Big Fat Daddy's Famous Pit Beef

Famous pit beef, how good is this? +Big Fat Daddy's  ©BigFatDaddy's

Big Fat Daddy's famous pit beef goes through a five step process before it hits your tummy.  Wayne is careful in his meat selection. Although many articles are written that we use top round, indeed we do not.  Our special selection of meat is cut into small quadrants (always the same way for years) and marinated several days in our famous dry rub seasoning.

Our seasoning is all natural and made in small batch quantities, fresh spices which contains no anti-caking agents.  Dry rubbing keeps the flavor in.   The pieces are then refrigerated for safe keeping.

They are braised and cook over high heat, general a fire box or barrel smoker, using wood. More keys are that wood is used to add the smokey taste, never a smokey additive or seasoning.  Wayne currently uses oak and apple, peach and some others.

Pit beef seared and bursting with flavor only at ©BigFatDaddy's

The flavorful hunks are turned constantly over high heat, searing the outside making a nice "bark" yet sealing in the flavor. The insides are medium rare to rare.

The next step is the resting process where the meat is resting in order to retain the medium rare on the inside and well done on the outside.  This we have implemented highest quality standards to ensure all HACCP procedures are being met, before we slice it paper thin.

                                Big Fat Daddys famous pit beef ©BigFatDaddy's

At the festival  you will see it going on the grill medium rare, but doesn't take long to hit well done.  It doesn't matter, the meat is so flavorful you will enjoy it on our subs including having it cheesesteak style with yummy peppers and onions.

Big Fat Daddy's has been doing pit beef for over 35 years, and is considered an expert in dry rub seasoning.

Call us to book your company party or catering event today!
410-908-9241
Cindy

Pit Beef Baltimore's Barbeque BBQ Barbecue

Aside from putting my watermark, this photo remains untouched.

Big Fat Daddy's Famous Pit Beef

Back before the days of Dine in Diners and Dives, Steven Raichlen (Primal Grill, The Barbecue Bible) came to my pit beef stand, which was a tiny restaurant housed on Route 40 in Rosedale for a sandwich.  The printed publicity in newspapers and magazines that followed pretty much changed everything.   Back in those days pit beef stands were everywhere.

I use the whole flank of bottom round.

A pit beef stand is basically an oversized barn type building that grills the grub inside and serves you at the window.  My late brother Brian & I We took it a step further to ensure customers were cozy in the winter. They used to sit in our oversized heated tent and get our free salad bar in cold Baltimore winters.   Our meal deal back then cost $5.25, you got a nice sandwich, fries, a drink and all you can eat salad bar. Believe it or not that was high priced compared to other places, and we did a lot of business.  I still use bottom round for the most part, as it

The important part is the dry rub.

Pit Beef

My pit beef is grilled and seared over hardwoods at high temperatures yet the key is the dry rub marination process.  I have a dry rub guide here.    You must have a professional meat slicer to slice it paper thin, pile it high on a kaiser bun. Top with bbq, horseradish or a mix of horseradish and mayo, and thinly sliced white onions.  Oh yeah, this is Baltimore's version of Barbecue.

Big Fat Daddy's rare Pit Beef Sliced Paper Thin

Side Dishes

Fries go great with pit beef, for a healthy alternative you can find out how to make delicious sweet potato fries.    

How to Make Pit Beef:

Perfect Porterhouse Steak Marinade Recipe T-Bone

The more basic you are in the cooking process, the better a True Porterhouse steak tastes, in my opinion.

Selecting Your Porterhouse

I went to the local butcher to select the perfect Porterhouse. By nature, Porterhouse Steak has noticeable marbling or fat pockets separating the meat which makes it juicy and melt in your mouth.  It has a T-Bone but technically is not the same as the T-Bone cut of steak. The main difference to the eye from a T-Bone a Porterhouse should be the thickness.

If you get a Porterhouse that's only a half inch thick at the thickest point you just got jolted when in fact according to the USDA, the Porterhouse classification should be at least an inch and a half thick at least on one point.

I'm not saying that a T-bone isn't just as good, it's just a thinner cut from the front area of the short loin when in fact the Porterhouse is cut from the rear end of the short loin.  Of course, the latter is more expensive so you want to select your meat carefully.

The Porterhouse should be at least 1.25" thick on one point or else you didn't get a true Porterhouse but maybe just a TBone.

Simple Porterhouse Marinade (Classic):

I marinate my Porterhouse overnight before grilling in a large glass bowl.  Here is my basic recipe for marinating two plate-sized Porterhouses: 

1. Cover all sides with Cracked Peppercorn
2. Cover all sides lightly with Sea Salt
3.  Sprinkle your favorite rub. Mine is BigFatDaddys of course. (Create your own dry rub here) If your rub is super salty, use even less Sea Salt.
4. Add one clove of fresh garlic sprinkle lightly.
5. 1/4 cup Worcestershire and brush on.

That's really simple, and they are deliciously prepped for grilling the next day.

For Extra Savory Flavor: I should tell you my wife has the "Magic Bullet" juicer and I have actually thrown  all the items above, the whole skinned Garlic Clove whole plus the Worcestershire sauce in the juicer to make a smooth mix that you can brush on.  This extracts all the flavor out of the garlic.

For a Southwestern Twist: Switch #3 with Jake's Southwestern Rub (delicious)  Buy it there or check out their website Jakes Seasoning.com

A Porterhouse is a whole meal, but finish it off with healthy recipes.

Grilling the Next Day & Healthy Meal Idea: 

Grill your steak on an open flame turning often. I use wood or wood charcoal and not regular charcoal.  For a great healthy meal, here's what I ate:

Porterhouse Steak
Grilled Onions and Mushrooms
Steamed Broccoli
Jack Tarr Potatoes

I hope you use my recipe!  I wanted to thank my friends over at Churrasco Shop who sponsored this post so I could share this recipe with you.   For the best Brazilian bbq accessories check out ChurrascoShop.  My favorite item over there is the Skewers Basic Kit.   Any grillmaster would love that!

Tweet me pictures of your #perfectporterhouse to @BigFatDaddys

Big Fat Daddy's At the Fair

Funny thing  depending on where you go, some places have no idea what Pit Beef is, so here I still do Pit Beef, but I have to call it Roast Beef, and make a special au' jus for it.  Of course my Texas Style has my special barbecue sauce on it.  I didn't mind selling late into the night because the weather finally cooled down.

So good you could just slice yourself a big fat sandwich right now! I love the way the tents looked at night with this little festival!  Every year, I feed the same folks, and I appreciate them dining with me for all these years!

I only have seven more weeks on the road thank goodness. Then winter comes and I can take a small break and get myself back in shape for next year.  

If you need Big Fat Daddy's for a fair or festival, contact me 717-793-2124 or 410-908-9241!

Bottom Round Pot Roast Recipe Beef Flats

Bottoms Up!

It's no secret I use bottom round beef flats for my famous pit beef, everyone actually thought for years due to misreporting that I was using top round. Truth is, top round has a large layer of fat on it, and I find myself prepping more and losing 25% of it's weight.  I don't personally find it any more tasty than bottom round beef flats, if cooked right. Also when using an open pit, all that fat can really cause grease fires. My neighbors on either side of me at the fair won't appreciate me using top round at all.  My yield on a bottom round slab is about 90% with only a thin layer of fat and silver on the bottom, and some fat running through one end.  I get a lot of emails about using it at home.

Cut and Portion

A regular size slab of beef flat will weigh anywhere from 13-15 lbs on average. In manufactuer case packs they will come three to four slabs depending on the distributor.  One slab is enough to cut into four and have four nice sized roasts for your family meal time.  If I was cooking these at home, I cut them raw, and freeze them, sometimes marinating them in Italian Dressing then freezing them in zip lock bags.

Cut #4

If you are looking at a butcher's chart this can be confusing, as technically beef bottom round is cut from the outside of the roast. Keep in mind this whole flat in one big swoop of bottom, so what you see above is cut #4 which sure looks like brisket ....hmmmm  Truth is when you get the whole flat you are actually getting several different cuts of meat that normally you would buy separately. If you do your cuts right, you can end up with lots of good meals.  Overall,  I like the marbling and you don't lose a lot of meat.  The fatty membrane on top and bottom will mostly grill off if you are using it on a grill or open fire pit, but for the family member that hates having a little fat on his meat you may want to trim some of this off. I don't but you may wish to.  I leave mine on for baking will add more flavor to your au' jus.

Home Preparation and Bottom Round Roast Recipe

You can use bottom round beef flats for :

• Baking roasts
• CrockPot roasts, 
• Boiling down into beef barbecue
• Broiling

Quick and Easy Pot Roast

In this recipe I am going to show you the simple pot roast.   

WARNING:  The key to remember is cook low and slow,  because the meat is tough and needs to cook long ...

You will need: 

• Italian Dressing or any marinade that contains oil for moisture
• Any favorite spices you desire  - I'm using Dill
• Any fresh veggies you desire, for this I used sweet & hot peppers, celery and carrots.
• Glass or ceramic baking dish
• One cup water

For this recipe, I used another cut from the photograph above which ended up being almost 4 lbs, so then I cut it in half to score me approximately 2 lb mini roasts, set of two. Small enough to cook fast and have them in time for dinner.  Notice the fat that goes up into the beef flat, that is "V" shaped. If you choose to cut this out it's easy to do. I leave it on for more flavor.  I am using one to shave thin for sandwiches, and one to cut thick for dinner.

Cut of bottom round, with fat in tact. 

For this I used lite Italian dressing and decided not to use any additional spices other than Dill. I find the regular Italian Dressing is way too powerful and will take away from the flavor of the meat. You can also dry rub it if you want, but I don't. I'm going to stuff veggies down in between and make the meat get flavored naturally.

 Notice how the veggies are placed all down in between and around the meat. Since I'm cooking low and slow, these veggies will cook low and slow and their natural flavor will get into the meat. For this I did not use onion, and I'm sure you are wondering whyy. This is only because the Lite Italian dressing has onion flavoring in it and I don't want to overdo the onion flavoring on a pot roast.  The sweet and hot peppers are going to add some  kick to the roast, and the dill will sweeten it up.  I finish by adding 1 cup of water in the bottom.

Cooking Times: 

The longer you cook it the better. I started at 400 degrees for 45 minutes to brown the outsides, then I cut the temp back to 325 and cooked it slow for a few hours.  I actually removed one half at about 3 hours in, so that I could slice it for sandwiches. I left the rest in another hour and 15, making a total cook time of 4.25 hours on that one small 2 lb roast becasue I was slicing that for dinner thick and I like mine tender.

You of course can remove from oven once your meat reaches 165 degrees internal or let it ride for a fall apart in your mouth dinner!

TIP: Be sure when removing the pieces to let them rest a bit before cutting. This will ensure it maintains is juices. 

Dinner is served!

Yield on one 4lb roast cut:  

Pot Roast Half:  Four servings of pot roast dinner, everyone had three thick slices with veggies.

Sandwich Half;  Sandwiches served on potato rolls, and beef sliced thin topped with sliced onion, cheese, horsey sauce and bbq made  six luncheon sized sandwiches.

If you are a big guy like me, you will eat this up in two days. Yum!

See all my free recipes here!



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BBQ Competition Hogging Up Festival Photos

Hog-It-Up's mascot on top their Stump's Smoker made for interesting photography.

The wife and I are finally recuperating from the Hogging Up BBQ Festival.  For a first year event I was pleased that I could do some good for the community and the charity organizations we were working with and for; and was able to bring some new folks into the town of Winchester for the weekend. This included 26 professional BBQ teams and over 40 judges , KCBS reps, and volunteers from all over the map.  Not to mention a lot of folks from out of town came to visit.

Seeing the happiness on Pop Pop's Chicken and Pig's little girls' face made our day!

OVERALL:  With the community's help we were able to raise:

$2024 and counting for CancerCare.org.
$600 to the local Assembly of God Church
$400 for the  local Clear Brook Volunteer Fire Department
and give the beer/wine profits 100% to the Local Winchester Exchange Group.

It was a lot of work but we are please with the results.


KCBS COMPETITION:  We felt the KCBS competition went smoothly and we did the best we can to put on a first rate competition and please our competitors with a great styling breakfast, lunch, and awards ceremony.  We want to thank those competitors who gave back $420 in prizes which went to help CancerCare.org.  The wife had fun making the recycled bbq trophies with the recycle group kids back home.

Some kiddie activities were good for parents, too!

THE FESTIVAL:  The festival itself was small for a first year festival, having limited kids activities which included mini gas powered cars, free Cornhole, and the Monster Truck rides.  You could also see an antique Fire truck and Blue Angels plane (won't be seeing these for awhile.) We were very happy Col. Blevins dropped off the plane, which was actually flown up til the 60's.

Me and Col. Steve Blevins, retired from the military discussing the sequester.

You could walk around Fri and Sat and see the different BBQ Teams cooking it up, and shop with crafters, artists, book authors, and bbq sauce gurus. The admission charge got you in to hear some top notch bands, but the public was under the impression they would be eating or tasting samples of BBQ.   Even the Winchester Star stated you could NOT taste the BBQ from the teams, so we are not sure where the confusion was on that.  Each festival is different. Some barbecue festivals have a people's choice but ours did not.  That all depends on where you go and the competition itself. In Frederick County, the health department would have inspected and made each team giving samples to pay $40 health permit. Many teams were not interested in doing this when in fact they had to be on a strict competition schedule.

You could eat a nice country style dinner with Big Fat Daddy's from BBQ Chicken and Rib Platters to regular fair food.

 
FOOD:  Big Fat Daddy's food was offered primarily to recoup the expenses it took to put on a festival without major monetary sponsors.  There were several other food vendors present offering ice cream and kettle corn.   It wouldn't have made sense to bring in a ton of food on a first year festival because then, no one makes any money.  We were able to donate over $1400 from our Food Stands towards CancerCare !

Thanks to my family and friends for busting their butts all week to help with our festival!

FRI NIGHT JUDGING:  Some VIPs were invited to judge on Friday night's Dessert and Anything Butt contest.  This included Deputy County Administrator Jay Tibbs and County Commissioner Ellen Murphy. 

Hog-it-Up BBQ won the dessert contest!! They are from Bluemont! Michelle & Mike Lackey

COMMUNITY SUPPORT:    It was hard getting support --for six months people ignored out press releases and one newspaper even trashed it.  We were tied up in county meetings for 9 months about a vendor permit that would have required our vendors to pay the county a $500 Itinerant Merchant fee for a liscense to sell items at our festival. We fought to get it changed, and well, it was changed to $30 but only 8 weeks before our festival.   We received a lot of product donations which was great, but having to fund the whole festival ourselves hurt. Some of that money was recouped with the food and vendor fees, but not all.  


Here we are on the News.

Ken Cuccinelli stopped by on Saturday.

 
GOOD TURNOUT  For a first year festival we had a nice crowd on Friday but then a storm came and some of our vendor tents were wiped out. Ken Cuccinelli  (the Virginia Attorney General)  made it a stop on his tour and TV3 news showed up Saturday.  A magazine came and a few newspapers to interview us again.  We received positive kudos from local papers and media, but the hours were hard on our vendors. Another storm came in Saturday night and rains.  Sunday our vendors were tired and the crowd was light.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE  We know a first year festival is a learning experience. Some of the Festival goers were upset about paying $5 to get in on Friday or $8 Saturday.  Now keep in mind we were able to donate $1000 back to the Volunteer Fire Dept and Assembly of God Church!  I don't know where you can  go to hear great music like this for $5 or $8, and we had a full schedule of bands and great music on the website.
 

Here's me with Gary Smallwood, who rocked 'em on Sunday.

Many said they wanted to eat bbq samples from the teams (again, this is an issue with the health department we'd have to settle, and even if we did, we don't have the manpower to have someone run a sample tent.)   The beer had limited hours and that's because the Exchange Group could not commit to the hours of our festival.  No local wines were offered and again, that decision was based on the Winchester Exchange Group. So many of the gripes were out of our control.

Good bands were featured all weekend long. This is Stoney Creek Bluegrass.

HIGHLIGHTS:  Among certain highlights was a rare "BBQ TOUR" where 3EYZ BBQ and HOG-IT-UP BBQ Professional BBQ teams, gave out tips to the public and answered questions about how to prepare, trim and season your ribs. This is very cool that these teams actually wanted to do this and interact with the public.  You may know 3EYZ BBQ from the Season Two Pitmasters TV Show.

Hey, Marylanders won, what can I say? 3EYZBBQ, way to go guys.

WHO WON?  3EYZ BBQ was also our Grand Champion!  They are from my home town of Maryland, so I was glad to see them win. Even though I figured it would be anyone's guess who won since we had judges from all over the map and not just local judges.  Many contests pick the closest and most local judges to avoid no show issues but my wife was adamant about mixing it up and picking those who would come and visit Winchester, which was the point of bringing some out of town revenue.

Full list of results is here: Results

Delicious Food!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:  Will we do this next year?  That remains to be seen. We've been asked to do it in other locations or other states, but it was a lot of work (nine months of dedication to one festival) and of course, costs a lot of money to put on an event.  We did what we set out to do and we'd like to leave it at that.  We  would like to thank our family and friends for putting in the excruciating hours and supporting us. It was very sentimental to us to have a big festival and raise money for something that meant so much to us personally, since losing my wife's mom to Cancer.  There's not a lot of BBQ places around Winchester. Maybe you need to use Betamenu to trade buy or sell barbecue in the meantime. One of our competitors, Jordan Springs, has the Jordan Springs Market near the fairgrounds and sells bbq on weekends!

Just like this little pig on my BBQ pit, I needed a vacation.

VACATION:  After this festival we needed a vacation to relax and reflect on things.  Here's a vacation idea:  how about having a great vacation package which includes dining out, sleeping in and afternoon tea?  Best vacation packages and ideas on Les Routiers , covering all UK and Ireland. Nothing like getting out and seeing the world and exploring great places to eat!

Here's my hideout. Danforth, Maine

NY Strip Steak w J. Dickey's Bourbon Sauce

Jay Dickey sent me a box of his sauces. These are the ones you see in Whole Foods Markets or some local stores in my hometown of Maryland. Now, Jay has four or more sauces in his line up on his site.  In my box I received Maryland sauce, (a spicy red that reminds me of tomato base crab soup and I'm saving this for special occasion ), Blackberry Habanero and Bourbon Sauce.

My wife took the Habanero almost immediately and vanished with it.  On Jay's website you can even get the "Cranberry Habanero".  So for dinner I decided it would be "J.Dickey's Bourbon Sauce" on my grilled NY Strip.  I sauteed some onions, fresh garlic and peppers and grilled my strip to perfection. Roasted corn in the husk dipped in Old Bay and Butter--after all I'm a Baltimore guy. A slice of juicy beefsteak tomato to top it off and on the side, a dab of J. Dickey's Bourbon BBQ Sauce.

Now the real review:  

Items: J. Dickey's Bourbon Sauce
My rating: A+
My classification: Gourmet- A restaurant could slather this on top it's steak and create a whole new dish.
Initial Reaction: Taste Bud Burn Hot Damn!

In all honesty, Jay's sauces take a moment to adjust to. I'm so used to lots of sugar and fructose in my sauces that taking a bite of something that's bursting with real flavor throws off the taste buds - but in a good way.   It's a burst of flavor in your mouth that you don't expect.  It's the kind of thing you keep tasting, and eventually becomes addicting. You don't need a lot. A jar of this will last you a real long time, the flavors are robust and real. I really liked it.   (A little too much, I'm actually using it for everything at this point.)

Jay didn't pay me to write this, people send me all kinds of things in the mail. I get things you wouldn't believe -- from meat forks to books.  I don't write about stuff unless it's good. This stuff is better than good.  Day one, look how much is gone and I'm telling you, you don't need a lot.

Angus Burgers w  Blackberry Habanero Sauce

A day later, I had the  Blackberry Habanero sauce on some pretzel sticks. It burnt the h-e-l-l out of my nostrils in a good way. So much so I wanted more. So I slathered it all over my Angus Burgers. Damn good.

I'd just like to say when I run out I will be buying Jay's sauce. On his website right now, you can buy six jars and get free shipping.

Jay doesn't know I'm posting this, but he soon will see it.
I hope J. Dickey's is in every Giant food someday.
Or every Longhorn Steakhouse.
Every Whole Foods.
Every state in the USA.
It's that damn good.  If this is what gluten-free tastes like, I'm in.

Jay's Website    Facebook     Twitter 

What Is Hanger Steak Butcher's Best Kept Secret @linecook knows

This is a photo of Hanger Steak Dinner, from LineCook on Instagram. 
Found it from  @linecook on Twitter

Ah.... the Hanger Steak 

Who out there is family with hanger steak? It may be something you have never heard of and rightfully so, since there are reportedly only two steaks in any given steer that can be labeled as "hanger steaks" and that's if you can find them anywhere near you. 

What is it?

According to Hoofty Primal, "It's the best kept secret of butchers for centuries. The hanger steak comes from the skirt or plate of the steer, which is located just forward of the flank. "  Wikipedia refers to it as "hanging from the diaphragm of the steer."  Thus, the name, hanger steak.

Why is it so hard to find?

My wife has never found a hanger steak in Giant or any other grocery store and we had a bet that such a steak existed (she lost.) According to Wikipedia some butchers prefer to keep this cut of meat for themselves.

Now my pals in South Texas will know exactly what this is--it's labeled as a hanger steak and they are widely used in Mexican dishes like fajitas.

The problem is, hanger steak was not really popular at first, and reportedly "separated" so makes you wonder if they basically sold them as skirt steaks. Have you ever bought a skirt steak and made fajitas, it's tender and juicy but the next one you prepared the same way was hard and tough? The first steak could have been a cut of skirt that included the hanger steak cut. Don't think you were duped, just consider that a free bonus.

What's more confusing? In Britain they do call the hanger cut a skirt steak.  I can just hear Gordon Ramsey now "The BLEEPING SKIRT STEAK" ....  It was sometimes called a flap steak but that  is technically incorrect. It's not really a flank either.........

Characteristics of the Hanger Steak

Although the skirt steak is very close as in right next door to the hanger steak, the skirt steak is a bit tougher due to more muscles wherein the hanger steak is more lean, juicy, and tender.  Hanger steak is easy to marinate, season, dry rub or trim, and full of flavor.  

Locate One Today

• Ask your local butcher for this cut. 
• Buy it online at Hoofty Primal.
• Go to the Latino district and shop in their butcher section.

Hanger Steak Recipes I Love: 

Hanger Steak Mushrooms and Red Wine Sauce (Bon Appetit)

Pan Grilled Hanger Steak at Epicurious

Rachael Ray Steak Fajitas!

**More about Hoofty Primal:  They specialize in sourcing the best quality meats for people who want a healthy choice. They focus on craftsman based farms who care about the animals, the land, and their customers. An Organic way of raising the animals with GMO-Free food makes for their "Hoofty Seal of Approval."

Australian Beef vs American Meat Sustainable Agriculture BBQ @AustralianLamb

Kollective Fusion offers this sign, great for any bbq guy.

For Beef's Sake


For my fairs and festivals, I must do a buy in each year based on how many truckloads of beef I will need. Most local distributors or sustainable green farms can't meet my organic demand which is a huge problem, I am then forced to go with the big beef companies though my food guy.   I'm all about supporting the American economy and proud to be American but for years I have not agreed with the use of the growth hormones as it pertains to livestock. 

I have a bunch of old vintage bbq books, this one was put out by Sears Roebuck !

Whether it be in their feed, on the grass, or injected into them,  I just don't like it.  I used to have a farm and fatten up my cows and pigs just fine. I don't know about you, but if you were willing to do the following then what I'm saying is true.  If  you were to eat a pit beef sandwich (or a McDonald's burger) as a meal once per day--for a year and not change your diet or exercise habits you would most likely see unexplained bulking up of muscles and added weight gain. This is due to the growth hormones added to the meats or to the feed that the cattle is eating which then obviously is absorbed into the meats.

Vintage Roadside took this great photo, from Texas. See it full size and get it here.

Now what I can't figure out is why other countries are doing things the right way.  If they have figured a way to keep up with supply and demand, why can't we?

                        America: Made with Growth Hormones.                          

Australia: Proud to be Sustainable 

WHAT?

Antique Cow Pull Toy at Modern Poetry.

I'd like to see America focused on the same principals as Australia. Many people do not realize that Australia has a huge focus on practicing ethical treatment of animals and keeping these standards high.  They export to over 100 countries, so they can keep up with the supply and demand. Just ask the Meat and Livestock Australia, Ltd.

Meat and Livestock Australia has an office in Washington DC

They say, "Australian Beef is all natural, minimally processed and contains no artificial additives. Products offered range from 100% free-range, grass-fed beef to grain-fed beef. "  The way in which the beef is raised, prepared, and the welfare of the animals and being green is very important to the people of Australia. . In fact, they have a Red Meat Green Facts website. Here is a credo:

" As Australian beef and sheep farmers, we make our living on the land and have done so for generations. It is in our best interest to ensure our practices are environmentally sustainable not just for our livelihood, but also for our families, the community and for generations to come."

So why can't we apply these principals?  Surely there must be a way.  If Australia is worried about tradition then shouldn't we be too?

Hey, if you are in Australia and want the best meats for your gig, try calling up these folks:

Chef Paul Le Noury does great catering in Melbourne

Yum Catering is owned by Executive Chef Paul Le Noury.  They do corporate catering and all types of events (everything from birthdays to cocktail parties.)  Chef Paul will handle your event large or small!  They have space you can rent for private parties and online ordering!  Catering Melbourne now is just a click away!  Next time I'm in Australia I'm going to stop by and see what great beef dishes Chef Paul has on the menu.  That's one way to ensure you get yourself some great Aussie beef.

Yum Catering 
Address: 7160, St Kilda Road, Melbourne  
Call: 1300 536 687
Twitter: @ChefPaulLeNoury
Facebook:  yumcateringmelb


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My Aussie Meat Recipes

Filet Mignon Scallops Hare and Grace Garlic Recipes

These are my real filets. Not fake or doctored photos. You can tell from the way in which I charred it up!

This weekend I whipped up some Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon (which we've dubbed the "Ray Ray Filet") and ultra tasty Garlic Scallops. Don't mind my grill muck, they tasted divine. I want to mention that before you put your steaks on the grill, (they will take about 15 minutes) you should be working on the scallops (about 20 minutes). This is where you must trust your wife, child, or best bud to do your steaks to perfection on the barbecue pit while you are whipping up scallops on the inside. (Don't worry, the filets are so tender, they really can't go wrong--or so you hope.) Here's what I did.

DIY Filet Mignon : Bacon Wrapped Medallion

First you can use filets already cut from your butcher or grocer. In my case,  I bought the whole beef tenderloin. Some of you may be scared off by the price of a whole tenderloin,(or even the hearts or butt sections) but trust me, you can get your money out of it versus buying single cuts of steaks. I cut enough steaks off it for the next few months to feed my family and guests.  I am known to vacuum pack the ones I won't be needing to use right away in a marinade (yum) which would make even the worst cut of meat taste good. 

If you are new at this, it may be confusing. Not all of the tenderloin is considered the Filet Mignon and you may need to read up on how to butcher the filets out of the tenderloin (Based on if you have purchased the whole tenderloin, the butt or the heart)..If you do it once or twice you will have it down to a science. I trimmed my "silver" or silvery thick membrane off and cut two nice filets out for the wife and myself.  These I cut as thick as a slice of bacon. I was able to get about 8 filets this size, meat for stew, beef tips (for my Beef Tips and Onions recipe that I make quite often) and some smaller niblets which I intend to make into fresh dog food.   

Good luck duplicating this, I've tried with no luck.

Olde Canadian Steak Rub:   First I want to explain I get a blend of something called "Gourmet Olde Canadian Steak Rub" (that's a real picture of it above) that is packaged for my local grocer by Nutmeg Spice Company in Terryville, CT.  If you can find a distributor in your area please do. Besides the fact I make my own rub, I've got to say this is one of the best spice blends I've tasted and has a huge ZING to it,  A small dab of spice leaves your mouth hot, salty and wanting more. They call it a pungent taste and they are right. A small $5 bottle of this has lasted me a year at home on steaks, burgers, and pork and I'm halfway empty.  Here is the link to it Olde Canadian Steak Rub    If you can't find it, you can use your regular Canadian Steak Rub, or try to create some yourself, which I tried to recreate as spicy as theirs to no avail.   (I do teach how to make a similiar rub in my cooking school,so I won't divulge here..)

Step One:  Dry rub a small bit of the Olde Canadian Steak Rub onto all sides and edges of your steak. Marinate refrigerated in a covered glass dish for 24 hours.

Step Two:  Wrap two pieces of bacon around the sides of  each steak prior to cooking. I used Canadian Maple Bacon but sometimes opt for Pepper Bacon, it's really up to you. Use a toothpick to hold it together. (WARNING: I have to also warn you, that if you don't like your steaks well done, then you should possibly consider zapping your bacon half way first in the microwave (cheating, I know) to where it's still pliable to wrap around the steak. I like mine rare so my bacon would be raw if I didn't do something like this. Wait until the bacon is cool to the touch then wrap and pin with your toothpick.

Step Three:  On the day of cooking, slather your steaks with a mix of fresh garlic and your favorite sweet bbq sauce. I like to do this to kill myself with garlic and combat the zing of the dry rub with some sweet sauce. As well the sauce will give the outside of the steaks that burnt and crispy coating that reminds you of yummy bbq, but inside be as juicy as butter itself.

Don't forget, you are timing these  to come out with the scallops...

Hey, Did you know I offer cooking classes?  Sign up for Pitmaster School here!

This Recipe Sponsored by Hare and Grace


Hare and Grace used his great recipe for Garlic scallops, herb breadcrumbs and aioli.   Now, my scallops didn't turn our nearly as nice.

Ray Capaldi, pic from HareandGrace.com

In case you are unfamiliar with  Hare and Grace, they are an award winning  restaurant in Melbourne City (Australia) launched by Capaldi (he's Executive Chef and Owner).  I keep up on them because they do a lot of Charcoal Grilling and a wide variety of meats including offering the rare WAGYU cuts of meat.  As you know I'm partial to using Australian cuts of beef  (because often they are not loaded and injected with artificial growth hormones) .

Their menu includes a wide selection of items from the barbecue charcoal grill, including grass fed angus.  Capaldi has been known to hand select his meats, and forage for herbs and spices ensuring they are fresh, untouched by chemicals.   I hope to visit their restaurant someday. In the meantime, I'll just visit from afar.  If you are reading this from Australia, check them out and remember they cater all kinds of events, big or small!

Hare and Grace
525 Collins street, Melbourne, 3000
info@hareandgrace.com
(03) 9629 6755

Tiny Grill Award

The only thing worse than showing you my scallops is showing you this teeny tiny grill I used for my filets, so don't laugh.  It's one of those teeny wee grills that are tailgate size. Why waste all that hardwood firing up the big boy when I can use a small tabletop?

This may ruin my reputation, or get me the smallest grill award.

You may wish to read my post on: Three Aussie Meat Recipes here.

This page last updated 12.22.14 Note; Hare and Grace's links to their recipes have been removed as they are broken.  If you like my Filet pictures pin them here: