People have told me that sometimes, cola is used with meat dishes to tenderise the meat particularly for beef brisket. And I thought I was the crazy one who thought of using Sprite, 7-Up or Cola when I was doing my Monthly Mystery Munchies #7 challenge earlier this month. Turned out, it’s legit! Ok – it’s on meat, not fish. 

That then became my sole reason of why I ended up with a Pulled Beef Recipe.  After scouring a lot of other meat recipes using Cola (indeed there are plenty!), I adapted from a trove of recipes that were tediously long. I did not have all the time in the world for all of that; I only wanted to see how my food would turn out with cola! So, shortened the process I did, eEspecially with the spices preparation. Also I used shanks instead of briskets. Lots and lots of shanks.

I’ve said it once and I’m saying it again that I am not a professional chef in any way. I experiment a lot with ingredients and processes to make something edible. And sometimes, when the stars are aligned, I managed  something just a tad extra-ordinary and then I forget what went into all of that. With this, I remember it all, because what turned out surprised me.

My only mistake with making this dish was that I had forgotten to turn down the fire when I put the kids to bed…and almost burnt it! Goes without saying, right! Luckily, we managed to salvage it in time. The only thing I was unhappy with, thanks to me, was that the sauce was a little too dry. Otherwise, it tasted heavenly…the meat just feel apart and was nicely seasoned. I’m told that it’s definitely a dish worth repeating.

Here goes my first ever dish using Coca Cola! Yes. Really.

Pulled Beef with Cola

2015-11-16 03:59:06

Serves 8

Tender, beefy dish where all the meat just fell apart!

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Prep Time

1 hr

Cook Time

2 hr

Total Time

3 hr

Prep Time

1 hr

Cook Time

2 hr

Total Time

3 hr

Beef Marinade

1. 2 tbsp coriander powder
2. 2 tbsp cumin seeds
3. 2 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
4. 1.5 tbsp black peppercorn
5. 1 tbsp brown sugar
6. 1.5 tbsp smoked paprika powder
7. 1 dried chipotle pepper
8. 2kg beef shanks
9. 2 cubes of beef stock cubes mixed in 400 ml of water

For the sauce

1. 250 ml red vinegar
2. 70g dark brown sugar
3. 80ml cola
4. 250ml tomato ketchup
5. 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
6. Juices from the beef shanks

Add-on

1. 2 potatoes, peeled and wedged
2. 1 carrot, peeled and cut in chunks

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to abot 160 degree celcius
2. Using a spice grinder, grind all the dried spices together, including the chipotle pepper
3. Once done, roast the powdered marinade over a small fire. be careful not to burn it. Set aside and let it cool
4. Score the beef shanks and then rub the cooled, roasted powdered marinade all over the beef evenly.Wrap with a cling film and leave it in the fridge for about an hour.
5. On an oven tray, place two long lengths of kitchen foil, one widthways and the other lengthways (forming a rather large “cross”). Place the marinated beef on top of the foil and pour over the beef stock all over the meat.
6. Now fold the closest piece upwards and form a pleat where the ends meet above the meat. Then fold the other piece of foil upwards and crimp and fold to create a loose parcel that allows air to circulate around the meat, but make sure that it is sealed enough to prevent moisture from escaping.
7. Roast for about 3-4 hours until the meat is tender. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 25 minutes. Keep all the juices.

For the sauce

1. While the beef is roasting, to save time, heat up a large non-stick pan over high heat.
2. Add in the vinegar and bring it to boil. Then slowly turn down the heat and reduce the volume by half.
3. Add sugar, cola, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and juices from the beef together into the pan Mix well and add in the taters and carrots.
4. Bring back to boil before turning it down to simmer for at least 30 minutes and make sure that the veg are softened. Add water if it gets dry.
5. Add in the roasted beef into the sauce and with the ladle you are using to stir, use a fork to pull the pieces of meat apart. Mix well and add any remaining juices left in the foil
6. Simmer and cook over low fire for another 20-25minutes. Watch that the sauce don't get too dry
7. Turn off the heat and serve with whatever you like!

Notes

1. Scrumptious little number! Who would have thought it would work so well with cola in it!

Grubbs n Critters https://grubbsncritters.com/

With whatever leftover we had, I thought it would be perfect to stuff into a pie. And I did just that!

My daughter wants to be a heart doctor because she wants to fix broken hearts. Only because, many moons ago, I mentioned in jest that yes, my heart has been broken before and it broke into a gazzilion million pieces.

She asked a lot of questions –  like why was it broken? Did it hurt? Who broke it? Can you die from it? She then wondered if it could be fixed, and I said, usually in time. I wondered if that was a normal run-of-the-mill conversation with a then 4 year old! She then blurted out in earnest that she’ll never get her heart broken. Ever. (Oh! Bless her!)

I broke into a smile and told her that I wish the same for her too. For her sake’s, I wish she’ll never experience a broken heart.  As she listened attentively, I then told her that,  as a matter of fact,  getting her heart broken would likely happen one day. And when that happens, it would only make her heart even stronger. 

It was a strange conversation. A conversation that happened more than a year ago. A conversation that was forgotten.

I never did put 2 and 2 together why in the last few months, she got pretty adamant about becoming a doctor. Not just a doctor, not a brain doctor or an animal doctor, but very specifically a heart doctor. And ONLY a heart doctor. 

She even insisted on dressing up as one  when her school organised a theme of ” What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?” for her class graduation video. She would not have it any other way, and we obediently made her a “make-shift” doctor’s lab jacket from an over-sized white shirt. That was almost half a year back.

She gets really upset whenever I suggested otherwise as my way of teasing her. I even threw her a joke about it; telling her that no way in hell we could afford her education and she’d really have to study hard;  enough to earn herself a scholarship because we just wouldn’t have the money to see her through.

She confidently said that she would.

And then, several weeks ago,  whilst we were at the doctor’s for her check-up, something clicked:  Spud mentioned to her Pediatrician about wanting to be a heart doctor. She then innocently blurted out that she wants to fix hearts that are broken, and without being prompted, elaborated further with “Because, doctors can fix everything!”. We jumped in with an “Almost! (Not everything!)” 

There and then I had my AHA! moment. The realization that she’s had that idea and reasoning, brewing in her head all this time, and then managed to put the 2 and 2 together (doctor = fix everything, including a broken heart), took me by surprise. She’s got some elephant’s memory, that girl. It was an enlightenment! Kids are just funny that way. 

Just about a week ago, Spud brought the topic up with Squirt while we were in the car. The kids (actually, mostly Spud) were  chatting heartily about what they want to be when they grow up. Squirt was just listening to her nattering away and pretty much entertained her throughout the entire car ride. Kinda cute, I thought. I then chipped in, and with a swivel of my head, asked Squirt the very same question: what do you want to be when you grow up, Squirt?

His answer? 

BATMAN!