10 Gifts for A Carnivore or Meatatarian

I've seen a lot posts about gifts for farmers and ranchers, which is fabulous except I don't have a huge herd of cattle or sheep. I merely have three horses and some scruffy, lovable canines. However, what I do have is a hankering for meat and penchant for incorporating it into many aspects of my life. First, if you need a refresher of what a meatatarian is, read this post and come back. If you are familiar with this delicious and healthy dietary pattern, read on to find some cool gift ideas to buy for the resident meat lover in your family or circle of friends. These are my top 10 gift ideas for meat-loving folks and they run the gamut of Christmas gift types.

For the decorating meatatarian:

1. Beef Vintage Art Print

I would love to have this in my kitchen!

2. Meat. Yes, It's Meat.

I have purchased this for a family member but no one has bought it for me yet- c'mon folks!

For the grill master in your household:

3. K-State steak branding iron


My stepdad has this but I need one too!

4. A giftbox of Kansas City strip steaks from the Kansas City Steak Company.

Perfect for a Christmas Eve meal!

Of course, you can't forget about the style-conscious meat lover in your home:

5. Steak t-shirt

Yum!

6. Meatatarian: A Personal Choice t-shirt

This is by far my favorite!

 And let us not forget the lovers of bacon. Isn't that everyone?!

7. "Bacon is Meat Candy" - Bacon of the Month Club

Bacon every month?! Yes, please!

8. Two words. Bacon Vodka. You can purchase it in most states (sorry, Ohio and Kansas!).

And these last two are great for any meat eater - I am actually hoping to get a really nice meat thermometer myself!

9. The Healthy Beef Cookbook

 

 10. A reliable meat thermometer and remember to use it! See here for recommended cooking temperatures per the USDA.

Don't fire up the grill without it!

Do you have other ideas? Please feel free to leave them in the comments below!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Buzzard's BEST Flank Steak Marinade

Last week, I splurged and bought a 1.5 lb flank steak - the Ninja had a pretty busy, hectic week so I thought a celebratory week's-end steak dinner would serve as a great way to de-stress.


Perfection on a plate

I'd never marinated or cooked a flank steak before but some advice from the BEEFMAN pointed me towards soy-sauce based marinades. After some googling, I had a pretty good idea of how I wanted to proceed and, after some piece mealing of other recipes, came up with the following recipe. I cannot accurately describe the magnitude of tastiness of this steak. Wowza - I even had some of it for breakfast before my 10K on Saturday.

Buzzard's Best Flank Steak
- 1/2 c. canola oil
- 1/3 c. soy sauce
- 1/4 c. red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp spicy brown mustard
- 1 tbsp minced garlic (more if you like garlic a lot, we do)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1.5 lb flank steak

Combine all ingredients, except for steak, in a medium mixing bowl.


Tools for the construction of delicious steak

Place meat in a shallow dish and pour marinade over the steak, turning steak to thoroughly coat. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hrs. I flipped the steak every hour or so to make sure every surface was getting adequate marination time during the day.


Look at all that garlic, yum!

For best flavor, grill on medium heat over charcoal until medium rare (145 degrees F). This should take about 5 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the cut. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing into strips against the grain of the meat.


Don't overcook it - medium rare at 145 F

Flank steak is not a particularly tender cut of beef so cooking to well-done will make it tougher to chew. However, flank steak is one of 29 heart-healthy lean cuts of beef - one three-ounce serving (about the size of a deck of cards) has only 158 calories! 

OMG it was so good - flavorful, juicy and heart-healthy!

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did - so tasty!

What other easy, delicious beef recipes do you prepare? Please share below - I'd love to try them!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

I'm a Meatatarian



No veggies? No problem.

I'm a red-blooded, God-fearing, feisty American and I like meat. I know how it's produced, I'm comfortable with the sacrifice made to yield it and I can prepare it 154 ways to amaze even the most skeptical foodie. I eat it at almost every meal and even snack-time if some beef jerky is handy. That's right, I'm a meatatarian.

 

You might be wondering what a meatatarian is, so pay attention while I drop a profound answer in your lap:

meatatarian: a person who, for a variety of reasons, eats mostly meat and very few vegetables. This dietary 'lifestyle' may be due to allergies or could be attributed to a sincere distaste for most vegetables.

I fall into the latter of those two descriptions - I have eaten a lot of vegetables in my twenty-somethings years, in fact it was a rule in the Buzzard household that you had to clean your plate before getting up for dinner. I actually tested this rule to the max when I was seven and fell asleep at dinner because I didn't want to eat spinach.

 

In spite of my avoidance plan, leftover spinach graced my plate at lunch-time the next day. The only thing worse than spinach is leftover, re-warmed spinach. Gag.

 

However, upon leaving the parental castle for college I vowed that I would not continue to eat another food that I despised, thereby depriving those who enjoy vegetables from what they view as an exemplary eating experience. Hence, my diet consists of meat, dairy, grains -- sometimes whole, others not -- and fruit. Often times, my plate contains meat, cottage cheese and a potato/green beans/corn/squash; however, if said potato dish includes peppers or other contemptible vegetable intruders, I quickly jump off the veggie train.

 

It's worth noting that I have tried almost every vegetable in the grocery store so I'm not condemning them without actually having tried them. You name it and I've *probably* tried it and subsequently, disliked it.

 

Bear in mind, I do have vegetarian friends. They are insanely awesome and although we poke fun at one another about dietary choices, I have never seriously tried to convert them back to meat-eaters and they have never tried to persuade me to stop gorging on bacon and steak. They have their reasons for choosing their lifestyle and I have mine. We can all coexist and co-eat in peace.

 

I often wish that I did like vegetables. I see commercials for fresh salads chock full of crispy fresh peppers, cucumbers and carrots. I would love to partake, really I would, but my most recent attempt at ingesting crunchy, fresh salad-type foods led to a near vomit experience in the local Olive Garden. I doubt they would have viewed me as family if I had spewed in the garden.

 

My ordering process at restaurants drives my husband insane but I fail to understand why my palate restricts his meal experience. I challenge you to find a restaurant in existence in which I couldn't suss out at least one thing to eat - plain is always an option - therefore, my food preferences should in no way affect his options.  I profess that I am not a picky eater; I know what I want and I eat a lot of it. Steak, bacon, burgers, chops, wings - bring all the smokey, spiced and sauced goodness to me on a silver platter and I shall demolish it in one fell swoop.

So, to my fellow meatatarians, here are some survival tips for navigating through an increasingly veggo-filled world:

• Do not be ashamed of your choices - God made you this way and no one can argue with that.
• Keep a close eye out for veggies that are added but not disclosed - i.e. the bacon and cheese hot dog in a pretzel bun at Sonic does not make buyers aware of onions in the mix but they are sure 'nuff on the dog.
• When the day arrives that you're tired of defending your choices (and it will come, no fail), claim to be allergic to specific vegetables. This strategy will immediately stop whatever heckling you're receiving. I have used this at Taco Bell in order to stop the staff from ignoring my requests about a lettuce-less burrito.
• Pose the question, "If I were a vegetarian would you be giving me this much guff?"
• Refer to one of any number of Ron Swanson classics - here, here and here.
• Bonus info: if you order fajitas and ask for no onions or peppers, they will often double the amount of meat you're getting so the portion sizes are equal. Huzzah!

I imagine, in the distant future, there will be a support group for folks like myself who, despite society's need to interrogate and force change upon our dietary choices needs, have chosen to eat mostly animal products mixed in with a few whole grains and some fruit.

Stand strong, fellow meatatarians, and let protein drive the force.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Is Bigger Always Better When It Comes to Steak

Yes and no.

image credit

As Americans, we tend to think bigger is better. More value for the dollar. Efficiency. More for less. That mantra has led to increased farm efficiency, bigger cows and therefore bigger steaks to feed a growing, hungry population.

But do Americans really want bigger steaks?

A recent article on BEEF Magazine's website calls this into question. Americans (or some of us) are striving to eat healthier. Prepare and consume smaller, more diet-friendly portions.

A 3 oz serving of lean beef provides 10 essential nutrients in only 154 calories and is about the size of a deck of cards (thanks Daren Williams and the Masters of Beef Advocacy program). While I personally would like to have more than 3 oz of meat on my plate during dinner, I can see how many people don't want a 16 oz T-bone for dinner every night. This presents a problem for an industry that has shrinking cow herd and has therefore learned how to produce more with less.

To combat the 'problem' (I don't consider efficiency bad) the article talks about taking larger cuts like the ribeye, for example, and breaking it down into more user and diet-friendly portion sizes. Not only does this create more smaller portions out of one cut but it also creates a chance to remove some of the extra bits of fat. Another form of efficiency, in essence.

So what do you think? Are you one who wants all the steak you can get or do you like to keep your plate balanced with smaller portions of meat and equal amounts of whole grains and veggies?

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Airborne Beef Promotions

In light of all the questionable hype going on with Chipotle, I thought it would be nice to share a positive story about beef.

This past weekend, I had the honor of standing up with one of my best gals in her wedding. En route to the wedding, on one of many flights I've had over the past month, I sat next to a woman who told me she only ate beef when she ordered hamburgers. I thought this was odd, so I asked her why and she shared with me that her mother had served her overdone, tough and unflavorful flank steak for the duration of her childhood. I spent the next hour sharing easy, delicious beef recipes with her. I even told her where she could get a really good steak in Kansas City (Ruth's Chris Steak House, Hereford House). So, in honor of the anonymous consumer and Labor Day, I am posting a flank steak recipe that is so crazy easy, your toddler could prepare it.

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak Recipe (via www.simplyrecipes.com)

Ingredients

Marinade Ingredients
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Other ingredients
2 pounds flank steak
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

Method

1 Score the surface of the steak with 1/4 inch deep knife cuts, about an inch apart, across the grain of the meat. Combine the marinade ingredients. Place steak and marinade ingredients in a large freezer bag. Coat the steak well with the marinade. Seal the bag and place in a bowl. Chill and marinate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

2 Using olive oil soaked onto a paper towel, coat the grill rack of your grill with olive oil. Preheat the grill with high, direct heat. The grill is hot enough when you hold your hand about an inch over it and you can only hold it there for about a second.

3 Take the steak out of the marinade bag and sprinkle generously on all sides with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. The salt and pepper will help form a savory crust on the steak. Place steak on the hot grill. If you are using a gas grill, cover the grill. Grill for 4-6 minutes on each side. Half way through grilling on each side, turn the steak 90° so that you get more grill marks.

4 Flank steak is best eaten medium rare; well done will make it too tough. When the steak has cooked to your preferred level of doneness, remove from the grill and place on a cutting board. Cover with aluminum foil to hold in the heat and to keep the steak from drying out, and let rest for 10 minutes.

5 Make very thin slices, against the grain, and at a slight diagonal so that the slices are wide.

If you want, you can take the excess marinade and bring it to a boil, simmer for several minutes, and serve with the flank steak. Great also with salsa or horseradish sauce.

Hope everyone had an awesome Labor Day weekend with your friends and family.

Until next time,
~Buzzard~