We are so excited to bring you a new series of posts and recipes to make meal planning even easier for you. Protein prep is one of the most basic ways to meal prep and plan for yourself without elaborate recipes, tons of work or time.
The goal with the Protein Prep Method is to start the week with maybe 2 to 3 super versatile basic proteins at the start of the week, that you can easily prepare and cook in bulk and then can be used throughout the week a variety of ways to make quick, easy, simple meals that require little to no effort. This month we are sharing a simple but unique way to prepare beef that will give you loads of options for meals throughout your busy week, along with a handful of recipes to utilize this prepped protein.
Chipped beef is something that you never knew you were missing in your meal prep until now. If you haven’t heard of chipped beef it is typically a very thinly sliced beef that is salted and preserved. To simplify things, with our recipe we had the butcher shred some beef into thin slices for us to make our own version that doesn’t require a ton of work or time to preserve that you can feel good eating.
Important note*** please talk to your butcher! They are so helpful and usually love to share their knowledge of different cuts of meat, the best way to cook certain cuts, and can expand your palate to cuts of meat that you haven’t tried before.
What to ask for at the butcher: you can simply ask the butcher to slice beef like chipped beef or slice it thin for steak sandwiches. It’s important to tell them how you want it when you ask for beef for chipped steak and reiterate that you would like it sliced thin, because some butchers may know to slice it really thin (as you want) and some will chip it, meaning cut it into chopped shredded pieces like they do ham or Turkey at a deli counter.
If you don’t go to a local butcher, you can always grab precut sandwich steak meat that is usually in the beef department or even ask the butcher at your regular grocery store. They can always slice the beef there and maybe charge an extra dollar or two per pound for the special order.
This is one of the simplest recipes, but it is a fantastic base for meal prep! Sometimes we are just over chicken for meal prep but we still wanted an easy protein that is versatile when it comes to making completely different meals using the same prepped protein. That’s when we came up with the idea of chipped beef and holy cow we hope you love this as much as we do!
Prep is very easy for this recipe. What we do is spread all the slices of beef out and sprinkle with Redmond real salt or whatever quality sea salt you like to use.
There is a big caveat to this recipe….do NOT crowd the pan! You want to get the beef a little brown and crispy on at least one of the sides. It really adds to the texture especially when using it as your protein source for our other recipes.
These slices cook fast so don’t walk away and fold a bunch of laundry. It only takes about 3-5 minutes per side. I usually get out the biggest pan I have and do it in 3-4 batches. To make this worth while for a meal prep protein I usually cook 2-3 pounds at a time.
As the beef slices are cooked fully set aside and start a new batch. Repeat until you have all the beef cooked. If you want to season with garlic powder, Italian seasoning, taco seasoning, or any flavors you like go right ahead! Like we said at the start this is a great meal prep option to create multiple meals that are completely different.
If you’re looking for some ideas, we have some recipes coming but if you can wait here are a few things to get ya going. This chipped beef is great chopped up on a salad, over a bowl of veggies or rice, in a quesadilla or tacos, with eggs, mixed with pasta and sauce, or as a cheesesteak bowl.
We hope this gives you a different option for a meal prepped protein than your standard grilled chicken and please stay tuned for some delicious recipes featuring the chipped beef!
How To Use Chipped Beef:
- Chipped beef is great chopped up on a Big F-in Salad
- over a bowl of roasted veggies, rice or cauliflower rice
- in a stir fry or fried rice
- in tacos or wraps
- with eggs like sheet pan eggs, mini egg bites or a frittata
- in a veggie-loaded breakfast hash
- mixed with pasta and sauce, etc.
- Grain-free Steak Quesadillas (dairy-free option included)
- Gluten-Free Cheesteak Bowls (Keto, Grain-Free, Options For Paleo + Whole30)
- Beef and Broccoli Egg Bake (Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Keto, Options For Paleo, Whole30, Dairy-Free)
- Paleo Beef Stroganoff (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Whole30, Keto)
Other Simple Batch Cooked Proteins for Easy Protein Prep:
- ground turkey, chicken, beef, pork or lamb (I make a few pounds at a time at the start of the week. I season simply with salt pepper and garlic and flavor throughout the week with sauces, seasonings and herbs. Use on salads, tacos, scrambles, frittatas, veggie bowls, etc.)
- shredded chicken
- roast chicken
- double batch of crispy chicken thighs
- easy sheet pan chicken and veggies
- shredded beef (three ways)
- sheet pan steak fajitas (can also be made with chicken, pork or even shrimp)
- carnitas
- Kalua pork (or chicken)
- Asian chicken stir fry (the ground meat can be used many different ways throughout the week)
- hard cooked eggs in the Instant Pot
- mini egg bites
- sheet pan eggs
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Protein Prep: How-to Make Chipped Beef
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds chipped beef, sandwich beef slices work too
- Salt
Instructions
- Heat a large pan on medium heat.
- Prep beef by taking slices apart and sprinkle with salt.
- Place beef slices in pan making sure not to crowd the pan. It is best to cook in multiple batches. Cooking time usually takes 3-5 minutes per side.
- When beef is done cooking use in a recipe or store in a container for easy to grab protein. Use within 3-5 five days storing in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
