From field to table
Each week for Steak Club we research the best steaks and cuts from all over the world. As you’ll understand, these cannot be included in our Wednesday offers section as they come to us exclusively, globally and most importantly, very responsibly. Sadly this kind of quality comes at a premium! All about steaks Steaks have always been a treat for most people as is summed up in Only Fools and Horses by Del Boy when he says “Rodney, I’m taking her out for a steak meal Luvly Jubbly!!!” One of the reasons they’ve been classed as a treat is because they are normally the most expensive item on a menu. I’m sure you’ve been to a restaurant where they will do two steak meals for £10 on a Monday night. One thing remains true in life and that is that you get what you pay for. Sourcing and cooking a good steak is more of a fine art than people think. You may hear farmers saying that Welsh Black, Hereford or Dexter produce the best meat. Well that’s a little like saying that my untrained sadomasochist Rottweiler is going to win Crufts!!! It will only do so if it’s been bred and fed in the best conditions possible. Here are some of the ways that give reason to why the ‘Rat & Poacher’ can charge 2 for a tenner and our good friend Mr Ramsay can charge up to f100 for a steak!
Genetics The first part of the journey is who Daisy’s Mummy and Daddy are and how they’ve been reared. When Prince William married Kate Middleton there was a definite genetical chemistry there that will no doubt make little Albert close to perfect when he’s served on a plate to the paparazzi! It’s no different with cattle.
The Journey of Life The best beef will come from cattle that have been reared for over 2 years. This will give the beast enough time to have absorbed all the nutrients around it into it’s system. The Rat & Poacher will not be using beef that has lived more than a year. The reason for this is that it costs a lot of money to house and feed for double the time than could possibly be necessary. There are numerous other factors during the beasts life that have to be taken into account such as whether it’s been grass fed or corn fed, how much time it’s spent in the fields, how much chemicals are sprayed onto the grass etc. This all has a huge effect on the taste and quality of the final product.
Slaughter
(Don’t read this bit if you suffer from the heeby-jeebies!) It’s possible to be in a top end restaurant where your steak is tender and succulent and your partners identical cut is tough and tasteless. This could be down to the way that a particular beast was slaughtered. On that fateful day the cattle will be in a line where they won’t be able to see around the corner where the dirty deed is done. There will be a stun gun to the head then a slit of the throat. The beast feels absolutely nothing, I promise! Where this process can go wrong is when the second beast in line sees what’s happened to his buddy in front. He will instantly get stressed and tense up. His adrenalin will flow and this will result in tough poor meat regardless of it’s 5 star journey to the kitchen.
How to meat perfection
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Rump
Sirloin
Ribeye
Fillet
Not advised for this cut
Not advised for this cut. Too little cooking will not bring the flavour or juiciness out.
Not advised for this cut. To get the flavour through from the marbling it needs to be more cooked.
Fine for this cut. Charmarked on the outside and the centre will be raw and room temperature.
Charmarked on the outside and raw in the centre: will be fairly tough.
Raw in the centre, fairly tender. Will be room temperature in the middle.
Raw in the centre. Needs to be cooked a bit more to get the best flavour. Still tender but will be slightly fatty.
Slightly more charred on the outside than Blue. Raw throughout with a lukewarm centre.
Charred on the outside. Traces of raw in the centre but mostly pink throughout. Warm in the middle.
Very soft and tender. Pink throughout with a warm centre.
The best way to have Ribeye for tenderness. Soft and charred on the outside with juices running pink through the centre
Charred on the outside. Traces of raw in the centre but mostly pink throughout with a warm centre.
Pink throughout the steak and charred on the outside.
Pink throughout, juices flowing but not as tender as medium rare.
Perfect amount of cooking time to melt the marbling giving great flavour.
Pink throughout the centre but getting darker towards the outside.
Heavily charred on the outside; light and brown throughout.
Fairly robust on the outside. Brown throughout with good flabour from the fat melting away.
Marbling mostly melted into the meat. Because of this there will be shrinkage.
Advisable to ask for it to be butterflied for less shrinkage. May have traces of red in the centre but brown throughout.
Will be quite tough and steak will begin curling on the outside. Very dry with no juices.
Heavily charred on the outside. A fair amount of shrinkage and brown throughout.
Heavy shrinkage and not advised for this cut. Heavily charred and very dry.
For nonbloodsuckers, this is the best cut for well done. Good taste and brown throughout.
Blue
Rare
Medium Rare
Medium
Medium Well
Well Done
The Cuts Well lets start with the Fillet! Perceived as the best cut on the cow. The reason everyone thinks it’s the best is because it’s the most expensive. The reason it’s the most expensive is because you only get about 5kg from an entire cow as opposed to the Ribeye where you may get between 5 and 10 times this amount. They also like it because it carries little to no fat. The fillet is the laziest muscle on the cow because it’s situated at the furthest point from the moving parts such as its head, legs and bottom. This means it will have less fat, but fat is where the flavour comes from. If ever in doubt these are the simple things to remember:
CHUCK
RIB
SHORT LOIN
SIRLOIN
RUMP ROUND
NECK BRISKET
CHUCK
SHORT PLATE
FLANK
SHANK
Sirloin — Very tender and juicy.
Comes from a similar area to the fillet but has good fat content for more flavour
Ribeye
(Rib) — The best cut for flavour and tenderness. Flavour comes from the marbling (miniature fat granules) that melts into the steak when cooked. Rump — From the rear end of the
cow. Can sometimes be a bit hit or miss because it’s such a large area. Great flavour but a little tougher than some of the other cuts.
Porterhouse (Short Loin) — This is
the same as T-Bone but thicker. The fillet side will be smaller than on the T-Bone.
Bone-in Ribeye (Rib) — The best cut
on the cow. Very large in size. Flavour coming from the marbling as well as the marrow.
Bavette (Flank) — This is also known
as The Butchers Choice. Anyone who really knows about steaks will know that this is a very cheap cut but oozes flavour. It has a slightly gamey taste because it’s situated near the Liver. Has to be cooked perfectly or it’ll be tough as well as fatty.
T-Bone (Short Loin) — If you’re
torn between fillet and Sirloin then choose this because it contains both. Any meat that is served on the bone will have more flavour which is extracted from the marrow when cooked.
How to recognise a good steak A simple test when you’re in the supermarket is to press the meat down with your finger. If it stays down then it’s been aged and should be tender. If it springs back up again it won’t have been aged for more than 7 days and most likely will have been wet aged and fairly tough. The darker the colour, the better the quality. Never believe that lighter meat is better. If you’re in the supermarket and you see a steak that’s been discounted because of Winner winner, its sell by date, then buy it! It’ll have more flavour, darker steak meal dinner! in colour and cheaper.
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Eruptas intusan delendion
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Eruptas intusan delendion
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Eruptas intusan delendion
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Eruptas intusan delendion
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Eruptas intusan delendion
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Aging Dry Aging This is when the meat is left on the bone and hung in a chiller for a period of time. In our case it’s 28 days. We feel this is the best way but it’s also the most expensive way. By hanging the carcase for a length of time gives the meat time to relax. In humans it’s called Rigor Mortis. If you were to eat a steak that was slaughtered less than a week ago it will be tough as old boots. In cattle Rigor Mortis lasts for about 7 days before the meat begins relaxing. Between 7 days and the maximum necessary age of 35 days the natural enzymes within the bone marrow will add to the intensity of flavour in the end product. Here we revert back to the ‘Rat and Poacher’. Are they likely to pay for the additional 3 week fridge rental space!!!? The
biggest cost factor in heavily dry aged meat is the loss of yield. If a carcase is hanging for a long time in a fridge it’s no different to any other item you might leave in your fridge at home. I’d certainly not eat anything that had been lying in my fridge unwrapped for 28 days! Would you? Therefore the outside of the meat will go green and stagnant and has to be trimmed away in order to get to the fantastic meat underneath. Here alone the butcher stands to lose up to 20% of the forequarter. That’s a lot of money! Naturally, us as the end users pick up the tab. We also pick up the tab for all the water content that makes up a large amount of the meat that’s dried out during the aging process. All this is shrinking the yield by up to 40%.
Wet Aging This is when the meat is stripped from the carcase and is sealed in vacuum packs. This meat won’t have as much flavour as dry aged meat but can be aged for much longer. The other advantage is that it enables us to bring in beef from other major beef exporting countries like the US, Australia, Japan and Argentina because it can travel and stay fresh for a longer amount of time. When the meat is packed like this it means that it’s aging in its own juices therefore making it
very moist and pink in colour. The moistness of the meat doesn’t necessarily work in its favour when cooked. It’s a bit like taking a wet sponge and putting it on an oven hob. It will sizzle like crazy and dry it out in seconds making a steak very tough to eat. Some of our speciality meat will have been dry aged in its country of origin, then cut off the bone before being vac-packed for transportation. In the right conditions the meat can age for up to 6 months if vac-packed.
Cooking Steaks There are so many different theories on the right or wrong way to cook a steak but it really is down to personal preference. Some like chargrilled or pan-fried. Some like searing and roasting. Personally I like using the George Foreman if at home. The main thing to remember is that much like us humans, whether dead or alive the meat needs to rest! Firstly the meat needs to be brought to room temperature before cooking. Have you ever been in an extremely cold place without gloves? Your hands get extremely tense and almost numb. The worst thing to do is to put your hands under hot water as this shocks the flesh and creates excruciating pain, stiffening up the muscles. This is what happen to your steak if you take it from the fridge and put it straight into a pan. The end result will be tough, chewy meat. So, once the steak is at room temperature you should then place it into a very hot pan to sear the outside. This will relax the meat and get rid of excess blood if you’re queezy! After this, cook it by whatever method you want (not the microwave!).
www.thechesterfields.co.uk