It was really quite good. Not over-marinated at all, I think that actually did what I wanted, as the flavors of cumin and oregano stayed with the meat even through grilling.
I really need to clean the inside of my grill — FIRE!!
Once that calmed down, things proceeded just fine, maybe a little too fast after searing, because it ended up too rare in the center and too done on the edges. But it was a thousand times more tender than other times I’ve done flank. Or had flank.
One thing to remember is, flank, being a thinner cut, will lose heat way faster than you think it should. Especially upon slicing it. There might be some benefit to letting your flank steak rest in a warm oven, or on a pre-warmed plate, before slicing, and serving on a warmed plate, or one of those nice metal serving trays you see in steak houses.
The sauces from the Colombian Beer-marinated recipe were way too spicy for our tastes. Probably because I was a smart-ass and bought Serranos instead of Jalapenos. For future reference, one eighth of a Serrano equals one whole Jalapeno. Roughly.
Overall this was a great trial of what could be an outstanding preparation of flank steak. Moderation in the sauces, and minding the temperature of the meat post-grilling, are key. Luck would have it that this flank steak was the free one in the buy one get one free deal!
How to Grill the Perfect Steak - Victoria Blog Posts - Foodbuzz
Yes.
While we didn’t fire up our behemoth grill this past weekend, we’re sure itchin’ to real soon. There is a good review article from a Foodbuzz blog that is worth looking at. However, in the interest of simplicity, I’ll summarize in the SteakFeed crib-notes format:
Most important to remember, above all: “learn the art of touching your meat to test for doneness.” If you know how to touch your meat, you can tell when you’re close to finishing. [ Also go Lifehacker for a two handed approach to meat-touching, with diagram:
]
And then:
- always bring your meat to room temperature before hand
- always rub your meat with a little oil to get started, or with spicier things if you like
- don’t put on the salt too early or your meat will dry out
- never poke your meat with a fork or a knife or you’ll be sorry
- be sure to warm up your device ahead of time
- start your meat at a 45 degree angle, and then when half done, turn 90 degrees
- allow your meat to rest before you eat it
There’s a lot more good info in here too, like a descriptive chart describing the coloring and characteristics of various tenderness of meat when it’s done. I’ve found that it’s best to stay away from meat that is blue, bloody, and cold on the inside; as well as meat that has turned gray and leathery.
With the right treatment (including a small dollop of soft goat cheese, or even warm butter on top) can enhance the pleasure you can derive from your meat!
… because you will be disappointed with them.
Here’s a very informative article about knives. You should read it. It’s got some nice gory bits, and isn’t all that practical, but has a sense of humor, even: How to Wield a Knife - The Atlantic Food Channel.
No matter how much care you take, if you spend lots of time cutting meat you will cut yourself severely at some time or another. Often you will do so just when your first aid kit has hit bottom. No matter! If you have paper towels and plastic wrap handy, you have all the necessary first aid to get you to a hospital, or, less desirable, to the end of your shift. Simply wash the cut to remove any parts that don’t belong to you and then wrap quickly with paper towels and plastic wrap, tightly if the cut is bad and you’re on the way to the hospital, and less snug to make it through your shift without your injured extremity falling asleep.
Now off we go to watch some youtubes about using a sharpening steel!
For the following, a tip of my hat must go out to the biggest and awesomest steak-tipper of the month, my bud Josh_Bomb whose delightful antics can be found all over the internet, and the world at large as well:
Go to the goddamn grocery and get steak. Yes, the grocery. A little ammonia is not going to kill you, you pussy.
Read the rest at How To Cook A Fucking Steak | The Awl.
There’s an Engineer in the Kitchen blogs the good blog about his recent romantically inspired experiment with “meat glue” to create what looks like a very tasty “Bacon Wrapped Tenderloin with Bacon Decorated Salmon.”
Let’s listen in!
As an Engineer, I had purchased over the web some “meat glue” (or transglutaminase) to experiment with, and the transglutaminase seemed to be just the ticket to creating this dish! [let's not think too hard about an engineer experimenting with "meat glue"] ….
Use latex (or similar) gloves while working with the stuff. You can wear a mask, though I don’t.
All of this sounds scary, but the fact is I pretty much do the same thing anytime I am using adhesives in my workshop. Gluing yourself or parts of your body together is kind of annoying. [this IS, remember a steak recipe!]
Now to set a glue, it helps to put it in a vise. With food, the best vise around is a vacuum sealer. I happen to have a Food Saver vaccuum sealer, so into a couple of bags they go… [again, It's. A Steak. Recipe. Okay?]
Notice the bacon just sticks to the sides!! No toothpicks or stings! Just delicious bacon and tenderloin!
Now if you think it is only by chance that the cat snuck into a picture of a table covered in food, you do not know that cat!
Pretty cool. I’m not sure how much effort with the gluing and vaccum-vice sealing process would actually be worth the results here, specially since the engineer dude doesn’t give a review at all.
This is it. I’ve been wanting a return to the cast iron skillet for several months now. I have just tucked away my barbecue, I mean monster grill, for the winter, so it’s perfect timing. I’m not cooking outside, so I’ll have to make my steaks inside, and Searing and Finishing a Steak with a Cast Iron Skillet will be my inspirational touchstone.
I may even do some bison, though my freezer is full of decent beef steaks (fromthe supermarket, ack! more on that topic later =)
brushing with thyme sweep, oil, garlic
If you love your weekly steak, here’s a great way to take it up a few notches. The combination of thyme, beef and mushrooms with the salsa verde is so so good and can’t be beaten.
Best chargrilled steak recipe | Beef recipes & main courses | Jamie Oliver recipe
I’ve tried this and it’s magnif!
I’m getting ready to buy a giant grill at the end of this summer, so at my new house I can do stuff like this! There’s no room for a smoke box inside of my tiny WeberQ.
Cooking the Perfect Smoked Steak | Create a Smoked Steak Flavor - Heartland Steaks | Certified Angus Beef Steak
Peeking at the food allows heat and smoke to escape so try to limit any peeking. Every time you peek you add 10 minutes to your cooking time, and even more in cold weather! Smoking causes boneless meats to shrink significantly unless they have a heavy layer of fat.
O cool! Look at this: Steaks - www.grillersindex.com. It’s a whole website devoted to grilling stuff, including a whole section about STEAK! Has a calendar of steak cookoffs and other events. I love it. No time to spend right now. Will investigate further and provide highlights!
