Red Wine-Braised Mock Tenders
These wine-braised mock tender fillets are super flavorful, basically like tiny pot roasts, perfect for a night requiring comfort food.
Servings: 4-6 Prep time: 20 min Total time: 2 h 20 min
The mock tender is full of connective tissue, so it’s one of those cuts you want to cook for a long time to break it all down into rich, soft, tender meat. If you don’t cook a cut like this for very long, you’ll be a sad camper with worn-down teeth from all the chewing.
This recipe, adapted from Tasty Kitchen, opts for braising as the method of choice, using your favorite red wine (though you should save the splurge stuff for drinking). Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
- Mock tender steaks (1 per person is a good measure, so make 4-6 for a family dinner)
- 1 small onion
- 1 T oil or butter of choice
- 1-3 cloves garlic, to taste, minced
- 3/4 to 1 C red wine
- 1 1/2 C broth, beef or vegetable
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 1.5-2 C chopped root vegetables. For this recipe, I like to use 1/2 turnip, chopped; 1 carrot, chopped; and 2 small red potatoes, chopped.
EQUIPMENT
- Cast-iron skillet (with a lid!), or a Dutch oven
image credit to Jersey Cook
PREPARATION
- Get your steaks ready by patting them dry and seasoning them with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in the pan or dutch oven over medium-high heat, and place the steaks on the plan. Let them brown on each side, about 2-4 minutes, depending on your stove. Set the steaks aside.
- Now you’ve got pan drippings (lucky you!). These should be saved for future soups, or even to thicken up the pot sauce a little later in this recipe. Pour off those drippings for now.
- Add oil to pan, and turn the heat down to medium. Add onions, garlic, and chopped root vegetables. Sautee ‘em until less crisp, but they need not be totally soft. They’ve still got cooking to do.
- Pour the red wine and broth into the skillet. Add thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper (to taste). Stir to combine all those veggies, wine, and spices, and scrape the bottom of the pan to get up all the browned bits.
- Add the steaks back to the pan. Turn the heat up the high and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer.
- Cover the pan with a lid and let it simmer up to two hours or a bit longer, checking it occasionally, until the beef is tender.
Related cuts: Mock Tender - Chuck Roast - Shoulder Roast
