I love Fall. So, so much, I love it. And though I am a huge fan of grilling, I would say that this upcoming season is most “me” when it comes to my natural cooking style. I love to roast, stew, simmer and broil. But of all the cooking techniques that seem to naturally come with this season, braising is tops for me.
Braising is the OG version of the crockpot or Instapot. And because I love the cooking technique so much, I don’t own a crockpot or Instapot. While I recognize the virtues of these appliances for many people, I struggle losing space in my kitchen to a small appliance when I can accomplish everything it can do, with better results, using a pot I already have.
Braised beef tips are a great way to use medium-sized trim pieces of beef roasts, but functionally I often will cut a full roast into “tips” because you can get more flavor from a higher surface-to-mass ratio, since the surface gets seasoning and sear. I also like being able to cut out some of the fat as I trim the pieces, and the smaller sized sections cook about an hour faster than a whole chuck roast (which is what I use for this). But if you have enough tips saved for a full braise, amazing. Just make sure it’s something with decent marbling or it’ll be tough up until the point it’s dog food.
Beef Tips Braised with Sweet Potato & Cinnamon
A tender, delicious beef braise that’s full of fall flavor, but free of gluten, dairy, soy, egg, nuts, and grain.
- 1 3lb beef chuck roast cut into 3in chunks, large fat bits removed
- 3 Tbsp Montreal steak seasoning adding 2 tsp toasted, ground fennel seed is encouraged
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 medium sweet potato or yam peeled, diced
- 1 medium sweet onion diced
- 5 cloves garlic stem removed, smashed
- 4-5 leaves fresh sage
- 1-2 cinnamon sticks
- 2-3 cups beef stock or broth
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But a lidded pot/pan on the stove on medium heat and preheat your oven to 300 degrees. In a bowl, toss together the beef tips and steak seasoning. Add the oil to the pan and sear the pieces, in batches to avoid crowding the pan, on the tops and bottoms (no need to get all sides). Add more oil as needed.
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Once all beef is finished, remove to a separate bowl and set aside. To the fond in the pan, add another Tbsp of olive oil, along with the vegetables, cinnamon stick(s), and sage leaves. Sauté to break the fond up off the pan. If needed add a couple Tbsp of beef broth.
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When the fond has been released from the pan and the onions begin to look translucent, add the beef tips back into the pan, along with any juices from the bowl. Add 2-3 cups beef broth, until the liquid is about 2/3 up the sides of the beef tips. Cover and place in the oven.
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Bake (I prefer not using convection for this) for 2 hours, then remove the lid and bake for an additional hour until the meat is tender. Remove from the oven.
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Place the tips on a platter. Pass all the cooking liquids through a fine mesh strainer, using a ladle to press the liquid through and strain out any stringy bits of vegetable or seasonings. Ladle the gravy over top and serve warm with your favorite starch, vegetable, and salad.