Simple Beef Tips and Rice

Beef Tips is a dish I first heard of while working for a caterer in Texas. Apparently many people are familiar with it, but I probably wouldn't eat too much of what we made. I wasn't sure what it supposed to be at the time, and nobody said it was just braised beef cubes served over rice. Now that's pretty good stuff. Braised beef over rice is simple and grubbin and a good way to stretch your money, but we at the caterer made was a poor example. 

Braising beef is very easy; it really only taxes your time. I'm talking about over the stove in the following case. Other methods for braising meat is in the oven or in a counter-top crock-pot. If you use fat or oil instead of a water-based liquid then it's called confit.

And, just to set people at ease, when I started working in the fancy kitchens in Manhattan and came across the word confit for the first time written on paper, I totally did pronounce it "KAHN-fit". The word is French, and pronounced "kohn-FEE".

In any case, the meat here is cheap beef. Cube it and season it. Start with some mire poix in the pot:

For this particular job dredge the cubed beef in a mixture of flour, salt, pepper and cayenne:

The flour dredge isn't necessary really, but for this simple recipe it helps with thickening the sauce. Not necessary.

The liquid for this braise/stewing is a simple one: 4 cups water and a half cup soy sauce. Beef tips in general can have different kinds of braising liquids, but it doesn't need to get too fancy; no ketchup or mustard or beer or pickle juice or savory spices needed.

Once the mire poix is done, the bottom of the pan will look nice and covered with yummy glace:

That's flavor right there. Remove the vegetables and set them aside. Add some more oil and start browning your beef chunks.

Pay close attention, as the flour will have a tendency to burn and pretty much screw everything up. Get the heat turned down and constantly prod the beef. This is contrary to how you brown meat for stewing in normal cases when no flour is being used.

Once all the cubes are browned, return all batches (most likely) and vegetables back into the pot along with the water and soy sauce:

Simmer until the beef is fork tender, anywhere between 30 to 60 minutes (checking periodically):

Serve over rice with some greens. I prefer blanched broccoli: