Beef for sarnies + Toddler and fillet steaks

HappyIdiotTalk

Instead of buying some sliced beef for sarnies I thought it'd be more OS to get some beef myself, cook it and slice it myself. Plus if I do this I can make it thick and juicy!

However living with a veggie person means that I dont buy meat that often and I have no knowledge of what a suitable joint or cut would be for this. Any advice?

Also, for only the second time ever I bought a fillet of beef for tea last night (from the butchers - not supermarket). Cooked it medium rare and had it for tea. My 2.5 year old daughter seemed interested so I gave her some and discovered that she really likes it. Is it safe to give a toddler steaks cooked medium rare? I hope so because it gives me more reason to cook meat instead of veggie all the time - OH can have the potatos and something else slung in the oven!

madmum33

Topside/top rump would be good, but if you have a slow cooker you could buy a much cheaper cut like brisket and let it cook all day for a tasty and tender piece of beef.

Never heard any reason why toddlers can't eat medium rare beef but I'm not an expert - if she enjoyed it and didn't seem to suffer any ill effects I don't see why not!

HappyIdiotTalk

madmum33 wrote: »

Topside/top rump would be good, but if you have a slow cooker you could buy a much cheaper cut like brisket and let it cook all day for a tasty and tender piece of beef.

:j Great idea! I do indeed have a slow cooker! It didn't cross my mind that I might be able to use it to cook beef. I'll pop into my butchers on the way home tomorrow and ask for some brisket then. Would you add anything else to keep it moist, or will it be ok to simply cook it as is?

madmum33 wrote: »

Never heard any reason why toddlers can't eat medium rare beef but I'm not an expert - if she enjoyed it and didn't seem to suffer any ill effects I don't see why not!

Well she slept through the night OK, and I've not had any phone calls off DW today so I'm assuming she's not suffered any ill effects.

I'm actually really pleased, she's not really been that interested in other meats, but she was stuffing chunks of my beef fillet into her mouth pretty enthusiastically last night. She wasn't best impressed with the peppery bits though... my hand slipped seasoning it!

LandyAndy

HappyIdiotTalk wrote: »

:j Would you add anything else to keep it moist, or will it be ok to simply cook it as is?

We were at a friends for Easter and he cooked a beef joint in the slow cooker without adding anything. It was delish!! :T I don't suppose a few tablespoons of water would do any harm though.

Pink.

I agree with madmum.......topside and silverside are great cuts for sandwiches.

If your dd likes it medium rare then let her have it that way. All of us prefer meat served medium rare......we may have brainwashed them, but it's never done any harm.

Just to to the obligatory bit.....any meat that has not been cooked throroughly has a chance of carrying bacteria which may cause harm.

Up to you really,but mine are taller than me and thriving on beef cooked to medium rare.

Pink

Lyndsay_21

i made some beef the other day and followed the cooking times for rare which where on the packet and it came out well done, so be careful with cooking times!!

Raksha

The interior of a piece of meat is sterile - the bugs are on the outside (which is why mince meat has to be cooke throughly, as the outside bits can end up inside) I don't know of any health reason why your little one shouldnt' have rare meat - and red meat is a great source of iron.

Three_Dancing_Dragons

If you're really worried, just make sure to feed her the fully brown bits from the edge rather than the middle pink bits.

Pooky

We do brisket in the slow cooker - add a glass of red wine, a glass of water and lay it on a bed of chopped onion, celery, carrots and parsnips....yummy!

Use the veg and liquid that's left with any left over bits of beef to make a yummy soup.

Karnam

also beef rocks the world for kids. the iron is amazing, just give her a glass of orange juice or something critus based as it helps the iron be absorbed by the body.

HappyIdiotTalk

A big thanks to everyone for the advice, particularly Karnam for the citrus tip. I shall definitely be ordering a lot more beef on my weekly trip to the butchers for myself and DD1. My OH doesn't necessarily have to lose out as I can make some chips or mash and veg to go with it which she can have.

God I must be getting old. I'm getting all excited about going out to the shops to buy some beef! I really am! Imagine if I were writing a personal ad for a dating site:

Good looking (obviously), excellent sense of humour, witty, enjoys reading and posting on MSE and going out to buy beef! :rotfl: