Beef receipes?

[Sabeine]

Does anyone know what "oxfile" is in English? What cut of meat is it?

Now my other question is does anyone have a good receipe for it. Something simple but tasty?

[Panda]

I believe oxfilé is beef tenderloin, not positive though.

[Carolyn]

Panda is right, it's the tenderloin or like a filet mignon. What we former hunters would refer to as the backstrap, the choicest cut of meat. That's why you need to sell your firstborn to afford one.

[Sabeine]

Yes it is expensive. Maybe I'll get some cheaper meat then. Does anyone know a pretty decent cut that is cheaper? When I go to the stores they have beef called, "sjömansbiff, lövbiff, fransyska, rostbiff, oxfile". It seems that these are the choices. I was thinking of buying fransyska. Can one slice it seperately and use sort of as basic steaks, or does one have to use the whole thing like a pot roast? Is there a cut of meat that is just basic steak, that isn't thin like sjömans or lövbiff? I don't remember all the cuts of beef in the States either, but it seems to me that one could find beef for a relatively reasonable price. I just wish I could remember the cut of meat, and see if that's available here.

One the cheaper meat variety, does someone know a good pork receipe? I have a few bonelss pork cutlets.

[Carolyn]

I use fransyska a lot for a lot of beef recipes. It's kind of similar to a bottom round in the States. You can cook it whole as a roast or chunk it up. I've never tried slicing it, but what the heck, I'd give it a try. You can get some great deals on fransyska, especially if you buy Irish, and it's a very tasty cut of meat. I usually cook it on the top of the stove in my Husqvarna heavy casserole with some onions, garlic and a couple beef cubes and water, serve it sliced with mashed potatoes and gravy the first day and then chunk up the cooked beef for burritos or enchiladas, or toss it back into the gravy with a can of drained, sliced mushrooms, a couple teaspoons of tomato paste and some creme fraiche for a quickie stroganoff.

[Sabeine]

Carolyn,

With the Fransyska do you use a glass casserole dish, like a Pyrex type? I have two of those. Did I read correctly that you put the glass on the burner/top of stove, or should that read oven? Do you cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil or leave it uncovered? Also how long to cook it, and what temp? Thanks...

[Sabeine]

One more question, what is Fransyska in English. Is it pot roast? I have some cookbooks that I would like to look up receipes if I can find out what this beef cut is.

[Debbie]

Fransyska is top round. I have a picture of the cuts of meat on a Swedish cow. Well really it's just a cow but the names of the cuts are in Swedish. I keep it in my Joy of Cooking next to my English cow. Well, it also isn't necessarily an English cow...(you get the picture.)

I tried looking for it online and can't find it. If you email me your address I'll snail one to you.

[Carolyn]

Sabeine, my casserole "dish" is a cast iron pot, enamel lined, and has a tight-fitting lid. I brown the meat in the pot in a little oil, and then toss in a chopped up onion or two (if they're small), a few cloves of garlic, some whole peppercorns and a few stock cubes and then put in enough water to cover the fransyska about halfway. Bring that to a boil, lower the temperature down to simmer, cover and DO NOT open the lid for a couple hours at the very least, depending on how large a chunk o'cow you have. Slow cooking with liquid is the ONLY way to cook a relatively tough, cheap cut of meat, but once you do it this way, it nearly falls apart.

If you have a glass casserole, I would do it in the oven. First, brown the meat all around, then put it and any juices in the glass casserole, add your veggies, stock and HOT liquid, cover it tightly and if the lid doesn't fit well, put the lid on and THEN cover with aluminum foil and put it in a HOT oven. Once the pot and stuff has heated up, you lower the oven temperature to about 100C and cook it slowly for a couple hours.

[Sabeine]

I brought a crock pot with me from the States the last time I was there. It is 6qt and would hold a good sized fransyska. How long should I put it in for, and how much water should I use?

Thanks for all the tips here.

[Carolyn]

Oh, can't help there, never owned a crockpot. I don't THINK you need as much liquid in one of them, but that's something I vaguely remember hearing. anybody else?

[Debbie]

Pot Roast in Crock Pot

1.5 kg piece of meat
salt and pepper
oil (lard, butter)
1 lg onion
1 lg carrot
5 dl beef stock
1 bayleaf

Salt and pepper the meat and brown on all sides in the oil. Remove the beef and add the chopped onion and carrot to the fat. Cook until the onion is soft and golden. Put the vegetables into the crockpot and then the meat. Add the stock and the bay leaf. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes, then on low for 8-9 hours.

If you want to thicken the gravy, mix a little flour and/or redning into some water and stir into the crockpot about an hour before serving.

[Pam]

LOL
Debbie, I don't know about the joy of cooking but seeing the meat labeled on the acutal cow might take some of the joy out of eating for me!
For a really easy crockpot recipe try this.....
brown (or don't brown) the meat in a skillet
transfer to crockpot
cover with dry French Onion soup mix
cover that with a can of cream of mushroom soup (cream of chicken works if you don't like mushrooms)
Cook it for several hours. Ideally, turn it on low before leaving for work. It won't dry out or over cook.
The same recipe works in a cast iron dutch oven, in the oven on low heat.
My sister makes pork chops the same way, omitting the onion soup mix. It's the only way her family will eat them.

[Leslie]

You people are making me hungry!! I would love a good pot roast right about now!! YUM!

[Carolyn]

Irish fransyska is on sale right now here in our local Klippet, 49.90 a kilo. I picked up a slab o'cow yesterday and cooked it in my cast iron casserole on top of the stove and we had roast and gravy and mashed potatoes for dinner last night. tonight or tomorrow, the rest will be chunked up and show up in beef enchiladas.