BACK TO BASICS Steak can be a showstopper – but it can be a flop, too. We grill Damien Cochez, head butcher at Ossington favourite Côte de Boeuf, for his best steak secrets.
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N ITS SIMPLEST form, a steak is just a big old hunk of beef, but there’s so much more to it than that. Not all steaks are created equal. There’s an entire world of variables that make all the difference between that chewy piece of leather you ate at a pub and the juicy, melt-in-your-mouth meat you drool over at a top-tier steakhouse. We talk to Damien Cochez, the main butcher at Ossington’s butcher shop and bistro Côte de Boeuf, to find out what makes one steak a cut above the rest.
translates to “Japanese beef” so it can be used to refer to any of the four Japanese cattle breeds. The high-end, sought-after Wagyu is known for its superior marbling and for being incredibly tender. Kobe is a designation only given to Wagyu from one region and that’s raised in a particular way, to produce what is widely considered the best beef in the world. If you’re after a steak that didn’t cross an ocean before it landed on your plate, the common breeds found in Ontario are Highland, Hereford, Angus and Charolais.
What are the breeds of beef cattle?
How do we choose a cut of steak?
Wagyu seems to be on everyone’s tongues lately, though it’s a little trickier to get the pricey meat into your mouth. The word
Steak comes in all different shapes and sizes, depending on which part of the animal it’s cut from. Finding the one that’s right for you
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is more of a choose-your-own-adventure than something you can do right or wrong. A tenderloin filet mignon might be the most tender steak you’ll find (it’s right in the name), but as a leaner piece of meat, it won’t have as much flavour. Meanwhile a bone-in steak may have more flavour but it’s more tedious to carve and enjoy. If you’re having trouble deciding, just ask your server or your butcher. At Côte de Boeuf, they’ll guide you through the different cuts of steak and help you choose the right one for your budget, and the way you want to prepare and serve it.
What is marbling? “This is just layers of fat in between the meat. The more marbling, the more kind of
