A Cut Above - a colourful collection of beef recipes

A Cut Above, cooking with AngusPure, from the authors of the award winning cookbook, Volcanic Kitchens,. 

This new title will have wide appeal with recipes including both quick and easy as well as long and slow, a great selection of barbeque recipes and a comprehensive selections of offal recipes . 

Interspersed throughout the book are interesting stories with photographic essays of the dedication, history, and commitment of some of NZ's leading Angus stud breeders, and their quest to produce great tasting, grass-fed beef in New Zealand.           

An impressive hard cover book with french-fold jacket, $59.99. 

www.gerhardeggerphotographer.com

Gerhard Egger has been a chef and farmer but more recently has been a professional photographer specialising in food photography and styling.A Cut Above is a collection of his recipes and photographs published in collaboration with his wife Henri.

The author/publisher (same person!) has kindly allowed me to reproduce two of the recipes from the book:

Short rib steaks with chimichurri sauce

Serves 4

Chimichurri is an Argentinean green sauce commonly served with barbequed meat, it is similar to pesto. This recipe uses short ribs, ask the butcher to cut the steaks 2-3cm thick across 4 ribs. Use a well aged beef like AngusPure.

4 short rib steaks

2 tbsp rice bran oil

salt

freshly ground pepper

Rub the steaks with oil, season with salt and pepper and grill on the barbeque or in a griddle pan over a  high heat for 4-5 minutes, or until done to your liking. Serve with chimichurri sauce on the side.

Chimichurri sauce

1 red onion, finely diced

½ cup flat parsley leaf, chopped

1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves, chopped

1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tbsp red wine vinegar

½ lemon, juiced

salt

freshly ground black pepper

Short ribs with coffee and ginger                          

                                                                                                                                                                 Serves 4

This is quite simply finger-licking-good. The short ribs are slowly poached in a coffee and molasses stock, then barbequed with a coffee and ginger glaze. The result is a meal with many layers of flavours.

1.2 kg beef short ribs,      1 piece of 4 ribs cut 15cm wide 2 cups espresso coffee 1 tbsp molasses 1 tbsp golden syrup 5 black peppercorns 600ml water 2 spring onions

Coffee and ginger glaze 2 cups beef coffee stock, strained ½ cup light soy sauce 2 tbsp honey 2 tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated 2 red chillies

Preheat the oven to 120˚C. Mix the coffee, molasses and golden syrup with the water. Place the short ribs in a rectangular oven proof dish with the meat facing down. Cover with the coffee mixture, add peppercorns and spring onions and cover tightly with tin foil. Place in the oven for 2½ hours until the ribs are tender, remove the dish from the oven and allow to cool.

Once cooled, remove the ribs from the stock and make the coffee and ginger glaze. To make the glaze, place all the ingredients in a pot and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

When ready to be eaten, brush the ribs with the coffee and ginger glaze and grill on the barbeque to warm the meat through and caramelise the outside. Keep on brushing with the glaze until ready; this only takes a few minutes.

Serve with the remaining glaze on the side.