CAB Cook-off 2012: CAB Ribeyes w/ Blue Cheese & Vidalia Onion Jam

At the National Jr Angus Show, there are many educational contests to participate in, but our favorite is the Certified Angus Beef Cook-off. The kids come up with a theme and a skit to promote CAB and then serve an original recipe to the judges. Prizes are given for the skit as well as the recipe, and then an overall placing is determined.

This group of kids resurrected an old skit that was successfully used back in the '90s--but as with all remakes, they added a twist! In the old skit, Tinkerbell was a sweet, cute little gal from Wamego, Kansas--in this remake, my son who is 6'6" played a bumbling, skipping, crazy fairy! Luckily he is a fun guy and he really had a great time sprinkling fairy dust (glitter) on the kids and judges!


Team members carry in the table set with a Peter pan theme and steaks! Mmmmmm!

Wendy reads a story to her little brother about Neverland where you can get Certified Angus Beef!

Peter Pan and Tinkerbell enter the children's bedroom and take them off to Neverland! My son is the 6'6" redheaded Tinkerbell! My daughter is the little brother in blue PJs.

Captain Hook has CAB locked in his treasure chest and will hide it from Peter Pan!

The children find that Certified Angus Beef is available back home...they capture Captain Hook and Tinkerbell sprinkles a bit of fairy dust so they can fly back to enjoy their steaks with the judges!
This team ended up placing 2nd overall in their age division and in the steak division. It was such a great time and the kids were awesome in the skit!  Their recipe is below--really easy and very good. It is tangy and delicious!

CAB Ribeyes with Blue Cheese and Vidalia Onion Jam
4 CAB boneless ribeye steaks, 1 ¼ inch thick
2 Tbsp bacon drippings
3 Vidalia onions, peeled, halved, sliced ¼ inch thick
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 jalapeno chili, finely diced
½ cup red cooking wine
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp black currant jam
2 Tbsp grenadine
Honey, to taste
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Salt & coarsely ground black pepper
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
Canola oil
¾ lb wedge blue cheese, room temperature
2-3 Tbsp heavy cream

Heat grill to high. Preheat a cast iron skillet until hot, but not smoking. Add the drippings and heat. Then add the onions, garlic, jalapeno, wine, vinegar, jam, grenadine, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid mixture is thickened and jam-like (about 20 minutes). Taste and season with honey, salt & pepper. Stir in parsley, transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature.

Stir together salt, pepper and thyme in a small bowl. Brush steaks with canola oil and season with the salt mixture. Grill until golden brown and slightly charred on both sides, and cooked to medium-rare doneness.
Just before the steaks are done, use a fork to mash the blue cheese and cream so that it is chunky, but also a bit creamy. Mound some on each steak, and let melt briefly on the grill. Remove to a platter and let rest 5 minutes before serving.  Serve with onion jam on the side. Enjoy!!

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