Beef & Noodles has been a Hunt family tradition for generations. As best I can tell, it began as a way to stretch a limited and relatively expensive meat supply across a large family. My grandfather had six sisters, so just imagine for a bit what it took to feed a family of nine. In turn, my grandparents had five boys.

A slight digression

I like cottage cheese – the good stuff, not that low-fat garbage. And my grandparents always had “the good stuff” as part of a relish tray at family gatherings. I remember asking my dad why he didn’t like cottage cheese, since obviously his parents did. He replied that they never had it growing up. So the next time I was with my grandparents, I asked my grandfather why they never had cottage cheese when their kids were growing up. I’ll never forget his reply. “Oh we love cottage cheese. But we had five boys to feed. We couldn’t afford it.” The idea that a certain food was such a luxury item that they never bought it – even though they liked it – has stuck with me ever since. To this day, we keep a quart of “the good stuff” in the fridge, and Macy and I often sit down and share it in memory of my grandparents.

Recipe

Ingredients

• Beef Roast
• Flour
• Eggs
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic
• Potatoes

Egg Noodles

You can do this the day before, or you can do it while the beef is boiling. Grandma used to make loads and loads of egg noodles, dry them, and then freeze them for later use.

1. Add salt and pepper to a cup of flour. Start with 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper.
2. If you want a slightly lighter, fluffier egg noodle, add some baking powder (about 1/4 tsp per cup of flour). I prefer them without the baking powder.
3. Start with one egg for each cup of flour and mix together. Technique doesn’t really matter here – just get a good eggy dough going.
4. To make the noodles, roll them out with a rolling pin using plenty of flour to get them good and thin. Cut them into strips with a pizza cutter, then cut the strips into 1-2 inch lengths.
5. Toss the noodles in a little extra flour and let them air dry. If you want to freeze them, dry them in a warm oven and then freeze them.

Beef Broth

1. Boil the beef roast with plenty of salt, pepper and garlic cloves. We brine ours for a couple of days, but grandma never did. Boil it until the beef falls apart.
2. Remove the beef roast and fat chunks from the broth let it cool a bit. Taste the broth and add salt and pepper as necessary for a good broth.
3. Get the broth to a rolling boil and add the egg noodles.
4. Once the noodles are cooked, reduce to a simmer.
5. The extra flour on the noodles will help the broth to thicken.

Fried Beef

1. Add salt and pepper to a cup of flour.
2. Shred the beef into bite-sized chunks and coat in flour.
3. Fry the beef in butter in a cast iron skillet until it’s crispy. We use a deep fryer with beef fat. It’s not 100% authentic, but it’s a good trade-off for the time savings.

Potatoes

1. Peel 3-5 pounds of Idaho (white) potatoes. Dice and boil in salty water until fork tender.
2. Strain potatoes and place in mixer. Add a stick of butter, 8oz package of cream cheese, and a slosh of whole milk.
3. Mix on low speed until well blended. Add salt as necessary.
4. Once thoroughly mixed, increase the speed for a minute to whip the potatoes.

Serving

Place a heaping scoop of potatoes into a shallow bowl. Add a scoop of noodles and broth to the center of the potatoes, pressing out a well in the process. Top with a few pieces of fried beef. Grab a spoon and enjoy!

Leftover Potatoes

We usually make extra potatoes so that there will be leftovers for breakfast the next morning. To make some of the best potato pancakes you’ve ever had, form a pancake and fry in plenty of salty butter until golden brown on both sides.