Meal Planning - meat prep

One of the best time saving tips I learned from my mother, is to partially cook meals in advance, allowing you to finish a meal in less time when ready.  In this post, I'm showing how I prepare meat for multiple meals, in one session.

I like to use beef shank, and stew beef when cooking Haitian and other Caribbean dishes.  To add flavor (and stay on budget) I like to mix in oxtail or beef shank and stew beef; each cut of meat adds different flavor profiles and you don't have to spend as much on any one cut to fill out a meal.  I found beef shank on sale so this post is using beef shank and oxtail.  When I buy oxtail, I always ask the butcher to cut them in half horizontally, this helps the oxtail cook more evenly and also makes it easier to eat, with more manageable pieces. 

Oxtail cut in half by the butcher  

Bone-in Beef Shank 

First step, is to clean the meat in cold water with lemon juice or fresh lime juice. You should have a 2:1 ratio (more water than lime juice).

 Rinse meat in water and lemon/lime juice

Cut the beef shank into smaller pieces, leaving meat on the bones (this also adds flavor). Once the meat has been cut and rinced, pour out the water and gather your seasoning.

 Cut the beef, leaving some meat still attached to the bone

When doing meat prep, I like to only season the meat with the basic seasonings that I use in most meals, and leave out specific seasonings for the day of cooking. For this prep. I seasoned with: minced garlic, minced fresh passely, minced onion, fresh thyme, garlic salt (or sea salt), and freshly ground black pepper.  I will separate the oxtail out, as I prefer to cook it in my slow cooker. (more on that in a later post)

Basic seasoning that I use in most meals; garlic, onion, parsley, thyme, salt, and fresh black pepper

Now it's time to cook the beef shank (or stew beef).  I like to use a non stick pot, because it gives me more control and I can use less oil.  This should be done in a few batches, as you don't want to overcrowd the pot.  

 Don't overcrowd your pot

Once you get an initial sear on the meat, add water to about half way up the meat, leaving the other half above the water level.  

Meat is not cooked, but has an initial sear

First round of water reduction

Reduce the fire to med-high and let reduce. Repeat at least 2 more times, making sure to turn the meat once the water reduces.  This helps to build flavor and allow the seasoning to get into the meat.  Once the meat is cooked and you've developed a sauce, remove from the fire.  

 The water has reduced, giving the meat a nice color and deeper flavor; toss and repeat with water

Seperate into smaller meal sized portions and let cool before freezing. If you have a vacuum sealer, I recommend using to help prevent freezer burn. If not, you can place into freezer bags, being sure to squeeze out as much air as possible.  I then use these packets to build a meal; just take them out of the freezer in the morning to defrost and when I get home I can have dinner ready in less than an hour. This saves time, helps plan meals, and allows you to take advantage of sale prices on meat.

This portion is good for a small meal, or can be combined w/ a portion of oxtail for a meal 

(For ideas on what to do next with this cooked meat, check out other postings, most of my weekday dinners with beef, start with prep-meat.) 

-Ti Mache 312

  The water has reduced, giving the meat a nice darker color and deeper flavor; toss and repeat with water