Braised beef again--it's versatile
 

The whole sirloin tip roast I wanted never went on sale, so I paid full
price for a couple of pieces, $5 a lb, I hate that.

But it was great. Made it with just a rich broth and carrots, no boullion or
weirdness, just dark browned braised meat that became fall-apart tender,
seasoned with salt and pepper. It was great with buttered bread on the side,
just as a light stew, and really delicious on fresh whole wheat rolls,
dripping with juice, with carmelized onion slices, sauteed mushrooms, and a
piece of provalone melted on top.

Today I made the last of it into "texmex" meat--smashed and diced three
cloves of fresh garlic and muddled them around with the meat with a bit of
hot salsa, as the broth was mostly gone. Essentially just warmed them
together, as no further cooking was necessary and I wanted the full
nutrition of the garlic.

Royal Blend Texmati red, white, and wild rice on the side, seasoned just
with a bit of butter and salt and pepper, refried beans with melted sharp
cheddar on top of that, with sour cream and salsa on the side.

Mmm, mmm, sloppy, gloppy good. And easy, too. Would have been great on a
tortilla but I am out and not getting out in this heat for anything today.

Braised beef again--it's versatile
 

I caught the last half of last night's Good Eats, wherein
Alton Brown explains the physical chemistry of the braise.

Dissolve the collagen in low heat over a long time until the
meat is falling-apart tender.

Let the meat rest and the collagen reforms into gelatin,
which is not as tough as collagen but takes a higher heat
to dissolve so it remains stable.

A tough piece of meat is made tender and solid at
the same time.

--Blair