Don’t call them leftovers

While some see it as a time-waster, I figure there’s worse. Besides, I’ve found some great recipes, figured out what to wear to that event and discovered countless activities for my almost-two-year old who stays home with me most of my work week.

But maybe the neatest pins are those that show you (assuming you’re craftier than I am) how to repurpose something you just have lying around. This concept isn’t new, or exclusive to Pinterest, though. Ranchers have been repurposing since long before it was on-trend or called “upcycling.”

I’ve seen rubber pieces reused in barn floors, advertising vinyl covering hay, fences made out of just about anything and tires and PVC pipe made into just about anything.

Chefs do it, too. The only difference? Their materials are leftover food. And when you’re talking about the Certified Angus Beef® brand chefs, you’re talking really delicious leftovers.

One of their latest repurposing victories? Bar candy. That’s right. Candy made from quality beef. When I heard about this one, I just had to call Chef Peter and get the scoop.

“The idea for the bar candy came from doing large banquets. When you have a lot of leftover brisket, you can reheat it and serve it at a barbecue. Or you can do something totally different and get the maximum wow factor,” Chef Peter says.

His team went for the latter. They selected the best pieces, chilled them down immediately to ensure optimum food safety, and then later deep fried the pieces and tossed them in a variety of flavored sauces, including garlic chili, smoky BBQ, spicy South Carolina BBQ, Jerk seasoning, mango habanero, chipotle pepper glaze, ginger sesame, red curry and honey sriracha.

Think chicken wings — but with beef.

“It fries up nice and crisp, but as soon as you bring them out of the fryer and you toss into the sauce, it makes it doubly moist,” he says.

“Fully cooked brisket is so soft and tender to begin with, you deep fry it and it kind of gets a little bit of crisp on the outside, but inside it is still nice and moist. And then that sauce soaks into it and gives you a mouth full of whatever flavoring you’ve put onto it.”

He says the response has been outstanding and he enjoys the “shock factor” that evokes conversations about quality beef, cooking methods and decreasing waste.

And while the idea is taking off among pros, Chef Peter says it’s something home cooks can duplicate, too.

“We just lit the fire,” he says. “Now it’s spreading.”

Look for deep-fried brisket bites on an appetizer menu near you in the coming months — and be ready to reap the rewards of efficiency in the kitchen.

-Katrina

Katrina Huffstutler is a freelance writer based in Electra, Texas. She’s a frequent contributor to the Black Ink team and lover of functional cattle and quality beef.

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