Since 1926, the Agricultural Review has been a free newspaper published by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. For many years, The Tar Heel Kitchen was a featured column written by the department’s marketing home economist.
These recipes tended to be seasonal with just a handful of ingredients. We thought these recipes needed to be shared in a new format. The Tar Heel Kitchen post will unearth a few of these timeless recipes each month. This week, we are taking it back 30 years to the Feb. 15, 1985, issue and a delicious recipe for steak tips with mushrooms and onions.
The cold wintry weather had us searching through past issues of the Ag Review for a hearty recipe that was sure to warm us up. We came across this recipe for steak tips with mushrooms and onions served with garlic butter. The recipe also came with a little advice from former Marketing Home Economist Barbara Minter on how to choose cuts of beef at the meat counter. “When shopping for beef, remember that beef is divided into seven retail cuts,” said Minter. “Knowing where these cuts are located is key to determining tenderness…generally speaking, tender cuts are prepared using dry heat (roasting, broiling, pan-broiled, pan-fried) while less tender cuts are best when using moist heat (roasting in a liquid or braising).” Check out this chart from the American Angus Association on cuts of beef and recommended cooking methods.
Steak Tips with Mushrooms and Onions
- 1 pound (4 sticks) butter, room temperature
- 1/2 clove garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
- 1 pound beef tenderloin tips
- salt, freshly ground pepper, and garlic powder
For garlic butter: Combine first 5 ingredients in bowl and mix on low speed of electric mixer until thoroughly blended. Melt 2 tablespoons garlic butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute until golden. Add mushrooms and cook lightly. Transfer to plate and keep warm. Drain and wipe pan. Season meat with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Melt 1 tablespoon garlic butter in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add meat and saute to desired doneness. Return onion and mushrooms to pan and stir to blend. Serve immediately, topped with additional garlic butter. Remaining garlic butter may be frozen. Makes 3 to 4 servings.