Steak Tips - a Few Hints for Choosing and Cooking that Yummy Brandt Beef

Choosing a great cut on the cheap:

if you are a fan of filet mignon or beef tenderloin, you might enjoy the teres major, or shoulder tender. It is similar in both flavor and texture and is a good choice if you plan on serving rich sauce such as bearnaise or bordelaise.

If you like the richness and depth of a rib steak, consider the flatiron. It is one of the most tender and flavorful cuts of beef available and has an almost gamey quality.

A personal favorite of mine is the skirt steak, juicy and bursting with flavor.

Another winner is the sirloin cap, or coulotte. A whole coulotte makes a great roast for four, and cut into steaks, it’s tender and delicious.

Important tips:

always season liberally with salt before cooking. This draws more proteins to the surface. That’s where the great steak flavor comes from – the caramelization of the surface proteins. Okay, food snobs, it's not technically caramelization as protein isn't sugar. It's the Maillard Reaction which is the brown resulting from the marriage of amino acids, sugar and heat. It's a plural marriage.

Also, to this end, get a good brown crust on the outside of the steak, either in a heavy skillet or on the hottest part of the grill. Contrary to popular myth, this does nothing to “seal in the juices” but its reward is the flavor.

after achieving the nice crust, finish the steak in the oven at around 275 degrees, or on a cooler part of the grill, covered.

steaks plump when you cook them up until they reach an internal temperature of 130 degrees, after which they deflate. Pull your steaks when they have achieved maximum plumpness and allow them to rest a few minutes.

my favorite internal temperature temperature is 128 degrees for beef and lamb, 132 for veal and 135 for pork . Do not trust thermometers that determine that rare is 140 degrees; it is not. Rare is between 110 and 120.

Do not assume that rare is cold. Adjust your tap water to between 110 and 120 degrees. Feel the water. Is it cold? No.

Flavors:

I like to make a mix of chunky sea salt, sweet smoked paprika and black pepper to season my steaks. The paprika mimics a wood fire, inside or out.

for the simplest sauce, gently warm a tablespoon of butter and whisk in a few drops of worcesterchire sauce. Liberally brush your steak.

One I make all the time is chimichurri – see recipe.