once the sauce has thickened, add the shredded meat (from step 6) into the sauce and stir through until warmed. Turn off the heat.

Make the pasta: While the sauce is reducing, make the pasta according to instructions. Strain when finished and set aside.

To serve: Divide the pasta into serving bowls and spoon the sauce with meat over top. Add a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese overtop before serving. Done!

Summarized Recipe:

Damn Good Short Rib Ragu (in an Instant Pot)

Date Published: Feb 27th, 2024 | Last Updated: Feb 27th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: mains
Serves: 4-6 | Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 1 hour 30 mins

Ingredients:

1.8kg (4 lbs) beef short ribs, English cut (Cross cut/Korean cut is fine too but it will take longer to sear and it’ll be annoying to remove all the little round bones at the end)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
5 Roma tomatoes, cut into eighths
1 cup red wine – any will do, even the cheap stuff! I use cabernet sauvignon
3 Tbsps Dijon mustard
2 cups beef broth
4-6 portions of pasta – any kind you like
Parmesan cheese for sprinkling when serving

Directions:

Sprinkle salt and pepper over the short ribs.
Turn your instant pot on to the SAUTÉ setting on HIGH heat. Add a drizzle of oil and sear the short ribs in batches, making sure you brown every side. Set aside the seared ribs.
- Tip: Watch out for the oil splattering! A splatter guard will work wonders here and extra long tongs or extra long chopsticks will be even better to avoid getting hot oil on your hands when you turn the ribs to sear each side.
Turn the heat down to MED and add in the onion and garlic. Sauté for 2 minutes until fragrant, making sure you scrape up any browned bits from the beef on the bottom and sides of the pot (the precious brown bits give us extra flavour and the moisture from the onions will help soften it from the bottom of the pot).
Add in the tomatoes, red wine, Dijon mustard, and beef stock. Mix everything together and simmer for 3 minutes for the alcohol to cook out.
Add back in the seared ribs (from step 2) and submerge them in the liquid. Cancel the instant pot sauté setting and put on the lid. Set the instant pot to PRESSURE COOK and HIGH for 1:00 hour with 10 minutes of natural release.
When the timer has finished, turn off the instant pot and open it. You should have a very tender fall-off-the-bone short rib! Very carefully, remove all of the meat and bones into a separate bowl. Discard all the bones and use two forks to shred the meat. Cover the meat to keep warm and set aside.
Make the sauce: Once all the meat and bones have been removed, you should only have vegetables left in the liquid. Skim off any excess oil that may be floating on top. Use a stick blender to blend the liquid until smooth (you can also pour it into a blender if you don’t have a stick blender) then pour it into a saucepan or wide based pan. Turn the heat to MED and simmer for 15-20 mins to reduce the sauce until you get a thickened syrupy consistency. This will take a while because there will be a decent amount of liquid to cook down since the instant pot does not evaporate any liquid as it cooks. Once the sauce has thickened, add the shredded meat (from step 6) into the sauce and stir through until warmed. Turn off the heat.
Make the pasta: While the sauce is reducing, make the pasta according to instructions. Strain when finished and set aside.
To serve: Divide the pasta into serving bowls and spoon the sauce with meat over top. Add a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese overtop before serving. Done!

February 27, 2024

AbbyLeave a comment

Luxurious Beef Short Ribs with Red Wine Sauce (in an Instant Pot)

Date Published: Feb 26th, 2024 | Last Updated: Feb 26th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: mains
Serves: 4-5 | Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 2 hours

Jump to recipe |

Bookmark this, it’s time to impress everyone. These beef short ribs are fall-off-the-bone, melt-in-your mouth soft and it’s paired with a luxurious rich syrupy red wine sauce that is to die for. Try it yourself, you won’t regret it!

I came across this recipe through a Reddit cooking thread that asked people what their go-to dish was when they want to impress dinner guests and this one from RecipeTinEats was one of the top responses. I couldn’t wait to make it but due to our busy work schedule and sourcing the ingredients (mainly the short rib), it wasn’t until a week later that I finally got to try out the recipe. This dish was definitely worth it wait – it came out DELICIOUS! I actually had a lot of leftovers due to the giant Costco size package of short ribs I got so I shared it with our coworkers and they all unanimously agreed that it was damn good. This is a dish worth showing off – seriously.

What are beef short ribs?

Image source: https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/the-serratus-ventralis-muscle/

I had never cooked with beef short rib before and didn’t even really know what it was. Is it different than a regular beef rib? Why is it ‘short’? Did they just trim down a regular rib? Why is it more expensive? What’s so special about it?

Being a veterinarian, I had to look up anatomical images of a cow just to figure out where the short ribs even came from to have it all make sense in my head. According to Wikipedia, the serratus ventralis muscle defines the area from where the short ribs come from. This muscle is thickest between the 2nd to 5th rib and is the preferred area to cut because the muscle here is much thicker. Outside of this area the serratus ventralis becomes too thin to create a true ‘short rib’. So a beef short rib is from specific area of the ribs that is meatier – which probably explains why its more expensive (if there are any butchers reading this, please correct me if I’m wrong!). I highlighted an anatomical diagram and included it in this post in case anyone else was as interested as me – ignore the fact that it’s an equine model 🤫.

English Cut vs. Cross-cut/Korean Cut?

There are two main ways a short rib is cut:

English cut – where the meat is cut along the bone and you end up with long pieces of rib bone and chunks of meat.
Cross cut or Korean-style cut where the ribs are cut across the bone and you end up with small circular bones and thin cuts of meat. This is popular in Korean short rib dishes – in fact, I couldn’t even find any non-Korean style dishes that used short ribs in this style of cut.

(Here is a helpful video from a butcher to help you visualize it better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA4FwE7QbrE)

In this recipe, we want the English cut so we can get big chunks of meat when serving. Living in South Brooklyn, we have a severe deficiency of a good butcher around our area and we had to go to THREE bodega grocery stores just to find English cut short ribs. Side story: the first time I made this recipe I found a huge pack of short ribs at Costco for a decent price and was so excited to make it. Nowhere on the package did it list what style it was cut and the way that it was packaged made it impossible to tell, so I just assumed it was the English cut since there is also a severe deficiency in Asian-style grocers in the area – what are the chances that this “Kansas City Steak Company” meat would be a Korean cut? 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ I woke up at 7am that morning to start prepping and cooking so everything would be cooked and ready by lunch time (the original recipe has a 3 hour cook time with a dutch oven – more on that below). I opened the big hefty bag of meat that I had been staring at for the past 3 days and I was so disheartened to find that it was the wrong cut of short ribs 😭. I triple checked the packaging in the garbage to see if I was the one that made the mistake, but indeed there was no label at all to identify the cut of meat, other than “sliced”. I had a mini temper tantrum not knowing whether I should abort mission after literally dreaming about short ribs for so many days or to continue on and hope for the best. All this at 7am while Toby happily slept in – he doesn’t know how close I was to waking him up to rage. Not wanting to waste $40 of meat and also definitely not wanting to venture out this early in the morning in the middle of winter to find more short ribs, I continued on. The flavours turned out just fine, but the steps involved were a lot lengthier and it was definitely super annoying to pick out every single cross-cut bone. I have included a photo of the offending meat package so no one else makes the same mistake that I did at Costco. /rant

What if I can’t find English cut and only Cross cut/Korean-style cut?

If you cannot find English cut short ribs and you can only find the Korean-style cut, you can still proceed with this recipe as written and the flavours will still be the same, but there will be some adjustments:

If your rib slices are long, you may have to use scissors to cut them in half before you sear them so it fits in the pot better.
It will take much longer to sear all the meat because you’ll be dealing with more pieces rather than bigger chunks of meat, so plan accordingly.
When you have an English cut, you have the option of serving the dish with or without the bone based on preference of presentation. If you use a Korean cut, you must remove all of the bone prior to serving or else there will be small round bones throughout your dish which is unpleasant. Removing every piece of bone is time-consuming and a bit annoying, so be prepared for this.
After you remove all the bone, the beef will look a bit ugly and stringy from the extra connective tissue around each bone so I’d recommend you break it all up and shred the meat before serving. Although the flavour of the dish will be the same, you won’t get big chunks of meat but rather shredded meat – it’s still delicious nonetheless, but the texture is a little different.

Instant Pot (pressure cooker) vs Dutch Oven – not much difference other than time!

The original recipe (and most short rib recipes on the internet) calls for a dutch oven that slowly cooks the short ribs in the oven for 3 HOURS. I did this. I even bought a dutch oven just for this recipe – well, I was eventually going to get one anyway, but this recipe pulled the trigger for me to get it now 😛. When I first made this recipe, I had a large amount of short rib from Costco (albeit in the wrong cut – see rant above) so I decided to double the recipe. However, when it came time to cook it all, I realized that not all of it fit into my 5 1/4qt dutch oven and there was no way I was going to make it in two batches and commit another 3 hours to making this (totalling 6 hours of cooking time), so I decided to put half of it in my Instant Pot and cook it at the same time.

The original recipe from RecipeTinEats raves about the dutch oven method as her preferred way of making this due to the flavour from the extra caramelization of the sauce and beef. Since I was doing half dutch oven and half Instant Pot, I figured that even if the Instant Pot version wasn’t as good at least I wouldn’t be cooking until late into the evening and I’d still have the oven ribs to enjoy. The Instant Pot version only took 1 hour cook time and was the first to finish. Because it was pressure cooked with the lid on, all the liquid had remained and I ended up having to reduce the sauce down a LOT to get the right consistency – it took about 15-20 minutes, whereas it should usually take 5-10mins. The resulting sauce and meat was REALLY GOOD (and even with the wrong cut of meat!). I couldn’t believe how rich the flavours were and how tender the meat was! It was incredible. The timer went off again and this time the dutch oven method was ready – I was excited. There was a lot less liquid so the sauce came together much faster but the texture and colour of the meat was the same (see the comparison photos below).

I did a blind taste test with Toby of the Instant Pot meat and sauce vs the dutch oven meat and sauce. He couldn’t tell the difference (and neither could I) – he actually thought maybe the Instant Pot version was a little better by a hair, which made me really happy because although I love my beautiful new dutch oven, I would much prefer waiting 1 hour for something to cook rather than 3 hours for the same results. Although you have a longer sauce reduction time with the Instant Pot, the overall time commitment is still less. Instant Pot wins!

*Note: when I did this cooking trial, I did it with the wrong cut of meat – Korean style cut rather than the English cut. In this trial, the flavours of the meat turned out exactly the same and the sauces were also similar as well which is why my Instant Pot is my go-to for this dish. I haven’t tried the dutch oven method with the English cut so I can’t speak for any differences in meat that it may have. To me, the sauce is the focus and the small differences in textures of the meat is secondary, so if you’ve done it both ways with the English cut, I’d love to know if you find a big difference!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

1.5 – 2kg beef short ribs, English cut (~ roughly 4-5 large pieces, try to get ones with more meat on them)
Kosher salt & pepper
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 medium carrots, diced
4 sticks of celery, diced
2 Tbsps tomato paste
2 cups (500ml) beef stock
2 cups (500ml) red wine – any will do, even the cheap stuff! I use cabernet sauvignon.
2 sprigs of fresh thyme (or 1/4 tsp of dried thyme)
2 bay leaves
Your choice of side to serve with the short ribs: ie. mashed potatoes, sautéed green beans, salad…etc.

Directions:

Sprinkle salt and pepper over the short ribs.

Turn your instant pot on to the SAUTÉ setting on HIGH heat. Add a drizzle of oil and sear the short ribs in batches, making sure you brown every side. Set aside the seared ribs.

Make sure you scrape up all the brown bits on the bottom!

Add in the carrots and celery. Continue to cook until the carrots have softened (7-9 minutes).

Add in the tomato paste and stir through, then the beef stock, red wine, thyme, and bay leaves. Mix everything together and simmer for 3 minutes for the alcohol to cook out.

While the instant pot is cooking, you can prepare any sides to go with the short ribs. I’d recommend a carb like mashed potatoes to pair with the rich short ribs sauce and an easy veg like green beans or a salad.

When the timer has finished, turn off the instant pot and open it. You should have a very tender fall-off-the-bone short rib! Very carefully, remove all of the ribs into a separate bowl, trying to keep the meat and bones intact for serving. Cover the ribs to keep warm and set aside.

You want a slightly thickened syrupy consistency

Make the sauce: Place a strainer over a bowl and strain out the vegetables from the liquid. Use a spoon or ladle to squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the vegetables. Discard the vegetables. Pour the strained liquid into a saucepan or wide based pan and simmer on MED heat for 15-20 mins until you get a thickened syrupy-consistency. This will take a while because there will be a decent amount of liquid to cook down since the instant pot does not evaporate any liquid as it cooks. Drizzle the sauce over the short rib to serve.

To serve: Place 1-2 pieces of short rib (depending on how large your pieces are) on a plate with or without the bone and add a drizzle of the sauce overtop. Serve with your desired side dishes. Enjoy!

Summarized Recipe:

Luxurious Beef Short Ribs with Red Wine Sauce (in an Instant Pot)

Date Published: Feb 26th, 2024 | Last Updated: Feb 26th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: mains
Serves: 4-5 | Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

1.5 – 2kg beef short ribs, English cut (~ roughly 4-5 large pieces, try to get ones with more meat on them)
Kosher salt & pepper
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 medium carrots, diced
4 sticks of celery, diced
2 Tbsps tomato paste
2 cups (500ml) beef stock
2 cups (500ml) red wine – any will do, even the cheap stuff! I use cabernet sauvignon
2 sprigs of fresh thyme (or 1/4 tsp of dried thyme)
2 bay leaves
Your choice of side to serve with the short ribs: ie. mashed potatoes, sautéed green beans, salad…etc.

Directions:

Sprinkle salt and pepper over the short ribs.
Turn your instant pot on to the SAUTÉ setting on HIGH heat. Add a drizzle of oil and sear the short ribs in batches, making sure you brown every side. Set aside the seared ribs.
- Tip: Watch out for the oil splattering! A splatter guard will work wonders here and extra long tongs or extra long chopsticks will be even better to avoid getting hot oil on your hands when you turn the ribs to sear each side.
Turn the heat down to MED and add in the onion and garlic. Sauté for 2 minutes until fragrant, making sure you scrape up any browned bits from the beef on the bottom and sides of the pot (the precious brown bits give us extra flavour and the moisture from the onions will help soften it from the bottom of the pot).
Add in the carrots and celery. Continue to cook until the carrots have softened (7-9 minutes).
Add in the tomato paste and stir through, then the beef stock, red wine, thyme, and bay leaves. Mix everything together and simmer for 3 minutes for the alcohol to cook out.
Add back in the seared ribs (from step 2) and submerge them in the liquid. Cancel the instant pot sauté setting and put on the lid. Set the instant pot to PRESSURE COOK and HIGH for 1:00 hour with 10 minutes of natural release.
While the instant pot is cooking, you can prepare any sides to go with the short ribs. I’d recommend a carb like mashed potatoes to pair with the rich short ribs sauce and an easy veg like green beans.
When the timer has finished, turn off the instant pot and open it. You should have a very tender fall-off-the-bone short rib! Very carefully, remove all of the ribs into a separate bowl, trying to keep the meat and bones intact for serving. Cover the ribs to keep warm and set aside.
Make the sauce: Place a strainer over a bowl and strain out the vegetables from the liquid. Use a spoon or ladle to squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the vegetables. Discard the vegetables. Pour the strained liquid into a saucepan or wide based pan and simmer on MED heat for 15-20 mins until you get a thickened syrupy-consistency. This will take a while because there will be a decent amount of liquid to cook down since the instant pot does not evaporate any liquid as it cooks. Drizzle the sauce over the short rib to serve.
To serve: Place 1-2 pieces of short rib (depending on how large your pieces are) on a plate with or without the bone and add a drizzle of the sauce overtop. Serve with your desired side dishes. Enjoy!

February 26, 2024February 28, 2024

Abby1 Comment