Searching For The Perfect Steak

[Tungsten]

Merry Christmas all.

 

About 7 years ago i decided that turkey was kinda boring for Christmas dinner so we started changing it up.This year its steak and seafood.My wife the awesome cook that she is will take care of the sea food.She has asked me to take care of the steak.

 

So I'm looking for some different ideas on producing the perfect steak.

 

Thanks,

 

 

 

[dube]

Find a good butcher. There is much to know about meat, then all it takes is a hot grill and some salt.

 

my .02$

[Weedy1]

The following instructions are from http://ca.askmen.com/fine_living/wine_dine..._wine_dine.html .

These are perfect instructions in my opinion. Room temperature and greater than 1" are VERY important. Cooking a good steak is all about following the details.

 

 

 

Choosing the right cut

Your choice of steak will depend on a number of factors; the biggest one being whether you’re a flavor person or a texture person. If you like flavor, it’s easier on your wallet, but harder on your cooking -- you’ll need to marinate and be careful about overcooking. And if you’re a texture person, you’re the other way around. Either way, follow these guidelines.

 

* Buy steaks more than one inch thick.

* Look for a marbled steak if you’re grilling.

* Try to get steaks of even thickness.

* Chuck and round cuts are the really tough guys and need to be marinated a long time. Rib and loin are more suited to the grill, and will be more tender.

* Look for bright red meat with creamy white fat. There should be thin streaks of fat running through the meat as well.

 

A perfect ending

You can use many cooking techniques on your steak, but key to any of them is learning how to gauge the "doneness" of your meat. A common method used to determine the doneness is to check the internal temperature of the meat. Take this reading with a quick-read thermometer. You may want to aim for a few degrees lower than the recommended finishing temperature when taking the steak off the grill or out of the oven as the meat will continue to cook for a few minutes afterward.

Levels of doneness

Very rare: Hot on the outside, raw on the inside and the meat will be sort of wobbly. Final temperature reading should be 100°F.

 

Rare: Red, cool to warm center and the meat will be soft and spongy. Final temperature reading should be 120°F.

 

Medium rare: Red, warm center and the meat will have a springy firmness. Final temperature reading should be 126°F.

 

Medium: Hot, pink center and the meat will have a less springy firmness than medium rare. Final temperature reading should be 135°F.

 

Medium well: Slight color, cooked throughout and the meat will feel firm. Final temperature reading should be 145°F.

 

Well done: The meat is gray-brown throughout and very firm and unyielding. Final temperature reading should be 160°F.

Grilling

It can take some practice when learning to grill the perfect steak, but it is worth it. Here are some steps to get you started.

 

* Let your steak reach room temperature before grilling.

* Trim the steak of excess fat. Any strips of fat should be about ¼-inch thick. Also, cut through the fat strip at 1½-inch intervals.

* Season your meat. Salt and pepper is fine.

* Preheat the grill to as hot as you can get it then reduce the heat to the proper setting for the cut of steak you are cooking. Proper heating of the grill is vital. Oil the grids that you will be cooking on.

 

Now it's time to grill. Place each steak on the grill for one minute. Then, turn them and grill on the other side for an additional minute. After, turn the meat and rotate 45 degrees and grill for half the remaining cooking time. Make sure you turn them again. If you do this right you will get a nice diamond pattern of grill marks on the steaks and a well-rounded complete cook. Note that the biggest mistake most grillers make is to continually prod, flip and pierce the meat while grilling. This drains the flavor and toughens the meat. Touch it as little as possible. Some cooks go so far to say that you should only flip the steak once.

 

Last but not least: Cook. Move the meat to the cooler spot, and/or close the grill to roast. Check the internal temperature of the meat with the quick-read thermometer and remove the steaks when they have reached their desired temperatures.

 

Make sure that you let the steaks rest for two to three minutes before serving. This will let the juices flow out from the center, and finish cooking.

[RussC]

Tungsten

 

Head over to Costco Wholesale, excellent quality and cuts of Alberta beef. Fire up the BBQ, a little Montreal Steak Spice, garlic, pepper and seasoning salt. Cooked medium rare .........yum. As well Costco is having a seafood road show going on until the 23rd of December. In my household we do the steak and seafood thing for New Years day, start the New Year off the right way.

 

And I'm sure there will be quite a few of us that would volunteer to come over to help you and your wife consume your Christmas dinner.

 

 

Russ C

[Ricinus]

In the winter rather than BBQ- 2" thick Filet seasoned with steak spice or marinade, sear both sides on hot grill to seal then finish in oven to desired doneness. I found using the oven made it easy to control. Take steak out, tent with foil to rest for 5 min. Lots of sauces on line if you like.

 

Regards Mike

[Tungsten]

Great link Weedy,I'll look at steaks later I'm busy looking at Holly Weber right now.

 

Thanks for input guys,I'm drooling just thinking about it.MMMMMMM steak.

[sallinger]

if you go to costco, i would buy the beef tenderloin and cut it into steaks, you can vary thickness and it tastes excellent off the grill

[Pythagoras]

Two words - Filet mignon

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filet_mignon

[Guest Sundancefisher]

Two words - Filet mignon

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filet_mignon

 

I have never met a well seasoned marbled ribeye from any place.

 

Ribeye...yummmmmm

 

Better tasting than any other steak. Tender...juicy...dripping with flavor flavor. Fillet...while tender I find very plain tasting. Other cuts either just don't meat the tender test or the taste test. I find top sirlons are hit or miss. Tbone gives you only half and half.

[jack]

If you want to try something with an Oriental touch, my wife has a recipe for a mild Teriyaki steak.

 

Rib eye steaks 1" thick

 

1/2 cup Kikkoman Soy Sauce

1 tablespoon of molasses(or two tablespoons of dark brown sugar)

1 tablespoon of garlic power

1 tsp. lemon juice

 

Mix together, rub into both sides of the steaks, allow to sit, covered at room temperature overnight.

Rub more of the mixture into the steaks in the morning. Sprinkle with Montreal Steak spice.

BBQ or grill at med-high heat for 6 minutes on each side for medium rare.

 

j

 

 

[Taco]

Ranch Quality Direct or TK Ranch

21 day dry aged, rib eye or bone in rib steak, rancher direct, know where your food come from.

[LynnF]

Mike cooks the perfect steak as far as I'm concerned....he even beats the Keg in my opinion

 

Tenderloin is what you want. Buy a whole one, cut it to your liking.

 

Do a dry rub on the steak 1 hour before grilling it. Seasoning salt, garlic powder, Montreal steak spice and Onion Powder. Grill to medium rare (I'd personally never do a tenderloin more than that, even though I like mine a little closer to medium). 1 minute before you take it off the grill you take a bowl of melted butter that has fresh garlic paste blended into it and brush it on the steak. Tent it for 10 minutes with foil to let the juices suck back in and have at 'er. Never had a bad steak - even if it's on the indoor grill and not the BBQ.

 

BTW...what time is dinner? LOL

[Weedy1]

TK Ranch

21 day dry aged, rib eye or bone in rib steak, rancher direct, know where your food come from.

 

WTF is this? Grassfed beef? BS. Needs some steroids.

[Rp3flyfisher]

My favorite for flavor and Tenderness is the Tri Tip.

 

The cut is VERY Tender, and has some of the best flavor on the Cow, IMHO.

 

I just give the steak a quick spicing with Salt/Pepper/ and Creole seasoning. Get a Cast Iron pan REAL hot. Sear both sides and put it in the oven at Broil for another 5 minutes (For Medium Rare on a 1" thick Steak).

 

Rick

[admin]

Go for some buffalo Ribeye if you can find it. Use a really high heat to sear the steaks. and leave the salt until afterwards (It draws out the moisture) A grill full of these big bad ass streaks, some garlic mash, asparagus and chard.... Sounds a whole lot better then turkey, gonna have to rethink christmas dinner this year.

[mvdaog]

This thread has more valuable and succinct information and tips than I think any other thread in history! I need to eat a steak now!!!

Let's start an argument of some sort and get this thread off topic, it's too useful right now.

[Heimdallr]

I think that purchasing a good piece of meat is probably more important than how you prepare it. Ensuring that you have a quality piece of beef easily makes all the difference in the world. Preperation, on the other hand, is really all personal taste and as long as you do it properly (ie. overcook) it is likely to turn out fine. Ensuring the quality of a steak is also just as much about where you buy it from as which specific cut it is. My personal favorite is a thick New York Striploin.

[Ricinus]

Ranch Quality Direct or TK Ranch

21 day dry aged, rib eye or bone in rib steak, rancher direct, know where your food come from.

 

 

Didn't even know dry aged was available in Alta. It's a little pricey for everyday, but for a special treat HOT DAMN.

 

Thanks for the links

 

Regards Mike

[Guest Sundancefisher]

all kidding aside...this is the best recipe for quality down home, great home cooking, redneck steak

 

Title: Tofu Steak With Japanese Mushroom Sauce

Yield: 4 Servings

 

Ingredients

 

4 firm tofu

1 c fresh shiitake mushroom

1 c fresh enoki mushroom

1 pk regular white mushrooms

1/2 green onions

2 cloves garlic

2 tb sake (japanese rice wine)

4 tb soy sauce

2/3 c dashi (japanese fish stock)

2 ts cornstarch

1 salt

4 tb vegetable oil

 

Instructions

 

Here is a recipe for an authentic Tofu steak from the best seller recipe

magazine in Japan. Enjoy!

 

1. Place a clean cloth towel in a shallow plate (something like brownie

pan would be good) and put Tofu on it for 30 minutes to drain water. Wipe

the surface of Tofu with paper towels and sprinkle some salt (to make the

surface of the steak crisp and brown when done.)

 

2. Cut off the stem of mushrooms and slice them. divide Enoki into small

bunch. Cut green onions in 2 inches long. Finely chop garlic.

 

3. Put 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry both sides of Tofu

in medium-high heat, until Tofu turn golden brown. Put them on serving

plates.

 

4. Wipe the frying pan with paper towel and add another 2 Tbsp of vegetable

oil. Saute garlic and the mushrooms in medium heat quickly. Add Sake, soy

sauce and Dashi stock and bring it to boil. Add green onions. Dissolve

cornstarch in 2Tbsp of water and add to the sauce. Stir from the bottom of

the pan and pour it over the cooked Tofu. Serve while hot! (4 servings)

 

NOTE: Dashi is the basic soup stock used in most Japanese dishes such as

Miso Soup and Udon. You can get the powered stock called 'Hondashi' in any

Oriental stores. Substitute it with chicken stock if you like. Shiitake and

Enoki are very expensive in the U.S., but they are very flavorful. Try not

to cook them too long.

 

 

http://recipes.chef2chef.net/recipe-archive/10/063403.shtml

 

P.S. The real trick to this is picking a good cut of Tofu...

[Hawgstoppah]

The biggest key is playing with your marinade. My wife has this kickarse marinade that can turn a 20 dollar box of round steaks into a 35$ a plate meal that taste like it came from Hy's Steakhouse downtown. It's a vinagrette type marinade, then to finish it off I put Montreal steak spice and garlic powder before it hits the grill, and usually a very VERY small amount of bullseye BBQ steak sauce on while grilling.

 

Crap i wish I could afford a steak right now.

[Tungsten]

4. Wipe the frying pan with paper towel and add another 2 Tbsp of vegetable

oil. Sauté garlic and the mushrooms in medium heat quickly. Add Sake, soy

sauce and Dashi stock and bring it to boil. Add green onions. Dissolve

cornstarch in 2Tbsp of water and add to the sauce. Stir from the bottom of

the pan,then throw tofu away grill real steak and pour it over the cooked steak. Serve while hot! (4 servings)

 

Makes sence now.

[canadensis]

all kidding aside...this is the best recipe for quality down home, great home cooking, redneck steak

 

Title: Tofu Steak With Japanese Mushroom Sauce

Yield: 4 Servings

 

Ingredients

 

4 firm tofu

1 c fresh shiitake mushroom

1 c fresh enoki mushroom

1 pk regular white mushrooms

1/2 green onions

2 cloves garlic

2 tb sake (japanese rice wine)

4 tb soy sauce

2/3 c dashi (japanese fish stock)

2 ts cornstarch

1 salt

4 tb vegetable oil

 

Instructions

 

Here is a recipe for an authentic Tofu steak from the best seller recipe

magazine in Japan. Enjoy!

 

1. Place a clean cloth towel in a shallow plate (something like brownie

pan would be good) and put Tofu on it for 30 minutes to drain water. Wipe

the surface of Tofu with paper towels and sprinkle some salt (to make the

surface of the steak crisp and brown when done.)

 

2. Cut off the stem of mushrooms and slice them. divide Enoki into small

bunch. Cut green onions in 2 inches long. Finely chop garlic.

 

3. Put 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry both sides of Tofu

in medium-high heat, until Tofu turn golden brown. Put them on serving

plates.

 

4. Wipe the frying pan with paper towel and add another 2 Tbsp of vegetable

oil. Saute garlic and the mushrooms in medium heat quickly. Add Sake, soy

sauce and Dashi stock and bring it to boil. Add green onions. Dissolve

cornstarch in 2Tbsp of water and add to the sauce. Stir from the bottom of

the pan and pour it over the cooked Tofu. Serve while hot! (4 servings)

 

NOTE: Dashi is the basic soup stock used in most Japanese dishes such as

Miso Soup and Udon. You can get the powered stock called 'Hondashi' in any

Oriental stores. Substitute it with chicken stock if you like. Shiitake and

Enoki are very expensive in the U.S., but they are very flavorful. Try not

to cook them too long.

 

 

http://recipes.chef2chef.net/recipe-archive/10/063403.shtml

 

P.S. The real trick to this is picking a good cut of Tofu...

You missed step #5;

5. Once all ingredients are ready, toss the Tofu in the trash; throw the Ribeye on a grill heated to 500c and enjoy!

[robert]

Best piece of meat i've ever ate was an aged black angus t-bone cooked naked on a grill - no spice, no marinade, nothing.

[Bigtoad]

Well, you're not going to be happy about this but the absolute best steak ever! is one that is cooked over the coals on a campfire beside the Bow river. My favorite is the Teriyaki steak from M & M but I have found others work as well. When done properly, you can cut it with the side of a plastic fork.

 

Mmmmmmmm...........

 

Sorry dude.

[canadensis]

Well, you're not going to be happy about this but the absolute best steak ever! is one that is cooked over the coals on a campfire beside the Bow river. My favorite is the Teriyaki steak from M & M but I have found others work as well. When done properly, you can cut it with the side of a plastic fork.

 

Mmmmmmmm...........

 

Sorry dude.

 

Why the apology?

 

Some of the best eats are cooked over a campfire.