Steak

[Emerson40]

Tomatoes are even more disgusting than rare steaks.

My brother-in-law can't have a slice of tomato in his mouth without gagging and dry-heaving like a spaz. He can be quite theatrical about it, especially if he bites into a sandwich that he requested sans tomato, and forgot to flip the top to check.

Yet he eats salsa, has catsup on his burgers, and enjoys a robust tomato sauce with pasta. He says it is a texture thing. He's the same way with raw mushrooms (can only eat canned - barf!) and fresh figs.

My poor sister....

I have a friend who is the same way, she doesn't like the texture.

is it all uncooked tomatoes or just crappy-assed hot-house, not-actually-summer-yet tomatoes?

ed

For me, it's all uncooked tomatoes. It really is a texture thing with me.

Now THAT one I'll give ya! Totally flavorless, hard, disgusting, vile things! Though one can age them a while on a window sill and they will become red on their own, though still rather flavorless, since it was nipped from the vine too early to have developed the sugars and such.

Some folks just plain LUUUURRVVE tomatoes.



http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/p480x480/389077_362211997232556_1008320769_n.jpg

 

[Jessicasc1970]

Tonight the steak is a filet in a merlot sauce.

 

[Bottomlover]

I like my steak medium rare, but it can be cooked past pink and still come out tender and juicy if you do it right. A lot of what we "know" about cooking steak is wrong.

For years the wisdom has been to use high heat and sear first to seal in the juices. Thinner cuts can be cooked completely on high heat, and thicker cuts can me first seared on high heat and then finished on lower heat. It seems like a good idea, but there is a better way.

First, use a thermometer. I cook a lot and have invested in a Thermapen, but there are some in the $15-20 range that work well. Even a cheap dial thermometer is better than nothing.

If you're cooking in the house with an oven and range, first put your steak in the oven at 225 degrees F and cook until 95-100 degrees F (about 20-25 minutes). While the steak is cooking in the oven, get a skillet screaming hot on the stove. When the steak reaches the 95-100 degrees F, remove from the oven and sear over the highest heat you can muster. We're looking for nice browning on the outside. Depending upon the temperature of final searing you can get and the degree of doneness you want, this recipe needs to be adjusted.

I've also done this successfully on a 22" Weber grill. I pile up some charcoal on one side of the grill, and put the steak as far from the fire as possible. I prop up the cover near the steak to keep the heat down and make it cook a little more slowly. At 95-100 degrees F, I move the steak so it's over as much screaming heat that I can get. Sometimes I add more hot charcoal to the hot side just before moving the meat. I don't really want grill marks; I want even browning.

This works because there is an enzyme in beef that makes it tender but turns off at 122 degrees F. We want to keep this enzyme active for as long as possible during the cooking process. This method of cooking results in a more evenly cooked steak that is more tender than steak cooked the way we "know". I'm not a genius; this method is now advocated by America's Test Kitchen, Alton Brown, and most importantly to me, Meathead of amazingribs.com

Try it, it works. My absolute favorite is a thick ribeye that's been rubbed with jerk spices and herbs.

 

[Bottomlover]

BTW miss Rainshine, the method I described works pretty well if cooking past pink, but you'll have to figure out how to deal with your imprecise metric degrees. and when to move the steak to the higher temperature.

What was the last metric spaceship to land on the moon with people and return them safely to earth? Has anyone ever driven a metric moonbuggy around up there?

 

[Que]

I like my steak medium rare, but it can be cooked past pink and still come out tender and juicy if you do it right. A lot of what we "know" about cooking steak is wrong.

For years the wisdom has been to use high heat and sear first to seal in the juices. Thinner cuts can be cooked completely on high heat, and thicker cuts can me first seared on high heat and then finished on lower heat. It seems like a good idea, but there is a better way.

First, use a thermometer. I cook a lot and have invested in a Thermapen, but there are some in the $15-20 range that work well. Even a cheap dial thermometer is better than nothing.

If you're cooking in the house with an oven and range, first put your steak in the oven at 225 degrees F and cook until 95-100 degrees F (about 20-25 minutes). While the steak is cooking in the oven, get a skillet screaming hot on the stove. When the steak reaches the 95-100 degrees F, remove from the oven and sear over the highest heat you can muster. We're looking for nice browning on the outside. Depending upon the temperature of final searing you can get and the degree of doneness you want, this recipe needs to be adjusted.

I've also done this successfully on a 22" Weber grill. I pile up some charcoal on one side of the grill, and put the steak as far from the fire as possible. I prop up the cover near the steak to keep the heat down and make it cook a little more slowly. At 95-100 degrees F, I move the steak so it's over as much screaming heat that I can get. Sometimes I add more hot charcoal to the hot side just before moving the meat. I don't really want grill marks; I want even browning.

This works because there is an enzyme in beef that makes it tender but turns off at 122 degrees F. We want to keep this enzyme active for as long as possible during the cooking process. This method of cooking results in a more evenly cooked steak that is more tender than steak cooked the way we "know". I'm not a genius; this method is now advocated by America's Test Kitchen, Alton Brown, and most importantly to me, Meathead of amazingribs.com

Try it, it works. My absolute favorite is a thick ribeye that's been rubbed with jerk spices and herbs.

Ok...this is ALL KINDS of wrong... but it makes sense I'm definitely going to try it next time.

If this works restaurants are going about it all wrong because your method would let them prepare and hold them and make the final product more consistent and easier to time. Not to mention the fact it could cut the time from order to on the table in half...

I'm going to have to experiment adjust quite a bit because I like mine more in the rare side of medium.

 

[Emerson40]

I like my steak medium rare, but it can be cooked past pink and still come out tender and juicy if you do it right. A lot of what we "know" about cooking steak is wrong.

For years the wisdom has been to use high heat and sear first to seal in the juices. Thinner cuts can be cooked completely on high heat, and thicker cuts can me first seared on high heat and then finished on lower heat. It seems like a good idea, but there is a better way.

First, use a thermometer. I cook a lot and have invested in a Thermapen, but there are some in the $15-20 range that work well. Even a cheap dial thermometer is better than nothing.

If you're cooking in the house with an oven and range, first put your steak in the oven at 225 degrees F and cook until 95-100 degrees F (about 20-25 minutes). While the steak is cooking in the oven, get a skillet screaming hot on the stove. When the steak reaches the 95-100 degrees F, remove from the oven and sear over the highest heat you can muster. We're looking for nice browning on the outside. Depending upon the temperature of final searing you can get and the degree of doneness you want, this recipe needs to be adjusted.

I've also done this successfully on a 22" Weber grill. I pile up some charcoal on one side of the grill, and put the steak as far from the fire as possible. I prop up the cover near the steak to keep the heat down and make it cook a little more slowly. At 95-100 degrees F, I move the steak so it's over as much screaming heat that I can get. Sometimes I add more hot charcoal to the hot side just before moving the meat. I don't really want grill marks; I want even browning.

This works because there is an enzyme in beef that makes it tender but turns off at 122 degrees F. We want to keep this enzyme active for as long as possible during the cooking process. This method of cooking results in a more evenly cooked steak that is more tender than steak cooked the way we "know". I'm not a genius; this method is now advocated by America's Test Kitchen, Alton Brown, and most importantly to me, Meathead of amazingribs.com

Try it, it works. My absolute favorite is a thick ribeye that's been rubbed with jerk spices and herbs.

Interesting.... I will give this a try as well.

Have you tried this with larger cuts and roasts?

 

[silverwhisper]

bottomlover: wait--you don't want grill marks? or is it just not a priority?

ed

 

[bailadora]

Some folks just plain LUUUURRVVE tomatoes.

Since we're back on the 'maters, I thought I'd link to yet another incredible recipe. Roasted Tomato Caprese with Avocado.

The pictures alone had me salivating.

ETA: I think I'm also going to try her recipe for tomato pesto. Looks really, really good.

 

[java_girl]

Since we're back on the 'maters, I thought I'd link to yet another incredible recipe. Roasted Tomato Caprese with Avocado.

The pictures alone had me salivating.

ETA: I think I'm also going to try her recipe for tomato pesto. Looks really, really good.

this sounds wonderful! suddenly i'm hungry!

 

[sunandshadow]

I really like steaks with that Prairie Dust seasoning Longhorn has, but I haven't figured out how to buy or make an equivalent. Anyone have a suggestion?

 

[Emerson40]

I really like steaks with that Prairie Dust seasoning Longhorn has, but I haven't figured out how to buy or make an equivalent. Anyone have a suggestion?

Try mixing this up and putting it in an empty shaker.

LONGHORN'S PRAIRIE DUST SEASONING

1 tablespoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

 

[NippleMuncher]

Ok...this is ALL KINDS of wrong... but it makes sense I'm definitely going to try it next time.

If this works restaurants are going about it all wrong because your method would let them prepare and hold them and make the final product more consistent and easier to time. Not to mention the fact it could cut the time from order to on the table in half...

I'm going to have to experiment adjust quite a bit because I like mine more in the rare side of medium.

It is no secret that the lower the temp and the longer you cook a piece of meat, any meat, the more juicy, tender, and flavorful it will be. The issue is both of knowledge and time, in a restaurant setting, it's all about speed, and you never precook meat because you don't know how long it will sit before it's ordered, much less know to what level of doneness.

A few years ago we got a gas grill with a rotisserie, we use the rotisserie more than anything else when cooking meat because it bastes the meat in it's own juices and isn't as hot as direct fire grilling. You can still overcook things, certainly, but it's a little harder to do, especially if you're vigilant about the time.

 

[Lord Pmann]

I thought of you lot last night when, in my ravenous state, I was forced to consume this still mooing cow.

You mean that overdone piece of meat?

 

[Miles Long]

I had a ribeye today and it was delicious.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

My preference is for prime rib but if I get lucky, occasionally I've had some chuck steak that was better than porterhouse and T-bone.

 

[deehere]

Just Luuuurrvve Tomatoes!

Some folks just plain LUUUURRVVE tomatoes.
Put me in front of a garden with a salt shaker and lovely tomatos and I am the happiest of girls. Like Emerson, I have major drama queen relatives who gag and have major hysterics if they find onions in their food. They go on like they'e been poisoned. C'mon people, it's a vegetable

 

[Lord Pmann]

I like eye fillet, butterflied so it turns to charcoal quicker.

My clogged heart can't take that blasphemy!!!! Argh. I was kind of proud at first because I thought it said I like filet, buttered. Here at some of the high end steakhouses they have a drawn butter type sauce they put on their steaks. *mwah* Amazingness. About as healthy as chicken and waffles, but so so good. And you wrap that filet in bacon and add a bleu cheese crumble crust and I'm in heaven.

 

[Lord Pmann]

And I like my filets the size of a stump or a nub.

 

[Lord Pmann]

Yuck!!

I have mine with a pepper sauce on the side. So tasty.

Pepper sauce is good. But the butter sauce... You shouldn't knock it until you try it. It's the anal sex of sauces. Sounds weird at first, but when you try it, wow!!!!

 

[NippleMuncher]

Pepper sauce is good. But the butter sauce... You shouldn't knock it until you try it. It's the anal sex of sauces. Sounds weird at first, but when you try it, wow!!!!

Now there's an analogy that should never have been made! LOL

 

[NippleMuncher]

I thought of you lot last night when, in my ravenous state, I was forced to consume this still mooing cow.

Oh, come on, that thing wasn't even twitching, it was perfectly done.

 

[Emerson40]

I thought of you lot last night when, in my ravenous state, I was forced to consume this still mooing cow.

Hey Rainy, good on you! Nice to see you steppin' out of the comfort zone.

You will have to admit though, seasoning and sauces aside, that must have been masticatory heaven in your mouth compared to the filet à la ball glove you've previously had.