Use Beef Instead of Pork For These Recipes

There’s no reason why you can’t swap the meat in recipes. In fact, it’s a genius idea to learn how to easily swap from one meat to another, especially since pork prices have risen to almost the same price level as beef. You have your choice of pork or beef! 

A few things will happen if you do interchange meats. There’s the taste difference. Pork cuts are usually more fatty than beef cuts so you might end up using more oil when cooking beef than pork. However, the biggest issue when swapping pork with beef in recipes is the cooking time. Beef has meat cuts that are tougher than pork, so you’ll end up with tenderizing beef longer than pork. You might even have to do it before you can even start with the recipe in some cases. You’ll have to take all these things into account for meals you’re preparing in a rush. If all these things are acceptable, you’ll have dishes that are totally delicious and beefy. 

Pork recipes using beef are a great way to learn how to make dishes using either meat. Here are recipes to try: 

Photo by Majoy Siason

1 Tulapho Recipe 

This basically one-ingredient recipe will need some tweaking to work with beef cuts. You’ll need to choose a beef cut that is meaty to create these crispy chunks. You’ll also need to use oil since beef cuts won’t render out as much fat as pork liempo will. If you think about it, this is a fantastic recipe to jumpstart any pork recipe you want to convert to beef since this shows you how to tenderize beef without any interference from other flavors. 

Photo by Majoy Siason

2 Chinese-Style Asado Recipe 

What makes a dish asado? Our version of the asado comes in a few forms but this version is distinctive from other recipes of the same name since it is Chinese-style. All that means is that the marinade or sauce that the pork is simmered in is seasoned with five-spice powder and star anise. Instead of pineapple juice, hoisin sauce gives this version an extra delicious flavor that is unique yet still satisfying.

Swapping the pork with beef makes this dump-and-simmer dish easy to make but the toughness of the beef will mean extra cooking time to ensure tender bites with every slice. 

3 Taiwanese Pork Chops Recipe 

This is a fantastic recipe that easily translates to beef! This pork recipe is also commonly made with chicken but this recipe is especially useful for when you want to use beef instead of pork. That’s because the pork is tenderized using a meat mallet before it’s dredged, seasoned, and fried. 

This method of tenderizing pork is a technique that equally applies to beef as well! Try it! You’ll love the taste and texture! 

Photo by Dairy Darilag

4 Pulled Pork Recipe 

There’s something super appetizing about extra tender meat that it literally can be pulled apart with just forks. Pulled pork is a great way to not have to worry about overcooking your meat. Since the meat needs to be so soft and tender that it falls apart with ease, swapping the meat with beef is easy! The result is an extra tasty shredded beef that you can use to stuff pandesal, sandwiches, or even serve on the side of mashed potatoes like roast beef slices that have disintegrated into strands. 

Photo by Majoy Siason

5 Pork Meatballs in Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe 

Pork meatballs are fast and easy to do. These are usually doused in a delicious sauce, whether sweet and sour or a Filipino-style barbecue sauce. Why not swap the ground pork with ground beef? It’s not a difficult swap to do! You can even pop the beef meatballs in a soup! 

Need more ideas on what pork recipes you can make using beef instead of pork? Try these recipe lists: 

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