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please forgive my repost.... but ya asked!
I have cooked (well, overseen the cooking) for over 3 million people in the course of my carreer, and without fuckin around here it is:
The key to a fantastic steak:
The product: 21 day Dry Aged 'Certified' Black Angus Sirloin, from Prince William Farm in Upstate NY, if you can find it. Get it cut from the loin end, but not the first steak off the loin end, the second is easier to manage, tell the butcher that you want it from a sirloin that has a small 'eye'.
Size: No less than 12oz PLEASE, you lose so much when you dont get something that is big enough to hold its juices... and no bigger than 22 oz, it starts to lose its beauty.
The heat source: a mixture of fruitwood charcoals to start, then two logs of hardwood: Apple and Cherry, if you can't get Cherry, then Alder will do fine. REMEMBER this is Natural Wood NOT lumber. You like gas grills? Then you probably like getting head with rubber on. Once you do hardwoods (fruitwoods only please) you will never do gas again.
Cooking time: if you like your meat black and blue, fine, just do me a favor next time you decide to go B&B: rub the steak down with some neutral oil, like corn or grapeseed, but NEVER, EVER EVER use anything that just says VEGETABLE OIL on the bottle, I will explain that too if anybody gives a shit, any way after you lubed up your meat, let it sit un-refridgerated until the center comes up to about room temp. No kidding, black and blue lovers: cold animal fat, beef fat in particular, coats the taste buds and takes the experience way down the scale, you spent the money on the best meat in the world, you have the killer cabernet or zin or wicked dark beer to go with it, you have the right heat source, dont fuck it all up by eating a steak that is still cold in the middle, coating your mouth with a layer of fat that prevents you from really enjoying the experience.
Rare to med rare lovers: you can be a bit more laid back about about the temp before cooking, but seriously: let it warm up for a while before you cook it, you will notice MUCH reduced cooking times and much better 'rebound' after you let it rest**
If you like your meat med Well to Well, then eat fish. I have asked may people to NOT order our steak if they want it well done, eat something else, or go someplace else. Really, your establishment is only as good as the last meal they ate there, and if anyone at the table tastes your well done shoe, then they will NEVER come back. Meat is not shoe leather, don't ask me to turn it into such.
BIG STEAK eaters, take that damn slab of beef off the grill a few minutes before you think its done and LET THAT THING REST. Picture this: the outside of the meat is well done, the inside is raw, as it 'rests' for five or so minutes after it comes off the grill, the juices from the middle of the meat migrate to outside of the meat, whose connective tissues (collegen and elastins, mostly) have contracted fiercly and forced the juices toward the center, and until the tissues relax thats where all the moisture is forced to stay, UNDER PRESSURE. Ever cut a thick steak right off the grill? It looks red in the middle, grey around the outside and all the juices run out all over you plate. that is bad.
Simple version? Let it rest, it will be more uniformly cooked, and it will be juicey from the center out to the edge. If you dont let it rest, the outside will be tough, and the juices will run out of the meat onto your plate as soon as you cut into it, leaving your meat dry and wasted.
You need more? Ask the Chef.
I have cooked (well, overseen the cooking) for over 3 million people in the course of my carreer, and without fuckin around here it is:
The key to a fantastic steak:
The product: 21 day Dry Aged 'Certified' Black Angus Sirloin, from Prince William Farm in Upstate NY, if you can find it. Get it cut from the loin end, but not the first steak off the loin end, the second is easier to manage, tell the butcher that you want it from a sirloin that has a small 'eye'.
Size: No less than 12oz PLEASE, you lose so much when you dont get something that is big enough to hold its juices... and no bigger than 22 oz, it starts to lose its beauty.
The heat source: a mixture of fruitwood charcoals to start, then two logs of hardwood: Apple and Cherry, if you can't get Cherry, then Alder will do fine. REMEMBER this is Natural Wood NOT lumber. You like gas grills? Then you probably like getting head with rubber on. Once you do hardwoods (fruitwoods only please) you will never do gas again.
Cooking time: if you like your meat black and blue, fine, just do me a favor next time you decide to go B&B: rub the steak down with some neutral oil, like corn or grapeseed, but NEVER, EVER EVER use anything that just says VEGETABLE OIL on the bottle, I will explain that too if anybody gives a shit, any way after you lubed up your meat, let it sit un-refridgerated until the center comes up to about room temp. No kidding, black and blue lovers: cold animal fat, beef fat in particular, coats the taste buds and takes the experience way down the scale, you spent the money on the best meat in the world, you have the killer cabernet or zin or wicked dark beer to go with it, you have the right heat source, dont fuck it all up by eating a steak that is still cold in the middle, coating your mouth with a layer of fat that prevents you from really enjoying the experience.
Rare to med rare lovers: you can be a bit more laid back about about the temp before cooking, but seriously: let it warm up for a while before you cook it, you will notice MUCH reduced cooking times and much better 'rebound' after you let it rest**
If you like your meat med Well to Well, then eat fish. I have asked may people to NOT order our steak if they want it well done, eat something else, or go someplace else. Really, your establishment is only as good as the last meal they ate there, and if anyone at the table tastes your well done shoe, then they will NEVER come back. Meat is not shoe leather, don't ask me to turn it into such.
BIG STEAK eaters, take that damn slab of beef off the grill a few minutes before you think its done and LET THAT THING REST. Picture this: the outside of the meat is well done, the inside is raw, as it 'rests' for five or so minutes after it comes off the grill, the juices from the middle of the meat migrate to outside of the meat, whose connective tissues (collegen and elastins, mostly) have contracted fiercly and forced the juices toward the center, and until the tissues relax thats where all the moisture is forced to stay, UNDER PRESSURE. Ever cut a thick steak right off the grill? It looks red in the middle, grey around the outside and all the juices run out all over you plate. that is bad.
Simple version? Let it rest, it will be more uniformly cooked, and it will be juicey from the center out to the edge. If you dont let it rest, the outside will be tough, and the juices will run out of the meat onto your plate as soon as you cut into it, leaving your meat dry and wasted.
You need more? Ask the Chef.
