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Tell me about your perfect steak

ren_74229

Have you had a perfect steak moment? Tell me about it! Whether you can tell me the exact Maillard products that you produced at the surface of your steak, or if it was your honeymoon in Florence, or that time you went to the local supermarket and they mistakenly put some wagyu ribs in with the regular ones, I want stories.

What is a perfect steak and how did you know when it was in front of you? (i.e. what were the defining characteristics?) If you cooked it, how did you go about it? If someone else did, how did they do it? And of course...what did it taste like?

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Matthew_Snyder_68770

Jocko's in Nipomo, CA. They're known for their Santa Maria/Central Coast bbq (which is often tri-tip), but they do a bang up job with steaks, too. And they're huge............. 24-oz-ribeye-for-one huge. Perfectly cooked over a wood flame.

It's a total roadhouse type joint, and I recall some of the tables have bench seating. But for under $30 you get a ginormous, smoky, charred, beautifully prepared piece of moo critter

Part of the touchstone is, I'm sure, that I was in the area for a wine tasting trip over the weekend of my 30th birthday. It was a great trip, and everything about the weekend still has a special resonance with me ten years on. But that steak..............!

Brendan_Lee_56950

For me it's a toss up between the first time I ever had a sous vide steak and a few years back a steak I had at a Ruth's Chris in Ocean City, MD for my friend's bachelor party.

The SV steak was phenomenal because it was easily the best steak I had ever made myself. The Ruth's Chris steak was a wicked porterhouse, cooked perfectly, served in their stupid hot plates. I think it made a huge difference that we were practically the only party in the restaurant so you could tell they took their time with the preparation and the bourbon was flowing so that helped as well.

ren_74229

@Matthew I'm a big fan of Jocko's...it's up there on my list. Got to have the sweetbreads as well! And the "weird" sides only add to its character.

FrankM_3301

...gotta say, as much as I use the circulator, my perfect steak is a skirt (no prior cook) on an extremely hot grill. I like the variation in doneness (as opposed to consistent, medium rare, end to end result of low temp cooking. The skirt has the right amount of beefy-ness. The texture is terrific. Just salt, pepper, thyme, sage, rosemary (or almost any mixture of fresh herbs) and a hit of olive oil as soon as it is sliced. Crusty bread and bitter greens along side....hmmm, I think I just came up with my birthday dinner.

Matthew_Snyder_68770

I can't think of two consecutive weekends since about April that I have grilled either skirt or flank. I tend to favor more acidic or tart flavors in marinades for those cuts. Fish sauce, fruit juice (lime, apple, orange, etc), garlic, ginger, chiles, maybe a hit of sesame oil.

Actually having flank for dinner tonight.

seijoed

First cryofried steak I made was pretty epic...

I think the whole pre-sear took meats to a whole new level.

Chris_Young_80640

Damn! That's sexy Johan.

robert.c.brown15

@Johan, how did you do that?! That is wild.

ipreferale

@Johan - WOW...

seijoed

It is a Chefsteps technique, learnt here on the forums. Ideally you have LN - this is per Chris instructions :

Very hot oil, pre seared (deep fried)

Then 54C for I think 2h.

10 minutes in the freezer uncovered.

Deep fried quickly again.

Matthew_Snyder_68770

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_tgxzXmpKQ

First couple minutes of this vid demonstrates the technique at the MC kitchen.

robert.c.brown15

Awesome.

As I don't have liquid nitrogen easily at hand, anyway of doing this without? Probably not the same results though right? That is a TON of oil for deep frying.

Brendan_Lee_56950

The best way to accomplish it at home is to freeze the steak partially before, cook, then partially freeze in freezer and fry. It adds some time but if perfection is what you're aiming for it's worth it.

robert.c.brown15

any direction as to where to find a recipe? exact times and temps?

seijoed

The time for the piece of meat is depending on the cut and shape and size.

I prefer personally to do my red meats at 54C.

The pre-sear and the post-sear, you are really talking about seconds and

you'll see pretty quickly when you are at a level you want.

10-15 minutes in the freezer does the "same" as dunking it in the LN.

You don't need a ton of oil either, more important is that you have a good

wok spider or similar, a very deep pot and make sure you have covered your arms

for oil splatter.

A thermometer for the oil so you know when you start hitting 380 or more F

Click on the steak video and you'll see how quick it is.

http://www.waringcommercialproducts.com/delve.php

Quoc_Tuan_62302

Trader Joe's.

NY Steak.

Freeze.

Sear.

Salt.

Pepper.

Two Hundred Degree Oven.

Wait.

One Hour Later.

Done.

ren_74229

One of my perfect steak moments was at Roberta's in Bushwick:

Dry aged Cote de Boeuf. Can't remember how long it was aged, but was definitely on the longer side. Probably the tastiest dry aged steak I've had. It was presented whole, then sliced up for us. The eye and cap with swiss chard and potatoes, the rib with marrow. Made all the better by the fact that it came at the end of a serious tasting menu (which also had the tastiest duck I've had), yet didn't make me feel like I was going to keel over and die.

Tim_Sutherland_52834

The best steak I have ever had was around a camp fire in the middle of nowhere in northern South Australia with seven mates. We hadn't seen blacktop in three days or a shower in five. Camp was established at dusk and the fire was more smoke than flame. We were all quickly on the way to a very slow start the next morning. The bulldust was almost as thick as the bullshit from the stories of how good we were when we were younger. The cow had died of old age and the steak was more gristle than lean. I can't remember who cooked the meat, but it was charred and raw at the same time. The sides all came from cans and to save washing we just passed the cans around and ate directly from them. Was it perfect, anything but. But like all my most memorable meals it was who I was with, rather than what was on the plate.

merridith

Two Words (to rule them all): Peter Luger

http://www.peterluger.com/menu-bklyn.cfm

Order the "steak for two" (or three or whatever), order it rare or black and blue. It is a custom raised, butchered and aged porterhouse. They bring it on a metal well-in-tree platter that is sizzling. They tilt the platter so that all the juice and butter runs to the well. After putting a couple of slices on your plate, they spoon out that juice and butter mixture and anoint the steak on your plate. It is nothing short of divine. If you come to New York City, make a reservation and go. You will understand...

Alma_21007

Wolfgang's in NYC....heard they took the know-how from Luger's...haven't gone to Luger's yet...- As of now, Wolfgang's porterhouse is THE best steak I've ever had. I've gone to other top steakhouses in NY and I really can't find any that compare to its ridiculous aged flavors, tenderness, and juiciness. I'm a little in love with it.. If anyone can tell me how to make it, I'd be a very happy girl. I've heard it's not possible to do so at home because they use ovens that get very hot. I also have no idea how to get nicely aged steaks.

seijoed

Aging steaks is simple, while violating insurance you can get ovens really warm, sous vide pre-sear and post sear will beat them all

merridith

@Alma Wolfgang's is indeed an offshoot of Luger - one of the chef's, I believe, left and started it. And, I agree that it is quite excellent. But I would encourage you to try PL as I still say it is THE best. @Johan, I don't think anyone can duplicate PL because their cows are custom fed and custom raised according to their own standards. Others can come close but I really don't think anyone equals PL. @Alma, a quick ride on the subway from Manhattan will get you to within a couple of blocks of the original PL location and the 20 or so minutes it takes from Mid-town is really no big deal. You need reservations and you need cash. They don't accept credit cards! (A pain in the a__ but them's the rules.)

Lennard__34626

Im going to step on a few toes here, but am I the only one that feels that for tender cuts like steak, Sous vide is inferior to a properly cooked steak(sear baste oven-finish, or the uber high heat ovens that steakhouses use). Ive had steaks cooked perfectly edge to edge and I cant fault the texture, but it just lacks... something... Not sure if this is psychological or maybe lack of maillard flavor

merridith

@Lennard None of MY toes hurt! I think that if you have the means to properly cook a steak it is better to be cooked without SV but if you are going to serve a large group of people and need holding time, SV is unbeatable. I don't ever do this - if I am having someone to dinner, I want to serve something way more complex and unique to show my guests how special they are!

seijoed

@Lennard I think you might have a point there

I never buy those ultra tender expensive steaks.

They also may have a bit too much marbling for low temp cooking.

DiggingDogFarm_65362

My favorite steak is dry-aged Piedmontese bone-in rib-eye made in a cast iron pan via Alain Ducasse's butter steak recipe.

"I start by cooking the steak on its narrow side. I want to begin with the rim of fat on the edge, to render it so there is good, flavorful fat in the pan for the rest of the cooking. I'm also browning it so the finished steak will look immensely appetizing when it is served.

I continue to cook the beef on the flat sides, salting first, about 10 minutes on each side. I do not use very high heat, because you get good caramelization in that amount of time. I'm not interested in carbonizing the surface of the meat. To me that ruins the flavor. You must also take care not to pierce the meat, or it will be less juicy. Turn it with tongs or two spoons.

And now, here's where the chef really comes in. I crush a few big unpeeled cloves of garlic and put them in the pan along with a nice chunk of butter. Don't get too worked up about the butter -- it's a trick steakhouses often use -- you need fat to carry the flavor of the garlic into the meat. I salt and pepper the meat, and baste it with the garlic-butter for the last few minutes.

Now comes a crucial step. The steak has to rest for at least half as long as it took to cook. This rule applies to any kind of meat that's not cooked in liquid, by the way. The juices, which run to the surface during the cooking, must be given a chance to retreat back into the meat so it will relax, be tender and juicy, and bloom with beefy flavor. You might now be content with the meat as it is, maybe with some crispy fries alongside." ~ Alain Ducasse

Pics on eGullet.

~Martin

Samuel_68313

I am not sure about the best steak I ever ate. Which is pretty bad. I have had an awful lot of good ones but nothing too amazing. I remember the worst one but I won't bore you with the depressing details of it.

@Lennard I am pretty curious about sous vide steaks as compared to steakhouse methods. The problem is that it is really hard to compare methods where all the variables are removed.

ren_74229

@Lennard I'd agree with you for the most part. And I wouldn't even say that it's the difference between edge-to-edge consistency and a gradient of donenesses, although that can certainly play a role in how a steak eats.

I've had steaks that were cooked with consistent edge-to-edge doneness via conventional heating methods...and there's still a difference between that and the bagged steaks that I've had.

I don't know if this is the same "something missing" that you're describing, but from what I've experienced, I'd say that the difference is that all other things being equal, sous vide cooked steak cuts have a more homogenous interior compared to those cooked conventionally. A conventionally cooked steak cut in comparison has more contrast between the fat and the lean....it's just more interesting (to my steak loving mouth). Kind of like the difference between an emulsified sausage and one that has a bunch of inclusions.

Of course, this is purely anecdotal and what my personal experience is telling me. Maybe with more rigor someone can explain why I haven't had a sous-vide steak that comes close to matching my favorite steak experiences. There are so many variables to a great steak, so I've never taken the time to do specific tests for this particular conclusion. I think I've got a decent handle on sous-vide best practices...so I'd hesitate to go with the "well, people are just not using sous-vide right"explanation.

This isn't to put down the method in the slightest...it just helps me understand that different techniques and methods lead to different results.

Lennard__34626

I never thought about the homogenous texture, but that seems to make sense. Having something too homogenous might be boring on the palate. My theory on the issue is still based on the flavor you get from a conventional steak. It spends longer time being cooked in fat, not just cooking oil, but also after the fat has rendered and you basically get a combination of cooking oil + beef fat, plus after the crust develops you get bits of fond which I would think contributes to the flavor of the oil as well(are the maillard molecules oil soluble?). This, in contrast to the sous vide steak which spends a minimum amount of time in cooking oil. The pre sear + SV + post sear is great, but I question how much of a maillard flavor you can get compared to a traditional steak

Brendan_Lee_56950

If i'm going for a pure steak experience I always baste with browning butter on the post sear and then drizzle it back over the steak before serving to add some extra flavor.

The setting in which you are eating is going to play a big role in the experience as well. If you are out at a Peter Luger type joint and dropping huge cash your steak is going to taste pretty damned good because you want and expect it to. You've primed yourself before you walk through the door to really enjoy the experience. In this way, we tend to minimize the negatives and overemphasize the positives.