I found 4 large barbecued beef ribs in the deep freeze, leftovers from a beach meal 3+ weeks ago, and they looked pretty grim once defrosted. But I hate to throw things out and decided they deserved an attempt at recycling not just because of waste and cost, but because they were Kobe beef ribs… I had served them at the beach with too much other food, and despite being delicious, we just couldn’t finish them that evening. But charred then frozen then thawed, they were literally, death frozen and warmed over. Not all of my resuscitation attempts work well, but this one was a slam dunk. I took the four ribs, placed them in a heavy enameled pot (Le Creuset) and added some water, a can of beef broth, some sliced onions, and a can of whole peeled tomatoes and let that simmer for about an hour. The ribs were starting to soften nicely, and it looked like this would work so I invested a few more items into the dish…
I peeled and chopped up a couple of carrots, three ribs of celery and added that to the pot. I let this simmer for another 30 minutes or so until the liquid thickened a bit and it was less of a broth and soup, and more like a stew. The meat was starting to fall off the bone and after about 1 hour and 45 minutes, I opened up two tins of cannellini beans drain them and added them to the stew with some chopped Italian parsely. Season to taste (not much salt needed with the reduced broth) and let this reduce a bit more to the desired consistency. Don’t overcook the beans that are already soft and ready to eat. Let this sit for an hour or two and reheat for your dinner or lunch. Delicious! The meat was so tender and the stew, soup, sauce incredibly flavorful. Some crusty french bread on the side and you would never have known it was a leftover makeover. :) If we had some leftover wine, that would have been nice added to the stew as well. So with this one dish, cleared out the beef, used up some canned goods, and had ourselves enough stew for a hearty dinner for four!
16 Responses
This stew over rice would be AWESOME!!!
Think of this as upscale beef and beans… yes, over steamed rice, fantastic!
Yummy! With french bread dunked in the sauce… mmm. I want some. Comfort food for a cold night.
I love finding good ways to make use of leftovers…I also hate throwing things out! This certainly looks and sounds like a slam dunk! :)
This looks lovely. I was just wondering, how long can meats be kept in the freezer and still be safe to eat? Thanks!
Carla, good question… I would guess up to a YEAR for most uncooked meats, assuming you don’t defrost your freezer and don’t have frequent blackouts. But as a matter of policy, I would try to get through most items in 3-4 months max. Having said that, we have an aunt who has several freezers and one night at dinner she announced that she had just cleaned out a freezer and discovered a duck that was put in SEVEN years ago! I think she threw it out, but it wouldn’t have really shocked me if she said they cooked it anyway… :)
Wow! 7 year duck. That sounds like an expensive chinese dish.
Leftover makeover:):):) this looks yummy would love to lift this from you!!
I like everything about stews such as the idea of throwing whatever is on hand and whipping up delicious treats out of them. It’s the culinary equivalent of improvisation in music. Of course, just like in music, you have to have a firm grasp of the basic chords which may not be quite apparent when you started out with chopped onions, casually added some carrots and threw in some diced celery but that’s actually the triad for binding and enriching the bulk of Mediterranean dishes and is called mirepoix in classic French cuisine. Most of all, I like homey and unhurried cooking, they are usually flavorful, substantial and nourishing. Not so much to impress with its looks but to quell real hunger and sustain weary souls with its sincerity.
This looks divine, and adding the cannelini beans makes it all the more the perfect comfort food. Leftover roasts and barbecue are food I categorize as “transformer dishes,” as even when frozen they can easily turn into new dishes with a few inspired changes :)
and it looks especially good in the cazuela.
On a different note. I was going through the archives and came across the post on El Rey Chorizo De Bilbao. I read the comments esp. re John Morrell. I emailed John Morrell to ask them re Chorizo. Here is their response:
Thank you for taking the time to contact us at the John Morrell Food Group, and for your interest in Marca El Rey Chorizo. We currently manufacture this product for export only and do not sell it directly to any US Retail Stores. Please be assured that your comments have been forwarded to our Marketing Department for their review and follow up.
Sincerely,
Leslie Rich
Consumer Affairs
I feel better knowing that John Morrell is manufacturing this. They have good meat products.
That stew looks amazing! I would add some tomatoes too! YUmm!
FE, it does have tomatoes.
Gordon Ramsay, Marco Pierre White, and Jamie Oliver would have approved.
this i would eat with crusty garlic bread … we call it recycling. i often hear the chinese say, “waste not, want not!”.