Heart in a Jar

In preparation for more caveman coffee breaks, we're working on perfecting the beef heart jerky recipe (the paleo balls need no improving, they're a bit too perfect, in fact, nom nom nom).

The result of last night's experiment turned out really well, I am happy to report.

No, these are not turds in a jar.

For a jar of crispy-chewy jerky, I used the following:

450 g beef heart from a grassfed cow (Rödkulla from Lindegrens to be precise, name of cow unknown, however)
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons applecider vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 thumb of ginger, finely chopped
Black pepper to taste

Day 1

• Trim the heart (be sure to remove all fat, especially) and cut into big chunks that will allow you to cut very thin slices. 
• Freeze for an hour.
• Cut thin slices with a very sharp knife (or with one of those electrical thingies that slice veeeery thinly).
• Put the slices in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
• Stir occasionally.

Day 2

• "Hang" the slices on a wire rack and place in the oven at 65 degrees. Keep the oven door slightly ajar with a wooden spoon or similar. 
• When the pieces start to shrink and dry up (usually around 2 hours depending on thickness), dislodge them from the rack and put them on a normal baking tray, occasionally stirring them to make sure they dry evenly. 
• Really thinly sliced jerky should be dry enough at the 3 hour mark, but depending on how thickly you sliced them, it can take longer. Aim for chewy rather than completely crisp. 
• Store in an airtight container, preferrably in a dark place. The fridge is NOT the right place, as the meat will attract moisture. 

Enjoy!

Meat on a Budget / Budgetkött

Dinner was a bit unconventional today: beef tongue. We're constantly on the lookout for cheap cuts of meat and tongue is up there with heart and liver. The flavour is reminiscent of salt beef, consistency slightly more compact. 

Leave the handling to the less squeamish family members

The recipe went something like this (my friend Anna kindly provided the base :-)):

1.3 kg beef tongue (from a grass fed, happy cow)

20-30 black peppercorns

10 bay leaves 

2-3 tablespoons of salt

Sliced carrots, onions, garlic and fresh ginger (this is where I went off on a tangent...)

Cold water to cover the tongue

Add the tongue and spices to a sauce pan, cover with water. Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 2 hours, occasionally turning the tongue if it is not wholly covered. Let cool until you can handle it with your hands and take off the skin. You may have to use a sharp knife. Cut the tongue in half (one half being the tip of the tongue). Put the two pieces in a clean sauce pan and cover with the strained fluid, plus 3 more tablespoons of salt. Let rest for 2-3 days in a cool place, preferably longer.

Slice the bigger piece thinly and serve with mash and a spicy mustard or garlic mayonnaise. 

In this format it is easier to pretend it's just salt beef

Chop the tip of the tongue into small pieces to add to soup, broth, omelette, etc (it is slightly tougher). 

Next time I think we'll try to cure the tongue for a week before boiling, to make saltier. 

***PÅ SVENSKA***

Idag blev det tunga till middag. Kändes sådär lagom udda, och gott! Vi letar ständigt efter mer förmånliga köttdetaljer och tunga är ungefär i samma prisklass som lever och hjärta. Smakar ungefär som rostbiff/ salt beef, med lite mer tuggmotstånd. 

Receptet jag använde löd på ett ungefär så här (baserat på min vän Annas recept):

1,3 kg nöttunga (helst från en glad och gräsbetande kossa)

20-30 pepparkorn

10 lagerblad

2-3 msk salt

Skivad morot, lök, vitlök och färsk ingefära (här började jag visst bli lite extra kreativ, förlåt Anna...)

Kallt vatten för att täcka tungan

Lägg tunga och övriga ingredienser i en kastrull, täck med vatten. Koka långsamt i två timmar, vänd tungan då och då. Låt tungan svalna på skärbräda tills du kan dra av/ skära av skinnet. Dela på mitten i en tjock och en tunn del (tungspetsen). Lägg bitarna i en ren kastrull och slå över det silade spadet plus 3 ytterligare matskedar med salt. Låt stå svalt i 2-3 dagar, gärna längre. 

Skiva den större biten i tunna skivor och servera med rotmos och en stark senaps-/vitlöksmajonnäs. 

Hacka tungspetsen i små små bitar och ät i soppa, buljong, omelett, osv. 

Nästa gång tror jag vi testar ett tvärtomrecept och rimmar köttet i en vecka innan vi kokar det, för att få en saltare smak. 

Tallow Time/ Talgtider

It was Cat that first came up with the idea of making something out of all the hard fat on the beef hearts that we now eat at least a few times a month. I believe she got it from Mark's Daily Apple, but reading his recipe now, it just seems overly complicated, so check out our below. 

Why use tallow? It is incredibly heat resistant. It will keep for ages in room temperature. It is mainly healthy saturated fat, meaning that it won't contribute to inflammation in your body (especially if you make it from grassfed beef). And last but not least, rendering tallow is a logical step to take if you eat meat, ie to use the rest of the animal in any way you can. 

• Buy some grassfed beef fat, the hard kind - ask your butcher for it or use the stuff that you find around the heart or kidneys, if so inclined - we bought 650 g this time around

• Cut it into small pieces, place it in a pan, aiming for a layer of max 4-5 cm
• Turn on the lowest heat possible, do NOT be tempted to increase the heat
• Wait 
• Wait some more, stir occasionally, check in on it every ten minutes or so
• Start pouring off the liquid tallow into glass jars
• Season the leftover "beef scratchings" with salt and eat with a spoon, yum!

**********SVENSKA**********SVENSKA**********SVENSKA**********

Det var Cattis som kom på den briljanta idén att göra talg av allt fett från de kohjärtan som vi äter några gånger i månaden. Jag gissar att ursprungsreceptet kom från Mark's Daily Apple, men när jag läser hans recept nu så verkar det lite väl komplicerat, så här kommer vårt egna:

Varför ska man då göra och använda talg? Därför att det är otroligt värmetåligt. Och hållbart. Och bidrar inte till inflammationer tack vare den höga halten mättat fett (det härsknar varken i skåpet eller i din kropp). Dessutom är det ett logiskt steg att ta om man äter kött, dvs att ta tillvara på hela djuret. 

• Köp helst gräsbetat nötfett, så hårt som möjligt - be slaktaren om det eller karva bort det hårda fettet kring t ex hjärta och njurar - vi köpte ca 650 g den här gången 
• Skär fettet i småbitar, lägg i kastrull, sikta på ett lager på ca 4-5 cm
• Sätt på spisen på det allra lägsta, och då menar jag verkligen det ALLRA lägsta
• Vänta
• Vänta lite till, rör runt ibland, kolla läget var tionde minut eller så
• Börja hälla av den flytande talgen i glasburkar
• När krafset som är kvar på botten blir brunt och lite knaprigt, ta av från spisen och salta och ät som fläsksvål (låt inte svalna för mycket dock, för då är det INTE så kul)

Simple(ton) Sauce

Eating clean when on the move can be a challenge. I stayed with some family friends in Lidingö while in Stockholm and although I had full access to their kitchen, I didn't exactly have oodles of time to cook.

Inspired by one of my classmates, I threw together this meat sauce late one evening. It took me perhaps half an hour from start to finish and did the trick. Plus it has very few ingredients, my general credo in the kitchen.

500 g mince meat (organic mooooh, please)
500 ml tinned tomatoes
1 large onion
At least a teaspoon each of powdered ginger, cumin, dried thyme (or whatever strikes your fancy in the cupboard. Go on, go crazy.)
Salt and pepper to taste
Ghee or butter for frying
A dollop of butter to thicken the sauce before serving

Chop and fry the onions on medium heat in a frying pan for a few minutes until soft. Watch them like a hawk, don't let them burn.

Add the meat. Mash up. Season. Fry for a few minutes until no pinkness remains. Dunk in the tomatoes. Mix well, then put on a lid and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes while you make a salad, pick the lint out of your belly button or check Facebook.

Add the butter. If you're feeling frisky, go all the way and plonk in 3-4 tablespoons. Stir and watch the magical transformation of an otherwise average sauce.

Eat it while it's hot. Then put the rest in a glass jar and eat cold the next day at work. Because microwaves are evil. 

Excellent choice of paper bags to bring food in to low carb class (matavfall=food waste; Karamellkungen=CandyKing)

Meat and the Internet

We go through a fair amount of meat in our household and I am always on the lookout for quality organic, free range, grass fed meat. The best way to access this meat would be to live on a farm and care for your own animals. Second best would be to live in the country and visit some farms to check them out. If you are a city dweller like me, the digital era has opened up a third option: ordering over the internet and having all the goodness delivered directly to your door. Hooray for the internet!

These guys got recommended to me: Fordhall Farm. They have some great meat on offer and it is community owned.

I went a little crazy with my order and the fridge is now filled with chicken, beef, pork, offal, marrow bones... Don't worry, half of it is for Cecilia. I can't wait to try the Gloucester Old Spot pork!

Stew for Breakfast

In preparation for the Whole 30, starting in two days (gulp), I have been trying some new breakfasts. This is the one from this morning. Left over beef stew, heavy on the chilli, with eggs and avocado. Filling and yummy.