Oh no, another cooking thread by Psilo

[ranjaman]

 

*points to post above*   In French it's chateaubriand or filet de b

[King Kashue]

 

Based on the chart above, it's filet de b

[King Kashue]

Ok, I'll just take my vodka out of the cupboard, my glass out of the dishwasher, (still warm, just ran it), my 10 year old sweet vermouth out of the garage, toss 'em all in a mixer (3 parts vodka to 1 part vermouth) and shake with some ice for a few minutes and pour it into my warm glass, toss in a few garlic olives and enjoy my martini while you finish your rant.

 

[Psilocybin]

Vermouth is not even good enough to be used for flushing a toilet.

[King Kashue]

 

Vermouth is not even good enough to be used for flushing a toilet.

 

 

Can't make a martini without it.

[Emprov]

 

Can't make a martini without it.

 

True dat! I only use two or three drops though.

[Psilocybin]

I just tried the unseasoned (didn't try the salt thing but will give it a go sometime) ribeye. It wasn't bad but I will be sticking to my marinade.

[bleepo]

Boil it!

beat me to it

[Thumper]

For a well-marbled steak such as rib eye, dust it lightly with kosher salt, black pepper and just a bit of garlic powder. Let it sit until it gets to room temperature and grill it to taste.

 

Cheaper cuts with less fat (which I prefer) get the same treatment, but I keep them in the fridge over night.

[abngourmet]

Marinating, salting, peppering ... interesting stuff.

 

The reason most chefs salt and pepper a steak is two-fold. first, it is to add some "flavor" and seasoning to the steak, e.g., the saltiness from the salt and the "heat" from the pepper. Otherwise it would taste bland to most palates.

 

The second reason is to draw out proteins, amino acids and other compounds to the surface of the meat. They usually manifest themselves as liquids or small pools of liquid on the surface of the meat prior to cooking. When cooked, these substances undergo subtle chemical changes when they undergo heating, resulting in something called the Maillard effect, e.g., they caramelize and brown into something that is very appealing to most palates. It imparts a flavor and taste most folks come to associate with a properly cooked and prepared steak.

 

In the U.S., there are 9 grades of beef as categorized by the USDA. The top three are prime, choice, and select. Prime is the best, highly marbled and well aged. Most of this ends up in high end restaurants and steak houses. Select and Choice is what you find in most supermarkets. You can also buy prime online, but it is accordingly most expensive.

 

You can age a steak at home, and help it achieve that "prime" flavor. Most folks don't want to do this, but it can be done. Simply take a steak or roast, and place it in a plastic container that's been drilled with holes. Place the container upside down in the coldest part of the fridge (you may want to place it on a sheet pan to capture any errant juices that may come out), and let sit for about 5 days. At the end of those five days or so you'll have a cut that's aged, has undergone some significant changes due to enzyme actions, and actually tastes more "beefy." Any "hard" fat or flesh can be simply trimmed off prior to cooking. The loss of edible meat is more than outweighed (sorry for the pun, and IMHO) by the flavor of what remains behind.

 

Prime Rib, in the U.S. is a misnomer. Prime is a grade of cut, and Rib is a type of cut. You can have Prime Rib, but only if it meets those USDA requirements under its grading system. Too many restaurants and grocery stores call a rib roast "prime rib" when in fact it isn't.

 

I'm always amused when I ask whether the rib roast is in fact "prime" in restaurants that advertise it as such. Most of the servers look at me like I have a thumb growing out of my head when I do so, but are even more chagrined when they come back and tell me it is, in fact, choice by grading. It doesn't necessarily make it a bad steak, just not prime by grading.

 

Alan

[Psilocybin]

Marinating, salting, peppering ... interesting stuff. The reason most chefs salt and pepper a steak is two-fold. first, it is to add some "flavor" and seasoning to the steak, e.g., the saltiness from the salt and the "heat" from the pepper. Otherwise it would taste bland to most palates. The second reason is to draw out proteins, amino acids and other compounds to the surface of the meat. They usually manifest themselves as liquids or small pools of liquid on the surface of the meat prior to cooking. When cooked, these substances undergo subtle chemical changes when they undergo heating, resulting in something called the Maillard effect, e.g., they caramelize and brown into something that is very appealing to most palates. It imparts a flavor and taste most folks come to associate with a properly cooked and prepared steak. In the U.S., there are 9 grades of beef as categorized by the USDA. The top three are prime, choice, and select. Prime is the best, highly marbled and well aged. Most of this ends up in high end restaurants and steak houses. Select and Choice is what you find in most supermarkets. You can also buy prime online, but it is accordingly most expensive. You can age a steak at home, and help it achieve that "prime" flavor. Most folks don't want to do this, but it can be done. Simply take a steak or roast, and place it in a plastic container that's been drilled with holes. Place the container upside down in the coldest part of the fridge (you may want to place it on a sheet pan to capture any errant juices that may come out), and let sit for about 5 days. At the end of those five days or so you'll have a cut that's aged, has undergone some significant changes due to enzyme actions, and actually tastes more "beefy." Any "hard" fat or flesh can be simply trimmed off prior to cooking. The loss of edible meat is more than outweighed (sorry for the pun, and IMHO) by the flavor of what remains behind. Prime Rib, in the U.S. is a misnomer. Prime is a grade of cut, and Rib is a type of cut. You can have Prime Rib, but only if it meets those USDA requirements under its grading system. Too many restaurants and grocery stores call a rib roast "prime rib" when in fact it isn't. I'm always amused when I ask whether the rib roast is in fact "prime" in restaurants that advertise it as such. Most of the servers look at me like I have a thumb growing out of my head when I do so, but are even more chagrined when they come back and tell me it is, in fact, choice by grading. It doesn't necessarily make it a bad steak, just not prime by grading. Alan

 

Thank you for a very useful post.

[abngourmet]

Thank you for a very useful post.

 

My pleasure, glad I could impart whatever wisdom it is that I have, which, if you ask most folks isn't much!

 

Alan

[misterhinkydink]

 

You can age a steak at home, and help it achieve that "prime" flavor. Most folks don't want to do this, but it can be done. Simply take a steak or roast, and place it in a plastic container that's been drilled with holes. Place the container upside down in the coldest part of the fridge (you may want to place it on a sheet pan to capture any errant juices that may come out), and let sit for about 5 days. At the end of those five days or so you'll have a cut that's aged, has undergone some significant changes due to enzyme actions, and actually tastes more "beefy." Any "hard" fat or flesh can be simply trimmed off prior to cooking. The loss of edible meat is more than outweighed (sorry for the pun, and IMHO) by the flavor of what remains behind. Alan

 

 

This is pretty much what we do except we leave it for two weeks. Once you've aged beef in this way you'll never go back to eating the red, "fresh" stuff directly from the store.

[abngourmet]

 

This is pretty much what we do except we leave it for two weeks. Once you've aged beef in this way you'll never go back to eating the red, "fresh" stuff directly from the store.

 

 

Agree completely. There are so many complex chemical reactions going on as to defy belief, and the effect on flavor is immense.

 

BTW, the flesh remains red because the pigment in meat (and blood), called myoglobin, is protected to an extent from interaction with oxygen. Contrary to popular belief, plastic wrap is permeable and will not completely shield any meat from interaction with oxygen. When myoglobin hits oxygen (as it will inevitably do), it oxidizes, e.g., turns brown. This doesn't make the meat bad, just oxidized. That's why when you go to your local supermarket and you see "brown" meat that they've marked it down - it's perceived as less than fresh, but in fact has oxidized. Now, if it's been there a few days, I'd be wary, but you can always check the label or ask the butcher to find out what's going on.

 

You can always conduct this experiment yourself by simply taking a pin and poking some holes in the plastic wrap of your favorite store bought beef and leaving it in the fridge. In a day or so it will turn brown, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's not edible - follow your nose. If it smells bad, it generally is. But just because it's brown doesn't mean it's bad, just exposed to oxygen.

 

Alan

[MrJoshua]

We load up a few young bulls and carry them off to the butcher. In 2-3 weeks we go back and pick up a whole lot of boxes of little white paper packages labeled "sirloin" and "t-bone" and "hamburger" and such. That goes into the freezer at home.

 

When I want a steak, I pull it out of the freezer and let it thaw. I give it a good rinse to remove any bone dust from the butcher cutting the steaks. Then I added a touch of tenderizer, a dash of salt, and a bit of pepper. Then I stab it with a fork several dozen times. Then I flip it over and repeat the whole process.

 

Then I grill it over charcoal, or over hickory if I'm feeling froggy. And when it's up to about medium-rare or medium, I eat it.

 

It's good.

[PrestiaRules]

 

Marinating, salting, peppering ... interesting stuff. The reason most chefs salt and pepper a steak is two-fold. first, it is to add some "flavor" and seasoning to the steak, e.g., the saltiness from the salt and the "heat" from the pepper. Otherwise it would taste bland to most palates. The second reason is to draw out proteins, amino acids and other compounds to the surface of the meat. They usually manifest themselves as liquids or small pools of liquid on the surface of the meat prior to cooking. When cooked, these substances undergo subtle chemical changes when they undergo heating, resulting in something called the Maillard effect, e.g., they caramelize and brown into something that is very appealing to most palates. It imparts a flavor and taste most folks come to associate with a properly cooked and prepared steak. In the U.S., there are 9 grades of beef as categorized by the USDA. The top three are prime, choice, and select. Prime is the best, highly marbled and well aged. Most of this ends up in high end restaurants and steak houses. Select and Choice is what you find in most supermarkets. You can also buy prime online, but it is accordingly most expensive. You can age a steak at home, and help it achieve that "prime" flavor. Most folks don't want to do this, but it can be done. Simply take a steak or roast, and place it in a plastic container that's been drilled with holes. Place the container upside down in the coldest part of the fridge (you may want to place it on a sheet pan to capture any errant juices that may come out), and let sit for about 5 days. At the end of those five days or so you'll have a cut that's aged, has undergone some significant changes due to enzyme actions, and actually tastes more "beefy." Any "hard" fat or flesh can be simply trimmed off prior to cooking. The loss of edible meat is more than outweighed (sorry for the pun, and IMHO) by the flavor of what remains behind. Prime Rib, in the U.S. is a misnomer. Prime is a grade of cut, and Rib is a type of cut. You can have Prime Rib, but only if it meets those USDA requirements under its grading system. Too many restaurants and grocery stores call a rib roast "prime rib" when in fact it isn't. I'm always amused when I ask whether the rib roast is in fact "prime" in restaurants that advertise it as such. Most of the servers look at me like I have a thumb growing out of my head when I do so, but are even more chagrined when they come back and tell me it is, in fact, choice by grading. It doesn't necessarily make it a bad steak, just not prime by grading. Alan

 

 

 

well said:thu:

 

I like my Rib-Eyes with a bit of Kosher Salt and fresh cracked pepper rubbed with an eye drop of oil..I know that isn't the textbook 'correct' way but i also know after 14 years cooking professionally with quality beef that it tastes great and that no customer has ever sent one back...

[PrestiaRules]

I used to work in a kitchen that brought in 21 day aged beef than we aged it a further 15 days in a dedicated cooler so it aged a full 36 days....we were pretty testy about who went in and out of that cooler. The result was incredibly favourful and pillowy tender beef....a delight.

 

also a gut kick if something went wrong and we lost a higher % than normal...a real shot to your food costs (which are brutally tight as it is when dealing with nice beef)

[Ender_rpm]

How can you tell an "aged" steak form one that has spoiled then? Smell only? I'm intrigued, and would love to try this at home, but i'm sure my wife would kill me if all I did was rot "her" meat.

[misterhinkydink]

 

How can you tell an "aged" steak form one that has spoiled then? Smell only? I'm intrigued, and would love to try this at home, but i'm sure my wife would kill me if all I did was rot "her" meat.

 

 

Spoiled smells rotten. Aged smells "aged", kind of a buttery smell. I don't know of any other way to describe it.

[Ender_rpm]

Whats the best way to ensure ageing vice spoilage? Will a normal fridge do? Or do I need a seperate meat fridge?

[misterhinkydink]

 

Whats the best way to ensure ageing vice spoilage? Will a normal fridge do? Or do I need a seperate meat fridge?

 

 

We use the meat keeper in the regular 'fridge. You might first try it on a cheap cut so you can get an idea of what happens.