In many families in Italy, the base sauce for any meat dish such as meatballs and spaghetti is a closely guarded secret which is handed down through the generations. For good reason, the perfect tomato base sauce is something which is integral to finding that ideal Italian flavour. Thankfully however, you do not need to wait for the best recipe for meatballs because I am happy to provide it to you below.

As with many forms of cooking, this recipe is actually very easy and as a result provides natural and fresh flavours to your meatballs and spagetti. The sauce can be made in advance (recommended) and left to marinate it its flavours. Simply make up a batch, and leave in the fridge for up to 3 days. Meat it through well before serving. This meatballs recipe will become a firm family favourite not just for the family but also for mom and dad given it really is simple but amazingly tasty!

The Meat Cooking Expert Recipe for Meatballs

This recipe for meatballs serves 4 people.

Making the Italian meatballs

1. Finely chop a medium to large sized onion and one clove of garlic (crushed or finely chopped). Heat a frying pan with a tablespoon or two of olive oil and gently fry the onion and garlic over a low heat until the onion is soft and translucent. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

2. Once the onions are cool, mix the cooked onions with 500g of ground beef. Generously season with sea salt and pepper. Take small handfuls of the ground beef mixture and make into small balls about the size of a ping pong ball (wet your hands to make it easier). Once you have formed the meatballs place them into the fridge to firm up.

Before we cook them, lets;

Make the recipe for meatballs sauce (can be done in advance)

1. Finely chop a medium to large sized onion and 2 finely chopped (or crushed) garlic cloves.

2. Fry the onion/garlic over a medium heat with a splash of olive oil for no more than 1-2 minutes.

3. Then add two 400g tins of good quality chopped tomatoes (don’t scrimp on this – the best tomatoes will make a big difference).

4. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper to taste and mix through.

5. Next, add a splash (2 x teaspoons) of good quality Balsamic vinegar and a tablespoon of tomato puree and mix well.

6. Finally chop finely some fresh basil or a teaspoon of dried and allow to simmer gently.

Now place a pan of slightly salted water on the stove and bring to the boil ready for our spaghetti.

Cook the Meatballs

Using a large heavy set frying pan (I use this large skillet which is excellent for this and many other jobs in the Kitchen) and gently fry the meatballs in a splash of olive oil for a good 10-15 minutes turning frequently.

Cook the Spaghetti

By now your water should be boiling (put a dash of olive oil in the water, this will stop the spaghetti from sticking and also help it to retain its structure) so place in enough spaghetti for everyone, turn down the heat to a simmer and place the lid on loosely.

Prepare your Meatball Sauce (optional)

Now that your sauce has been simmering nicely, I prefer to have a thick and smooth Italian meatball sauce but this is entirely optional. One of the most used implements in my kitchen is this Cuisinart hand blender, this makes for smoothing out base tomato sauce an absolute breeze. Simply give your meatball sauce a quick blast with the hand blender and your sauce will instantly be smooth and silky.

Now the best bit!

Simply drain your now cooked spaghetti, place in a nice pasta bowl and place several meatballs and finish will lashings of authentic italian meatball sauce. Grate a little parmesan cheese over the top and serve!

This really is a truly amazing recipe for meatballs and one which you will return to again and again – enjoy!

So, how do you actually make beef jerky in the oven?

Oven Baked Beef Jerky

The trick to successful homemade beef jerky in the oven is the cooking time required to ‘dry’ out the meat strips and ensuring that air can circulate around all of the meat. This is achieved by using a wire rack in the oven (such as that from your grill pan). The best method of cooking your beef jerky is to ensure that your oven door is slightly adjar to allow the moisture from the cooking to escape the confines of the oven keeping the air around the jerky warm and dry.

The other secret to successful beef jerky is to not over cook it. Towards the end of the drying time you should be able to squeeze the jerky between your fingers (do it quickly to avoid burning your fingers!) and no movement should be evident. If you are able to make a depression in the meat strip then it requires further drying. You are looking for a flexible consistency which is dark and shrivelled, over cooked jerky will simply break apart.

A simple breakdown of the process is;

1. Use strips of steak (rump, toprump, topside, silverside are ideal) cut along the grain around 1/2″ thick and about 1″ in width

2. Make up a marinade (my one is below) and marinate the beef in a plastic bag for 24 hours turning as often as you can (you do not have to set your alarm and turn during the night, just as and when you can!)

3. Dry off the surplus marinade and place your strips onto a wire rack in a pre heated 120 degree oven.

4. Leaving the door slightly ajar cook for around 8 hours (use the guide above to test the consistency of the jerky)

Once you get the hang of it you will learn that it is quite a simple process. It is worth bearing in mind that the majority of people do not dry beef jerky in the oven and instead use a commercial Dehydrator such as the Nesco American Harvest 5-Tray Snackmaster Dehydrator this great little machine will make up to around 1lb of beef jerky and is very cheap (probably pays for itself quite quickly considering the manual method will have your cooker running for 8 hours or more). Enjoy your cooking!

Simple Beef Jerky Marinade Recipe

1/4 Cup of soy sauce
1 x Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 x Tsp of onion salt
1/2 Tsp garlic powder
1/2 Tsp pepper

We sometimes try to hard to master dishes such as this and the secret to this recipe is in it’s simplicity. Over complicating food with too many ingredients can sometimes lead you astray but if you step back and look at the raw ingredients required to create homemade Beef Stroganoff, you end up with a simple but delicious version true to the original dish. So, here is my tried and tested version of this classic dish, give it a try and let me know how you got on!

Simple Homemade Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients

Homemade Beef Stroganoff

450g of chuck steak, trimmed and cut into 1cm strips (you can also use filet steak but it is expensive and lean chuck steak in my view is just as tender and more flavoursome)

10 fl oz of soured cream

200g of sliced mushrooms

1 Tsp of Worchester Sauce

1 Tsp Paprika

Juice of 1/2 a fresh Lemon

3 Tbs of Cognac

2 x finely slice large onions

How To Cook

1. Heat a heavy based frying pan on the hob and add 2 tablespoons of oil.

2. Season the chuck steak strips with salt and freshly ground pepper and add half to the now hot oil and fry until browned.

3. Remove the cooked strips into a warm bowl and add the remaining steak strips and fry again until brown.

4. Place remaining steak strips into the warmed bowl including the juices from the pan.

5. Melt a knob of butter in the same pan and fry the onions for 2-3 minutes until soft and translucent and then add the mushrooms and cook until tender.

6. Take your browned steak strips and juices and pour back into the frying pan with the mushrooms and onions.

7. Carefully spoon over 3 tbs of Cognac keeping the heat high. The Cognac will catch fire and the alcohol will burn off, take care at this stage and stir/shake the frying pan until the flame has gone out.

8. Remove from the heat and stir in the soured cream and add the paprika.

9. Return the pan to the heat add the lemon juice and simmer at the lowest setting whilst stirring.

10. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper if required.

As you can see, the ingredients of this homemade Beef Stroganoff are fairly simple and clean which is why it tastes so good! Serve with plain boiled white rice and steamed green beans! Enjoy your cooking.

Sloppy Joes is an old dish and having its roots in the American mid west. The term ‘sloppy’ relates to the fact that the filling would slop out of a sandwich or bun whilst eating, but hey, that’s what the dish is all about. Regardless of whether it all stays in the sandwich or bun one thing is clear, all of it will be eaten!

Ground Beef Sloppy Joes

Ground Beef Sloppy Joes

Ingredients

1lb (450g) of lean ground minced beef

1 x Medium onion sliced

1/2 Chopped red or yellow pepper (about 40grams or so)

1 x Garlic clove crushed

1 x Tsp of mustard

1/2 Cup of tomato ketchup

1/4 Cup of BBQ ketchup

*Optional 1Tsp of chilli powder*

Method

1. Place the ground mince into a heavy based frying pan or skillet and brown for 2 minutes.

2. Add the onion, pepper and garlic continuing to brown until the peppers are soften and mince cooked through.

3. Add the mustard and ketchup and mix throughly (check the seasoning and add salt pepper if required) and reduce to a very low heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve in a fresh, soft and lightly toasted burger bun and watch it go! One of the tastiest and simplest ground beef recipes you and your family will eat again and again! Enjoy your cooking.

Given a whole beef filet is a long cut of meat ordinarily it is best to cut the filet into two pieces to fit into a suitable roasting dish. Some people prefer to first trim the filet of any visible fat but quite honestly, it doesn’t require it. Simply judge the halfway point and cut into two pieces.

Beef Filet With Mustard & Herb Rub

A top beef tenderloin cooking tip is to remove the cut from the refridgerator for at least an hour before cooking. Bringing the filet up to room temperature prior to cooking ensures that it is cooked evenly and accurately. Once you have jointed the cut to achive best results I always tie the filet with around 3 strings, not too tight but just enough to be secure. If you are fortuante enough to have some butchers string which has a waxy outer coating allowing you to tie without ‘pulling’ the meat use this or if you do not then some twine will also do the trick. You are tieing to ensure that the tenderloin retains is circular shape during cooking.

The next step is to sear the filet in a heavy, hot frying pan prior to cooking in the oven. You can simply season the filet with salt and freshly ground pepper or use a mustard & garlic herb rub which I favour (recipe below). If you are using the garlic and herb rub place this onto the filet after you have seared it otherwise this will simply burn the garlic and singe the herbs.

Now, place some oil in the pan and allow it to come up to heat and gently lay the filet in the pan and allow to sear for 1-2 minutes on each side. I know, your thinking it’s circular, it doesn’t have sides as such! think of it as a square and brown on four sides being careful not to disrupt the skin of the tenderloin whilst turning.

Repeat for the remaining tenderloin and leave to rest on a plate when both are browned.

Now to add the mustard and garlic rub. Simply use the back of a teaspoon and spread the mixture all over the tenderloins ensuring they are evenly coated and place in a suitably sized roasting tray with a little pre smeared oil.

Cook in a pre heated oven set at 400°F to 450°F. For a 2-3lb beef tenderloin you will be cooking at around 35 minutes to attain a slightly pink inside (towards the end of the rare scale, bordering on medium) for larger filets 4-5lb your cooking time will be in the region of 45-50 minutes for the same finish. Once your alloted time has elapsed take it out of the oven and leave to rest for a good 15-30 minutes before serving. This is the most important part of the whole process and ensures that all the amazing juices work their way back into the proteins of the meat and in addition finishes cooking (it will retain its heat so do not worry about covering). If you were to cut the tenderloin right after cooking all the juices would simply pour out onto the cutting surface, not the ideal senario.

One of the best investments your kitchen will ever have is a meat thermometer. These handy kitchen meat gadgets allow you to check the internal temperature of the meat during cooking which you can then use to determine exactly the required finish simply by probing the prong into the heart of the meat. You can get the Silicone Meat Thermometer 2″ Dial which is the one I use, it is cheap and can be inserted into the meat at the start of cooking and left, saving you from having to reinsert the probe! withstands temperatures of over 500°F. Enjoy your cooking.

Mustard & Garlic Herb Rub

1 Tsp Oregano

1 Tsp dried thyme leaves

1 Tsp dried rosemary leaves

1 Tsp pepper

1 Tsp Good quality salt

4 x Tbsp French Dijon mustard

4 x Garlic cloves crushed

Simply mix all the ingredients together and spread evenly across the surface of your beef tenderloin.

Cooking Roast Beef

The first roast beef cooking tip to impart to you is to ensure that you start cooking your roast beef on a high temperature setting for a short period at the beginning of the cooking time, around 240°C (475°F) for the first 20 minutes. By blasting the joint with a high heat for a short period at the beginning of cooking this serves to create a tasty crust around the joint that will taste amazing and will also cosmetically produce a fine looking joint color if you should be carving at the table in front of family and friends.

Cooking time for some of the most popular cuts of roasting beef such as Sirloin, topside, toprump, silverside, and rib of beef (boneless and bone in) are as follows:

One of the best investments your kitchen will ever have is a meat thermometer. These handy kitchen meat gadgets allow you to check the internal temperature of the meat during cooking which you can then use to determine exactly the required finish simply by probing the prong into the heart of the meat. Your second beef roasting tip is to invest in one! You can get the Silicone Meat Thermometer 2″ Dial one I use, it is cheap and can be inserted into the meat at the start of cooking and left, saving you from having to reinsert the probe! withstands temperatures of over 500°F. Enjoy your cooking.

Firstly check out our Ground Beef Mince category to view some ground beef recipes including my personal favourite, easiest beef mince recipe.

If you are stuck for ideas what to cook with your ground beef mince then a classic dish using this ingredient which should be in the armoury of every mom/chef is of course classic Chili Con Carne and below you will find my twist on this classic ground beef recipe.

Classic Chili Con Carne

Ground Beef Chili Ingredients

1 x tablespoon of oil
1 x large chopped onion
1 x chopped red pepper
2 x garlic cloves , crushed/chopped or minced
1 x teaspoon of chili powder (mild or hot it’s up to you!)
1 x teaspoon of paprika
1 x teaspoon of ground cumin
500g lean ground minced beef
1 x beef bouillon cube crushed
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
Half a teaspoon of dried marjoram
1 x teaspoon of sugar
2 x Tablespoons of tomato puree
1 x 410g can red kidney beans

Can of soured cream for serving and plain boiled long grain (basmati) rice.

How to cook the perfect Chili Con Carne

1. Fry the onion in the oil over a medium to high heat until the onion is soft and translucent.

2. Add the chopped red pepper, chilli, paprika and cumin and cook for a further 5 minutes stirring.

3. Using your fingers, break up the ground beef mince into fine pieces before adding to the pan (good idea to turn up the high to high just before adding the mince) and cook for around 5 minutes until the mince is cooked through and browned.

4. Make up your sauce by placing the bouillon cube into half a pint of boiled water and stir until dissolved and add to the pan.

5. Add the chopped tomatoes, marjoram, salt and pepper, 2 tablespoons of tomato puree and the sugar.

6. Cover and bring the pan up to the boil and lower to a simmer for around 20 minutes. Check on the pan frequently over the 20 minutes stiring and ensuring that their is plenty of liquid (if it is drying out simply add a couple of tablespoons of water).

7. Empty the can of beans into a sieve and rinse thoroughly with water and add to the pan, bring up the heat to the boil once more and lower again simmering for another 10 minutes. This is a good time to taste your chili and add more seasoning if required.

8. After the final 10 minutes, give the chilli a stir and replace the lid to let it settle for 5 to 10 minutes before serving with your freshly cooked rice and enjoy.

So, here is the one of the best and tastiest ground beef recipes which I hope you and your family enjoy – it just goes to illustrate what you can make with ground beef!

The Perfect Rib of Beef

So, how to bake beef ribs. Essentially achieving optimal results from this amazing cut of beef is down to the size of the joint, whether you have it with the bone in (my favourite, packed full of flavour with the bone left in) or boneless and the output of your oven equipment. Given I obviously do not know the latter I will therefore provide you with a general guide how to correctly cook your roast rib of beef to perfection.

The key to this given your own oven is known better by you than I, is to keep an eye on the joint during cooking paying attention to the temperature and better still if you have a meat thermometer which I highly recommend to any cook, the temperature instructions which came with the device will tell you at what temperature your beef will need to achieve (in the centre) to produce the desired effect (medium or well done etc).

For an average family Sunday lunch serving 6-8 people and to have some remaining, you will require a joint of rib around 5 to 6 lb in weight this will around 3 ribs worth.

Because the actual ribs act as a conductor of heat bone in joints will not need quite as long cooking time as those boneless therefore as a general rule of thumb for a joint this size to be cooked perfectly (just a hint of pink in the centre) cook at gas mark 9, 475°F (240°C) for 20 minutes then turning down the heat to gas mark 5, 375°F (190°C) and then continue to roast for 15 minutes to the pound (450 g) this will provide you with a nice rare finish.

Add a further 15 minutes to the total beef cooking period for medium rare and 30 minutes additional cooking time for well done rib of beef. Remember to baste well every 20 minutes or so which gives you a good opportunity to check on the meat at the same time.

Beef Cuts Diagram

In essence beef is broken down to two sections in it’s simplest form. The Forequarter and Hindquarter. The forequarter contains the front shoulders, leg and breast areas which are the most mobile sections of the cow and therefore in the main, contain the lesser tender cuts of meat. The hindquarter however, contains the bottom and back area which does not have so much work to do and therefore has the tenderest cuts of meat the most tender being the tenderloin, the Fillet Steak of the beef.

Cooking beef requires some knowledge of cooking but for the most part excellent results can be achieved by anyone with just a sprinkling of cooking know how.

How you cook beef obviously depends on a number of factors including the cut of meat and the size along with the equipment you are planning to cook with whether that be using the oven, grill, BBQ or open fire. One of the best ways to judge whether your roasting is cooked to your liking is to take away the guess work and purchase a temperature probe like the one I use which is a  Silicone Meat Thermometer 2″ Dial. These devices are invaluble and cost no more than a single joint of beef and therefore are a great investment for excellent results time after time. In essence the devices are similar to a long metal probe with either a manual or digital gauge located at the end, you simply place the probe into the heart of the meat during cooking and take a note of the temperature readout. Following a cooking temperature chart you can know what the temperature of the meat is inside and following the temperature calculator can achieve perfect roasting results.

The Beef Cuts diagram shows the many different meat cuts available and where on the cow body they are located.

Remember though, just because a cut of beef is not tender to start off with (from the forequarter region) does not mean it should be avoided. Ultimately, flavour is about many things  including the diet of the animal however, the fat content of the meat sometimes called ‘marbling’ carries much of the flavour of meat and avoiding what looks like a ‘fatty’ piece of meat can be avoiding the most flavoursome cuts. Marbling within the meat actually acts to self baste the meat as it cooks ensuring it remains succulent and moist during cooking. If you are conscious about how much fat you consume then feel free to discard any surplus after eating, just ensure you baste your meat well and leave the fat attached during cooking given this provides many benefits during cooking.

Cooking beef need not be a difficult job and our site has many top tips on cooking all the most popular beef joints so please look around for some great recipe ideas and tips on how to cook the perfect beef!

One of the most popular and easy recipes for ground beef mince is one of my own creations and without doubt one of the simplest ground beef recipe quick and easy methods of cooking this most versitile of beef cuts. A simple ground beef recipe and extremely tasty with onions and seasoning it could be considered a large beefburger cooked in the oven but is a great quick and inexpensive meal for you and your family. Served with home made chips and peas this is a recipe which all your family with love.

Towards the end of the cooking time you may notice that the top of your ground mince has blackened somewhat, do not worry this is an effect of the eggs and seasoning combined with the natural fats rising to the top of the mince. Better still, the top becomes crispy and makes the dish unique, so slightly crisp on the top is a good thing!

Easy Recipes For Ground Beef

Ingredients

450g/1lb ground mince beef

2 x Oxo Cube/Knorrs seasoning cubes

2 x Fresh eggs

1 x Large Onion Sliced & Diced (small)

Tomatoes or Mushrooms to Garnish

Best Ground Beef Recipes

1. Prepare a large onion – cut into small pieces by slicing the onion thinly and then dicing into as small chunks as possible (you do not want to have large thick chunks given they will have trouble binding with the ground mince beef.

2. Place the diced onions into a large bowl with 450g (1lb) of mince beef – this is sufficient to feed around 3-4 hungry people.

3. Break two fresh eggs into the bowl with the onion and beef mince.

4. Crumble 2 Oxo Cubes or Knorrs seasoning cubes into the bowl.

5. Mix all ingredients together thoroughly.

6. Spoon out the mince beef mixture into an appropriately sized glass or ceramic dish – you are looking for the layer of mince to be around 2-3″ deep so place into a bowl which gives you this depth.

7. Finish the mince with either sliced tomatoes or mushrooms completely covering the top of the mince with either (or both if you prefer, although sliced tomatoes tend to caramelise which makes for a lovely topping!)

8. Place the dish into a preheated oven at 200 degrees or 180 degrees if using a fan assisted oven and cook for 45 minutes.

Whilst the mince is cooking why not part boil some potatoes sliced as chips for 5 minutes in boiling water. Drain, and leave to cool for 5 minutes then place on a baking tray with some frylite (oil spray) generously sprayed over the soon to be crispy chips and baked in the oven for 15 minutes. Turn after 15 minutes and give another generous spray of frylite and cook for a further 15 minutes until golden.

If you are stuck with ideas around what to cook with beef mince, this is a  really simple yet easy recipes for ground beef which will quickly become a family favorite. The additional of homemade chips makes this a great meal which is free from any artificial ingredients and is made by you in it’s entirety.

I have received some enquires around what are the best knives to use in the kitchen particularly for cutting beef precisely. I purchase my butchery knives from our local Victorinox dealer and would not use any other manufacturer (virtually all my colleagues also use Victorinox knives). They will last many years and retain their edge and handle perfectly. You can purchase the Victorinox 7-Inch Granton Edge Santoku Knife here and a superb sharpening steel the Diamond Machining Technology Ceramic Steel is also worth investing in (a steel will last you a lifetime, you will ever only need one!).