How do you cook your steaks?

[iamwhatiseem]

Grocery Chain beef.......

Field raised field fed cattle at a local butcher store......

 

[ChrisL]

I just bought a T bone steak at the grocery store today. It was exactly $8.63 for 0.96 lb. I've bought them at the butcher shop and they are definitely better. Better looking, bigger, better tasting. However, they are a LOT more at the butcher shops around here. Probably because they can charge a lot because there are not a lot of specialty shops around here anymore and they have to charge a lot to be able to compete with the big supermarkets. I just cannot afford to buy my meat at the butcher shop. Also, there is the convenience factor.

They do have some good looking meats at the grocery store which are not prepackaged and they look fine too. However, having said all of that, the meat I get at the grocery store is certainly edible at least. Lol.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Tonight I will oven-roast my 6 sirloin lamb steaks coated in olive oil sea salt, and ground black pepper uncovered in a Pyrex baking dish.

This will be my Catholic Holy Thursday dinner before evening Mass at the Parish church.

After 10 mins broiling them on either side I will then turn the heat down and roast them slow for another hour so they're tender and can be cut with a fork.

My cat does not know it yet but he will get the raw trimmings from the steaks.

Damn!! I'm gonna make you my bitch if you cook like that on a weekday!!!!

 

[JustAnotherNut]

A butcher told me once that a Porterhouse is just a fuller cut T-Bone. There is more meat on the short side of the T, that is more tender than the long side. Most T-Bones around here atleast, have very little on the tender short side.

Not only does the cut of meat have to do with tenderness, but also the amount of marbling...bits of fat within the meat, not the fat around the outside. So if you find a good chuck steak, with enough marbling in it (not too much or your paying for fat, not meat), it too can be reasonably tender if grilled or broiled.

So does method of cooking. Top &/or bottom round steaks are usually best if cooked in liquid, low & slow, or a good marinade that includes some type of acid (lemon or lime juice, vinegar, wine, etc) and left for a day or two before cooking, but still low & slow.

Flank & brisket.....marinade. Flank if thin enough can be grilled or broiled, fast, then let rest 10-15 minutes before slicing against the grain. Brisket too, but being thicker, takes a bit more time. It's also good if smoked.


Don't salt meat until either the last minute or wait until served. Salt dries it out

 

[JustAnotherNut]

Grocery Chain beef.......

Field raised field fed cattle at a local butcher store......

Grass fed, pasture raised beef is best, but also considerably more expensive. Not everyone can afford to pay for that luxury.

 

[ChrisL]

A butcher told me once that a Porterhouse is just a fuller cut T-Bone. There is more meat on the short side of the T, that is more tender than the long side. Most T-Bones around here atleast, have very little on the tender short side.

Not only does the cut of meat have to do with tenderness, but also the amount of marbling...bits of fat within the meat, not the fat around the outside. So if you find a good chuck steak, with enough marbling in it (not too much or your paying for fat, not meat), it too can be reasonably tender if grilled or broiled.

So does method of cooking. Top &/or bottom round steaks are usually best if cooked in liquid, low & slow, or a good marinade that includes some type of acid (lemon or lime juice, vinegar, wine, etc) and left for a day or two before cooking, but still low & slow.

Flank & brisket.....marinade. Flank if thin enough can be grilled or broiled, fast, then let rest 10-15 minutes before slicing against the grain. Brisket too, but being thicker, takes a bit more time. It's also good if smoked.


Don't salt meat until either the last minute or wait until served. Salt dries it out

True, but I've heard of people salting their steaks and letting them sit in the fridge. I would think that would be for a more tough cut of steak, like a flank steak or something. Salt can tenderize the meat, I believe.

 

[SeaGal]

True, but I've heard of people salting their steaks and letting them sit in the fridge. I would think that would be for a more tough cut of steak, like a flank steak or something. Salt can tenderize the meat, I believe.

There is a salting method for any cut of steak that simulates dry aging. Crust the exterior of meat with salt, both sides. Let sit on a rack at room temp for 1 hour per inch of thickness. Then thoroughly rinse salt off under running water and pat dry...very dry. Prepare with your favorite method of cooking. Finish off with butter if desired. Absolutely delicious. Note: cooks quicker, watch your time.

That said, favorite cut and method - porterhouse on a grill.

Also, re grass fed beef in general: I don't get the hype. We raised our own beef for years - they were all 'grass-fed' up until the time we finished them off with a high quality, non medicated grain. Strictly grass-fed just doesn't compare, imho. Methinks the farmers are laughing all the way to the bank.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Grocery Chain beef.......

Field raised field fed cattle at a local butcher store......

Grass fed, pasture raised beef is best, but also considerably more expensive. Not everyone can afford to pay for that luxury.

I have to retort...it should not be a luxury to eat unadulterated meat.
Grocery store beef is an abomination. For a number of reasons. Just for the sheer fact alone that corporate agri-business has poisoned our food chain and destroyed family farms everywhere.
Did you know that before the 1960's e-coli was relatively safe? E-coli would only give you indigestion and possibly diarrhea. But thanks to grain feeding, E-Coli causes on average 96,000 illnesses, 3,200 hospitalizations and 31 deaths (primarily elderly and children) EVERY YEAR.

 

[SeaGal]

E-coli is a gut bacteria in animals, including humans. E-coli contamination of meat usually occurs at the point of processing and/or handling by humans with unwashed hands. Not sure how grains play a part in that contamination.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

E-coli is a gut bacteria in animals, including humans. E-coli contamination of meat usually occurs at the point of processing and/or handling by humans with unwashed hands. Not sure how grains play a part in that contamination.

A pasture raised cow, the various grasses they eat help control the amounts of gut bacteria. Grain and corn fed cattle do not get that benefit, their gut bacteria is considerable higher because of the much higher acidic levels in their intestinal tract. As well as the cattle are grossly overcrowded and stand in their own feces.
At the same time, the anti-biotics they used for years trying to control the strain - actually increased the strains and increased the fatality rates of humans.
Corporate/Agri-business have literally poisoned our food sources.

 

[yiostheoy]

My lamb sirloin states came out perfect.

First I broiled them for 10 mins on each side to brown them.

Then I covered the glass baking dish with foil and baked them further for another hour and 10 mins for a total cooking time of 90 mins.

After all this they were moist and tender and you could part them with a fork or spoon.

The sauce in the baking dish when cooked on the stovetop together with the pickled jalapenos made a fantastic gravy to dip the flour tortillas into.

And together with the date nuts it was a great Holy Thursday evening meal with all 4 food groups: meat, carbs, vegies, and fruit. Good fiber from the date nuts too.

 

[yiostheoy]

E-coli is a gut bacteria in animals, including humans. E-coli contamination of meat usually occurs at the point of processing and/or handling by humans with unwashed hands. Not sure how grains play a part in that contamination.

E.coli lives in the large intestine of all mammals.

When you gut and slaughter a mammal you always need to be sure you don't cut into the guts because then the bacteria (a plural word) get out and onto the meat.

Being careful with your knife and using a hose with tap water to wash everything out in the carcass is the key to clean butchering.

 

[yiostheoy]

True, but I've heard of people salting their steaks and letting them sit in the fridge. I would think that would be for a more tough cut of steak, like a flank steak or something. Salt can tenderize the meat, I believe.

There is a salting method for any cut of steak that simulates dry aging. Crust the exterior of meat with salt, both sides. Let sit on a rack at room temp for 1 hour per inch of thickness. Then thoroughly rinse salt off under running water and pat dry...very dry. Prepare with your favorite method of cooking. Finish off with butter if desired. Absolutely delicious. Note: cooks quicker, watch your time.

That said, favorite cut and method - porterhouse on a grill.

Also, re grass fed beef in general: I don't get the hype. We raised our own beef for years - they were all 'grass-fed' up until the time we finished them off with a high quality, non medicated grain. Strictly grass-fed just doesn't compare, imho. Methinks the farmers are laughing all the way to the bank.

I just put a lot of sea salt and pepper onto my lamb just before broiling. That worked great.

 

[yiostheoy]

Tonight I will oven-roast my 6 sirloin lamb steaks coated in olive oil sea salt, and ground black pepper uncovered in a Pyrex baking dish.

This will be my Catholic Holy Thursday dinner before evening Mass at the Parish church.

After 10 mins broiling them on either side I will then turn the heat down and roast them slow for another hour so they're tender and can be cut with a fork.

My cat does not know it yet but he will get the raw trimmings from the steaks.

Damn!! I'm gonna make you my bitch if you cook like that on a weekday!!!!

Holy Thursday always falls on a weekday, obviously.

But for Catholics who are devout this is the beginning of the 4 day Easter vigil. It all actually begins on Palm Sunday. In fact it even goes back further to Lent.

 

[yiostheoy]

Well first and foremost no matter how you cook it - everything begins with the quality of the meat.
If you are buying packages at a grocery chain...you might as well microwave it.
Go to a quality butcher, nothing offered at a grocery chain is going to get it.
And then get a porterhouse or T-bone.
Secondly, if your steak is of high quality you DO NOT need to marinate, in fact that only ruins it. If your steak is relatively tasteless, then it isn't the spices/marinate - it is the poor quality of the meat. If your steak is not fork-tear tender, then you are cooking it wrong or, more likely, it is again poor quality meat.

a good steak only needs salt and maybe pepper. But it DEFINATELY needs salt.
Good steaks don't need marinade or A1 sauce.

Definitely sea salt and definitely ground black pepper -- yes.

This works great for beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, and salmon.

The only 2 spices that you need.

 

[esthermoon]

I just bought a T bone steak at the grocery store today. It was exactly $8.63 for 0.96 lb. I've bought them at the butcher shop and they are definitely better. Better looking, bigger, better tasting. However, they are a LOT more at the butcher shops around here. Probably because they can charge a lot because there are not a lot of specialty shops around here anymore and they have to charge a lot to be able to compete with the big supermarkets. I just cannot afford to buy my meat at the butcher shop. Also, there is the convenience factor.

They do have some good looking meats at the grocery store which are not prepackaged and they look fine too. However, having said all of that, the meat I get at the grocery store is certainly edible at least. Lol.

I like big steaks but here you can't find steaks as big as the American ones

 

[martybegan]

E-coli is a gut bacteria in animals, including humans. E-coli contamination of meat usually occurs at the point of processing and/or handling by humans with unwashed hands. Not sure how grains play a part in that contamination.

E.coli lives in the large intestine of all mammals.

When you gut and slaughter a mammal you always need to be sure you don't cut into the guts because then the bacteria (a plural word) get out and onto the meat.

Being careful with your knife and using a hose with tap water to wash everything out in the carcass is the key to clean butchering.

Exactly, the biggest contamination issues come at the bigger plants where the focus is more on speed than quality. It's also why there is a far larger issue with E-coli with pre-ground meat compared to primal cuts. Primal cuts, even if they have e-coli contamination on the surface are usually cooked either quickly on a very hot surface, which kills the surface contamination, or for long periods at near boiling for wet heat and 270-400 F for dry heat, which also exterminates the surface bacteria.

Ground meat gets all the bad stuff mixed in, so it has time to fester, grow, and if you don't cook it right, get you very sick.

I eat burgers medium and haven't gotten food poisoning yet, but of course I only order medium burgers at very good restaurants that grind their own primal cuts.

 

[JustAnotherNut]

Cows & other ruminate animals that chew their cud, are not supposed to eat much grain. They weren't made for that. I remember grocery shopping with my Mom as a young girl in the 60's/early 70's when the grocery stores began labeling the meat....grass fed, grain fed, corn fed. I don't remember if there was a price difference at that time, but they later stopped the separate labeling. Consumers liked the sweeter taste of the grain fed vs the tang of grass fed and the market has since been saturated with grain fed. Store bought meat is from feedlots that are so crowded they never see a blade of grass from the time they get there. I don't know if it still happens, but on those feedlots the cows are fed many things (rarely what they should be eating)........including ground up dead animals and this had contributed to the spread of 'mad cow' disease a few years back.

Actually I don't think it's the farmers that are laughing all the way to the bank.....but the corporations that buy the cows from the farmer, that eventually sends them thru the packing/processing plants. Raising beef on a good pasture system is much cheaper than providing purchased grains. And the animal is in overall better health once it goes to market.

Some good information about where that food comes from that you find in the grocery store shelves....watch Food Inc, and there are a few other telling movies like it that I can't remember the names of.....beware, it may make you sick to your stomach. One thing is for sure......don't be fooled by the marketing ploys that get you to buy their products over another. Those pretty pictures of a lazy farm is only from someone's imagination, beware of cage-free &/or free range when it comes to chickens/poultry, they are still raised inside a 'house' and much too crowded and never let outside, meat birds are constantly fed protein to get them to butcher weight/size ASAP & grow they do...so fast their bones can't support their weight. Ever notice how many broken leg/drumsticks ya get when purchasing chicken? That's probably why....and I don't remember seeing so many broken bones (especially the legs) when I was a kid.

No, properly raised animals for human consumption should never be a luxury.....but it is



ETA------even "organic" is questionable. Yes there are laws that must be followed, but their are loopholes that are used/abused that can make the finished product NON-organic.

 

[SeaGal]

In todays market 'grass-fed' vs grain-finished (I use 'finished' because the majority of all US beef cattle are raised on forage/grasses for the majority of their lives) is a personal choice. If it makes someone 'feel' better to eat strictly 'grass-fed' beef then that's fine...but to support that industry there is much exaggeration/misinformation going around. USDA inspectors work hard to make sure certain standards are maintained in feed lots and processing plants. Sick animals are not profitable...neither are sick customers. There is legitimate debate over the use of antibiotics - mostly concerning the use of those also used by humans. Even strictly forage/pasture/hay raised cattle may be introduced to antibiotics. The Feds addressed some of that with new regulations.

We've raised our own cattle, our own hogs - and I don't hesitate to purchase beef or pork from my local chain grocer.

Anyone truly concerned about inhumane treatment of cattle probably shouldn't eat beef. Anyone concerned about big processors might want to find out why so many small, individual processors have been regulated out of existence. Anyone truly concerned about the decline of the American farmer might want to examine their views regarding inheritance taxes too.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

In todays market 'grass-fed' vs grain-finished (I use 'finished' because the majority of all US beef cattle are raised on forage/grasses for the majority of their lives) is a personal choice. If it makes someone 'feel' better to eat strictly 'grass-fed' beef then that's fine...but to support that industry there is much exaggeration/misinformation going around. USDA inspectors work hard to make sure certain standards are maintained in feed lots and processing plants. Sick animals are not profitable...neither are sick customers. There is legitimate debate over the use of antibiotics - mostly concerning the use of those also used by humans. Even strictly forage/pasture/hay raised cattle may be introduced to antibiotics. The Feds addressed some of that with new regulations.

We've raised our own cattle, our own hogs - and I don't hesitate to purchase beef or pork from my local chain grocer.

Anyone truly concerned about inhumane treatment of cattle probably shouldn't eat beef. Anyone concerned about big processors might want to find out why so many small, individual processors have been regulated out of existence. Anyone truly concerned about the decline of the American farmer might want to examine their views regarding inheritance taxes too.

"the majority of all US beef cattle are raised on forage/grasses for the majority of their lives" - sorry, but that is not true.
Many farmers utilize concentrates aka - corn...for one purpose...to speed up the process from wean to sell. This process dramatically increases the acidity of their gut. And E-Coli and other harmful bacteria love a high acid environment.
Now you even have large cattle growers feeding their cattle outdated CANDY. Because it is cheaper than corn, and increases the energy boost even more. It is unknown what the price of this will be.
You may call it a preference, I call it common sense to consume meat from healthy unadulterated animals.
The fact is e-coli strains before grain feeding in the 1960's were overwhelmingly nonfatal. Today, there are over 3200 hospitalizations every year in the U.S. from JUST E-Coli alone.

Consider: