Yes, believe it: you can make for your toddler the same beef, pork, and lamb dishes–even, yes, steaks–you want to eat without compromising the needs and tastes of either of you. You’ll need to be smart; you’ll need to be selective. But it can be done, and done quite easily. What follows are our best toddler steak recipes (and more).
Before we get to it, let’s start with the obvious caveat: you ain’t going to be aging, smoking, and/or grilling big chops or thick-cut steaks here. Your child has to be able to chew and swallow the meat pieces easily; they’re not going to be looking for minerality or “blue cheese” in his/her flavor, either. They (mostly) do not care what they are eating, where it came from, what you did to it; the only thing that matters is if you can get their attention on that very first bite. (More on that in a second.)
So, yeah, no strip steak–yet–but definitely flank steak. Short ribs. Any ribs. Tenderloins. Thinly-sliced ribeyes. Briskets. Pork shoulders. Lots of options here for toddler steak recipes, but one throughline remains true: make it easy; make it good. “Fork tender,” “moist,” “fall off the bone”–these are the fail-safes; these are what you’re looking for.
Looking for inspiration on where can meet your child? Here are three approaches we consistently take when cooking up red- (and white-) meat dishes, with recipes to go along with each..
The “Cutlet” Approach:
Milanese, Tonkatsu, wiener schnitzel–there are many ways to name and make a piece of meat that’s been flattened, breaded, and shallow fried. No matter the name, we’ve got you covered: our breaded pork tenderloin is the standard bearer, a quick and easy banger that can easily be converted into any of the above dishes; our Korean-style steak cutlet combines bulgogi flavors with a crispy exterior. Crazy and/or desperate enough to want to get vegetables in there? Our pork and cauliflower cutlet solves every dinner problem.
The “Nubbins” Approach:
It’s a simple formula when aligning t-bones with toddlers: “fun size” pieces = more fun for your child. Shawarma or gyros made from the tenderloin or belly portions of lamb, pork, or turkey can be both tender and crispy, easy for your child to eat while giving you the same satisfaction you’d get from eating street meat at 11PM. Our beef and broccoli leverages just-right sized bites of sirloin or flank steak to give you a takeout-level dinner a toddler can eat. Shaved ribeye makes our chopped cheese/cheesesteak recipe an easy lunchtime win for you and your toddler.
The “Low and Slow” approach:
You know the drill: Long marination + long braises or roasting at low temperatures ensure tastes and textures ideal for young children. Our orange-honey-soy short ribs deliver sweet-and-savory flavors and a mouthfeel not unlike a meatball; our ribs fall off the bone and take to any sauce you (or your child) prefers.
No matter your approach, we highly recommend your cooking and/or messaging process about dinner include some mall-food-court style wooing–or, what we have come to call a “meat treat.” Yes, in this fickle business of selling small children on dinner, the old adage rings true: let ‘em try it before they buy i[n]. For new dishes and/or vegetables, there’s a certain necessity to preview tastes–you’re trying to quell fears and raise interest before your child has a chance to resist during the table. The meat treat, though, is easy: with some bites from the best parts of whatever toddler steak recipes you’re serving, served straight from the stove or pan, you’re getting your child excited about the meal. It buys you some time to get the meal to the table; it might even keep your child at the table longer.
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