You made beef tenderloins for a house party and they were a hit. But now you’ve got a bunch of beef trimmings left in your kitchen. You’re hesitant to throw the scraps out, we understand your worries.
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What to do with beef tenderloin trimmings?
You can make many items with leftover tenderloin trimmings. You can reuse them to cook sandwiches and kebabs. They can also be consumed by stir-frying with vegetables. Gravies and beef tips can be cooked using trimmings. Lastly, you can also convert it into pet food. But in moderate quantity.
But to make proper reuse out of them, you need details. If you’ve got minutes to spare, jump into our article!
What Should you Do With Beef Tenderloin Trimmings?
Oftentimes we cannot immediately cook leftover trimmings or tips. As meat is laborious to produce and costly, it’s best to preserve it.
Now you’ll know how to freeze prime ribs until a special occasion.
Here are 5 methods of preserving meat at home:
Method 1: Refrigeration
If you’re looking to store raw meat in your refrigerator, keep it at the bottom. So that they can’t contaminate the rest of the food in your fridge. They should be sealed, leaving no chance of leaks.
The ideal temperature for storing fresh meat is 28 degrees to 32 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperature gets close to 40 degrees Fahrenheit, food may get spoiled. Because bacterial growth begins at 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Refrigerate fresh meat as soon as possible. If it’s left at room temperature, it might cause spoilage organisms to grow.
Method 2: Freezing
This is the most common form of preserving meat. If you are short of freezer space, trim off bones and fat if possible.
Do not salt your meat before storing it in the freezer. Salting causes meat to lose moisture and oxidize fat. The meat will gain a rancid flavor, also losing time in the freezer.
Meats of beef and lamb can be stored for up to 12 months in the freezer. And pork meat can be stored for up to 6 months as it has unsaturated fats. So, pork is likely to perish faster than beef and lamb.
Method 3: Curing and Smoking
When we compared cured and smoked meat, we saw both of them are very beneficial.
You see, curing is one of the oldest forms of meat preservation. And you would need curing salt for this.
To start with cover the meat entirely in curing salt. Then, keep the meat in an air-tight container, and store it at 2-4 degrees celsius.
The duration of storage depends on how thick the meat is. This will last for 3-4 months.
For smoking meat, you have to use a closed box with smoke. The meat has to be cooked there for a few hours. After the meat absorbs smoke, it will be cooked thoroughly.
Method 4: Canning
Dehydrated meat can last up to 2 months. That is, depending on how much moisture is left in it.
It’s simple! To do so, just slice into thin pieces. Then boil and bake them slowly. The drier it will be, the longer it will last.
Method 5: Cooking
Even if you don’t want to consume it right away, preserving cooked meat is an option.
Uncooked meat can cause bacteria to spread in the refrigerator. Not only that, by cooking every part of the meat, you can make other snacks.
If you’re cooking the bones, you will also get meat stock.
Now you know how to preserve your meat the right way. We hope this segment prevents you from making rookie mistakes.
5 Options to Reuse Beef Tenderloin Trimmings
Steaks are popular for celebrations. But behind every indulgent dish, there’s a huge price tag and hours of cooking. On top of that, you have to trim your meat to get that perfect cut.
Thinking of throwing the trims hurts both you and your wallet. But trimmings are easy to reuse.
Here are our 5 options on reusing beef tenderloin trimmings –
Option 1: Kebabs
If you love Asian cuisine, beef trimmings can be used to make delicious kebabs. But for that, you might have to mince the tenderloins.
For making kebabs, the meat has to stick properly. You can also ground the meat.
Then you need to add hot spices, fresh curry leaves. And add seasoning too according to your choice of kebab recipe. Make sure not to use rotten spices or leaves. But you can use frozen curry leaves.
Option 2: Stir-Frying
If you’re not a fan of kebabs and sandwiches, we got you.
You can stir fry tenderloin trimmings by sautéing them with vegetables. Such as mushrooms, onions, capsicums, and carrots.
But, if you’re feeling fancy, here’s another way you can cook them through stir-frying.
First, season your trimmings with salt and pepper. Next, sear the sides in a bit of oil on a hot pan. You can also add butter if you like the flavor.
Keep cooking until it’s done enough for you. After taking off the meat from the pan, deglaze it. You can pour water or wine onto the pan for this.
Lastly, pour the deglazings onto your resting trimmings.
To cook the best beef, cast iron pans are a great tool. And we’ll tell you which are best on the market.
Here are some of our top cast iron pans:
| Product 1 | |
| Product 2 |
Cast iron pans are efficient at cooking meat by utilizing your time and ingredients. It’s a great addition to your kitchen if you cook meat at home often.
Option 3: Make Sandwiches
Trimmings can be used for making a quick snack. Do steak sandwiches sound mouth-watering to you? It does to us.
Those tenderloin trimmings you wanted to throw out? They can make a mean sandwich!
Slice your trimmings into thin pieces. Mix it with salt and pepper. Place it between the pieces of bread.
Lastly, slide in a sheet of American cheese. Cheese doesn’t remain fresh outside. So, properly freeze american cheese unless you want them get rotten.
And voila! You made the quickest steak sandwich!
Option 4: Pet Food
If you have little fur babies, this could be a great option for you!
Protein is vital for cats and dogs. If you want to give your pets a taste of your beef tenderloin trimmings, here’s how.
You can dehydrate the trimming and serve to your pet. But of course, in a limited amount. Keep your pet’s allergies in mind.
Option 5: Gravy & Stew
Beef tips are smaller portions of meat that were cut off from larger ones.
Leftover meat trimmings can be used for making gravy. They are great for utilizing beef tips.
And that’s how you can reuse your beef trimmings. No more wasting expensive food scraps.
FAQs
Can dogs be fed fat trimmings or bone fat?
Absolutely not! Any kind of fat, be it cooked or uncooked, causes dogs pancreatitis. Although dogs chew bones, there’s always the risk of choking.
Why are tenderloins so pricey?
It’s because of how many cows are needed to get that premium cut of meat. Although there’s plenty of meat in a cow, only 8% produces filet mignon. Which is attached to the tenderloins.
What can I use instead of beef trimmings?
You can make and use beef tallows. It is a useful way of utilizing the excess fat trimmings from other cow parts. It can be used as an alternative to oil and butter.
Conclusion
That’s all we have. Now you know what to do with beef tenderloin trimmings.
We have another tip for you.
Instead of draining fats and oils on the sink, store them in a disposable container. Then throw that in the bin. No more oil/fat clogged sinks.
Until next time!