Beef Neck Soup

I was at the halal butcher the other day and saw that they had beef neck for sale at only US$1.99 per pound. I was really curious about this because I had never seen that for sale before, so I asked the butcher what is the best way to cook this. He told me emphatically "soup"!

But, growing up in Hong Kong and having parents who were very diverse in the cuts of meats that we ate, I thought "why not?" So I decided to buy a couple of pounds of beef neck and try it out.

I was not sure what kind of "soup" I was going to make with this, and quite honestly, I was very surprised to find how much meat the neck actually contained.

As I browsed through the produce section, I found a bag of turnips for 99 cents. They were a little "soft" as they were over-ripe, but I always browse this part of the produce section because there is always great bargains to be had. Sometimes, you just have to peel a little more or cut a bit more, but generally these are perfect buys especially if you are working with a limited budget.

Sadly, not many of the large chain supermarkets offer this, so if you are looking for a good bargain, venture in to the smaller "mom & pop"-style grocery stores.

I also grabbed a few heads of cabbage, and was already formulating in my mind the dish I was going to attempt to make.

When I came home, I rinsed the beef; most people generally do not do this, but when I buy beef that has bone and has been cut, I always give it a rinse to ensure than any bone fragments are washed off.

I peeled my turnips, cut my cabbage, and rummaged through the fridge to see what else I'd pop into this "soup".

I had to think what "style" I was going to go for, Chinese or Middle Eastern-style? I decided to go Middle Eastern-style considering I'd bought the meat from a Middle Eastern grocer. Next time, I'd experiment with making it Chinese-style.

After it boiled and then simmered for about 2 hours, it was ready, and taste testing was amazing!

I thought that it was a bit "light" for dinner, and decided to make rice to go with it on the side.

Everything ready, I dished up with a little prayer. "I" liked the flavour, but sometimes Ben is not as keen.

No worries on that concern, Ben LOVED it!

Here is the complete recipe and I hope that you will "love" it too! It's SO wonderful on a cold night, and here in Arizona, we've certainly had a couple of those lately.

Happy Cooking, Happy Eating!


Ingredients:

2lbs beef neck, cut (have your butcher cut it into 2" thick pieces)
1 tsp oil, for frying
3lbs turnips, peeled and quartered
1/2 head cabbage, diced (about 1")
1 large onion, diced
6 cloves garlic
1 red chili, seeds removed
2 TBSP vegetable oil
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp chicken powder
1/2 TBSP Turmeric
1 tsp Middle Eastern 7-Spices
1 tsp Angelica
8 - 10 cups water

1. Rinse the beef neck to ensure that all the bone shards are rinsed off. Heat the pot and add the 1 tsp oil. Add the beef and fry until all sides are browned. Remove from the pot and set aside.
2. In the magic bullet (or blender), blend together the garlic, chili, lemon juice, and 2 TBSP vegetable oil. Put into the pot that the beef was frying in and fry until it begins to turn golden brown.
3. Add the onions and fry until translucent. Add the chicken powder, turmeric, 7-spices, and Angelica.
4. Add the turnips and the cabbage, and fry for about 3 minutes. Add the beef necks back to the pot and then add the water. Stir well.
5. Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce the heat to low to simmer.
6. Cook approx 2 hours, stirring occasionally.