quote:

Originally posted by lindy2:
I would think the more relevant question is what is the best steak?

1. Does it matter what kind of steer it comes from.
2. Does it matter what it eats, and when.
3. Does it matter how it was slaughtered.
4. Does it matter how long it has been stored before it is cooked and served.
5. Does it matter how it was stored?

quote:

Originally posted by Jerry Liles:
Doe's in Greenwood, Mississippi!

quote:

Originally posted by custombolt:
Good thread here.

What I'd like to know from the more experienced crowd, is American Wagyu beef really the same quality as the original Kobe Wagyu quality from Japan? I had one a few weeks ago at what used to be our favorite steak place at the local casino and the filet was about as boring and gristle-laden as the basic cheap-o Giant foods steaks. Seems like someone just wanted to try and capitalize on the name. The second last time we ate steak there, it was Australian Wagyu and was buttery and fantastic. Shady supplier maybe?

Tastes differ. As for aged steaks, dry aged are my favorite. Wet aged don't seem to gain much "extra" flavor sitting in a sealed bag, unlike dry aged ones that lose moisture and are more nutty and concentrated and intense.

We still eat at the Dakota Steak house in Dallas every time we visit. Since we drop the rating on the casino place, it is now number one on our short list. Every time the preparation was spot on and the flavor is consistent.

quote:

RAISE YOUR STEAK GAME
SAVE THE SEARING 'TIL LAST

BY DANIEL VAUGHN · JUNE 13, 2016

If you’ve never heard of the reverse sear, then the best steak of your life is still in your future. Ever since I first used the reverse sear method, I haven’t cooked a steak any other way. It’s that good. And simple.

What is a reverse sear? The name sounds a little odd, but it’s derived from the other way of cooking a steak, which is to sear it first, then finish it over lower heat until it reaches the desired temperature. Reverse searing, however, begins with low-heat cooking first, then searing over high heat as the final step.

Reverse searing isn’t exactly new, but its popularity among backyard barbecue cooks is growing quickly. Some grilled meat connoisseurs won’t even bother reading this guide because the method seems so obvious, but I taught a demo a couple months back at the Egg Fest (put on by the Big Green Egg folks) in Driftwood, and I was stunned at the number of grilling enthusiasts in attendance who weren’t familiar with the game-changing technique. Here are the basics.

THE MEAT:
Reverse sear works with any thick steak or chop, but we’ll focus on beef here. When cooking at home, I generally buy thick ribeye, strip, or porterhouse steaks for this method. It’ll work well with less expensive cuts like sirloin and tri-tip too, but only thick steaks. Anything less than an inch should just be cooked directly over the heat until it’s done. Thicker steaks (I prefer an 1-1/2″ to 2″ thick) benefit most from reverse sear because it’s the best way to get a consistent doneness throughout. Normal searing first creates concentric layers of doneness, starting with well done on the outside, rare on the inside, and everything else in between. With reverse sear, the steaks are medium rare from edge to edge.

SEASONING:
After eating dozens of steaks cooked using a reverse sear over charcoal, I’ve learned that nothing more than salt is required for a great steak (when using an oven and the stove top, they’re a little boring without some black pepper). If you must have black pepper, or you have a favorite rub, then go for it, but I’m telling you that even the barest spice cabinet is fine. I prefer the bigger crystals of Kosher salt, or the even bigger crystals of the Brazilian sal grosso, if you can find it. The most important part is to season it liberally. Sprinkle salt on every surface until it looks like a good dusting of snow. If you think you’ve got enough salt on there, add some more, and don’t be afraid to add salt early. I generally do it an hour before I plan to cook and leave the salted steaks at room temperature until it’s time to cook. Planning ahead and salting the night before will make the meat even more flavorful (and no, it doesn’t dry out the meat).

THE SLOW COOK:
Advertisers love to tell you that searing “locks in the juices,” as much as they repeat the importance of falling-off-the-bone ribs—both laughable messages. Your steaks won’t be any less juicy if you wait until the end to sear. For this portion of the cook, you just want to slowly raise the internal temperature of the meat. I shoot for 115 degrees internal, but you can get there however you choose. An oven set at 275 works well (or even a sous vide bag), but by all means throw it on the smoker if you’d like to produce the most flavorful version. I generally use a charcoal grill with all the coals banked to one side, the vent open above the flame, and the steak placed on the opposite side away from the charcoal. A 2″ thick steak needs only about 20 minutes for this portion of the cook. The steak will look gray and unappetizing, but do not fret. It gets prettier.

THE REST:
Steaks need to rest, but the beauty of this method is that the rest can happen before the final sear. That means you can let the steak sit around for a half hour if everything else for dinner isn’t quite ready. Then sear it off when the time is right.

THE SEAR:
Make it hot. The hotter the better. Once the steak has rested and the grill is screaming hot, put the steak directly over the charcoal. Lump charcoal will give you a higher initial heat, but it doesn’t maintain it heat as well as briquettes. No matter which one you choose, remember that they’re both a time-saving short cut. For the ultimate reverse sear steak, use real wood that you’ve burnt down to hot coals.

As for the timing, it’s really about the look. With high enough heat, you’ll really need just about a minute or two for each side. The surface will be bubbling with hot fat, and the color will darken quickly. Don’t let it burn, and keep a watchful eye on cuts like ribeye that drip a lot more fat into the fire. It’ll be medium rare before you know it, so keep checking the temp and pull it off at 130-135. The steak will continue to cook a bit on the cutting board.

THE EQUIPMENT:
I generally use a grill, but an offset smoker is the bet tool for reverse sear. Slow smoking the steak, then finishing it on a small grate placed directly over the coals in the firebox is a rewarding cooking experience and a great show. My Weber kettle works just fine too. I’ve started using a Slow ‘N Sear insert in my Weber that helps keeps the charcoal corralled to one side and also keeps the coals close to the grate for super-heated searing. That requires enough charcoal to fill a large chimney, so I’ve found my PK Grill to be more economical with the charcoal. I can reverse sear four strip steaks on it with a large charcoal chimney just two-thirds of the way full.

The Big Green Egg, which I used for the demo, works well too. The temperature is easy to control with the deflector plate installed for the slow portion of the cook (shoot for 275 degrees). Remove the deflector plate after the initial cook, and you can let the grill heat up to 650 degrees for the sear while the steak is resting. Steaks will sear just fine on the grate, but I prefer finding a smaller grate, like a cheap grill basket, that can go right onto the coals. Maybe you’re considering finishing it caveman style by putting the steak right onto the charcoal, but I’d suggest against it. The meat cools the charcoal when it come in contact with it, and cuts off oxygen from reaching the coals. A grate provides just a smidgen of separation between the meat and the coals that will keep that from happening.

A small grate directly on the charcoal
Now you’re ready to cook the best steak of your life. The best part is that you’ll never feel like you have pay steakhouse prices again after unlocking this not-so-secret method of cooking the prefect steak. Time to light the charcoal.

quote:

Originally posted by custombolt:
Good thread here.

What I'd like to know from the more experienced crowd, is American Wagyu beef really the same quality as the original Kobe Wagyu quality from Japan? I had one a few weeks ago at what used to be our favorite steak place at the local casino and the filet was about as boring and gristle-laden as the basic cheap-o Giant foods steaks. Seems like someone just wanted to try and capitalize on the name. The second last time we ate steak there, it was Australian Wagyu and was buttery and fantastic. Shady supplier maybe?

Tastes differ. As for aged steaks, dry aged are my favorite. Wet aged don't seem to gain much "extra" flavor sitting in a sealed bag, unlike dry aged ones that lose moisture and are more nutty and concentrated and intense.

We still eat at the Dakota Steak house in Dallas every time we visit. Since we drop the rating on the casino place, it is now number one on our short list. Every time the preparation was spot on and the flavor is consistent.

quote:

Originally posted by Savage_99:
Here is the definition of what Prime meat is:

Prime Meat

quote:

It is illegal to misrepresent the grade of meat or the shield symbol, or to use misleading language to describe the quality of the meat. For instance, a restaurant that serves something called prime rib must use beef that has been graded prime.

quote:

Originally posted by Gatogordo:
Me, too, Mike.

Besides, I like my steak so rare that after searing the outside, it's done as far as I'm concerned.

This applies to almost no one, but a butcher friend of mine buys whole and then grinds up shoulder clods (part of the chuck) for hamburger. They weigh 20 pounds plus each. Makes some damn fine lean hamburger. At any rate, I asked him if he'd ever cut a flat iron steak out of them. He said no and I said I'd sure like to try them. So he did.

The flat iron steak is a smallish cut of meat that is on top of the shoulder blade. It is also known as a shoulder top blade steak. Trimmed correctly which means the gristle running down the middle has to be removed, you get 4 small steaks, about 8-12 oz each per carcass.

Supposedly it is the second most tender steak in the carcass behind the tenderloin (typically served as filet mignon). That has not been my experience....I liken it more to decent sirloin, slightly chewy but very flavorful. Fine eating grilled.

They are kind of rare, and some places sell them like they're gold, which is ridiculous, but if you can find some priced say below or equal to sirloin, I would highly recommend you try them. BTW, the cut/muscle below the shoulder blade is fine eating grilled too, but not quite as tender as the flat iron. AFAIK it doesn't have a commercial name and I'm not sure anyone sells it cut out.

Happy 4th of July to all. I worry for my kids future but we're still the best in the world at this time. It's a ways away, but eventually we're going to run out of other people's money to pay the mob.

quote:

Originally posted by Gatogordo:
Same butcher friend has a meat supplier which sells "no roll" steaks. These are select or below grade. We buy the whole rib eyes by the case (70 plus poounds). The last we bought were $4.90/lb. I think they've gone up a bit for the summer grilling season, but, due to collapse in cattle prices, beef in general is lower priced. However, by the time you trim them, I figure you're at about $6/lb. They are typically very good, although every now and then one of them is tougher than you'd expect in a rib eye. We cut them about 1 3/8 to 1 1/2 inch thick.

quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:

quote:

Originally posted by Gatogordo:
Same butcher friend has a meat supplier which sells "no roll" steaks. These are select or below grade. We buy the whole rib eyes by the case (70 plus poounds). The last we bought were $4.90/lb. I think they've gone up a bit for the summer grilling season, but, due to collapse in cattle prices, beef in general is lower priced. However, by the time you trim them, I figure you're at about $6/lb. They are typically very good, although every now and then one of them is tougher than you'd expect in a rib eye. We cut them about 1 3/8 to 1 1/2 inch thick.

I see the big slabs at Costco and am tempted to buy one. But then with me alone it is too much meat.

Is it wrong to say want to go to Argentina to hunt so I can eat a ton of beef. I am terrible with a shotgun (Larry shores can attest) and I get bored after shooting 10-20 doves.

Mike

quote:

I still scratch my head over why steaks in Argentina rate so high with some people.

quote:

Beef-Mad Argentina Preparing for Unthinkable as Meat Costs Soar

Pablo Rosendo Gonzalez

March 9, 2016

Beef is now so expensive in Argentina, which once was the third-largest exporter, that slaughtering plants are about to start importing cattle from neighboring countries for the first time in almost two decades.
It’s a big switch for a population that eats more beef per person than any other and where the meat has become as much a part of their national identity as the tango or World Cup soccer. Rising costs have encouraged what was almost unthinkable a decade ago: beef demand is dropping, and consumers are substituting with cheaper chicken and pork.

Argentina’s cattle industry was upended by the end of price controls and a devaluation of the peso under newly elected President Mauricio Macri, who altered the policies of his predecessors to revive an economy hobbled by a government debt default. In December, the start of the South American summer, the price of beef used for barbecues known as asados surged 28 percent. To ease the strain, Macri authorized imports of beef and cattle from neighbors like Uruguay.
“This is a shame -- an unexpected event that is the result of 12 years of wrong government policies," said Ulises Forte, who has 500 head of cattle at a ranch in La Pampa province and is president of the Institute for the Promotion of Beef Argentina (IPCVA). “Fortunately, these imports won’t be that high.”

Before Macri arrived, the governments of former presidents Nestor Carlos Kirchner and, later, his wife, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner discouraged beef exports with rules intended to keep domestic supplies ample and prices low. Instead, ranchers lost the incentive to expand herds, which shrank to 52 million head last year from 60 million in 2003. Raising cattle was more costly than using the land to grow soybeans, so many switched.

Argentina’s beef exports, which surpassed all but Brazil and Australia in 2005, tumbled 69 percent over the next decade and ranked 11th in the world last year, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. Shipments were the lowest in 11 years, government data show.
To revive the incentives for ranchers, the government lifted export restrictions and devalued the peso. The Argentine currency has plunged about 40 percent against the dollar since Dec. 1, which makes it more profitable for farmers and ranchers to ship their products overseas to buyers who pay in U.S. currency.

But that won’t solve the cattle problem right away. It can take two years to expand the herd because more cows are being withheld from slaughter for breeding. After a nine-month gestation period, it takes another six months or more to raise calves to slaughter weight. Beef output fell by 6 percent to 215,000 metric tons in January from December as ranchers brought fewer animals to market.
“During the Kirchner administrations, breeders dismantled their herds as beef wasn’t profitable,” said Miguel Schiariti, the president of CICCRA, an industry group. “With these new rules, the business will again be profitable, but rebuilding a herd takes time, and consumers will have to pay more for a product that was subsidized before.”
When the currency plunged, the cost of meat for domestic consumers surged. Barbecue beef jumped to 112.09 pesos ($7.31) per kilogram (2.2 pounds) in December, up from 87.68 pesos in November, industry data show. That’s discouraged buying in a country where people eat 1.1 kilograms of beef a week on average. Demand for the meat tumbled 7 percent in January from the same month in 2015.

To ease the pain, Macri lifted import restrictions. The last time Argentina allowed ranchers to bring in cattle from outside the country was 1998, and it rarely permits non-domestic meat. In 2013, the government authorized 1.5 tons of rib imports, and in the 1990s allowed 10 tons of sweetbreads from the U.S.
“We can import because our beef prices are higher than our neighbors," said Maria Antonelli, an analyst at the Bahia Blanca Exchange. The export price of Argentina’s novillo is $330 a metric ton, compared with $320 for the same cut from Uruguay, $235 from Brazil, and $245 from Paraguay.
While Uruguay consumes 30 percent of its output and exports the rest, Argentina has been eating a larger share of its domestic supply. The country now eats 93 percent of production, exporting only 7 percent, compared with the average of past years when it consumed 70 percent and shipped 30 percent, government data show.

Uruguay, which is 15 times smaller than Argentina by land area, exported 360,000 tons last year, while Argentina shipped just 230,000 tons. Paraguay exported 400,000 tons, and Brazil shipped 1.6 million tons.
"The U.S. model of importing cheap beef for ground beef and exporting expensive cuts to Asia would be a good model to be followed by Argentina," said Raul Milano, executive director at Rosario-based Mercado Ganadero SA, the country’s largest broadcast auction market. "We should also export most of the tenderloin we can and import ribs."
For the next year or so, Argentina’s ranchers will focus on increasing cattle weights to generate more beef for export, even as they withhold more cows for breeding.
“Breeders will have the chance to fatten their herds and get higher export prices in two years,” Leonardo Sarquis, the agriculture minister of Buenos Aires province, said in an interview in Ramallo, 214 kilometers (133 miles) north of Buenos Aires.

quote:

Originally posted by Gatogordo:
A slightly different method of grilling your steaks at home. From TMBBQ.com site:

quote:

RAISE YOUR STEAK GAME
SAVE THE SEARING 'TIL LAST

BY DANIEL VAUGHN · JUNE 13, 2016

If you’ve never heard of the reverse sear, then the best steak of your life is still in your future. Ever since I first used the reverse sear method, I haven’t cooked a steak any other way. It’s that good. And simple.

What is a reverse sear? The name sounds a little odd, but it’s derived from the other way of cooking a steak, which is to sear it first, then finish it over lower heat until it reaches the desired temperature. Reverse searing, however, begins with low-heat cooking first, then searing over high heat as the final step.

Reverse searing isn’t exactly new, but its popularity among backyard barbecue cooks is growing quickly. Some grilled meat connoisseurs won’t even bother reading this guide because the method seems so obvious, but I taught a demo a couple months back at the Egg Fest (put on by the Big Green Egg folks) in Driftwood, and I was stunned at the number of grilling enthusiasts in attendance who weren’t familiar with the game-changing technique. Here are the basics.

THE MEAT:
Reverse sear works with any thick steak or chop, but we’ll focus on beef here. When cooking at home, I generally buy thick ribeye, strip, or porterhouse steaks for this method. It’ll work well with less expensive cuts like sirloin and tri-tip too, but only thick steaks. Anything less than an inch should just be cooked directly over the heat until it’s done. Thicker steaks (I prefer an 1-1/2″ to 2″ thick) benefit most from reverse sear because it’s the best way to get a consistent doneness throughout. Normal searing first creates concentric layers of doneness, starting with well done on the outside, rare on the inside, and everything else in between. With reverse sear, the steaks are medium rare from edge to edge.

SEASONING:
After eating dozens of steaks cooked using a reverse sear over charcoal, I’ve learned that nothing more than salt is required for a great steak (when using an oven and the stove top, they’re a little boring without some black pepper). If you must have black pepper, or you have a favorite rub, then go for it, but I’m telling you that even the barest spice cabinet is fine. I prefer the bigger crystals of Kosher salt, or the even bigger crystals of the Brazilian sal grosso, if you can find it. The most important part is to season it liberally. Sprinkle salt on every surface until it looks like a good dusting of snow. If you think you’ve got enough salt on there, add some more, and don’t be afraid to add salt early. I generally do it an hour before I plan to cook and leave the salted steaks at room temperature until it’s time to cook. Planning ahead and salting the night before will make the meat even more flavorful (and no, it doesn’t dry out the meat).

THE SLOW COOK:
Advertisers love to tell you that searing “locks in the juices,” as much as they repeat the importance of falling-off-the-bone ribs—both laughable messages. Your steaks won’t be any less juicy if you wait until the end to sear. For this portion of the cook, you just want to slowly raise the internal temperature of the meat. I shoot for 115 degrees internal, but you can get there however you choose. An oven set at 275 works well (or even a sous vide bag), but by all means throw it on the smoker if you’d like to produce the most flavorful version. I generally use a charcoal grill with all the coals banked to one side, the vent open above the flame, and the steak placed on the opposite side away from the charcoal. A 2″ thick steak needs only about 20 minutes for this portion of the cook. The steak will look gray and unappetizing, but do not fret. It gets prettier.

THE REST:
Steaks need to rest, but the beauty of this method is that the rest can happen before the final sear. That means you can let the steak sit around for a half hour if everything else for dinner isn’t quite ready. Then sear it off when the time is right.

THE SEAR:
Make it hot. The hotter the better. Once the steak has rested and the grill is screaming hot, put the steak directly over the charcoal. Lump charcoal will give you a higher initial heat, but it doesn’t maintain it heat as well as briquettes. No matter which one you choose, remember that they’re both a time-saving short cut. For the ultimate reverse sear steak, use real wood that you’ve burnt down to hot coals.

As for the timing, it’s really about the look. With high enough heat, you’ll really need just about a minute or two for each side. The surface will be bubbling with hot fat, and the color will darken quickly. Don’t let it burn, and keep a watchful eye on cuts like ribeye that drip a lot more fat into the fire. It’ll be medium rare before you know it, so keep checking the temp and pull it off at 130-135. The steak will continue to cook a bit on the cutting board.

THE EQUIPMENT:
I generally use a grill, but an offset smoker is the bet tool for reverse sear. Slow smoking the steak, then finishing it on a small grate placed directly over the coals in the firebox is a rewarding cooking experience and a great show. My Weber kettle works just fine too. I’ve started using a Slow ‘N Sear insert in my Weber that helps keeps the charcoal corralled to one side and also keeps the coals close to the grate for super-heated searing. That requires enough charcoal to fill a large chimney, so I’ve found my PK Grill to be more economical with the charcoal. I can reverse sear four strip steaks on it with a large charcoal chimney just two-thirds of the way full.

The Big Green Egg, which I used for the demo, works well too. The temperature is easy to control with the deflector plate installed for the slow portion of the cook (shoot for 275 degrees). Remove the deflector plate after the initial cook, and you can let the grill heat up to 650 degrees for the sear while the steak is resting. Steaks will sear just fine on the grate, but I prefer finding a smaller grate, like a cheap grill basket, that can go right onto the coals. Maybe you’re considering finishing it caveman style by putting the steak right onto the charcoal, but I’d suggest against it. The meat cools the charcoal when it come in contact with it, and cuts off oxygen from reaching the coals. A grate provides just a smidgen of separation between the meat and the coals that will keep that from happening.

A small grate directly on the charcoal
Now you’re ready to cook the best steak of your life. The best part is that you’ll never feel like you have pay steakhouse prices again after unlocking this not-so-secret method of cooking the prefect steak. Time to light the charcoal.

quote:

Originally posted by Gatogordo:
How was it?

quote:

Originally posted by Gatogordo:
Well, when you cooked it beyond medium rare, how could you tell?