Category: Recipes

Beef Shank with Spring Veggies and Polenta Cakes

It’s Springtime, but it’s also been a bit cold and rainy, so we were craving something to warm us up. Beef Shank to the rescue!

Beef Shank Ingredients

  • 1 Beef Shank
  • 1 Large Onion, Chopped
  • 2 Celery Stalks, Chopped
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 3 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
  • 4 Cups Beef Stock
  • Thyme and Rosemary

Beef Shank Directions

Rub the Shank with Salt & Pepper and brown in a cast iron pan.
Transfer to the Crock Pot.
In the same pan, add a little oil, onion, and celery, and cook for a few minutes until soft.
Then add more salt and pepper and the Worcestershire sauce.
Add the veggies to the crock pot and pour over the beef stock.
Cook on low for 8 hours.

Spring Veggies Ingredients

  • 1 Leek, Cleaned and Chopped
  • 1 Bag Frozen Peas, or Fresh ones if you have them 
  • 1 Bunch of Asparagus, cut into 1/2-inch slices
  • 2 Slices Bacon, chopped

Spring Veggies Directions

Add a few slices of chopped bacon to a pan and cook until browned, then add the leek until soft. Add the peas and asparagus and cook for a few more minutes. Take 1/4 cup of the beef broth from the crock pot and a tablespoon of Amish butter and place in the pan. Let everything simmer for a few minutes until the veggies are all cooked.

Serving Suggestion

I served the Beef Shank pulled apart with some of the gravy that I thickened with cornstarch in a shallow bowl with the veggies on the side and sliced polenta (1/2 inch) from the store sprayed with some oil, salt and Pepper and Parmesan cheese. I placed the polenta on a foil-lined air fryer and cooked it at 400 for about 15 mins.

This would also be awesome with grits or mashed potatoes, but I loved the salty crunch of the air-fried polenta.

Party Sliders

You know we love our Smash Burgers, but we don’t always want to take the time—especially when we want to enjoy the party! That’s when Century Farm Meat Sliders from Whitt’s Place are a perfect choice! 

Beef Sliders come 6 to a package and are ready to throw on the griddle, grill, or pan. We allow 2-3 sliders per person.  

I love to create a slider bar so people can make their favorite combination. Be sure to have plenty of lettuce in case someone wants to make it into a slider salad with no bun.

We used slider Hawaiian buns buttered and grilled as our base.

If you want to have sliders ready to go for the family to sit down and eat, try these combinations: 

  • Pimento Cheese and Bacon
  • Grilled Sweet Onion and Provolone Cheese with Special Sauce (Recipe Below)
  • All American with Lettuce, Pickles, American Cheese Your Choice of Condiments

Special Sauce Recipe

  • 1/4 cup Dukes Mayo
  • 1 tablespoon Ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons Chopped Pickle
  • 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
  • 1/4 tsp Paprika
  • 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
  • Stir it all together and transform your burger!

Enjoy!

-Chef Ali

Scotch Eggs

Ingredients

  • 4 hardboiled eggs peeled
  • 1 pound pork sausage (mild or hot)
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour with salt and pepper added
  • 1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400.
Take 3 bowls and add 2 beaten eggs to one bowl, flour seasoned with salt and pepper to another bowl, and 1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs to the last bowl.

Take the pork sausage and divide it into 4. Flatten each 1/4 into a disk and wrap a hard-boiled egg around each making sure to pinch the meat to ensure the egg is well covered.

Take each egg/sausage ball and roll it in the flour. Then roll each in the egg wash. Then roll it around in the breadcrumbs. Repeat the egg wash and breadcrumbs for each ball to ensure a good coating.

Place the 4 balls apart from each other on a parchment-lined-sided baking sheet and bake for 30 mins until crispy on the outside and the sausage is cooked.

Enjoy hot or let cool to room temp and enjoy. These are great for picnics, make-ahead lunch or dinner with different salads.

I served mine with potato salad, cut-up watermelon, and a green salad!

Yum!

Guinness and Rosemary Beef Shank Steaks

How best can you celebrate St Patrick’s Day? With Guinness Beer, of course! We created this recipe with Guinness and one of our favorite cuts of Century Farm Meat from Whitt’s Place, the Beef Shank Steak!

Ingredients

  • 4 Beef Shank Steaks
  • Olive Oil
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 1/2 Red Onion Chopped
  • 3 Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary
  • 1 Tablespoon Flour
  • 2 Cans of Guinness Beer (or other dark stout if not available) 

Directions

  • In a pan, heat the olive oil and salt and pepper the shank steaks and add them to the pan—Brown on both sides for about 4-5 minutes each.
  • Take them out and add them to your slow cooker.  
  • Add the red onion and cook for a few minutes, then sprinkle on the flour and slowly add both cans of Guinness.
  • Whisk until smooth, and then pour over the steaks.  Add a few rosemary sprigs and put your slow cooker on low for 6 hours.
  • I served mine with roasted brussels sprouts tossed in olive oil and garlic powder and cooked in the air fryer until roasted—about 15 minutes—as well as creamy polenta. It would be super over mashed potatoes or creamy cheese grits.
  • When you’re eating this dish, be sure to scoop out the bone marrow and use it with a bite of the meat and starch. It’s like butter!

YUM!!

You will have the luck of the Irish if you cook this one the weekend in honor of St Paddy’s day!

Ali Cheese Steak with Beef Bacon

We love a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich, but it’s always a challenge to find the right cut of meat to use. Well, we’ve found just the right cut: Beef Bacon! Beef Bacon, also known as Beef Belly, looks a lot like Pork Bacon, It’s sliced the same way, has some nice fat, and if you didn’t know better you’d think it was Pork! Chef Ali took that Beef Bacon, sliced it into strips (which goes really fast) and it becomes the perfect Ali Cheese Steak meat. A little Salt & Pepper, a quick cook on the griddle, and you’ve got a great sandwich!

Ingredients

  • Beef Bacon (one package for 2-3 sandwiches)
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 1 White Onion
  • Hoagie Rolls
  • Sliced Provolone Cheese (or cheese of your choice)
  • Butter, for rolls

Directions

  • Heat your griddle to High.
  • Slice the Beef Bacon on the short side into thin strips. (It will come sliced like Pork Bacon already).
  • Slice the Onion thinly.
  • Salt & Pepper the Beef and the Onions.
  • Separate the extra fat and cook it on the griddle to provide cooking fat for the Onions, then move the fat aside.
  • Brown the Onions in the beef fat, then push them to the side of the griddle to keep them warm.
  • Cook the sliced Beef Bacon on the griddle, turning regularly. (Pretend you’re the short-order deli cook!)
  • Butter the rolls, and them open them and put them down on the griddle to warm.
  • Separate the Beef into appropriate sandwich portions (we went large!)
  • Separate the onions onto the beef.
  • Lay the cheese down on the beef.
  • When the cheese is melted and the rolls are warm, place the rolls on a plate, and scoop up the Beef onto the buns.
  • Garnish with your choice of toppings. We used lettuce, mayo, and spicy mustard.
  • Enjoy!

Marinated Hanger Steak

Hanger Steak has a ribbon of fat running lengthwise through the steak. Cut the steak into two pieces lengthwise along the fatty ribbon before marinating.

Make a marinate with the following ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Mix all and pour over the steaks.

Let marinade overnight, turning once or twice. 

Take out of the marinade and pat the steaks dry.

Heat the griddle (Blackstone in our case) or grill to 450.

Cook 10 minutes per side and then let rest for medium rare.  

Enjoy with your favorite sides.

Perfect New York Strip

We have a simple, almost foolproof, way to cook a New York Strip. Here goes:

  • Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
  • Preheat griddle on high to 600 degrees.
  • Sear the steaks on a griddle for 2 minutes on each side.
  • Sear the fat strips for 30 seconds.
  • Cook the steaks in a cast iron skillet in the oven at 500 until the desired temperature.
  • Schmear the top of the steaks with butter.
  • Tent the steaks for 5-10 minutes.

Moroccan Beef Shank

We’ve worked up a Beef Shank recipe that you’re gonna love! It’s kicked up a notch by mixing in the bone marrow along with some local Honey from Whitt’s Place!

  • 5-6 pound beef shank
  • 2 tablespoon Amish Butter
  • One large onion sliced
  • 6 carrots cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 bag of chopped dates
  • 2 cans of fire roasted tomatoes 
  • 4 tablespoons Hancock Farms Honey
  • 4 garlic cloves

  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper

A few dashes of hot sauce

Sprinkle the shank with salt and pepper. Melt the butter and brown the shank in a pan on all sides.

In a bowl, Mix the rest of the spices together along with the honey and tomatoes until combined. 

Add the sliced onions, dates, carrots and honey/tomato/spice mix to a large slow cooker and top with the shank.

Cook on low for 8-12 hours until the meat falls off the bone. We mixed in the bone marrow from the shank, and it took it to the next level!

Serve over couscous or mashed potatoes. 

Autumn Pork Salad

This recipe serves 2, and comes together so quickly! We gobbled it up! (Pun intended!)

Ingredients

  • 2 pork chops
  • Paprika
  • Salt & pepper
  • Olive oil or butter
  • Fresh Express chopped salad mix (cabbage, kale, etc)
    • I like the one with the sweet onion dressing; discard the Parmesan and edamame to use on another salad!
    • Or your favorite mixed greens/romaine lettuce
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup shelled pistachios
  • 2 ounces of goats cheese
  • 1/2 apple chopped
  • 2 cups butternut squash

If you don’t use the Fresh Express salad mix, use a sweet onion or poppyseed dressing of your choice.

Directions

Heat a cast iron pan and add a fat of choice. Dust the chops on both sides with paprika, salt and pepper. Pan sear approx 4 mins per side depending on thickness. Cover for a few minutes to make sure they are fully cooked. Take out and rest then chop up into bite-size pieces.

Cut the butternut squash into cubes. Dust with cinnamon, add salt and pepper, and coat with olive oil. Roast at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until tender.

Assemble the rest of the salad and toss it with the dressing. Divide into bowls and top with the chopped pork.