The Art of Medium Rare Meats (& steak advice)

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > The Art of Medium Rare Meats (& steak advice)

GrAviTy84: Nov 25, 2004

Doh004 posted:

I'm a big fan of keeping steak cooking simple. Salt, high heat, pepper, rest, consume.

I like a pat of unsalted butter right after heat applied during rest. :getin:

# ¿ May 15, 2013 17:39

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 14, 2024 17:30

GrAviTy84: Nov 25, 2004

Doh004 posted:

Suuuree you do

it's not actually that novel a thing. s'what they do at pretty much any higher end restaurant you can buy steaks at from Peter Luger's to Minetta Tavern, Bouchon, Les Halles...etc.

# ¿ May 15, 2013 17:58

GrAviTy84: Nov 25, 2004

Doh004 posted:

I know, some of us just have to watch our figures (by eating pounds of red meat)

yeah, well. I don't really eat steak but maybe once a month, so I go all out when I do. :wink:

# ¿ May 15, 2013 18:16

GrAviTy84: Nov 25, 2004

ShadowCatboy posted:

Even pork is safe to eat cooked to medium since we eliminated trichnosis in the States.

should be mentioned that this statement is not true of boar or of fresh killed pork. You can, however, kill many strains of trichinosis by freezing, though there are always inherent risks when eating things like wild boar...which is sad because wild boar dry cured meats own.

# ¿ May 15, 2013 19:38

GrAviTy84: Nov 25, 2004

Chemmy posted:

I put fresh cracked pepper and a pat of butter on top of the steak before tenting in foil and resting. I use salted butter because I like salt.

Maldon or gray salt is a nice touch too.

# ¿ May 17, 2013 07:44

GrAviTy84: Nov 25, 2004

Chuck Biscuits posted:

I bought a gigantic ribeye that was about 1.5" thick and cooked it Ducasse style. I heavily salted, air dried it in the fridge for about 6 hours and brought it up to room temperature before cooking. It developed an awesome crust but there was a huge differential in the doneness of the meat. The portions nearest the edge were rare while the medallion was at a medium. It was still really tasty but I was disappointed that I couldn't get a nice medium rare throughout.

Does anyone have any idea what could have gone wrong.

1.5" is still pretty thin to do a true ducasse. 2" at least. Otherwise just a straight pan roast in clarified butter will get the same effect.

# ¿ May 26, 2013 18:01

GrAviTy84: Nov 25, 2004

No Wave posted:

Is this hanger steak? I'd personally only eat it like that if I hit it w/ the jaccard a lot beforehand.

It is horse tenderloin iirc.

# ¿ May 26, 2013 18:02

GrAviTy84: Nov 25, 2004

if you can't find nice thick steaks and don't have a proper butcher, the best way to get them is to buy the steaks in whole primals or in "roasts" (rib eye roast, beef tenderloin, etc) and cut them into steaks yourself.

# ¿ May 28, 2013 18:18

GrAviTy84: Nov 25, 2004

Doh004 posted:

To keep this steak related, I was quite happy with my medium rare sirloin

steakfriend. I sirloin'd too. Grilled and finished with a pat of butter and some gray salt. Served with a baked potato and some wok fried garden veg.

Sirloin steak, gray salt by gtrwndr87, on Flickr

# ¿ Jun 7, 2013 07:10

GrAviTy84: Nov 25, 2004

Carryover heat is what you measured. The equilibration of the hotter surfaces with the cooler insides. Getting a thicker cut steak will make it easier to do rarer temps.

# ¿ Jun 21, 2013 20:42

GrAviTy84: Nov 25, 2004

That you thought this was a good idea, and then after numerous warnings that it was a bad one, you continued anyway. I don't even know what to say. You win internet, you win. :psyboom:

also how does one manage to overcook a steak in an immersion circulator :psyboom:

# ¿ Oct 2, 2013 16:50

GrAviTy84: Nov 25, 2004

Drifter posted:

But marinating meat in milk has been a thing for a very long time. Why are you all getting high and mighty about this?

Cooking with onion soup mix is also a thing that has been around for a while.

# ¿ Oct 2, 2013 20:58

GrAviTy84: Nov 25, 2004

protip: dry aging the steak would have been the better way to intensify the cow, as it were. All you really did was dilute it down and now you're trying to intensify whatever remains.

Besides, if all you really really want is some intensely cow flavor dense meat, just make jerky.

# ¿ Oct 2, 2013 21:54

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 14, 2024 17:30

GrAviTy84: Nov 25, 2004

ShadowCatboy posted:

Welp, here we go!

As usual I sear my steaks in bacon fat. Since I didn't have any on hand, I had to render some down.

The milksteak. Step 1: Marinade for 12 hours in milk. Step 2: Pat dry, season with salt & pepper on both sides and air-dry in the fridge on a cake rack overnight. Step 3: Sous vide 135* for 1 hour. Step 4: Air dry overnight again.

Note the somewhat leathery appearance of the surface. While I had some concerns over the milk proteins burning in the pan, I also suspected that with the sous vide the proteins would just incorporate themselves into the meat. Hypothesis confirmed.

Step 5: Sear for a beautiful crust!

Wow! The meat turned out to be just fine. At the recommendation of goons who like Always Sunny in Philadelphia more than I do, it was paired with a side of gourmet Jelly Belly brand jellybeans.

Sorry about the washed-out appearance. Combination of fluorescent lighting and a poo poo cellphone camera led to a glare-ridden and washed-out photo. In reality the jellybean was much greener and more vibrant than this image suggests.

The lime flavor really helped elevate the flavor of the meat with its crisp, aromatic quality. Bubblegum did wonders to accentuate the fatty richness, and the smoky flavor of the crust took licorice jelly bellies to a whole new level. Pretty decadent, and the variety of flavors from the Jelly Bellies made the experience of eating the steak a real adventure with the dozens of new flavor combinations available!

...I'm just making GBS threads you guys, obviously.

The outer skirt of the ribeye was succulent and tender as usual. The inner "eye" of the ribeye had a slightly more acidic quality, probably from the lactic acid in the milk. However, it wasn't unpleasant at all, and actually gave the meat a more savory quality. Could've used another slight dusting of salt and a hint more pepper given the thickness of the meat, but overall it was good.

The meaty quality was still there, and in fact some of the fattier pieces took on a very mild milky/cheesy flavor that I kinda liked. Overall I'd experiment again, maybe with a longer marinade. For now though I think I'll do a more classic version with the second ribeye this weekend.

You'd probably get a better effect by dusting the outside with powdered milk before searing. The milk sugars will boost the caramelization rate. Heston Blumenthal does something similar to chicken bones when roasting for chicken stock.

# ¿ Oct 3, 2013 05:54

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > The Art of Medium Rare Meats (& steak advice)