It took just eight ingredients for home cook Abbie Argersinger of Austin, TX to wow the judges and become the winner of the 2013 National® Beef Cook-Off contest, funded by the Beef Checkoff. Argersinger’s Cali-Avocado Steak Salad – which included boneless beef top sirloin steak, olive oil, salt, pepper, a large navel orange, a fresh California avocado, naan bread (a leavened, oven-baked flatbread similar to pita bread) and mixed salad greens also won the $25,000 grand prize when her prize winning entry was announced at the Metropolitan Cooking Show in Washington, D.C. in November.
A panel of food-savvy judges consisting of food editors, writers and bloggers selected Argersinger’s recipe for its appearance, taste, nutritional balance, convenience and freshness. Entrants also were required to be amateurs, not professionals, and submit recipes designed to meet the tastes and techniques of the home cook while demonstrating the benefits and versatility of cooking with beef.
This year’s contest theme was “Making the Most of MyPlate,” which encouraged delicious, healthy recipe entries from a variety of food groups. Recipes were accepted for the following categories:
- Belt-Tightening Beef Recipes – Nutritious, affordable beef recipes that are great values to prepare. Try Italian Beef Pot Pie – one of the finalists.
- Semi-Homemade Beef Recipes – Recipes that combine beef and fresh ingredients with prepackaged food products. A favorite from this collection is Korean Beef and Vegetable Bowl.
- Real-Worldly, Real Simple Beef & Potato Recipes – Easy and nutritious lean beef and fresh potato recipes that feature international flavors like Simple Beef and Potato Skillet Ole’.
- Craveable Fresh Beef & California Avocado Recipes – Easy, fresh lean beef and avocado recipes that highlight California cuisine or cooking trends. Another finalist in this category was Tuscan Burgers with Avocado-Tomato Spread.
To enter a recipe, participants had to prepare a recipe that fit one of the contest categories and submit it online at www.beefcookoff.org. Recipes then went through a rigorous judging process, with select recipes chosen to appear at the finalist’s judging table.
For a copy of Argersinger’s recipe as well as the other 2013 finalists, visit www.beefcookoff.org.
About The Beef Checkoff Program
The Beef Checkoff Program (www.MyBeefCheckoff.com) was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval
About the Sponsors
The 2013 National Beef Cook-Off is sponsored by the Beef Checkoff Program, California Avocado Commission and United States Potato Board.
About the National Beef Cook-Off
The National Beef Cook-Off is a Beef Checkoff Program that began in 1974 as an annual contest and changed to a biennial contest in 1993. The Cook-Off is managed by the American National CattleWomen, Inc. During its 39 year history, the Cook-Off has received accolades and the support of many notable culinary experts. The National Beef Cook-Off is considered to be among the top three cooking contests in the nation. To view the complete contest rules and explore winning recipes from past contests, visit www.beefcookoff.org.
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