Cutting your steak

Have you ever tried cutting your own (raw) steaks from your own roast because a roast was cheaper than the already cut steaks?

I’ve done this a few times over the years and I’d like to think I’ve improved my steak cutting skills, after all I have my nice piece of beef, a wonderfully sharp knife and a nice thick chopping board.

Alas in this department my skills have not really improved as much as I think and I get these wonky slices of steak that when cooked are raw in some areas and over cooked in others.

I know my knife skills are no where near a butchers and his … or her job is pretty safe, at least from me.

Have you had success in this area?

Thank heavens at least I can cut a chicken into pieces, I have great scissors.

What’s your stock?

Are you a liquid stock sort of person or bullion cube stock person or do you use the powdered stuff from a tin?  I use all three.

It’s not until sitting down to type this post that I’ve really thought about my preferences.

I only use beef bullion cubes, I don’t use them often and they seem to last longer being in a concentrated cube.

Powdered in a tin, usually chicken, is mostly used as flavouring in things like savoury mince, chicken salt on chips, generally as that little bit of extra flavour in your food or casseroles. Failing having liquid stock  I default to the tin and follow the instructions for a large amount of stock.

Liquid stock, chicken or vegetable, (tetra pack) if I have it seems to go in soups.

Very occasionally I actually make my own stock and freeze to  use at a later date but not often.

Hash brown fingers/strips

Our favourite way to now cook our hash browns is in finger form, I found you can fit more in the air fryer this way.

All I do is microwave 3 hash browns for 1 minute to start defrosting, it’s  then as simple as cutting them length wise to make your fingers and organise in the heated air fryer.

Upside to making my hash browns this was is that you get more crunchy edges and I’m a lover of a very crunchy dried out hash brown.

You can still pop a seasoning like rosemary or chicken salt or other on top to give it another dimension.

I found as fingers they fit on a dinner plate with salad that bit easier or if you’re just making them to have as a movie snack instead of hot chips they are easier to handle.

Hash browns also come in many shapes, mine are usually oval and come from Aldi as they crunch up nicely and are cheap. Other brands come in a rectangle so why not cut corner to corner or even into 1/4’s.

There is no reason you can’t still do this by baking in the oven in your usual way or under the grill or even the BBQ.

Yes you can make your own to any shape, but to be honest I just like my cheapie ones and keep my potatoes for other things.

Enjoy

Honey soy BBQ chicken marinade

For wings, thighs and drumsticks.

Honey soy BBQ chicken marinade

Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 6 People
Course: Mains
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 Kilograms Chicken wings
  • Marinade
  • 1/2 Cup BBQ sauce
  • 1/2 Cup Tomato sauce
  • 1 Cup Sweet chili sauce
  • 1/3 Cup Honey
  • 1 Tablespoon Soy sauce
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Ground/chopped chili (optional)

Method
 

  1. Trim and segment chicken wings. I cut the mini drum end and keep the tip and middle together.
  2. Mix all ingredients together including chicken, I find it's easiest to do with your hands.
  3. Best to marinate for 2 hours or more, over night is great.
  4. These are cooked on a not too hot bbq plate turning often. Due to the sugar content in the sauces and the honey you need to watch for burning. Alternatively you can bake in the oven (which may take a little longer, turning once or twice) or in a fry pan. They will take anywhere from 15-30 minutes.
  5. While the chicken is cooking pour the leftover marinade into a saucepan to cook. Medium heat, once small bubbles start to form turn right down to simmer and reduce a little. If your chicken is still cooking and your sauce is ready just turn off the heat and let saucepan sit. This is your dipping sauce.

Notes

Play with the amounts until you're happy with the outcome.

New vacuum

Wow a new vacuum cleaner can make all the difference, it’s not until you get a new one that you realise your old one didn’t suck.

I like my second Dyson vacuum my old one was a plug in upright, they no longer make a corded vacuum so I now have the V8 which I’ve found is like the dust busters of old with attachments on steroids.

I’ve since done the carpet under our bed (it does not move it takes 3 adults, it’s heavy) after several barrels oh my god, goes to show I never really did under there properly.

My velvety lounge suite has now been sucked free of much dust as our windows are always open in summer. A whole fine dust filled barrel later it goes to show I never really did my couches properly.

I’m going to go with I did do my vacuuming  every week it was just my vacuum did not suck enough. It’s great on my tiled floor.

The recharging battery in my V8 cannot do our whole house on a full suck, so I do the tiles on the half and the carpets on the full as it has 2 settings but I can’t do my lounges in the same day it needs to recharge. In some ways I miss the continual go of the corded plug in version but this one has advantages.

My mum has a V6  and has a little trouble with keeping her arthritic finger on the trigger so does her vacuuming throughout the day.

My couches are done for the day, off to work to come home and hopefully finish the house with my fully charged battery ready for the weekend.

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