What's the best way to prepare a steak?

[Keith_W]

I am sorry if you are offended, John. Perhaps you might like to save some of that anger for the inhumane conditions the animals endure in factory farms. These animals are bred for our consumption, we should at least care about their welfare and be concerned about how they were raised. As I have indicated, there is also an effect on meat quality. If an animal does not get enough exercise, or the animal was diseased, the meat will have less flavour. If the factory farm feeds antibiotics to their livestock, it will have knock-on effects on antibiotic resistance for pathogens that infect humans. If the animal was not slaughtered properly, ATP depletion and lactic acid buildup degrades meat quality. If the primal cuts were aged in cryovac, you get the strange sulphuric smell of mercaptans instead of the pure beef flavour of dry aged beef.

There are all sorts of reasons why we should not shop on price. Lowest priced meats virtually guarantee unethical farming practice and in fact encourages it.

The beef I buy comes from Cape Grim, in Tasmania. I visited Cape Grim a few months ago. It is true, the cows really live like this:

In contrast, this is the kind of life a factory farm cow lives:

The only reason why beef, chicken, and pork has become widely affordable is because of factory farming. Throughout millenia, farmed livestock has been free range.

I think people should be more informed about the choices they make. Just as people who shop at Walmart are inadvertently destroying American jobs, people who buy cheap meat are encouraging bad farming practice. This is supposed to be "Whats Best" forum, so forgive me for recommending what I think is best. Buying good meat is not elitist. It should be the absolute minimum.

 

[NorthStar]

Keith, you raised some very important points regarding beef meat. ...And I agree with you.
...Pigs and chicken too (in BC there was that guy feeding prostitutes to his pigs).

By the way, I don't eat beef anymore (or extremely rarely).
In Canada our beef industry is pathetique in general.

Best is to go to your friendly neighbor (in the country), and not to the massed grocery stores.
I live in the country, and all my neighbors are horse raisers, beef raisers, chicken raisers, sheep raisers, few pigs, cows, wineries, fruit trees (got my own), and I believe that I have access to some of the best in the west.

 

[Ronm1]

I season with a fair amount of pepper. Fresh ground green on one side, fresh ground white mix on the other, finally a liberal rough grind of a bold black. Hot grill till medium rare or scalding cast iron to sear, finish in oven. Nothing like the aroma of searing pepper, " It smells like victory "

 

[Keith_W]

Steak tasting menu (L-R): Hopkins River Black Angus ribeye, cryovac 5 weeks; Wagyu Heifer Robbins Island, dry aged 5 weeks; Cape Grim Black Angus, dry aged 120 days.

Steak tasting menu (L-R): Wagyu, 120 day dry aged Cape Grim Black Angus x2, Hopkins River cryovac. All cooked the same way - sous-vide at 57C for 1 hour, followed by 1 hour oven dry, followed by high temperature sear over charcoal. The charcoal sear was done in two stages so as not to heat up the meat too much - 2 minute sear on each side, then rested 10 minutes, then 2 minute sear again. This was what it looked like after the first sear.

Steak tasting menu (L-R): Wagyu, 120 day dry aged, Cryovac. Served with Bearnaise sauce, Chanterey carrots, Asparagus, and Brussel Sprouts. Consensus was: Wagyu was the best. I thought the 120 day dry aged ribeye was noticably better than the Cryovac, but some disagreed!

 

[LL21]

Steak tasting menu (L-R): Hopkins River Black Angus ribeye, cryovac 5 weeks; Wagyu Heifer Robbins Island, dry aged 5 weeks; Came Grim Black Angus, dry aged 120 days.

Consensus was: Wagyu was the best. I thought the 120 day dry aged ribeye was noticably better than the Cryovac, but some disagreed!

Well, having the good fortune of being exposed to some of the best beef in Japan by my wife (Japanese)...she took me to one of Tokyo's top yakiniku restuarants and the owner's son cooked for us at the table...i managed to guess right away in looking at your photos of raw beef at which should be tastiest all things being equal in the preparation (before scrolling down). i remember the particular marbling which is quite unusual.

You really create culinary art here...thanks for that. Enjoy all the reading and have printed some of it out for our home cook book...getting hungry!!!

 

[Steve williams]

Keith

as always you inspire me.If I ate like that every day I can only imagine how much I would weigh

But here's my question and perhaps it should be another topic.... can you describe the techniques you use to dry age your beef

 

[Keith_W]

Steve, I don't dry age my beef ... so no use asking me I buy it pre-dry aged from the butcher. You can dry-age beef at home, and for that I direct you to this link. I have never tried it though.

 

[Steve williams]

That's why I asked as I have never done it as well

 

[amirm]

Keith, how do you accomodate people wanting different levels of doneness with steaks and sous-vide? My wife likes hers almost well done and I like mine medium rare.

 

[Soundproof]

I'm half Argentinian, and was trained as to the quality of different cuts of meat by my relatives. They are religious about meat quality. Unfortunately, the reputation of Argentinian meat has resulted in severe manipulation of whatever comes from that country, intended for export.

However, where I now live, I have several farms and butchers I can rely upon, and I get fantastic cuts. (In addition to the game I hunt). I was just at a butcher 200 miles away, on other business, but made certain to fill the car with the incredible cuts and processed meats he produces.

In addition to origin and how the cattle have grazed, the secret is in how the meat is cut and treated. If you have basic training, Argentinian style, you will be able to navigate meat counters everywhere, and bring home excellent cuts. Kudos to Keith W for clearly stating "what's what" in that respect - it is very, very important to be demanding when it comes to the origin, quality and treatment of meat - as quite a lot of what's available results from indefensible practices.

That said - I just had incredible T-bone steaks, from that butcher a couple of hundred miles away.

The asado I was served in Uruguay, some years ago, made up of viscera and special cuts from cattle, remains a vivid memory, and something I strive for when preparing my own asados. I'm presently building an Argentinian style asado in my new home, that's fun.

http://www.try2cook.com/blog/argentine-asado/

 

[treitz3]

Steak tasting menu (L-R): Wagyu, 120 day dry aged, Cryovac. Served with Bearnaise sauce, Chanterey carrots, Asparagus, and Brussel Sprouts. Consensus was: Wagyu was the best. I thought the 120 day dry aged ribeye was noticably better than the Cryovac, but some disagreed!

That's a pretty cool shot, Keith. Thanks for sharing that. It is amazing to me that sitting in front of you are 3 slabs of meat, all of which come from a cow. After cooking, there are considerable differences in the way they cooked when using the same cooking technique for all three. The Cryovac slice "looks" to be tasteless in comparison and lacking of certain texture within the meat. This photo makes me really want to try some Wagyu.

Tom

 

[Ronm1]

Be carefully what you wish for, Tom. Might spoil you for awhile.

 

[puroagave]

I'm half Argentinian...

that makes at least two of us on WBF Buenos Aires is the only place ive ever been to in my travels where a bife de lomo lunch is as commonplace as eating a burger in the states and cost about the same. its a beef lovers paradise.

 

[Keith_W]

Keith, how do you accomodate people wanting different levels of doneness with steaks and sous-vide?

I don't accommodate them!

But, if you put a gun to my head and said that I had to, then this is how I would do it. These are the cooking temperatures to various levels of doneness:

50C / 122F: rare
55C / 131F: medium rare
60C / 140F: medium well
65C / 149F: well done

I would pack the steaks in different bags. Set your SV machine for 63-65C (well done) then drop one steak in for 1 hour. Then remove the steak, set your machine to 55C (medium rare). Add some cold water to drop the temperature quickly. Then drop your second steak in. After 45 minutes, drop the first steak back in to reheat it. Yes it will be reheated to 55C, but that doesn't matter because it has already reached well done temperature. Getting both steaks at the same heat helps make it more predictable when you expose the steaks to a high temp sear.

 

[Keith_W]

The asado I was served in Uruguay, some years ago, made up of viscera and special cuts from cattle, remains a vivid memory, and something I strive for when preparing my own asados. I'm presently building an Argentinian style asado in my new home, that's fun.

I have never been to South America, but fortunately there are quite a few South Americans in Melbourne I have tried Argentinian Asado (or at least the Australian version of it). I don't know how authentic these guys are, but I have seen them do it two ways. One way is to cook it medium rare over high heat. The other way is to cook it for two hours over what looks to be medium heat charcoal. The first (medium rare ribs) are incredibly tough and difficult to eat, the second (two hour cook) tastes dry and really needs the chimichurri to get past the dryness. Is that what it's like in Argentina? Could you share how you do your Asado?

 

[Keith_W]

You guys might enjoy this article - 7 Old wives' tales about cooking steak that need to go away.

 

[amirm]

You guys might enjoy this article - 7 Old wives' tales about cooking steak that need to go away.

Great read. I think I had read an article like this before but this one is more complete. Thanks for posting it.

 

[Steve williams]

Great read. I think I had read an article like this before but this one is more complete. Thanks for posting it.

I bookmarked the article as I thought it was that good. Thanks Keith

 

[Keith_W]

I'll just leave this picture here.

Lately I have been asking my butcher to cut my steaks thinner. My theory is this - most of the flavour of the steak is on the surface. By cutting a thinner steak, you maximize the surface area to volume ratio.

The danger with a thin steak is that it is easy to overcook. The danger is particularly high if you use a single stage, high heat cooking method where you have to time removal perfectly to achieve medium rare. This is why I cook my steaks using a two stage method - the first is sous-vide to set the meat at the required level of done-ness, and the second stage is a high heat sear to develop flavour. All I need to do is make sure the surface is nicely browned and not burnt, something which is easy to do visually.

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

So how long for the sear to be right after the it's cooked sous-vide? Also, what is the thickness roughly of the steak?