From the article: Steak: Grades & Cuts
Selecting a steak is more art than science. Thick or thin, we all have our favorite cuts. Please take a few minutes and let us know what you look for in a steak. What cut? How thick? What about marbling? Be specific. Share your Steak
Just a couple things
- 1. Rib-eye or NY strips are my fav's. 2. Olive oil, salt and pepper on both sides. 3. Extremely hot charcoal grill for a nice sear on both sides. Should not cook past medium. 4. Do not cut into the steak - let sit for five minutes and then enjoy. 5. Sauteed onions optional, but my preference for sure!
- —Guest Ryan
You are mostly correct
- Good post...Except your comments on marbelling and tenderness. More marbeling is not only more flavor- it is also more tenderness...this is why a prime grade should be more flavorfull AND tender than chice/ select...The difference is health- select is leaner. So balance taste vs health. Choice beef tends to do a good job of that. Even then., inside the industry ther are termslike "high select"..ie select cows from ranchers wh typically produce high quality..somme spermarkets like safeway are marketing "high select" as a lower price solution (at safeway it's called rancher's reserve") You CAN find GREAT bargains shoppinh at stores that sell select..just look for the marbelling as this article states (and don'y buy choice if it isn't well marbelled)
- —Guest Butcher Bryan
steak !
- I still remember my first tip to a steak house fifty years ago in Omaha with my father who was then at the SAC air force base. He was a lover of good food, and his favourite meal was steak & lobster tails. Back then Omaha had fantastic beef. I was thrilled, and even a bit horrified by the prospect of eating rare meat, but the flavour hit the male gene in me like and resonated like a ten foot gong....Today, I am making one of my favourites, a thick, organic, NY steak, purchased from the local butcher. It is well marbled, only seasoned with salt, and pepper, and will go onto the grill in about thirty minutes. I actually prefer using charcoal with steak,but because of time I will use gas today.
- —Guest Wil
The Most Awesome Steak
- I'm not picky about steak, but I do keep my eye--and mouth--out for a few key things. Firstly, it has to be cooked over a high enough heat to kind of seal the juices inside. Ohhh, baby, you get that right and...Nothing else like it. Next, I can't stand it when a good steak is ruined with a bunch of pointless toppings. Leave it plain, before and after cooking, and before buying.(once, we got a steak from Wal-Mart and it was soaked in some weird marinade) Third, pick a steak with thick gristle and cook it intact. Trim as you eat. Finally, leave it a bit rare. Any steak, regardless of the grade and cut, is "bad" when it's shoeleather.
- —Guest guest
The pure taste of simply seasoned beef
- In Texas these past 10 years, I've toyed with many different steak preparations. There are definitely times I enjoy the more complex preparations (steak au poivre, a red wine marinade, etc). More often then not, though, when I hanker for steak - I mean, daydream about it, salivate while it's cooking, look in awe at it on the plate - it's for the simple goodness of beef. Salt and pepper seasoning, a slow roast at 150-200 degrees until it's just about rare, then off the heat until the grates are heated to 450-500+ degrees. Back onto the grate for a sear, and voila, the purity of steak, a meal for kings (and their queens). One twist: I'll occasionally put an iron skillet on the searing grates, and just before removing the steaks, I'll saute them in butter on each side for a minute or so. Cover with carmelized onions and live the dream. As I write this, I await our rib roast. Your topic is perfectly timed!
- —Guest pmignini
What I look for in a steak
- I look for marbling and some fat and a steak about 3/4" thick.
- —Guest Joyce
Go big and slow down
- Two things need to happen for a good steak-it needs to get a good sear and the steak should never be cooked past medium.My prefered method for buying steaks is to buy whole cuts in cyrovac bags at C&C or Sam's.The steaks at grocery stores are always too thin and I'm too poor to afford going to a butcher except for special occasions.Therefore I become the butcher.The drawback with this is that you are limited to boneless cuts,you will still need to beg the guy at the store to cut you some thick ones or pay the butcher for a bone-in steak.Any steak should be a min of 1.5" thick,2" or more is better.I prefer to cook one thick steak and split it or save the part I couldn't eat for lunch than cook two thin ones.When cooking as soon as the steak has seared on both sides move it off direct heat to a cooler part of the grill.If cooking on the stove,sear one side then turn and move the pan to a 300 F oven to finish. Boneless steaks should be rarer than bone-in and always rest before enjoying.
- —theflints01
