Week 5: Braised Beef

Recipe Name: Braised Beef

Ingredient: Stew Meat (1/2 lb), Potato (one), Carrot (half), Beef Bouillon Cube (two), salt

Steps:

1)    Peel off potato and carrot skins. Dice the potato. Slice the carrot.

2)    Rinse the stew meat with water. Sprinkle and rub salt on the meat, and let the meat for 15 minutes.

3)    Heat up the skillet. Sautee the beef for a while. Place the sautéed beef into a slow cooker. Add cut potato dices and carrot slices into the same slow cooker

4)    Dissolve two beef bouillon cube with 16 oz water. Add mixture into the slow cooker. Heat up the meat for 3-5 hours.

Incorporation of weekly technique:

            The method of braising was used in this week’s meal preparation. The meat was first lightly fried (sautéed) in a skillet, and then it was partially submerged in beef broth and cooked in a slow cooker. This method can help enhance the flavor of the meat (by cooking at a low temperature for a long time).

Reflection:

            I have wanted to try out this dish for a long time. I am a big fan of beef dishes, but I felt that they were too expensive at a restaurant. For the dish I made this week, it didn’t cost too much to purchase the raw materials. The most expensive part was the beef at $6 per pound, but it could be used for two meals. The entire process was also very simple. I could easily prepare the potato and carrot, and the meat had already been cut into smaller chunks.  The seasoning part was also fairly straightforward, although I could have used some more condiments next time. All the prep work took me about only 30 minutes, and the meal was cooked in a slow cooker, which meant I could be doing other things at the same time while the meal was being cooked. I will definitely use the slow cooker more often when preparing future dishes.