Braised blade steak with butter beans

Braising is a wonderful method for cooking some cheaper and tougher cuts of meat. It's a combination cooking method that uses both dry and wet heat to flavour and tenderise. Basically, it’s kitchen magic at it’s finest and luckily, the oven does most of the work.

Braised blade steak with butter beans. Credit: Mary Makes It Easy / Geoff George

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  3 hours

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1½ cups (375 ml) dry butter beans or white lima beans (see Note)
• 700 g (1.5 lb) beef blade steak
• 2 tsp olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 14 g butter
• 2 medium red onions, cut into 8 wedges
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3 tsp tomato paste
• 2 sprigs sage or rosemary
• ½ tsp dry mustard powder (or 1½ tsp Dijon mustard)
• ¼ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1 cup (250 ml) dry red wine
• 4 cups (1 L) low-sodium beef broth
• 2 large handfuls dark leafy greens, such as spinach  

You will need to start this recipe at least 9 hours before serving, to allow time for soaking the beans. Alternatively, you can use canned beans.

Instructions

1. At least 6 hours before you plan on cooking, cover the beans with at least 2 inches of water and set on the counter to soak. You can soak the beans for up to 12 hours. Drain the soaked beans and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
3. Place a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Drizzle the beef with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper, rubbing to coat. Add the beef into the pan and sear for 3 to 5 minutes per side or until well browned. Remove the steak to a plate and set aside.
4. Turn the heat down to medium and add in the butter and onions. Season with salt and pepper and cook until slightly softened and lightly golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. Smash the garlic cloves and add to the pan along with the tomato paste, herbs, dry mustard powder, and nutmeg. Add in the soaked beans and carefully deglaze the pan with the red wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any stuck-on bits.
5. Add in the beef broth and place the seared beef on top, nestling it in so that the liquid comes about halfway up the sides of the beef. Bring to a boil, cover with the lid, and transfer to the oven to roast for 2½ hours or until the beef is very tender and the beans are soft.
6. Remove from the oven and add in the greens, stirring to lightly wilt and combine. If using a heartier green like kale, cover the pot and return it to the oven for about 5 minutes to soften the greens.
7. Allow the dish to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

 

Note

If you don’t want (or just forget) to soak the beans, you can replace them with 1 to 2 cans of drained and rinsed white kidney beans. Simply prepare the beef as directed but rather than add the soaked beans at the beginning of cooking, add the cooked beans in at the end along with the spinach.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.