I’ve been noticing on the cooking shows the chefs are slicing the steaks before serving them. Is this a new practice or have I just noticed?
I’ve seen it done IRL with steaks meant to be shared by a couple, and this was 20 years ago.
I’ve only seen this done with flank and skirt steaks meant to be eaten with tortillas or rice, not the steakhouse variety meant to be eaten alone or with a baked potato.
I stay away from the shows where presentation is everything though. Maybe they just think it looks better? Do they squirt a few drops of some green sauce all over the plate too? Tasty food already looks good, in my opinion. You don’t need to recreate a Jackson Pollack painting with your dinner.
Depends on the steak. Any steak ordered for 2 will usually be sliced, as will less expensive cuts like flat iron.
For some cuts it’s done, but usually at the table in my experience. At Peter Luger’s the waiter will slice their giant porterhouses at the table for you. And that’s often done for Chateaubriand also. I’ve seen London Broil come pre-sliced from the kitchen. I guess I wouldn’t mind much except it will make the steak cool off faster and some cuts I like to cut and slice in my own peculiar order.
I am wondering if this is just done for the TV shows instead of being common at restaurants.
Well, how else are you going to deal with the vampires lurking at the back door?
At home I prepare flat iron steak regularly, when I can get it, and I always slice it before bringing it to the table. Not a steak, but I slice pork tenderloin before serving as well.
Right, and that’s because you’d never serve anyone a whole pork tenderloin or a whole flat iron steak.
I had steak served sliced last time I went out to eat, and in that case, I’m fairly sure it was done at least partially to disguise the fact that the portion size was really quite small. If you can fan the meat out, it looks like you’re getting more than you are. I think it was also partially because it wasn’t a particularly nice cut of beef.
Also, is it being done for all of the steaks being served, or just as an example? In other words, is Gordon Ramsey just pulling one steak aside and slicing it so that he can yell, “You [bleep] donkey, that steak is not medium rare – you cooked it to DEATH!”
FYI: I fixed a typo in the thread title for steaks/stakes. <look over tops of glasses>
thanks
Yes that’s true, but I could cut the flat iron or tenderloin into thirds and serve it that way. But it’s easier and neater to slice diagonally on a cutting board with a slicing knife rather than a steak knife.
On Chopped, it’s usually done without enough time for the meat to rest, leading Scott Conant to yell about the juice ruining the rest of the dish.