the daily paleo

Welcome to the February edition of “WHAT THE HECK should I do with the cuts in my Herondale Farm meat share?”

Not that y'all need that much help. It’s obvious from your emails and texts that you’ve become masters of everything meatshare. It’s surprising any of us worked out at all this past month, what with all the pan saucing, slow braising, and crockpot-PWN'ing going on.

That said, there may be a few of you peering into that hefty bag of meat and thinking, “How do I work this?”

Friends, I have some answers.

Ground beef

It tickled my entire funny bone to read so many reports of success with the Paleo pumpkin chili recipe I posted in January. At one point it seemed like the entire gym was eating it. I was especially proud of the self-professed “non-cooks” who whipped out the dish like so many born-again Iron Chefs.

I don’t flatter myself that I have another hail Mary recipe like that one up my sleeve. I don’t.

I’ll just tell you the truth. The second-most frequent thing I do with delicious grass-fed ground beef is make picadillo.

Picadillo is like Spanish Sloppy Joe. It’s el sandwich descuidado de Jose. Except… it’s not a sandwich.

Luckily for us, picadillo is never served on a bun, and it’s about ten times more delicious than Sloppy Joe. This is the version I always make. It’s quick to throw together, great the day you make it and better every day thereafter, and has a killer leftover application: as a filling for an omelet.

If you make it, promise me you’ll try that.

Suggested accompaniments:

• on a plate, like a boss (as above)
• on top of crisp romaine or iceberg lettuce
• with fried unripe plantains (tostones) 
• with the most delicious food on the planet, maduros (cooked, por supuesto, in lard)

Savory beef and squash pie - Full disclosure: I haven’t made this. I feel pretty sure that I’d freaking love it, though. Speaking of squash, Reader S - I haven’t forgotten my promise to you.

Ham steak

I don’t know what you guys found in your bags, but my ham steak was the size of a small middle-European fiefdom. Ham: it’s what’s for dinner,  ALL WEEK.

Unfortunately, most recipes for this cut - including the one my mother made my entire childhood - involve glazing it in something sugary. That is no bueno.

In terms of method:  if you can manage it, grill your ham steak. I have an indoor grill I really like; it was under $50. 

Second choice: broil. But keep an eye on it, as it will burn quickly.

Here are my recipe picks.

1. Spiced ham steak - just leave out the tiny dab of brown sugar in the marinade; the pineapple juice will make it sweet enough.

2. Nigella Lawson’s ham steaks with parsley - does contain a bit of honey, but I will forgive this error in judgement, for she is Nigella. Even though she is British, a fatal and irreversible flaw, I love her. And I think many of you are willing to cook with a touch of honey, so have at it.

Leftover ham steak - dice it fine and include it in any frittata, or toss it into scrambled eggs.

Pork spare ribs

Whose working class dad did not go a little bit insane for pork spare ribs in the lean days of the 70s?  Mine sure did. I think a lot of catsup was involved, however.

My package of ribs was pretty small, so I’ll either supplement with additional butcher-bought ribs, or wait to see if we get more in subsequent months. In the meantime, I’ve got my eye on these:

1. Thai-marinated pork spare ribs. There are few spare rib recipes on Epicurious, but the ersatz Thai version there was a flop in my test run. I crave Thai food when I’m riding the Paleo horse, however, so I’ll try these next.

2. Here’s a braised option - not particularly pretty, but I bet they’re good.

Lamb riblets

1. Use your package of riblets to make the sauce for this surefire winner - herbed lamb chops with pinot noir sauce. Yum. Off the record, I think you are crazy if you don’t make this. I’ll leave out the 2 tsp of flour at the end of the sauce, and just thicken with butter and a little extra time to reduce.

2. If you want to make a more exotic dish, try this one, spiced lamb riblets,  which I found on a lamb farmer’s husband’s website. He says the farm couldn’t sell any riblets until they found a delicious enough recipe to provoke people to buy them. It requires harissa, which most people either love or hate.

As a side note, a little trolling on the web reveals that CSA members all over the country agonize over what to do with lamb riblets. A good problem to have, ultimately; it means there’s a growing number of people embracing the whole-animal philosophy.

Pork chops

I already told you.

Boneless sirloin and T-bone steaks

Ditto.

Smoked ham hock

The hock is the joint where the pig’s foot attaches to the leg. In case you were wondering.

Anyway, the standard American use for this cut is as a flavor base in bean soups; since those are out in Paleoville, you’ll just have to settle for eating one of the most outrageously fantastic vegetable dishes known to humankind:

Collard greens with ham,  via The Homesick Texan

If you’re one of those wackaloons who likes greens but doesn’t like collards, there are a ton of recipes for making various hearty winter greens with ham hocks. Please to be Googling.

Bacon

I know you don’t need any bacon recipes from me. 

But here are some anyway. Because I care. 

And that, comrades, is all for the February meat share. Many thanks to the wonderful farmers at Herondale for this beautiful meat, to Margie at Crossfit South Brooklyn for arranging the CSA, and to all of you for your success stories and reader mail this past month. Please continue to send me your photos and tales of culinary glory.

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Photo Credits

Picadillo photo

Grill photo

Cute lambie lamb