Some assorted food questions....

[BhoysGirl]

I would think that most times you could substitute leeks for onions, As far as growing leeks, to get a longer "white", you plant them in a trench, and keep adding soil as they grow. So a shallow pot probably wouldn't do the trick, you'd need a deep pot. But they are easy to grow.

Don't know about beef ribs as I've never cooked them, but I reckon that anything meat that you want to keep tender, low & slow is the way to go. I cook most of my casseroles at about 160, for at least 4 hours (in a Le Creuset - you have to get one), which gets the meat to the point that it just collapses.

[TheBear]

Banana Shallots would be a better substitution for onion if you want a milder flavour, try slow roasting the onions before using them with plenty of EVO and you will soften the flavour of the onions substantially.

They will grow fine in a deep tub, provided it will retain a decent amount of moisture...they will need to be watered regularly. Quarter them lengthwise over about 2/3 of their length so you can spread them out like a fan to wash out all the dirt trapped deep inside them.

Soups, gravies, sauces - lots and lots of uses...what do you want to use it with?

All beef cooks well slowly - and now that summer is coming along you can slow cook beef ribs using nothing but the sun - marinade them well, then place them on a rack in a covered roasting pan and leave in direct sunshine for 6-7 hours then sear on a BBQ/grill for a couple of minutes a side to caramelise the outside.

Oxtail has pretty distinctive flavour, so it's best to use it if the recipe calls for it - ask your butcher for a smaller quantity...

[AnyDream]

I would be inclined to use ham stocks in any sort of soup or casserole but I'd be steering clear of the silverside stock because it's just soooo salty. But a small amount in something could give it some ooomph.

[TheBear]

I would be inclined to use ham stocks in any sort of soup or casserole but I'd be steering clear of the silverside stock because it's just soooo salty. But a small amount in something could give it some ooomph.

If you cook a couple of potatoes in the silverside stock then they will absorb a lot of the salt, making it suitable for use in wider variety of dishes.

[Netix]

Check on the beef ribs, thank you. They look like they have a fair bit of meat on them, and I've quite gone off 'normal' stewing beef, including gravy beef. Actually, probably most stews in general. I can't seem to make have very different tastes, iykwim.

Thanks for the hints on growing leeks. Since I have no garden beds, I would probably grow them in one of those tall polystyrene boxes. Oh, also thanks for the temp and time hint for casseroles.

Bear, not sure I've seen banana shallots, but I know I haven't been looking.
Think I might pass on making anything with the silverside stock. I found a great recipe for it, but it uses orange, cloves and golden syrup. It was delicious so I will make it again like that, but I don't imagine using this sweet stock for anything.
I never knew about cooking beef in the sun, I don't think.
The oxtail that I have seen doesn't look like a whole tail, its already cut up and prepackaged. I thought an ox tail was longer than what this seems. I suppose I could ask the butcher for one that hasn't been cut up yet.

PS, I actually started this post yesterday, but for some reason or another I kept getting pulled away from the computer. The half written post even survived the computer getting turned off by my little darling this arvo!

[TheBear]

You really want the oxtail cut up and packaged for you, it's a batsrad of a job to strip one down - the recipes will assume that you have tail in this form anyway.

Re the cooking beef in the sun - good quality beef really benefits from slow cooking processes, and the final temperatures required are relatively low compared to most other meats:-

Cooked Temperature Range Description
Blue (46 – 52?C) Blood-red meat, soft, very juicy
Rare (52 – 54?C) Red center, gray surface, soft, juicy
Medium Rare (54 – 60?C) Pink center, gray-brown surface
Medium (60 – 66?C) Slightly pink center, becomes gray-brown towards surface
Medium Well (66 – 71?C) Mostly gray center, firm texture.
Well done >160?F (>71?C) Gray-brown throughout.

So instead of blasting your beef with 180?C air in a hot oven for a short period of time to bring it up to the required temperature you can apply a gentler heat source for a longer period of time - we regularly cook a roast joint of beef for 6 or more hours with the oven set on minimum with the door ajar in order to get an oven temp of around 80?C - the Australian sun on hot summers day will quite happily bring a covered roasting pan up to this sort of temp.

[blackbird]

Beef ribs are yummo marinated and bbqed if you're looking for an alternative style to slow cooked. I stick the marinade in the bag before they go in the freezer. They make a very tasty, cheap red meat meal.

V interesting about cooking in the sun...