Getting ready to plan your dinner for the week? Or perhaps a home-cooked dinner date with your significant other? Maybe a nice, intimate family meal to jumpstart the week ahead? We’ve got you covered.

Today, we’ll talk about the best food and wine to pair with the ever delicious and healthy meat- beef. And if you don’t have it as a part of your weekly diet, well, now is the time to include it.

Don’t get us wrong- beef is delicious on its own. A simple rare steak has that power to into wonderful flavors in your mouth all on its own. But, there is absolutely no reason to take things up a notch and enter beefy heaven by pairing your beef with some interesting complementary side dishes and drinks.

Food Pairings

First, let’s talk about food. There is a way to bring out that amazing beefy flavor no matter what cut of beef you work with, or how you cook it. This is by complementing your beef with a few select side dishes that go perfectly well with the beef.

Here are a few:

Steaks

What better pairing with a grilled steak than more grilled dishes? Try out some grilled potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, corn, okra, asparagus, carrots, and zucchini, or spice it up with some grilled vegetable skewers. If you’re looking for something that screams fresh, how about a carrot slaw, herbed cucumbers, or pickled yellow squash?

There are also a few salad options to choose from, like a tomato chickpea salad, potato salad, miso salad, cucumber salad, snap pea salad, and so on. But, if you want something more savory, take your pick from baked eggplant, baked summer squash, lemon quinoa, stir fry beans, and tomato and squash gratin.

Stews

Ever had a good beef stew? Then you know it’s filled with that wonderful but subtle and delicate flavor. Getting the most of that flavor means getting creative in your sides, from baked delicacies, to veggies and salads.

For soft and airy breads, the best options are baguettes and dinner rolls. But, if rice is more your thing, you can’t go wrong with white rice, brown rice, and rice pilaf. Stews also go well with salads, like greens, brussel sprouts, caesar, wedge, and tomato. Or, you can try some mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower. Of course, there are also other wonderful options, like roasted potatoes, polenta, and couscous.

Tenderloins

Another yummy cut of beef is the tenderloin, which can be cooked in many different ways, and beautifully paired with dozens of different sides, like the classic no fail rice and mashed potatoes, or the delicious yorkshire pudding.

If you want a bit more complexity, you can also get lovely flavors from cheesy broccoli gratin, bean and mushroom casserole, or some grilled and roasted veggies, such as roasted sweet potatoes and squash, baked potatoes, roasted cherry tomatoes, roasted plums, and grilled carrots. For the freshest, tangiest flavors, try out some leeks in vinaigrette, turnips with parmesan and breadcrumbs, grain salad, tomato and feta salad, or some green beans and cucumber.

Wine Pairings

Beef is an amazing meat to pair with wine, not just for special occasions, but for an everyday meal. However, not all wines go with all beef types. Of course, the first rule is to pair red meat with red drinks- in this case, beef with red wine.

But, which red wine would work best greatly depends on the beef cut, how well it’s cooked, and the cooking method used.

When it comes to wine, full bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon go better with rare beef which has all that intense beefy flavors, while the more delicate reds Bordeaux are more compatible with thoroughly cooked beef.

Moreover, the type of sauce also affects how well the wine will blend with the beef’s flavors. For one thing, wine infused sauces are better paired with full-bodied wines, while classic gravies go perfectly with classic wines. And then there are fresh and creamy sauces that would go well with fruity wines like Malbec.

To a lesser extent, the side dishes and vegetables also influence the wine’s taste. The best practice is to focus on one element- meaning, elegant and complex side dishes with simple, classic wines, or just one or two side dishes with a special bottle.