In This Issue:
= Where's the Beef?, Ramblings
= Beef Brisket Recipe, Guest Chef
= Chef Jay Asks, Vote for ME!

Ramblings from Chef Jay

As America prepares to celebrate it's independence this weekend, I thought it would be the perfect time to share some all american beef recipes with you. So, beginning with today and in the next 3 special mailings this week, you'll be receiving beef brisket recipes, beef fajita recipes, cajun beef recipes, jamaican beef recipes, mexican beef recipes...well you get the idea. Lots of beef is coming your way!

If you've read any of my newsletters or visited my site, I'm sure you know that I love to cook beef over an open flame, alongside whatever peppers and other vegetables I have to go with it. Well, the past month in Houston has seen rain almost every day, and I mean lots of rain. So, I've been doing most of my cooking indoors.

This week I'll be sharing some very interesting beef recipes that can be cooked indoors and out. These recipes come from the author of a very successful cookbook, "The Book of Beef". Yep, Chef Johan's cookbook is made up exclusively of beef recipes. My kind of guy! I know you are going to enjoy them.

Oh, I know I say this every month, but thanks to all of you again for voting for my site at Chef2Chef. We continue to climb the ladder of famous culinary websites and are now teetering on the edge of breaking into the Top 25! So, as I ask every month, please go there and vote as often as you can!

Where's the Beef?

It's right here, thanks to our Guest Chef this issue. Chef Johan will bring us many of his favorite beef recipes.

Not everyone is so lucky as to be able to cook their favorite beef recipes outside on the grill whenever they want. But, it is pretty easy to get that great barbecue beef flavor without using a barbecue pit.

Chef Johan is the expert on cooking beef. He has assembled an extraordinary collection of the best beef recipes. You are going to love his barbecue beef recipe that makes it easy to get the great taste of barbecue brisket right from your own oven. And if you like beef fajitas, you are going to love his beef fajitas recipe.

Give them a try the next time you have a craving for that outdoor smoked flavor of beef, but don't have the chance to fire up the grill. And, just in case you are going to use your grill, I am including one of his delicious marinade recipes for grilling beef.

Barbecue Beef Brisket Recipe

Directions:
- Pour liquid smoke over brisket and rub on all sides. Sprinkle with celery salt, garlic salt, onion salt, and meat tenderizer. Place brisket in refrigerator covered with foil, overnight.
- When ready to bake, sprinkle both sides of beef with salt, pepper and a little worcestershire sauce.
- Bake covered 5 hours in 275 degrees oven. Uncover meat, pour barbecue sauce over it and continue baking uncovered for 1 hour.
- Remove meat; remove fat from juices. Add flour to thicken the juice. Then add more barbecue sauce, if desired. Serve with the sliced brisket.
- Allow brisket to cool before slicing; slice thin across grain.
- Slices may be reheated when ready to serve or wrapped and frozen.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy a nice cut of beef is served with my favorite salsa and peppers. Chef Johan's twist on this recipe is just one of over 25 fajita recipes you'll find in his cookbook... The Book of Beef.

Beef Fajitas Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup sliced onions
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon safflower oil
1/3 cup sherry, dry
1 pound sirloin tip -- fat trimmed
2 serrano peppers, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon minced cilantro
4 large flour tortillas
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 avocado, thinly sliced
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt

Directions:
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute onions and mushrooms in oil and sherry for 10 minutes.
- Cut steak into 1 1/2 inch strips and add to saute, cooking for 2 minutes more. Add peppers, cumin, coriander, and cilantro. Cook 3 minutes stirring frequently.
- Warm tortillas in oven. Wrap in a napkin to keep warm after done.
- Arrange bowls of salsa, sliced avocado, and yogurt on a tray.
- Serve meat filling out of skillet or in pre-warmed serving dish.
- Allow guests to assemble their own fajitas.

The Book of Beef

Marinade for Grilling Beef

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon pale dry sherry
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon sugar
Coarse ground pepper

Directions:
- Mix together and pour over thick cut top round or other cut of beef.
- Stab with fork on both sides.
- Let sit all night or at least 4 hours, turning every now and then.
- Grill over charcoal.

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