Another visually appealing and delicious way to serve beef as an appetizer is to wrap a small “chunk” of sirloin steak (or try sirloin cap steak) in prosciutto and use a fresh rosemary sprig as a skewer to hold the two together as they are quickly roasted. The rosemary will provide guests with something to hold onto as they dip the morsel of beef into the rich pesto-tomato sauce that’s served alongside.

For a fabulous feature on your restaurant holiday specials list, try a new twist on an old favourite. This is the time of year when guests will ‘splurge’ and one item many of your guests will find hard to resist is a succulent sounding, modern rendition of surf and turf. For example, you could surround a perfectly grilled strip loin medallion with creamy crab-, scallop- and shrimp-stuffed mushroom caps; top a grilled rib eye medallion with a compound butter strewn with pieces of cooked, Atlantic lobster; or create a truly Canadian land and sea dish by placing a small, pan-seared beef tenderloin steak on one side of the plate, drizzled with rich red wine sauce, and a small, wild salmon fillet on the other side of the plate, basted with white wine butter sauce. Heavy strip loins (13 lbs and up) are value-priced this time of year and offer a great opportunity for enhanced profitability. To learn how to create strip loin and rib eye medallions, check out this cutting video (link to cutting video).

But it isn’t all about premium beef cuts. There are wonderful secondary cuts of beef that provide delicious, seasonal hors d'oeuvres. For example, top round steak could be cut into small cubes, marinated in ginger-laced teriyaki sauce, and skewered with cubes of white onion and red and green bell peppers, providing a seasonal colour theme.  Combine cooked ground beef and steamed, diced yam to make a curry-spiced filling for bite-sized samosas, served with cranberry chutney. Marinated, grilled and thinly sliced flank steak could be tossed with strips of sautéed vegetables and used to make a filling for finger-sized spring rolls served with sweet chili sauce for dipping.

Buffets are a popular choice during the holiday season as they offer guests a variety of dishes to satisfy a range of tastes. Roast beef, whether prime rib, strip loin (think about a split strip loin), top sirloin or hip of beef is a perennial favourite - although it is the traditional main event at the carving station on a buffet, diners love seeing it there. Again, heavy strip loins are a great choice. Take the strip loin and cut down the middle to provide two strip loin roasts – offers great value and an outstanding eating experience. On the buffet, a very festive way to make the juicy, just-carved roast beef experience an even more decadent one is to offer a selection of wonderful sauces for our guests to spoon over the meat, such as Champagne hollandaise, morel mushroom sauce, or merlot and caramelized shallot sauce.
 
Another way to dress up roast beef served at a buffet is to accompany it with elegant side dishes that will accent its flavour, such as rosemary-flecked, mini Yorkshire puddings, Stilton and chive mashed potatoes, spice-roasted winter vegetables, and sweet potato frites.

Beef is the perfect protein for holiday celebrations; make sure to include it in your festive offerings.