{"id":133,"date":"2007-09-09T08:25:56","date_gmt":"2007-09-09T15:25:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bspcn.com\/2007\/09\/09\/how-to-turn-cheap-choice-steaks-into-gucci-prime-steaks\/"},"modified":"2008-11-13T19:09:34","modified_gmt":"2008-11-14T02:09:34","slug":"how-to-turn-cheap-choice-steaks-into-gucci-prime-steaks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/2007\/09\/09\/how-to-turn-cheap-choice-steaks-into-gucci-prime-steaks\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Turn Cheap ?Choice? Steaks into Gucci ?Prime? Steaks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Steamy Kitchen<\/a><\/p>\n

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\n (Grilled Porterhouse with Garlic-Herb Butter, Shoestring Fries<\/a> and Spinach with Garlic Chips. Thank you Kelly for cooking my spinach while I tended to my rugrat children who thought it would be funny to watch Mom trip over the marbles that they dumped down the stairs. Ha. Ha. That was funny boys.)<\/em><\/p>\n

This recipe is published in my inaugural food column for Creative<\/a> Loafing <\/a>on Wednesday 8\/29<\/strong>
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If you are a meat-lover, I hope that the title of this post + luscious photo is enticing enough for you to read though the entire article. Because I promise you that it?s worth it. Even if you don?t eat meat, this is worth reading?as you can impress the hell outta your carnivorean friends. (and sometimes, when you?re a vegetarian in a herd of carnivores?it would just be nice to have that extra, “dude?.you didn?t know that about steak???!” in your pocket.)<\/strong><\/p>\n

My entire family (including the 2 yr old kid) just adores steak?you could probably classify us as professional carnivores. In fact, it is my husband?s life-long quest to hone his grilling technique so that our steaks at home turn out charred crusty on the outside and perfectly medium-rare on the inside. With grill marks for show, of course. Seriously, we are too cheap to eat out at nice steak restaurants. For the past 4 months, we have been experimenting with how to get full, juicy, beefy flavor of a ribeye with butter-knife tenderness of a filet mignon without paying up-the-butt for Prime cuts.
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And by golly, after 4 months of eating steak 2x a week, I think we?ve figured it out. <\/p>\n

So, my friends, I am offering you a very juicy secret, one that will turn an ordinary “Choice” cut of steak into a gucci “Prime” cut. Do you know the joy of buying Choice and eating Prime? It?s like buying a Hyundai and getting a free mail-in rebate for a BMW upgrade!!!<\/strong><\/p>\n

The secret after the jump?..<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Massively salt your steaks 1 hour before grilling. <\/h3>\n

Notice that I didn?t say, “sprinkle liberally” or even “season generously.” I?m talking about taking a small handful of kosher salt and literally coating your meat until you can?t see red.<\/p>\n

It should resemble a salt lick.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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Let that meat be totally overwhelmed with the salt for 1 hour. Rinse, pat dry dry dry and then you?re ready to grill.<\/p>\n

Before y?all throw a hissy fit, just hear me out. I first learned of this technique from Judy Rodgers? Zuni Caf? Cookbook. Judy massively salts her chicken before roasting, and I?ve adapted the practice to steaks. Thanks to a couple of other books (McGee?s<\/a> On Food and Cooking and Alton Brown?s<\/a> I?m Just Here For the Food), and a few<\/a> fellow<\/a> bloggers<\/a>, I have somewhat of an explanation of how it works.<\/p>\n

But just so you know?I slept through high school biology and chemistry, especially during the chapter on osmosis. I?m asking for any researchers, doctors, scientists, butchers, plumbers, professional chefs, mechanics?.basically anyone who didn?t sleep through school to add to this conversation. Mainly because maybe, there might be as many holes in my slideshow as there are in my pea-head. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh, and if the drawings look like a 3rd grader did it, too bad?.I?m not a artist, dammit!!! YOU try drawing with a laptop touch-pad and a glass of bourbon on the rocks.<\/em>
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Slide #1:<\/p>\n

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All of you who season JUST before grilling – this is what you are really doing to the meat. Did you know that? All the water comes to the surface and if you don?t pat super-dry, you?re basically STEAMING the meat.<\/p>\n

But if you let it sit for a while?this is what happens: cue Slide #2:<\/p>\n

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Slide #3:<\/p>\n

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Bourbon does that to me too.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ok, Slide #4: After you let it rest, then<\/p>\n

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I can hear it now..”BUT?.BUT?BUT?.what of all the water that stayed on the surface of the meat? Not all the water gets reabsorbed! (*%!*%!@#!#!!! I DON?T UNDERSTAND!!!”
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Sit back down?and let?s move on to Slide #5:<\/p>\n

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I meant “prune” not “prude” – but whatever. too lazy to modify the jpg.
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Why not brine?<\/strong>
\n Well, yeah?you could. But that involves measuring, finding a big enough container, dissolving, finding enough space in the refrigerator for the big container, chilling, waiting, waiting, waiting, draining, washing big fat container, unchilling the meat to bring to room temp. Waaaayyyy too much work for a simple gal. Plus, brined steak tastes like shit. Because of high water concentration of a brine, you are ADDING a lot of water into the meat. Not what you want for a steak.<\/p>\n

Other Notes<\/h3>\n