My Weekday Friend (Braised Shoulder Steaks)

I've always had a love for braised foods.  As a young boy, one of my favorite dishes that my mother made was her Roast Beef.  Even as a 10 year old, I knew that the soft, melting meat on my tongue and the collagen left on my lips were something to be celebrated.  As an adult, I'm always playing around with different cuts of beef and putting them through a nice braise with the same anticipation I had as a young boy.

For this particular dish, I ended up using Beef Shoulder Steaks from Costco.  While being the cheapest cut in the meat department that day, they were also cut into 1 1/2" thick steaks which meant shorter braising time.  With a regular 6 lb chuck I can normally expect a 3-4 hour cooking time.  With these steaks, I was able to cut the total prep/cook time to 1hr 45mins!

Since summer extends a little longer in Hawaii, I wanted to cook these in an Italian fashion and used a braising liquid of tomatoes, oregano, thyme, garlic, onions, and balsamic vinegar.  After searing my meats and putting them aside, I layered all my other ingredients and covered them with my two 1.5lb steaks.

  Left on low simmer, I was rewarded 90 minutes later with a wonderful sauce and that coveted melting beef. 

Next time you are at Costco, consider this cheap meat and why not give it a whirl.  With the colder months coming soon, why not add this to your weekday dinner repertoire?

Thanks for reading!