chloebud, I do something similar (sans recipe) when I want to marinade a tri-tip. What I do is parallel but no sugar, more garlic, ground pepper and a squeeze or two of Sriracha. It doesn't make the meat spicy at all, it just adds a gentle taste bud wake me up on the outside. When served (med rare of course) to company, it never fails to draw raves and I think it's the Sriracha that does it. The soy sauce produces a tasty browning on the outside and I suppose the sugar you use would contribute to that too.

I do a fair amount of cooking in the church kitchen, and of course the inexpensive meats to make sandwiches out of....hot sandwiches with gravy are turkey breast and pork loin...oh and easy to slice neat. People are always wanting to cook the pork loin forever, "until it gets tender"...
When I am in charge, I grill the whole loin until still pink inside....then slice and rewarm the next day in broth, until it's just 160....to appease any inspectors. One year the cooks simmered the sliced loin for 3 hours....it was strings! impossible to eat!

And Mr Fudd....I'll challenge you to a cook off any day of the week.....and twice on Sundays. I cooked my first pork loin and turkey, likely before you were born. And learned early on that eye of the round was not good for a pot roast. Be careful who you admonish to "review your cooking times".

This is really very accurate.

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/the_finger_test_to_check_the_doneness_of_meat/

lindac, my comment specified "home cooked". It was you who described what YOU do with leftover cooked tough beef and too dry chicken and turkey. If this results from something other than spending too long at too high a temperature, then great! Maybe you were describing trying to fix the mistakes of others, if so, you didn't say so.

I don't make pork tenderloin. Pork production practices these days result in very bland tasting meat and no part of a hog has suffered more than the tenderloin. It takes a lot of added flavoring, marinades, BBQ sauce, etc., to make something tasty and for me, in the end, the flavor is only the added seasonings.

No matter what I'm making, I judge doneness with a thermometer, starting at about the 75% of expected time point and then nudging it on from there. Different techniques for different preferences. Using this approach that I like, I never overcook meat or fish.

"chloebud, I do something similar (sans recipe) when I want to marinade a tri-tip."

So many good ways to do it. Wish I had a dollar for each time we've grilled tri-tip over the years.

We love meat spread with leftover beef. Put in chopper add mayo, sweet relish s+p. And anything else you like. Make a sandwich or eat with crackers.

Slice very thin (to deal with the toughness) and serve in a salad of greens?

If you have ever had pork from an "incompletely castrated" hog, you will know that blandness in a pork tenderloin can be a blessing.
Pork today is bred to be lean. This is a result of the push to reduce animal fat and chlosterole in our diet. And everyone knows that the fat is where the flavor is.

Lindac, I cook chicken grilled partially and reheat for church events. Breasts get marinaded for 2 days then grilled on high until brown but raw inside. I slice and fill a big roaster then "cook" for several hours. This works great for church events to grill the day before and finish cooking all Sunday morning.

Anyway, at my church I'm famous for the chicken. But never do you find this method for chicken.

tigereye, I've tried that and I just don't "get it". I really don't find any similarity between the fleshy part of my thumb and my steak. (sigh) Just one more of those things that I cannot do, like flipping an egg without a spatula. Ah well, a meat thermometer works pretty well for those of us who are thus challenged.

As most people here know, I raise grass fed beef and I cook a lot of beef. Like every cut from the whole cow, LOL. My favorite steak for grilling is sirloin. Yes, I know it's not as tender, but it's so flavorful and that's what I have teeth for, after all. My least favorite is actually tenderloin, it's tender but bland and just needs a whole lot of help for flavor. But, as taste is subjective and not objective, to each their own.

I have grilled round steak, usually after tenderizing and marinating it, although it's more often used here for chop suey and swiss steak. I've also marinated it and used it in shish kebab, or that thinly sliced "steak on a stick"

For the record, if I'm having steak, I want it rare. Really, really rare, just warmed in the middle. My kids call that "warm raw", but I want it grilled, flipped, then slapped on a plate. I've even been known to eat bits of the raw beef when I'm trimming beef for something, my own low tech version of steak tartare.

Annie

"Breasts get marinaded for 2 days then grilled on high until brown but
raw inside. I slice and fill a big roaster then "cook" for several
hours. This works great for church events to grill the day before and
finish cooking all Sunday morning."

Hopefully no one has gotten sick, this violates the maxim "Keep food very cold until cooking thoroughly and then keep it either hot or chill it quickly and keep cold".

Grass fed beef has been a bit of a flash in the pan in my area. There was a lot of buzz at first but I think many find that conventional beef is more flavorful. I've been seeing less and less of it in stores.

Free range (and organic and/or air chilled) chicken, and FR eggs, and pasture raised lamb, different story. An opposite story. Growing demand, command higher prices, thought to have better flavor. .

I don't have time to read through all the responses. I would recommend a battery operated meat thermometer. DD's boyfriend cooked our steaks for Easter and loved using it. Takes all the guess work out of it and you can pull off yours when done.

Father's Day is coming up! Let your DH grill, but he needs to bump it up a notch.

In my experience, once a cut like round “steak” has been over cooked and is tough and dry, it is going to remain tough and dry. Grinding it still has limitations — there will be little flavor and forget the mouth feel. It will feel as though you are chewing on finely minced wetted paperboard.

Slice it fine and small for chef DH, or fine chop for Fido and Spot.

Sorry to hear about your dinner mishap, caflowerluver. Maybe DH should stick to well done burgers (ground chuck) or pot roast (not made with round steak).

I salvaged over cooked turkey by simmering for a short while in broth. Maybe that would also work for the beef if you slice it thin.

Just for the record, I did cut it into bite sized pieces and let it simmer in homemade tomato sauce for a couple of hours. It did soften up and was quite good with the mushrooms, sweet peppers, onions, and tomato sauce.

I'd have trouble cooking meat/fish indoors or outdoors without a thermometer. It's essential.

I've been using Taylor digital thermometers for years. They seem to be accurate, or at least accurate enough, and reasonably durable. Amazon has a selection of models for +/- $10, a no-brainer. Proper temps for various stages of doneness (steak/roasts) or doneness overall (poultry) are easily found on the internet. As I think I said before, I start checking temps when about 75% of the expected time has passed to insure I don't overcook. That seems to work consistently for me to get intended results.

With enough experience you will learn the feel of meat when it's done to your liking...I wiggle a turkey leg....I press my finger into a steak or chop or chicken breast, but that said....I do need my thermo pen for things like a rib roast, or pork loin....or a boneless leg of lamb.
and Bumblebees, the reason you don't see other's cooking chicken like you do is that method is not safe.. Partially cooking chicken, then cutting and reheating allows bacteria to enter the raw and now no longer chilled meat and to grow. If you haven't had a case of food poisoning or an epidemic of the "stomach flu" after a chicken meal you are very lucky.

LindaC, I was told that with enough practice I could flip those eggs in the pan too, but all I managed to ever do was waste a lot of eggs. As you know, I've been cooking since I was a child and I'm 63 now, and I still can't tell how done meat is by "feel". I can get pretty close, but I'm just not consistent. Fortunately there's no such thing as steak too rare for me, so I'm good with that, LOL, and I'm good with a thermometer.

Elmer, we started raising grass fed beef about 20 years ago, on the advice of my father's cardiologist, right after Dad had that quadruple bypass. I've continued to raise it because my husband has a lot of trouble digesting commercial beef, the fat causes issues since he had his gallbladder removed, although my grassfed beef doesn't upset him. My youngest daughter had a stroke at age 27 and is now on a "heart healthy" diet, and my cardiologist has a vendetta against the commercial beef industry. So, if I want to keep eating beef, I'm going to have to grow it. I have a short list of customers I sell to that want organically grown, grass fed and grass finished beef. I do have a "waiting list", but I don't intend to expand my operation, so that's where they'll stay. One neighbor says that when I stop raising beef, he's going to stop eating beef. My animals eat hay in the winter and pasture in the summer and an occasional powdered sugar donut supplied by the grandkids (which makes them technically not organic, I know). Little Debbie brand is preferred. (grin) They get no medications unless they are sick and I've never had a sick cow so I'm lucky on that, I think. Here I see grass fed and organic becoming more and more popular, not less. As for flavor, the most prevalent statement is that it tastes "too beefy", if that's even a thing. It is more flavorful, but lacks the greasy mouthfeel of commercially grown beef, and there's definitely a learning curve to cooking that much leaner steak. I also raise pastured chickens for meat and for eggs, have a big organic garden and my husband manages to put a couple venison in the freezer every year. We occasionally fish for salmon and we have a pond with bluegill and bass, so we do produce much of our own food. I even have a hand cranked press to turn my apples into cider and we corn beef, make sausage and smoke bacon. I have a grain mill. A neighbor raises pigs and I draw the line at milking anything, I did too much of that as a child. I don't eat lamb, fortunately, so I don't have to put up more fence, LOL.

I know it sounds odd, coming from a beef farmer, but Americans eat far too much beef. I recently saw a sign in front of a steakhouse advertising a 38 ounce steak. I just blinked. That should be 10 servings of beef, not one, I think I'd be sick!

Anyway, round steak can be successfully grilled, but be prepared to chew, even if marinated and cooked rare.

Annie

I much prefer the taste of grass fed beef. I don’t know how to describe the difference, but you can definitely taste it. I try to eat beef ( any four legged animal) only once or twice a week.

Annie, I would love to see your operation. I'm always interested to hear about and am bit envious of people who are producing much of the food they consume.

Love grass fed beef. It's the only type of hamburger we buy anymore. While grass fed ground beef is carried in many of our local grocery stores, other cuts aren't as easy to find. Otherwise we'd eat grass fed beef exclusively. I get what I can at the farmers market but it's not always available.

We are fortunate to have a ready source of local, free range organic eggs that are produced by happy hens. Even I, the egg hater, likes them!

When we moved from Ohio to CA (1979), we noticed a definite difference in the taste of beef and milk. To this day I don't know if it was from a difference in feed, drug exposure, raising conditions, or even perhaps the water (I never could stand to drink unfiltered water in all the years I lived there).

annie, there are a lot of things many do for health reasons, whether or not at the direction of a physician. I can't imagine that the best solution for someone with a history of cardiac problems is to eat lean beef instead of just eating no beef at all. We rarely eat beef anymore, in favor of seafood, poultry, pork, and vegetarian meals. All are healthier than beef of any kind.

I like the idea from a humane standpoint of allowing animals to spend their time in more traditional open surroundings rather than in factory production areas and feedlots but I've given up trying to accept the flavor of grass-fed beef. I dislike it and for the infrequent occasions we eat beef, I go for flavor.

If living on a farm and raising animals suits you, that's great. It's a lifestyle fewer and fewer people pursue, for various reasons. It's not something I personally would consider.

Pork commercially raised is healthier than grass fed beef??? Grass fed pork of course! :-)
What a cow is fed changes the type of fat on it's body. If you don't like healthy beef, that's your perogative, but please don't ridicule Anyone for preferring less fatty and more healthy food....and for heaven's sake not for the way the choose to live.
Wondering were the sea food you eat is grown? On farms?

What I said was I dislike the taste of grass fed beef and I questioned the halfway measure of a cardiac patient not giving it up entirely, to be safe. Personally, I eat very little pork and yes and I know that the husbandry methods for the animals are short of desirable/humane. That isn't something I can do anything about.

I didn't ridicule anything or anyone.

The only seafood I eat that's "farmed" is the occasional splurge for mussels or clams. I believe the presence of these shellfish clean the water where they're located so "farming" them is an ecological positive, not a negative. You may have heard that oysters are being reintroduced into the waters around NY City for that very reason.

Otherwise, I eat only wild-caught saltwater fish and seafood.

Oh, its just stunning, Annie!

My grandparents had a cattle ranch in Alberta - My grandfather was in charge of the cattle and the hay crop and my grandmother grew a beautiful garden, raised chickens and fed the ranch hands. Your place reminds me so very much of the ranch which holds a lot of happy childhood memories for me.

What type of cow is the long haired one in the photo? It reminds me a Scottish highland cow.

Thanks so much for taking the time to post about your farm. I really enjoyed the tour!

Frankly I am wishing for some "fiber" bearing animals....then Annie could spin and knit her own clothes too!!...Grins!
What an idyllic set up!

LindaC, Elery has already ruled out sheep, because of the fencing, but I could lobby for some alpacas. A local woman spins the hair from her sheltie into yarn, so there's that. (grin)

Dawn, the one with horns is indeed a full blooded Scottish Highland, he was my herd bull. I sold him because I wanted to keep and breed his daughters, but he was an awesome animal. I saw him pick up a 1,000 round bale and toss it on one horn like it was nothing, but he was gentle and docile and followed Elery around like a puppy. We called him The Dude, although he had a long registered name, Prince Xerxes of Osceola, LOL.

I grew up on that farm. My Grandfather came here in 1905 from Canada. My Dad was born here, I was born here, my kids were born here, my grandkids were born here. The soil runs in our veins, I guess.

And now the sun is shining and it's time to go replace an electric fencer, fix the fence that the deer grounded out, prepare a stall to wean a calf and set my tomato seedlings out for some sunshine. It all is really just an excuse to go outside, though, and play in the dirt.

Annie

"What an idyllic set up!"

I think the stats suggest that small diverse family farms are not economically viable if relied upon to provide an adequate amount of cash income and a significant portion of a family's food. That's hardly idyllic.

It sounds like for annie this is a lifestyle choice independent of finances and good for her for knowing what makes her happy.

Elmer, I beg to differ. My "idyllic" probably isn't the same as yours, and as I've said, taste is subjective and not objective, so what you want to eat is probably something I'd reject.

My choice of lifestyle is certainly not "independent of finances". My small farm makes a small profit annually, after the payment of expenses and property taxes, but my husband and I are both retired and we could not afford to keep the farm if it did not pay for itself. I receive no government subsidies or grants, and pay income taxes on the profit. A family would struggle to make a living, not because of the meager income but because of what the farm does not provide: Insurance, paid vacation, sick days or retirement benefits. As a result, many farmers have spouses who work outside jobs to provide that all important insurance for their families. It can be done, though, as a local farm is making a sufficient income to support the entire family. It's called "Provision Family Farms" and it's available on the internet if you want to make sure I'm not lying to you. They also produce honey, but they make extra money with "agri-tourism", by allowing hunters to lease property and by hosting events.

As for a "substantial portion", what do you consider substantial? 50%? 75%? I admit that I'm different than most, as I heartily dislike most fast food, seldom/never eat out and I cook from scratch about 99% of the time. I don't use cake mixes or canned soup although my grandkids do like an occasional frozen pizza. So, I produce nearly 100% of the fruits and vegetables we consume, 100% of the beef we eat and 100% of the eggs and chicken we use. When I raise meat chickens I use the necks/backs/feet and make stock which I can for use in soups, sauces and braises. I often trade beef for milk from a neighbor and I make yogurt, churn butter and took a cheesemaking class, although I don't much care for cheese. We used to raise pork, but now a neighbor would like to have some space to turkey hunt and will provide a pig in exchange for hunting privileges and some home canned sauerkraut. I like all seafood, but actually like lake fish better than ocean fish and those blue gills are 50 yards out my front door. A common breakfast here is eggs from our chickens, corn bread from corn that I raised and ground to meal, raspberry jam from our raspberries and bacon or sausage from that pig.

What do I have to buy, excluding non-food items like toilet paper? Wheat flour and oats, because I don't raise those. Sugar, maple syrup, fresh lettuces as my husband likes salads daily, baking supplies like baking soda and powder, cornstarch, vanilla, spices. I usually bake all our bread, rolls, buns, pizza crusts, etc., but now I've been buying the low carb stuff because we are watching our weight and that's what Weight Watchers want you to eat. (ugh) Citrus fruits, avocados, coffee and tea, Diet Coke (yeah, my own bad habit, but I don't drink or smoke, so I try to justify). I'm sure there's more that I don't think of until I need them.

I can, freeze, pickle, jam/jelly/preserve, ferment, dehydrate and store everything that can be preserved in those fashions. I estimate that I produce about 75% of the food we consume or trade items I've produced for it. I could raise more but don't want to put in the time/effort/equipment to do that. So, is that significant enough, or must I raise 80%? 95%?

So, could I sell the farm and sit on my butt all day, knitting and watching TV? Yeah, I could but I choose not to, so it IS a lifestyle choice. I don't even have cable/satellite TV, as I never watch it. My husband watches movies on Netflix and I read during my downtime, but I actually enjoy growing things, playing with my animals and baiting hooks for the grandkids. I also like to cook, which is why I'm on the cooking forum, and canning is something of a hobby for me.

Do I think everyone would love my lifestyle? Obviously not, you've made it clear that you dislike grass fed beef and think farm life is depressing and/or too much work and small farmers are living in poverty or have significant income from somewhere else. I disagree, as would most of my neighbors who have made a living on small farms their entire lives, but your opinion is your own and Google will back you up, so there's that.

So my opinion is that my life is, indeed, idyllic. Ask me again next winter when it's 20 below zero and I'm standing in the back of a truck, pitching hay. (grin) Living in a city or in one of those condos on a beach or housing developments with neighbors within spitting difference would be like sending me to hell for the rest of my time on earth. Many people think the same about my farm, I think my husband does sometimes. To each their own.

Now, LindaC, I'm going to go talk to my dog about knitting sweaters. (grin)

Annie

The older I get the more idyllic your farm sounds! But I don't think I will ever have the energy you have. Maybe I need to start drinking diet coke lol

Annie, we always wanted a farm like yours, but it has just been out of reach for us. The only ones that can have one, got it from family, bought years and years ago, or are doctors that just use it for a weekend retreat. Every amount of acreage is being chopped up into cookie cutter subdivision houses. And yes, mine would have been a retirement home for animals. It is now, but I can only have cats, dogs, and fish! If I ever hit the magic six numbers we will have one!

Ignore Elmer. he just wants to attack everyone for any reason.

Annie, when you say "A family would struggle to make a living", you're agreeing with me. Subsistence farming in whole or part as you do is rare and all but gone these days. You're doing what you love and it's the lifestyle you prefer. How lucky you are, it just is what it is.

tigereye, try to add to a friendly conversation without contributing a bad attitude to it.

I think if I had some left over grilled beef, I would slice it very thin and saute' it with onions and bell peppers and make fajitas out of it. Normally, I would use a tough cut of meat like a round steak to make a dish that is sliced thin and cooked with gravy for a while to make it tender and serve it over rice. I might also make a stew out of round steaks. I don't find it suitable for grilling and eating it as a stand alone steak. Not the round steaks we buy in the grocery store anyway. For grilling, we either use rib-eye or new york strip.

I would if you would stay off it, Elmer

It?

Not sure where "Fuddy-duddy" lives nor what sort of lifestyle he has, but I will tell you I know more than a few....lots more than a "few" land owners who are making a damned good living off the land....some are produce farmers and others raise goats for milk and make and sell cheese. Some have made a business of growing fresh herbs and marketing them and growing and selling dried flowers in the off season. Some raise rabbits for meat, some ostriches also for meat and plumes. I am sure they would not be in the farming business if they weren't happy doing it.
Yep, many have a spouse working "in town" for the benefits, but the joy and satisfaction....and the pride they feel in what they do comes from the land.
There is a special feeling that comes from being proud to the bottoms of your feet of the product you produce. And I am sure a special pride from knowing that your "product" not only has a price, but also value as food or clothing or furniture for your family.
Now about that fiber ...ever think of putting in an acre or 2 of cotton?

Elmer, I specifically said that families would struggle because of the lack of insurance, not because they can't make enough money to live on. Healthcare is a national issue that 55% Americans say "greatly concern" them and another 23% are "a fair amount" concerned. That makes it an issue for nearly every small business, not just farmers.

tigereye, here corporations are buying large plots of acreage too, then splitting it up and building housing developments. My Township passed an ordinance requiring all property sales be at least five acres, and no more than one residence can be on that five acres. I had to buy the farm from my stepmother at market price, but at least it was available.

LindaC, I could grow the cotton, but then I'd have to harvest it, , pick out the seeds and impurities since I don't have a cotton gin, then card it, weave it and make cloth. Wanna come help? (grin) I'm sure there's a market for "natural fibers" out there...

Arkansas girl, I agree with the "cooked with gravy" version of round steak, it's kind of like my "chop suey", with thinly sliced beef, vegetables and sauce, over rice.

When I was in a hurry I made it in the pressure cooker, so for those who have the Instant Pot, there's an option too.

Annie

annie, the vast majority of Americans (I think more than 90%) have health coverage. I think everyone should but that's a different conversation. This "vast majority" includes people who are self-employed or who own their business. Most people have figured out how to resolve this challenge.

I don't consider medical insurance a luxury and it's true, it's expensive. But it's a necessity, just like having enough income to support a reasonable lifestyle. Pursuing an employment or self-employment gig that doesn't earn enough money to provide for an adequate lifestyle, including having health insurance, is a poor choice and should provide a wakeup call that something needs to change. It's an avoidable and fixable mistake.

Elmer, once again you are putting your very narrow perspective on things. For many, health care IS a luxury and one many can ill-afford. And simply stating that one should find better paying employment ignores a host of other factors that may limit that option.

You are free to think whatever you like but do not impose your judgemental statements on the rest of the world when you have no idea what their particular set of circumstances might be. It is an extremely self-righteous and condescending viewpoint.

What a ridiculous comment.

I looked up the number before making the comment. Roughly 9 of 10 Americans have health coverage, either through employment, though personal purchase, through government programs for low income folks or through Medicare. It should be 10 of 10 but for now, it's a "problem" most people have figured out a way to deal with.

I wasn't making a judgment, I was reporting facts.

Yes, finding better paying employment when needing more money is also a "problem" with solutions if one wants to pursue them.

I believe that many, many people who consider themselves to be victims "of the system" or stuck in unfortunate circumstances are in fact victims of their own decisions. You're welcome to feel otherwise, and society should provide safety nets of sorts, but I think people are entitled to the consequences of their own actions and choices, the bad ones as well as the good ones.

Here's a judgement - the conversation has gotten far afield of what to do with overcooked/burned beef.

And who took it there??????

...why I avoid cross postings, rants, long-winded opinions not related to cooking.

Annie's post are a pleasure and full of daily life... food experiences are visual. I don't want to read about it. I want to see it. Not a wikipedia search parroted like we all can do on our own. Off topic is so unsavory.

Annie's post are a pleasure and full of daily life. I agree, I love Annie's posts and her outlook on life. And her pictures.

"And who took it there??????"

It was a tongue-in-cheek, intentionally sarcastic self-deprecatory comment. But not in vain, your comment gave glenda something to "like" today.

We can continue to beat the dead horse here, but Elmer and I are never going to agree except on his statement that everyone should have insurance. And, I will add, there's a big difference between health insurance and GOOD health insurance. I'm not old enough for Medicare and my recent echocardiogram cost me over $1,000 out of pocket, far more than my insurance paid. And that's insurance provided by an employer. Well, a prior employer, because I'm retired, but still an employer. Many people with insurance are still bankrupted by co-pays, deductibles and medications that are not covered by their insurance policy.

And now this is becoming tiresome, and so I'm just going to stop and go do something more constructive with my time, like plant some radishes and just be happy playing in the dirt while I'm plotting world domination via small family farms.

Annie

Annie I love your farm! It's beautiful. I am a little ridiculous. My sister has a similar setup. She raises a few beef cows and a pig every year for meat. As well as goats to make soap from their milk and chickens for eggs. I will eat the eggs and I love the soap. But I just cant eat the beef and pork she produces. I mean. I KNOW those animals. I remember when she had Meatball and Strogonoff slaughtered. (That was their names) I cried for days. I didnt like Marshmallow(the pig) he was mean. But I still couldn't EAT him. I call it "pet meat." I know it's silly. But that's how it is. She makes BANK every summer selling the purple hull peas and butterbeans she grows too. That,along with her soap sales has allowed her the income to stay at home with her children,rather than get a regular job to help her husband bring in income. She just planted 100 or so fruit trees last year to expand.

Me? I grow tomatoes and herbs. Does that count!?!?!? :)

To answer the original question...

Same thing I do with dried out chicken breast.

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty! Treats!"

Re grass fed and finished beef... that's all I cook these days, when I cook beef. Cooked properly, I find it flavorful and tasty. AND better than supermarket beef.

Raising my own chickens, now... did a preliminary batch of meat birds for my freezer last year... yes, these require different cooking procedures but their flavor can't be beat. I hope to expand to sheep and goats (no cattle, as physically I can't handle them) with in a couple years.

Annie, I love your farm, too.