Cow Tipping.

The first time I’d ever heard the term “cow tipping” was in 1990 when first moving to Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Our residential neighborhood was surrounded by Amish farmland, with local, bored teenagers bragging about this night time exploit.  What exactly is “cow tipping”? An activity of sneaking up on any unsuspecting, or sleeping, upright cow and pushing it over for entertainment. The practice of cow tipping is generally considered an urban legend, and stories of such feats viewed as tall tales.  Except if you happen to live in a rural area, with even adults bragging how they did this activity during teenage years.  Personally, I saw this as cruelty to animals; I certainly wouldn’t enjoy being hurt and/or frightened being pushed down onto hard ground in my sleep!

Spring forward to 2009 with the moving to Utah; cows here are “handsomer”, for lack of a better word, than the overworked black and white milking cows of Pennsylvania.  Where those East coast cows would back away if you stared at them; cows in the Southwest have, what I would definitely call New York attitude, as they stare back with “whatchalookinat?”  Asking about cow tipping, folks would ask, “What is that?” and once explained would proclaim, “Well that’s stupid!”  So much for cow tipping in the Southwest.

Which now brings my convoluted thought processing to “beef tips”.  Did you ever go to a restaurant where the special for the evening was beef tips?  The server explains how this is a special cut of tender beef, prepared in a rich gravy and served over, well something; rice, mashed potatoes, noodles, a pureed vegetable.  Sounds really good, and it has to be special, considering the price is almost equal to a T-bone steak.  Here comes the surprise, where exactly does this “special cut of tender beef” come from on the cow?  The tips are small, about one inch; is there only one tip in each cow!?!  Originally, a beef tip was the tip of a tenderloin or sirloin steak which was trimmed off to give the steak a smoother, rounder appearance.  Nowadays, while quality restaurants may perform the same trim job, beef tips could simply be a steak cut up into one inch pieces and called the same thing.  Depending on the quality of the beef itself, the cooking process is the same, but may take longer.

The recipe I’m giving uses a simple London broil cut, lean, with all excessive fat removed as the fat will only make the gravy greasy, not tastier.  A hint for all those hunters bringing home elk and deer this season; this recipe works very well for those meats also.  I use Portabella mushrooms as they have a meatier texture, yet mild flavor; they are often used, as a substitute, for vegetarians who want to partake of a “burger”, just not the meat part.

Beef Tips with Egg Noodles

Ingredients:

2 lbs. lean London broil

4 Tbsp. flour

1 large onion, julienned

1 lb. portabella mushrooms, cut into one inch pieces

1 cup red wine (merlot or burgundy)

1 cup beef stock (not broth, too watery)

1 tsp. dried, crushed thyme leaves

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 lb. wide egg noodles

Preparation:

Spray a 4-quart crock pot bowl with nonstick cooking spray.

Cut London broil into one inch pieces, mix with the flour to coat all sides; place in bottom of crock pot bowl.  Place onions over beef, mushrooms over the onions in a layering process.

Whisk together wine, stock, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic; pour over mushrooms.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerator overnight (8 hours). 

Next day, remove plastic wrap, place bowl into cooking unit, cover with appropriate lid, set on low and let cook for 8 hours.  At 7 and ½ hours, prepare egg noodles according to package directions.  Serve beef tips over egg noodles

Makes 6 servings.

Note: If a thicker gravy is desired, stir in one teaspoon of corn starch, at a time, until desired consistency is met.

Mary Cokenour

This Recipe is a Crossdresser.

I was going through one of my many cookbooks (I have enough to fill a 4 shelf bookcase) and came upon a recipe for "Beef Tips".  As I read the ingredient listing, I noticed how similar it was to beef stroganoff, but without the sour cream.  So I got to thinking (that can be a dangerous thing when it comes to cooking) that I have a package of beef cubes, but, don't want stroganoff, just made chili two weeks ago, stew would be nice, but I don't have too many veggies on hand this week.  Alright, lets go with the beef tips idea and play with that; what if I take part of the ingredients from beef stroganoff plus part from pepper steak with onions and create a monster?

The monster ended up being a tasty beast of beef, peppers, onions, mushrooms over egg noodles which sopped up the rich brown sauce. The scent throughout the home was drool making. However, I did do a little more experimenting by adding some sour cream to a cup of the creation...yep, just what I thought it would become; beef stroganoff with peppers. So there you go, how to take a couple of basic recipes and create a classy, sassy impersonator.

Beef Tips over Egg Noodles

Ingredients:

3 lbs beef cubes, about 1 inch pieces
3 Tbsp flour
1 large onion; cut into strips, cut strips in half
1 large bell pepper (red, yellow or orange); cut into strips, cut strips in half
1 (8 oz) carton of sliced fresh mushrooms
1 (10.5 oz) can beef broth
2 (10.5 oz) cans cream of mushroom soup
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp crushed dry thyme
2 tsps ground black pepper
1 lb cooked extra wide egg noodles

Preparation:

Spray a 6 qt crock pot with nonstick cooking spray; set on low heat. Coat the beef cubes with the flour; layer the beef, onion, bell pepper and mushrooms inside the crock pot.

In a large bowl, mix together the broth, soup, garlic, Worcestershire, thyme and black pepper; pour over ingredients in crock pot. Cover and cook for 8 hours; serve over cooked egg noodles.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour