Beef for Beef Fest
Regina Murphy
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
It’s that time of year again: Beef Fest.
Just when you thought all the fun was over with the closing of the county fair, you have an entire weekend of additional goings-on Aug.14, 15 and 16.
I talked with Brian Rees at the Lyon County extension office. Beef Fest and all the attendant events (Blues and Barbecue contest, ranch rodeo, ranch feed and steak dinner, etc.) are a celebration of what the Flint Hills are known best for — the tall, tall grass and what it can do for a cow.
“Originally this was a friendly competition between ranchers on how well their cattle did over the summer,” he said.
Ranchers bring their best grass-fed cattle in groups of three for judging on conformation, quality and how well they might do at the feedlot. Whoever gets the best scores gets bragging rights (and a good promotion for leasing pastures next year).
Rees said they can even enter their cattle in a “feedlot and carcass” competition, where the individual bovines are followed through to their end and judged on how well they did on grain feeding. Once again, if you can trace the cow back to its parentage, then you can see how similar progeny might perform next year. This is big business, now.
The serious work starts out Friday with a breakfast seminar that Rees wrote about in the Gazette July 18. There will be speakers on industrywide issues that have a direct impact on our local ranchers.
Next, the cattle judging will be held at Emporia Livestock Sales on Saturday morning, and those rankings will earn cash prizes for the best beef. Awards are presented at a huge steak dinner Saturday night (advance tickets required), where the winners will be lauded and the crowd entertained by comedian-hypnotist Erick Känd and dance music from The Old Skool Band.
But wait. That’s not all: Friday night there’s a come-one, come-all ranch feed of barbecue and etc. in the Anderson building. Just $5 for kids and $10 for adults, immediately followed by the ranch rodeo.
For people who haven’t grown up around cowboys, this is a real treat. It’s great fun to watch cowboys competing at what they do every day, and the occasional “greenhorn” categories of “milk the wild cow” or “cow mugging.” This isn’t a bull-riding, bronc-bucking rodeo. It’s more practical and done with great finesse.
Then, on Saturday, while the various barbecue teams are cooking their best in the Kansas City Barbecue Society-sanctioned competition, ranch hands will show their skills in the fairgrounds arena for the ranch horse competition. In between all of this, there will be fun things to do. Recent examples include hay bale stealing, cow chip tossing (and catching.), and a pedal tractor pull. Watch the Gazette for details, or call (620) 528-3444 and leave them a message. You can also e-mail flinthillsbeeffest@yahoo.com.
Because this is actually a recipe column, I guess we’d better talk about cooking things now.
My favorite beef is steak, and my favorite steak is practically raw in the middle with a little freshly ground pepper on the outside, so we’ll avoid that minimalist recipe. Instead, here’s a marinated beef kabob that’s perfect this time of the year.
BEEF KABOBS
1 lb. beef top round, cubed
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. paprika
1 onion, sliced into wedges
2 medium bell peppers,
cut into chunks
Grilling skewers
Combine beef, oil, garlic and paprika into a bowl or zip-close bag. Cover or seal and let marinate for at least two hours in refrigerator. Discard excess liquid.
Alternate beef, onion and pepper wedges on skewers. Using at least one red or yellow bell pepper heightens the visual appeal. If you are using wooden skewers, soak them in water for about 30 minutes before using so they don’t catch on fire.
Place kabobs on a fairly hot grill and turn occasionally, until the beef reaches desired doneness. The vegetables will be wilted but still have some crunch to them.
SESAME BEEF STIR-FRY
Marinade:
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. sesame oil
1 lb. beef round steaks
1 (16-oz) package frozen
stir-fry vegetable mixture OR
1/3 cup each fresh snap peas,
julienned carrots, broccoli florets,
sliced water chestnuts, diced
onion and sliced mushrooms
2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in
1/3 cup water
Whisk marinade ingredients in medium bowl. Remove and reserve 2 tablespoons. Slice beef across the grain into 1/4-inch thick, 1-inch wide strips. Add beef to remaining marinade and toss.
Heat a large nonstick skillet or wok over medium-high heat until hot. Add 1/2 of the beef; stir-fry 1 minute or until exterior is no longer pink. Remove and repeat with the remaining beef.
Combine vegetables and 1/4 cup water in same skillet; cook over medium-high heat four or five minutes or until most of water is evaporated and vegetables are hot, stirring occasionally.
Whisk together the cornstarch mixture and reserved marinade. Add to vegetables; cook and stir 1 minute or until thickened and bubbly. Add beef; heat through. Serve over hot rice.
POT ROAST
3 Tbsp. olive oil
5 lb. beef chuck roast
1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
3 red bell peppers, sliced
2 onions, chopped
1 carrot, sliced
5 cloves garlic
1 cup red wine or beef stock
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dried marjoram leaves
1/2 tsp. salt
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Heat olive oil in heavy pan over medium high heat. Sprinkle roast with paprika and brown, about 15 minutes total. Place in Dutch or any large oven-proof casserole dish with a lid and add bell peppers, onions, carrot and garlic.
In the same skillet used to brown roast, add wine, vinegar, sugar and tomato sauce, scraping to loosen any brown bits; add pepper and marjoram. Pour over the meat and vegetables and cover. Bake this for four to five hours.
When the meat is tender, remove and cover it with foil to keep warm. Remove vegetables from the pan with a slotted spoon and puree in a food processor: use these for the gravy. Place in a saucepan, add the meat juices and drippings left in the pan and cook over medium heat until thickened, adding salt as needed, about 10-15 minutes.
Slice the roast and spoon the gravy over it. I think some “hot out of the oven” wheat rolls would be just about right.
• • •
Next week we’ll do more than make lemonade with lemons.
Do you have a great recipe to share? Send it to me at 517 Merchant St. or murphysmenu@yahoo.com. Let’s get cooking!