Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Steaked

There's nothing like a juicy cut of steak. What foodie hasn't enjoyed sinking his or her teeth into tender meat, seared on the top and tender on the inside.It's the carnivore in us. Yet a wonderful cut of meat can be rendered inedible with the wrong cooking methods. Another result of meat gone bad is buying the wrong cut. What's the best cut of steak ? That depneds on what you buy and howyou cook with it.

The first aspect to look for in buying steak are the grades. There are prime, choice and select. Most prime grade beef ends up in restaurants. What's left for the groceries and private butchers are choice and select. The best bet for your money is choice. The second facet of a good steak is marbling . The more fat it has, the tastier the cut will be. Yes, this is unhealthy so you can try for a leaner steak (but you won't have the rich flavor) A happy balance is one with a few veins of fat running through it. The cut of be f is also important as to what you want to do . There are the ribs, the short loin and the sirloin. The rib gives you the rib roast,the rib steak and the rib eye steak along with back ribs. This is the toughest of all the cuts and can be quite chewy if not cooked well. The short loin produces the T-bone, top loin steak, tenderloin and the Porterhouse. The sirloin gives us the sirloin steak, and the top sirloin. Other steaks like the chuck, round and flank steak come from those respective areas and tend to be tough cuts of meat. Strip steaks, like the New York cut is derived from the T-bone portion. Most people prefer this last for dinner because it is easy to pan fry and serve .

What's the best way of cooking steak? Everyone has their own ideas. Some love it seared over the grill with a charred exterior and juicy pink inside. Other, like myself, enjoy a pan fried steak. I usually fry mine in a combination of olive oil with a dab of butter along with some very small pieces of chopped garlic. This last is done to give the meat a more robust flavor. I also sprinkled fresh ground sea salt and cracked pepper over the meat as it's cooking too.

Steak is a wonderful treat. You just have to know what you're buying. This helps in creating the best lunch or dinner ever. A good steak done well is the perfect meal.

No comments: