The 12 Gifts of Christmas: Gifting ideas from Canada Beef

It’s time for the annual hunt – finding that perfect gift for that someone, who at times, can be so darn hard to buy for.

Here are some suggestions – most of them from gifts that I have so appreciated getting myself:

DISCLAIMER: All ideas here are cooking/beef centric of course, given that this is a Beef Blog and that I am The Cooking-crazy person around here :)!

Happy holidays!

#1 Food thermometer: My number one gift to anyone who wants to cook and enjoy beef (or any meat item come to think of it!) would be a food thermometer. Taking the internal temperature of beef while you cook, ensures you get your Grilling Steaks, Burgers and Oven Roasts done just right – for the best eating experience and a doneness that you want. There are lots of thermometers available at different price points. A good food thermometer is a modest investment to become a great cook! You already paid for the meat, why not own the tool so you can cook it right?

BRIGHT IDEA: Pair-up your present with the downloadable reference guide: Food Safety at Home (complete with cooking temp charts and a thermometer buying guide).

#2 Flavoured butter:  A flavoured butter is perfect to top off a perfectly grilled steak or as the basis for making a fabulous pan sauce. Make up a couple of varieties, form into a log shape and wrap in parchment paper, tying off both ends with butchers twine for a hand-crafted look. Treat yourself too, by making a double batch so you have one butter for gift-giving and one to keep!

#3 Carving knife: Folks have watched in envy as I’ve carved roast beef into the most delicate thin slices with my trusty carving knife. The right knife is key to carving with class and BONUS: by slicing roast beef into thin slices, you actually improve the tenderness of even a budget-not-so-tender Oven Roast.  Look for a carving knife that has a long thin blade and keep it sharp with a steel or pull-through sharpener.

#4 Chopping knife: Used to be, the chef’s knife was the main-stay in the kitchen for mincing herbs and chopping vegetables. I rarely use mine now, substituting in my Santoku knife instead – the blade is smaller and thinner than a chef’s knife so it’s easier to manage. And when kept sharp, it can even slice tomatoes. Great price too – less than $20 for KitchenAid and Cuisinart brands from the hardware store!!!

#5 Sauté pan: I love this pan so much, that I now have 2 of them! It’s great for pan-searing steaks providing a better crusting to a steak than if nonstick pans. I use the pan for cooking Oven Roasts too (in the oven of course), using a small rack under the roast. It comes with a lid so it’s good for quickly cooking veggies too. A seasoned cast iron skillet is great for pan-searing steaks too, but if you use it to make a pan-sauce that’s acidic (such as a wine sauce), the sauce will take on a metallic taste.

#6 Best roaster:  My Mom gave me a Paderno roasting pan for Christmas one year and I’ve never looked back. It’s a large roaster with oven-safe off-set handles (so it fits in smaller ovens) and it has 2 pan sizes combined in the 1 roaster: a deep one for the monster turkey, and a shallow one (which can be the lid) for roast beef. This shallow side (lid) is what I use the most – it is heavy so you can use it to make the gravy and pretty enough to take to the table to serve.

#7 Enamelled cast iron roaster:  I’m so spoiled – I got one of these for Christmas one year too! (I love my Mom!). This pot will change or your life – or at least your pot roasts and stews. You have to try one to appreciate the difference it makes. Once  only available in very expensive Le Creuset models, KitchenAid now has some very affordable ones at the hardware stores. Available in a range of sizes to suit your family needs. See my favourite pot in action.

#8 Half a cow: That’s right – who couldn’t use the gift of Canadian Beef! A mom-friend from our school told me that each year, her parents buy half a cow from the butcher and divide it among her and her 2 siblings to tuck in their freezers and enjoy through the year. Must be tricky to wrap, but what a great gift idea!

#9 Butcher block cutting board: A classic thick wooden cutting board will always show off your beef the best when you go to carve at the table. It’s perfect for serving charceuterie as well. Available at fine cookware stores.

#10 Green Egg Barbecue:  A bit quirky for sure, this barbecue is the ultimate for true Southern BBQ and it’s perfect for smoking too. Green Eggs have a bit of a cultish following with special Green Egg events happening around major city-centres in the summer. They are certainly on the pricey side, but a perfect gift for the real barbecue enthusiast in your life.

#11 Big Batch Beef: It may sound weird, but for the busiest mom on your list, you should consider making up some Big Batch Beef to help her out. It’s my survival tool for getting kids fed and out onto a soccer field in record time. Package up frozen Big Batch Beef in a handsome freezer-friendly container and pair it up with a collection of our favourite Big Batch recipes.

#12 Whole Beef Tenderloin: For your favourite Beefeater, buy a whole Tenderloin to give as a gift. Perfect for cutting into Grilling Steaks, Chateaubriand and the most tender Oven Roasts. Don’t forget to provide recipes from beefinfo.org!

Joyce Parslow (Canada Beef’s Consumer Culinary Manager for over 10 years) has what she thinks is the best career in the world, combining her love for food and agriculture.  As a busy working mom, with 2 kids under-roof, and a nomadic spouse, Joyce is often wrestling with that age-old problem of how to get a wholesome affordable meal on the table (or at least in the bellies) and get out the door in time to make 2 soccer games in 2 different cities.  It is this and other mom-type cooking conundrums that fuels Joyce with new ideas for Canadian beef.  Her approach: “problems are really just solutions in disguise”.