It’s never too early to start thinking about holiday dinner! And while turkey and ham are both classic crowd-pleasers, we’d like to suggest beefing up your main dish this year. Whether you’re gathering with family or celebrating remotely, these three cuts of beef are the perfect addition to your holiday feast.
Low-and-Slow: Brisket
Brisket is a beautiful cut of beef from the chest or pectoral-region of the animal. When it’s cooked properly, the brisket transforms into a melt-in-your-mouth tender, flavorful cut of meat. This is where low-and-slow cooking styles like smoking and roasting come into play.
While the cooking process itself is hands-off, brisket does require a little forethought and planning. First, a few days before the holiday meal, we recommend salting your brisket. Adding a generous amount of salt, securely wrapping your brisket in plastic wrap, and putting it back in the fridge 1-3 days ahead of cooking will help tenderize and season the meat without a brine.
Next comes the searing. This crucial step caramelizes the meat and helps seal in the juices and flavor. Proper caramelization takes time, so don’t rush this process! After each side of your brisket is browned, you can add to your smoker or roasting pan. The total cook time will vary depending on the size of your brisket. But the general recommendation is to cook around 275 degrees for at least three hours. If you have the time, use it! Some recipes call for eight to twelve hours for a perfect, tender cut of meat.
Get your 100% grass-fed, organic half brisket from Oreganic™.
Prime Rib: A Classic Holiday Cut of Beef
For many, nothing says the holidays are here quite like a thick slice of prime rib with au jus and a touch of horseradish. A show-stopping holiday roast, the prime rib is a beautiful, well-marbled roast made from the beef rib primal cut. You might also see this one referred to as a standing rib roast or, if it’s boneless, a ribeye roast. Whatever you call these cuts of beef, they’re a steakhouse classic, and a beautiful addition to any dinner table.
A well-cooked prime rib is juicy, flavorful, and—perhaps best of all—surprisingly easy to cook. Serve alongside mashed potatoes with au jus and a little horseradish, and you’ve got yourself a holiday feast.
So, how do you do it? Much like the brisket, it’s all about low and slow. Traditional prime rib recipes call for searing the meat and dry roasting it to medium-rare. The upside of prime rib (besides all of that flavor) is that it’s quick and easy to cook. A five-pound roast can be ready to serve in just 1.5-2 hours, depending on your preferred level of done-ness.
Don’t see prime rib on the menu? We can do custom cuts of meat! Get in touch to discuss your options.
Fast & Flavorful: Filet Mignon
Widely considered the gold standard of steaks, the filet mignon is a carefully selected and cut piece of meat from the tenderloin. It’s melt-in-your-mouth tender and packed full of flavor. Each animal only yields about ten pounds of filets, which means there’s not much to go around.
Because it’s one of the more expensive cuts of meat, filet mignon is the perfect holiday option if you’re serving up dinner for your closest friends and family.
Because this piece of meat is so flavorful, we recommend using minimal seasonings. All you need for a perfect filet mignon is coarse salt, black pepper, and some olive oil. If you’ve got a cast iron, you’re going to want to have it handy for this. Just pan-fry and finish in the oven, and you’ve got dinner on the table in only 15 minutes.
Get your 100% grass-fed, organic filet mignon in time for the holidays.
Oreganic™ Also Handles Custom Cuts of Beef
Sometimes a special occasion calls for a particular cut of meat. And Oreganic™ is happy to come through. Just give us at least two weeks of lead time on custom orders, and we’ll have them on your doorstep in time for your holiday dinner. Ready to beef up your holiday dinner table? Shop our selection of 100% grass-fed, organic steaks, and roasts.