MLA Never Off

MLA Never Off How to cook one meal for the whole family - Lamb & Vegetable Stir-fry
Learn how to adapt your family meal so it can feed the whole family including babies and toddlers. This lamb and vegetable stir-fry can be adapted into a range of different textures - silky smooth, lumpy mushy, finger food and toddler. This lamb and vegetable stir-fry contains lamb which is a great source of iron and zinc for your baby's growth and development.

How to cook one meal for the whole family - Beef & Sweet Potato Casserole
Learn how to adapt your family meal so it can feed the whole family including babies and toddlers. This beef and sweet potato casserole can be adapted into a range of different textures - silky smooth, lumpy mushy, finger food and toddler. This beef and sweet potato casserole contains beef which is a great source of iron and zinc for your baby's growth and development.

How to cook one meal for the whole family - Beef & Vegetable Pasta Salad
Learn how to adapt your family meal so it can feed the whole family including babies and toddlers. This beef and vegetable pasta salad can be adapted into a range of different textures - silky smooth, lumpy mushy, finger food and toddler. This beef and vegetable pasta salad contains beef which is a great source of iron and zinc for your baby's growth and development.

How to Make Beef or Lamb Sausages
Learn some helpful tips about selecting and preparing Australian beef and lamb. To make sausages at home all you need are a few pieces of equipment and ingredients including a mincer, sausage filler, beef or lamb (85% meat, 15% fat), water, sausage meal (available from your butcher) and sausage casings. To start you will need to add the sausage meal (or you own mix of flavourings) and water (as needed) to some coarse mince and mix through slowly and carefully. Then run this mixture through the mincer using the fine plate to make a sausage mince. Now place the mince in the sausage filler and remove any excess air using the plunger. Next thread the sausage casing onto the sausage filler nozzle and cut when you have the desired amount on the nozzle and tie in a knot to secure the end. You can now begin filling the casing, but make sure you regulate the flow out of the nozzle; too fast and the sausage will be full of air, too slow and the casing will burst. Once you have used all the casing secure with a knot. The next thing to do is link the sausage. The easiest way to do this is by twisting them. To do this grab where you want to link and twist three or four times in the one direction then go down to the desired length of sausage and twist 3-4 times the other way and continue until you have used the whole length of casing. It is best to leave the sausages in the fridge overnight to let the flavours develop. For more information visit: www.beefandlamb.com.au

How to Bone a Shoulder of Lamb
Learn some helpful tips about selecting and preparing Australian beef and lamb. The shoulder is a hardworking muscle and is suitable for slow cooking. To remove the bones from the shoulder the first thing you need to do is remove the scapula bone followed by the two leg bones. To do this you will need to locate the joint between the scapula and the leg bone and then cut away the top layer of meat over the scapula revealing the 'v' section of the scapula bone. Next, cut around the edges of the scapula bone using the point of your knife releasing the meat. Now you need to find the joint between the scapula and the leg and cut through it. Turn the leg over and scrape the meat away from the bone and then gently pull off the scapula bone. Now remove the leg bone by making a cut from the knee joint to the end that connected with the scapula and to expose the bone. Then score down either side of the bone to remove all the meat and then repeat on the shank. Now you can cut the meat away from the bone all the way down and the leg bones will come away. The shoulder can now be rolled and trussed, diced or grilled. For more information visit www.beefandlamb.com.au

How to Debone a Leg of Lamb
Learn some helpful tips about selecting and preparing Australian beef and lamb. A leg of lamb is made up of three different muscles; the knuckle, the topside and the silverside. To bone the lamb leg you will need to use a method called tunnel boning. The first thing you will need to do is remove the aitch bone at the wide end of the leg. This is done by following the contour of the bone with the point of your knife and cutting through the cup joint. Next you need to remove the meat from around the end of the leg bone that was connected to the cup joint. This should be done with the top 1cm of your knife in a scaping action, pushing the meat back down to expose the bone. You then need to move to the other end of the leg and cut either side of the leg bone (following the edge of the shank or shin) down to the knee joint, but be careful not to cut through it. Then scrape the meat off the bone as before. Now you need to lay the leg flat on the bench and twist the bone until the meat releases and then pull it clear of the leg. Once this is done all you need to do is remove the fat kernel which is located between the topside and the silverside muscle and you are finished. For more information visit: www.beefandlamb.com.au

How to Sharpen Knives
When your favourite knife is blunt you need to sharpen it. A lot of people think that rubbing a knife on a steel is sharpening it, but that's not correct. What you need to do is use an oil stone to sharpen your knife, but this can be messy at times. A lot cleaner option is to buy yourself a knife sharpener from your favourite store and follow the directions given the manufacturer to give you the perfect edge. Once you have created that edge you will need to then use a steel to straighten the edge and maintain it. To do this get your steel and place it end down on a chopping board and gently stroke the knife edge across the steel. For more information visit: www.beefandlamb.com.au/Learn/Cooking_tip­s/Preparation_tips/How_to_maintain_the_s­harpness_of_your_knives

How to Trim Beef and Lamb Cuts
Learn some helpful tips about selecting and preparing Australian beef and lamb. Before you cook your beef or lamb you need to remove any excess fat. There are two types of fat associated with a cut of beef or lamb; intramuscular fat and external fat. Intramuscular fat, or marbling, gives flavour and keeps the meat moist. External fat is found around the outside of a cut and should be removed. For more information visit: www.beefandlamb.com.au