New Steak: Recipes for a Range of Cuts Plus Savory Sides

Rare Book

Steak Basics
 
How to Use This Book
 
Ideas, as much as instruction, are the currency of good cookbooks. I hope reading my recipes will get you excited about cooking steak. Use the book to gather ideas about how to put together a menu on your own. That means combining the steaks and side dishes in a way that appeals to you. The same goes for choosing the cuts of meat for a recipe. I hope you'll explore unfamiliar cuts and try some of the things I suggest for putting a plate together, but I realize many people already have strong ideas about what they like.
 
Please don't meticulously measure every little item I call for. Who measures chopped herbs? I don't. I've given the quantities, because there are people who like to know exactly what the recipe calls for. Writing "1 shallot, chopped" is simply too general for many people's comfort. Okay. After all, a large shallot can produce 4 tablespoons while a small one can be barely 2 tablespoons. But would it matter a great deal if you ended up putting in 2 or 4 tablespoons? The sauce would certainly taste a little different, but it wouldn't be bad in either case. So if you tend to measure and worry, the quantities are here. But I hope you'll at least consider using your own good sense. Rather than awkwardly stuffing 2 tablespoons of cilantro into a measuring spoon, just chop up what looks to be about that much and be done with it.
 
Portion Size
In my recipes I generally call for 8 ounces of meat per person. This is a loose guide; your steaks will always be a little over or under that amount. Plenty of thick-cut steaks weigh in at 12 ounces each. Don't worry. However much you buy, there will be people who eat more than that 8 ounces (big, hungry adults and teenagers), and others who consume a lot less. To my mind, half a pound of meat is about right--but then, I love steak and I also like to have leftovers for steak tacos the next day.
 
If you're concerned about the increasingly high price of buying top-quality sustainably raised steak as well as about the ethics of eating meat, given how much energy and fuel goes into producing each pound of meat, consider cutting the portion size in half while doubling one or both of the side dishes. This is a way of thinking of the steak as equal in importance to the side dishes. Eating a little less really great meat is a smart approach to ethical consumption. Rather than buying 2 pounds of cheap supermarket sirloin, splurge on 1 pound of locally raised porterhouse or, if you can find it, a pound of grass-fed, dry-aged sirloin. Take the time to make a sauce and savor every bite.
 
Matching the Steak to the Recipe
Almost every recipe in this book can be made with any of the steaks listed below. If that isn't the case, I'll make note of it. Just because a recipe is called Porterhouse with Black Mexican Chocolate Sauce doesn't mean you can't use strip steak. Sure, if you're cutting up meat for fajitas or doing a wok stir-fry, it doesn't make sense to buy an expensive bone-in rib steak. Even if you did, the meat would be excellent after you cut it off the bone. Some cuts are leaner, some are thinner, and some have more flavor than others. I make it clear what my favorites are--your tastes may tend in another direction. Use what you like.
 
Know Your Cuts
It's hard not to be stumped by the endless litany of names that butchers, grocers, and cookbooks use for the same cuts of meat. We're a big country, with regional distinctions, and while a strip steak is sometimes just a strip steak, it's not always. Sometimes it's a shell steak, or an ambassador steak, or something else again.
 
Stepping back a bit, it helps to understand that American butchers (and the USDA) uniformly divide the cow's anatomy into eight regions. These are the primal cuts, and they matter; if you remember the names of the key primal cuts, they can guide you through the maze of marketing and gimmicks that show up in the butcher case. Usually, there is some indication of the primal cut on that package somewhere. You've probably heard the names or seen them on packages of steak or ground beef: short loin, sirloin, rib, round, chuck, flank, plate, and shank and brisket. You don't need to remember all this; just remember that the best steaks, and the most expensive steaks, are cut from the cow's loin or rib section. They include the T-bone, strip steak, porterhouse, rib eye, rib steak, and filet. If you remember these names, along with the hidden greats--skirt steak, hangar steak, flank steak, and flat iron steak--you'll have it just about covered. Where's the ubiquitous sirloin? I left it for last because, while sirloin can be very good, most people already know about it. I find the range of cuts from the sirloin tricky. If you're buying top sirloin at the supermarket, it can be wan, lean, and flavorless, while grass-fed sirloin ranges from very good to a little tough. So while you will find sirloin called for in the recipes here, be aware that you need to hunt around a little to find worthy steaks from this part of the cow.
 
SKIRT STEAK: The star of my steak universe, this beats pretty much any cut for flavor and ease of cooking. Skirt steak is characterized by its long shape and open, grainy texture. It's a terrific steak favored by many great chefs, and it's always a bargain. Trim any sinew or fine membrane that the butcher has not removed. Remember to keep it rare--it gets tough if you overcook it. Always slice skirt steak against the grain, creating long, thin strips. It looks different but tastes better than most of the steaks you're used to. Skirt steak is also known as Philadelphia steak, churrasco, and fajita meat.
 
HANGAR STEAK: As close to skirt steak in price and flavor as you'll get, this cut is thicker and a little leaner. There's only one hangar steak per animal. If you buy a whole one (about 2 pounds from a big animal), you will need to remove the tendon that runs down the center of the steak. Most butchers will do this for you, but it's easy to do yourself even if you aren't handy with a knife. (Use a sharp filet knife to gently cut the tendon out while doing as little damage to the surrounding meat as possible. You'll end up with two pieces of steak that look like slightly uneven, lopsided filets.) The giant beefy flavor and that grainy texture make this steak one of my favorites. Hangar steak is also known as flap meat (which is a misnomer), butcher steak, hanging tender, and, in French, onglet.
 
FILET: This is the most tender piece of meat you can buy and one of the most expensive. Despite its exalted reputation, it isn't my favorite. Treated right, it can be outrageously good, with a light taste and a buttery texture; left to stand on its own, it can be dull and short on flavor. Experiment with it and see what you think, but always keep it rare. It sautés up nicely in a pan because it's flat and boneless, and it takes effortlessly to a rich sauce. Filet is also known as tenderloin, chateaubriand, tournedo, and filet mignon.
 
PORTERHOUSE, T-BONE, and STRIP STEAK: I love these steaks from the short loin, even if they do have too many names. The T-bone contains a little of the filet, while the porterhouse contains more, often with a bone to separate the strip from the filet. The porterhouse is a nice balance between the slightly looser grain and bigger flavor of the strip alongside the tender filet. These steaks should be cut thick and visibly marbled. The very tasty strip steak comes boneless or bone-in. With the bone in, this steak is known (among other things!) as a cowboy steak--a name that makes me love it more. Strip steak is also known as top loin steak, club steak, shell steak, New York strip, Kansas City strip, ambassador steak, and hotel steak. Phew!
 
RIB STEAK and RIB EYE: Think prime rib and you'll get the idea. Finely grained and rich, a steak from the rib has great marbling with plenty of flavor. It's hard to beat for richness and succulence. Splurge on occasion for a prime, dry-aged rib steak with the long rib bone still attached. It's one of the sexiest steaks you can serve. The boneless version of a rib eye is also known as Delmonico steak, Spencer steak, entrecôte, and market steak.
 
TOP SIRLOIN: Boneless top sirloin is a very common steak that many people gravitate toward because they know it so well--this is the Merlot of beef cuts. I'd encourage exploring other cuts, even though these steaks can be excellent if you seek out nicely marbled, center-cut pieces or buy a better grade. There is a wide range of other steaks from the same primal cut, including tri-tip, top and bottom butt steaks, and sirloin tip steak. One of the better steaks with a bone is called a pin-bone sirloin. Meat from the sirloin can have a dense meatiness that is very appealing if it isn't too lean.
 
TOP BLADE STEAK/FLAT IRON STEAK: I don't know why I turned up my nose at this cut for so long. It's very tasty and not at all expensive, and has decent marbling and good beefy flavor. Like hangar steak, you usually need to cut out the line of gristle running down its center. Not hard.All you're doing is cutting out the center tendon (which can be a little more jagged than the hangar steak's) to create two fairly tender, rectangular steaks. I like to call this flat iron steak if only to pat the marketing genius on the back for earning his money; he really came up with a great name.
 
FLANK STEAK: This is a lean cut from the area right behind the plate, which is where skirt steak comes from. Flank steak often gets confused with skirt steak, but it's not at all the same thing. Flank is considerably less fatty and has a dense, long grain. It's great for those who can't (or don't want to) eat more heavily marbled cuts. This cut of meat works nicely with a marinade, which is how I usually call for it here. Flank steak is also sometimes called London broil or jiffy steak.
 
TOP ROUND/LONDON BROIL: This is a fairly common cut from the round (yes, I know, flank gets called London broil; I told you it was a conspiracy of confusion). If you're marinating, this cut can substitute for flank steak or top blade. Turn to it for any of the wok preparations that call for soy sauce and then get thinly sliced to cook. It can be pretty tough, so choose a different cut if you're grilling or pan-frying and serving with a sauce. 
 
FLAP MEAT: The appearance of this cut in supermarkets is a fairly recent phenomenon. Coming from the belly of the cow, these steaks are thin and nicely marbled. Technically, they are the flap of the loin. I urge you to try them. They have good flavor and do nicely when grilled or pan-fried. Keep them rare, just as you would a skirt steak or flank steak, and slice them against the grain. Sometimes flap meat is mislabeled as sirloin tips--it's neither. Look for it labeled using the French word bavette. (Beware: hangar is sometimes also called bavette, too.)
 
Eating Meat
Meat eaters are responsible for seeking out--even demanding--meat that comes from cows that have led what I'll call a cow's life. I see a herd of Black Angus cows living this kind of life every day, in the pasture across the road from my house. And while they're bound for the dinner table, a cow living such a life enjoys green grass, open space, sunshine, and plenty of fresh air. The good news about ethical eating is that the best-tasting meat, with deep flavor and rich marbling, doesn't come from cattle that have been rushed to the market through the use of corn, hormones, and antibiotics. Instead, the best-tasting steaks come from cows that are at least eighteen months old; have eaten grass, weeds, and alfalfa; and have walked around, smelled the breeze, and used their legs. In short: great steaks come from cows that have lived a cow's life.
 
Buy the best meat you can and know where it comes from. Not only is this meat better for you, but you're also helping to support ranchers and grassy pastures. Pastureland provides more than grass--it means preserving open space and the livelihood of the people who work that land. Good steak is worthwhile on a bunch of extremely compelling levels.
 
Buying Steak
Read labels and ask questions before you buy steak. I can't encourage this enough. As uncomfortable as it might make you, the ethics of how our food is produced is a growing part of the decisions we make about what we eat. Beef that is raised primarily on grass in a way that is environmentally sustainable and humane is more and more available. But there's also a lot of confusion out there about the real meaning of "natural," "grass-fed," "organic," and "local," not to mention "Certified Black Angus" and terms like "Kobe style." To help you make smart choices, I've put together a brief guide to help you find your way through the mysteries of meat labeling.
 
Grass-Fed and All-Natural Beef
Cows are supposed to eat grass, with perhaps a little grain thrown in for dessert. Look carefully at labels. The word natural is a pretty meaningless term in the food industry; you need to look for the words "no added growth hormones" and "no antibiotics." Since you can't easily raise cattle on grain in cramped feedlots without antibiotics, this usually means the cow was fed primarily on grass with perhaps a brief period of corn and other grains to finish before slaughter. Meat from grass-fed cows is also higher in the good fats (omega-3 fatty acids) and lower in the bad fats (saturated fat) than meat from grain-fed, intensively raised animals. That means grass-fed steaks taste better and they're better for you. Now how often does that happen?
 
Niman Ranch, one of the first producers of natural meat, is an industry leader. Laura's Lean Beef is another large producer. I buy most of my meat at Whole Foods, which carries only beef raised without added growth hormones or antibiotics. They're all grass-fed, but the cows' diets are supplemented by grain. Some companies claim their cattle are never fed grain in order to produce healthier, leaner meat. One such outfit, raising Black Angus cows on pure grass in Dillon, Montana, is La Cense Beef. See the Pantry at the end of the book for tips on where to purchase grass-fed meat.
 
Organic Beef
Unlike the term natural, the word organic does have a legal, USDA meaning. Steak labeled organic comes from cows that have been fed certified organic grain, grass, and hay. It also means they have not been crammed full of growth hormones or regularly fed antibiotics. Grateful Harvest is one company that sells organic steaks at my grocery store. They are a little more expensive, but I feel good about eating them, and they have great flavor.
 
Locally Raised Beef
Local is the new organic. People are recognizing that the fossil fuels necessary to transport that organic steak to your table is as wasteful and environmentally irresponsible as the feedlots we're trying to put out of business by buying organic in the first place. ...