Need steak advice

[bobman0330]

I'm looking for a really good steak.

Option A: Do it yourself
Step 1: The Meat
From what I hear, USDA prime, dry-aged NY strip is the way to go. Correct? How much should I be willing to pay for such a piece of meat? The Whole Foods near my house is charging 20/lb. Reasonable? If not, should I go for an inferior cut?

Step 2: The cooking
I live in an apartment, so I don't have access to a real grill. The best I can do is a gas oven. Is this a deal-breaker? If not, how do I go about the cooking? Please incorporate horseradish if at all possible. I prefer my meat as rare as possible, but I'd be willing to go all the way to medium if required.

Step 3: The sides
Somewhat off-topic, but does anyone have any good recipes for mashed potatoes. Possibly involving horseradish or garlic?

OR

Option B: Steakhouse
Anyone know any good, but reasonably priced steakhouses in the DC area. Any tips on ordering would be appreciated.

[Corey]

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Option B: Steakhouse
Anyone know any good, but reasonably priced steakhouses in the DC area. Any tips on ordering would be appreciated.

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Can't help you with the cooking advice, but for a great cut of meat at a (relatively) decent price, check out Ray's the Steaks in Arlington. Be warned, you can only make reservations from 2-4 on Tuesday through Friday. I think you can make reservations up to a month in advance and they're pretty much necessary for dinners on Friday and Saturday and probably a good idea for weekdays. You can have a dinner for two including wine for under $100.

[asofel]

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Option B: Steakhouse
Anyone know any good, but reasonably priced steakhouses in the DC area. Any tips on ordering would be appreciated.

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Can't help you with the cooking advice, but for a great cut of meat at a (relatively) decent price, check out Ray's the Steaks in Arlington. Be warned, you can only make reservations from 2-4 on Tuesday through Friday. I think you can make reservations up to a month in advance and they're pretty much necessary for dinners on Friday and Saturday and probably a good idea for weekdays. You can have a dinner for two including wine for under $100.

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Nice, I live in Arlington and have definitely heard of Ray's. And OP, I'd be more than happy to help taste testing said steak after its cooked /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[beta1607]

Define reasonably priced. Capitol Grill is awesome but a little pricey. Also Ruths Chris is great, a little cheaper but more generic.

[IndieMatty]

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Define reasonably priced. Capitol Grill is awesome but a little pricey. Also Ruths Chris is great, a little cheaper but more generic.

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Cap' Grill IS awesome. Very underrated chain in the Steakhouse world.

[CardSharpCook]

Different cuts of meat have different applications and different qualities. A filet Mignon is a very tender piece of meat because it is a muscle rarely used by the beast. However, it lacks flavor. A chuck steak has plenty of flavor, but it is hard as hell to eat. Personally, I am fond of the ribeye. It is a tneder cut of meat, but his a little more flavor than an FM. If you are going to grill/saute - you will want to use a steak that comes from the animal's back - porterhouse, NY, RE, FM, Tbone, whatever. Checking for quality - you want a steak with plenty of fat marbling. Marbling is the fat that is IN the steak itself. Not the fat on the outside, but the intramuscular fat or little white dots peppered throughout. You don't want a steak where all you see is red in the part you're gonna eat.

Cooking. Please don't use the oven. No grill is fine, but through it in a saute pan on the stove top. The oven will cook it too slowly and will dry out your steak, also making a good low temp (rare, MR) harder to achieve. Also you lose the flavor that comes with a good sear.

So - Get your pan up to med-hi heat. Through in a splash of oil. Then put your steak in the hot pan. Try not to move the steak until you are ready to turn it. Oh yeah, season the steak well with salt and pepper. Depending on the thickness of the steak, rare can take from 2-5 min per side. Usually closer to 3-4. However, start learning how to tell by feel.

Temp by feel - examine your relaxed palm of your left hand. With your right hand feel the softness/resistance found just below the finger joint to your pointer finger. That is rare. Now feel just below the 1st joint. That is MR. The space between the next two joints is med. If you are going to cook it past that then God be with you.

[CardSharpCook]

Garlic Mashed - I'm going to have a little trouble scaling the recipe down so you'll have to adjust.

2Potatoes. Boil your potatoes. If you desire, peel, and then cut into equal size pieces. Size doesn't matter as long as they are all close to equal. Cook until pieces break apart easily when pierced by a fork.

Heat cream/butter/garlic. Best if you use heavy cream. Perhaps 1C cream + 1 stick of butter + maybe 8 cloves to a head of garlic. This should be heating at the same as your potatoes are cooking so that the garlic is cooked/softened.

Add liquid to strained potatoes and mash or whip with whatever tool works. If you desire creamier potatoes, simply add more butter + cream, but it is too late to add garlic easily. Remember to salt your mashers as you will not achieve greatness without plenty of salt. If you desire Horseradish Pot, simply mix in horseradish at this point. In a restaurant, we would mix in horseradish to order, but cook our potatoes way in advance.

[Ulysses]

CSC, I'm a grill guy myself, but what are your thoughts on this no-grill technique? (http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_99,00.html)

[HDPM]

I have posted this technique before and some found it interesting. Heat your oven to really hot - 500. Get a cast iron or good saute pan hot. Use a bit of oil in the pan. Sear a seasoned steak for like 1 min per side then throw the pan in the oven. Start at 5 min and see if that is too your liking. Of course, as with any steak, get it out of the pan without puncturing the outside and let it sit a few minutes before cutting into it. Also, the pan will be f'in hot so don't grab it with your bare hand. Sounds obvious, but if you take it out of the oven w/a pot holder and put it on the stove, it will sit there innocently and you might be tempted to move it out of your way in a couple minutes forgetting the pot holder/towel. Don't do that. Ovens, stoves vary so you will have to fool around with it. I like this method for indoor steaks when I am not inclined to grill. Try it on some cheap steaks to see if you like it before going to the 20/lb prime steaks. Try a reasonably thick supermarket NY strip first. I wish I could get those around here.

[ChicagoTroy]

Since you know your stuff, why not start on the pan and finish in the oven? Most non-grill/non-IR restaurants seem to do it that way, and it's relatively straightforward, and on anything over 1/2" it's much easier than trying to guestimate searing temp.

[samjjones]

I am curious as to CSC's professional opinion, but I love frying steaks in a well seasoned cast iron pan. The outside gets a really great crust on it, while searing in all of the juices inside. And then you can make a pan sauce.

[CardSharpCook]

I love using a cast iron skillet and the high temp of the oven coupled with the stove-top searing makes the use of the oven ok here. In a restaurant, this is exactly how we cook steak. We mark it on the grill or sear it on the range and then toss it in the oven. However, it is, in my opinion, unnecessary to use the oven. You can do the whole operation on the stove top and only flipping once. Why we cook it like this in a restaurant is that it is very easy to set your brain to time items in the oven and using the oven clears up room on the stove-top/grill.

[CardSharpCook]

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I am curious as to CSC's professional opinion, but I love frying steaks in a well seasoned cast iron pan. The outside gets a really great crust on it, while searing in all of the juices inside. And then you can make a pan sauce.

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God bless you if you are making pan sauces! And yes, this is exactly how I cook steak at home. In a restaurant, we use the oven because it is right there and already at 450-500 anyway - just a waste of electricity/gas to use both an oven and a range to cook 1 or 2 steaks.

Prime is always best. The best restaurants get first choice on the supply, though. Grocers usually only offer “Choice” and “Select” in the prepackaged cases. Look in the case with the butchers working behind it. That’s usually Prime, if they have it, and what they frequently call “Aged.” CardSharpCook’s little primer on meat is excellent.

If you want to try Prime at home and can’t get it locally, Omaha Steaks can be a pricey source. My experience with them has always been outstanding.

Does your oven have a “Broil” setting? I’ve done some excellent steaks that way. Just keep the oven door cracked open to prevent flames. Before I put it in there, I usually sear it on the stove in a cast iron skillet. Then put the skillet in the oven. Don’t remember why, but a chef once told me not to cook it on the stove. Since CSC has luck with it, try it.

I like Garlic Salt on my steak. I put it on after I take them out. Salt will draw the moisture out of the meat, so don’t put it on before searing.

Now, on to the wine?

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[HDPM]

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God bless you if you are making pan sauces!

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Hey, I made a garlic-hoisin pan sauce for pork chops last week that didn't make me vomit. I try pan sauces but usually botch them. I may have let them get too hot. Any suggestions without seeing how I actually ruin them in person? /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[djoyce003]

Steaks - if you are buying yourself go to the whole foods and you can buy USDA prime or USDA choice...honestly since you don't have a grill the standard whole foods choice is pretty damn good and it's about 13/lb instead of 20....there isn't much difference in flavor here. Salt and pepper only to flavor...once you are done cooking put a little pat of butter on the top.

Mashed - another good one is roasted garlic mashed potatoes.....cut the top of a few heads of garlic off...drizzle with olive oil, salt and fresh cracked pepper, wrap in foil and roast in an oven at 350. They'll be all toasty and yummy when they are done...i'm thinking half/hour to an hour but you could do a web search on roasting garlic for the exact time. Boil your potatoes and squeen the yummy roasted garlic into the taters while you are mashing...as always a little cream and butter is good thrown in there.

[samjjones]

That is a great marinade for pork. If it is leftover marinade, just bring it to a quick boil (to kill any leftover bacteria from the raw pork) and thicken it slightly. I've made a similar marinade/pan sauce for pork tenderloin out of maple syrup, garlic, soy sauce, and dijon mustard (sweet/savory).

There have been a couple of useful pan sauce threads lately, if anybody is interested in recipes.

[Boris]

Good stuff. thanks.

[slamdunkpro]

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I'm looking for a really good steak.

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Aren’t we all!

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Option A: Do it yourself
Step 1: The Meat
From what I hear, USDA prime, dry-aged NY strip is the way to go. Correct? How much should I be willing to pay for such a piece of meat? The Whole Foods near my house is charging 20/lb. Reasonable? If not, should I go for an inferior cut?

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If you are willing to spend the $$, then go out and enjoy the service as well. What you get at Whole Foods, or even Wegman’s or Balducci’s (formerly Sutton Place) is well below the grade of meat you’ll get at a good steak house. Around DC I like Sam & Harry’s (18th street) or the Ruth’s Chris in Crystal City, of the Mortons, the one in Tysons is the best.

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Step 2: The cooking
I live in an apartment, so I don't have access to a real grill. The best I can do is a gas oven. Is this a deal-breaker? If not, how do I go about the cooking? Please incorporate horseradish if at all possible. I prefer my meat as rare as possible, but I'd be willing to go all the way to medium if required.

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If you have a cast iron skillet, gas stove, and oven you’re good to go. If it’s a Strip Loin you want (NY strip) look for one about 1 to 11/2 inches thick. Coat with canola oil, and a little salt (kosher preferred) (no pepper – it will burn) let the steak stand under a loose plastic wrap for 20 minutes.

Heat the oven to 400 and put a little canola oil in the skillet. Turn the fire on under the skillet until it just starts to smoke. Put the steak in for 1 –2 minutes (depending on thickness), flip, repeat. Take the cast iron skillet with the steak in it and put the whole thing in the oven for 6 minutes (RARE) 8 minuets (rare – thick steak), 10 minuets (medium rare – thick steak). Want it more done? Order the chicken.

Remove the steak to a wooden cutting board (no glass or ceramic – gets cool too fast) and let it rest for 5 minutes. While it is resting…..

Put the skillet back on the stove and deglaze with about a cup of red wine. Let this cook down (reduce) until it thickens. Stir in some garlic and a chopped shallot. Cook for a couple of minutes. Wisk in a quarter stick of soft butter, a little heavy cream, and a couple of tablespoons of horseradish. Heat until thickened.

Plate the steak, add fresh ground pepper, sauce and serve.

[slamdunkpro]

I just broke down and bought a salamander!! /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[CardSharpCook]

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Hey, I made a garlic-hoisin pan sauce for pork chops last week that didn't make me vomit. I try pan sauces but usually botch them. I may have let them get too hot. Any suggestions without seeing how I actually ruin them in person?

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You can't make a good sauce if you've burned the fond. Fond = the particles that stick to the pan after cooking. It is the Fond that makes sauces good. So, you've cooked your meat and set it aside to rest. Now the pan is still hot and over a flame. We now immediately "deglaze" the pan with a splash of wine. The wine (hell it could be water) on a hot pan helps to release the fond. We then scrape the fond up with a wooden spoon. Now we add our stock and whatever other ingrediants we desire and reduce the liquid to the desired consistency.

The biggest issue really is -> don't burn the fond before adding the liquid.

Good thread.
I agree with CSC. Pan sear.
The oven trick is fine, but the same result can be reached by letting the pan pre-heat properly.

Do bring the steak to room temp.
Do dry the steak with a paper towel just before seasoning and searing.
Start with a choice steak first. Easier on the wallet while you are learning. New York strip is probably the easiest to start with because of it's uniformity and lack of bone.
I only use the oven if the steak is thick. 1" or more. A thinner steak will be done on the burner before it is over charred.

Let the steak rest. very important.

[rohjoh]

I had a great New York over the weekend at a pretty high end place($35 for the steak) and it was served with Blue Cheese Macaroni and Cheese and Onion Rings. The Blue cheese mac was unreal with the steak, one of the best meals I have had in a long time.

[MrMon]

If you have a Trader Joe's in your area, try seeing if they have kosher ribeyes from Aaron's. (You don't have to be Jewish to eat them. /images/graemlins/wink.gif) At $10.99/lb, you'll have a hard time beating the taste at any price, let alone $10.99/lb.

[HDPM]

thanks. I will keep trying. Gotta bunch of overrated frozen steaks in the garage I may do with pan sauces.