inertia wrote:
Mmmmm … Pork Brains.
http://www.bozosoft.com/mike/meat/brains-can.gif
(Apologies to douglips.)
I just ate four and a half fresh lobster tails in Tiajuana and they were delicious.
Snap into a slim jim!!!
This steak-nirvana recipe–do you let the sacred meat reach room temperature first before throwing on the skillet, or do it straight from the fridge?
Seraphim:
Marinate in refrigerator for 1-3 hours.
Inertia:
Lobster tails?
Lobster is worthy of it’s own thread. True lobster should be broiled alive whole.
Lobster tails are from ridiculous clawless crustaceans from the vicinity of South Africa that are genetically inferior to the noble Maine Lobster. These tails have also been frozen. Choose quality.
Lobsters? Do people really eat those giant insects, or is it another UL?
Oh, and waiter, take this raw piece of meat back to the kitchen and tell the chef to stick up his ass.
There’s two pork chops and three steaks ahead of me? I’m not surprised.
Sorry, the Cliche Clique is not accepting new members at this time,
Someone please correct me if I am mistaken (as if I need to ask in this)crowd), but is a lobster not an arachnid?
Well, as long as I’m here, I might as well acknowledge Scylla’s remonstrance. Thank you for your gentle instruction, O benevolent master. Unfortunately the food budget chez kaylasdad does not permit the purchase of any meat that costs more than $2.49/lb. So the issue of how to cook a fine cut is, for the present, a moot one. Still, in the event that my circumstances ever improve to the point where I can consider buying the Pure and Righteous stuff as anything other than the fiscal irresponsibility of a feckless wastrel, I will be comforted to know that I have a place to turn for enlightenment as to the methods and practices of the Just and the Holy with regard to its handling and preparation.
Tomndeb: Ahh, yes, the Shmoo! Odd that the thought of that delightful fellow never once entered my consciousness during my sevral readings of the book. We might be able to start another whole debate on the subject of whether Adams ever gave them a smattering of thought, or whether he was simply lampooning the stridency of various amimal rights groups by taking the goals associated with their agendae to their logical conclusion (pun intended). I have no idea how deply “Li’l Abner” penetrated into the consciousness of the average British consumer of the daily funnies. Perhaps on of our compatriots on “this sceptered isle” would be kind enough to provide us with some insight.
Of course truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense.
Mark Twain
Lobsters are crustaceans, not arachnids. Crustacea include lobsters, shrimps, crabs, wood lice, water fleas, and baracles. Divers refer to lobsters as “bugs”. Lobsters are delicious. So are crabs and shrimps, but I don’t have any empirical evidence for the delicacy of wood lice.
Once upon a time meat was graded “prime”, “choice”, “good” and “utility”. I don’t think I’ve ever seen “prime” grade meat in a store here in CA. Only in restaurants. It’s been years since I’ve seen “choice” at a supermarket (although it’s available at the corner butcher). “Good” has been renamed “select”. Every supermarket I go to seems only to sel “select”. The reason it isn’t “prime” or “choice” is because it lacks the marbling of fat in the higher grades. The fat is what gives meat its flavour and tenderness. So the choice has been made for you. You must eat lean, less flavourful meat and stay healthy instead of eating fat, savory meat and risk clogged arteries.
Well, even cooking lean un-marbled meat until it’s well-done can be done in such a way that the steak will be juicy.
Just slap the meat down on a super-hot grill (preferably a flat surface rather than a grill-shaped bumpy one) for about 20 seconds. Then turn it over and slap the other side down on the super-hot surface for 20 seconds. Then transfer the meat to your much-lower-temperature main cooking grill and cook it 'til there’s no pink left inside.
By “searing” it on both sides at the beginning, you create an outer barrier layer that won’t let the steak juices leak out during the subsequent slow-cooking process. Imagine that: steak that is tender and juicy while still being cooked well-done! The perfect combination for pinkaphobes like myself.
Kaylasdad:
Sorry, but I can’t let you plead poverty to get off the hook. Most of the best cuisine is developed by the fiscally challenged. The cajuns, Creoles, Italians, and chinese have all pioneered novel and delicious low budget cookery that was only later picked up by the culinary snobs. You need to get on the ball here 
High heat and short cooking times are the rule for any non-pot roast/jerky, if you want to get maximum enjoyment out of your steak dollar.
Both fajitas, and chicken-fried steak are amazingly delicious dishes. When done properly, they are so good they will make you cry.
Fajitas:
Take cheap piece of meat. slice it up small. Marinate it in beer and fajita spice (Morton’s makes a decent mix.) for a day. Fry fast in high heat with a touch of oil, onions and bell peppers. Serve with Tortillas, fresh lettuce, sour cream, shredded cheese, tomatoes, and salsa. Heaven is cheap.
Chicken-fried steak.
Beat the crap out of a really tough top-round or something for half-an hour or so. run it through egg white, then flour, then egg, white, then seasoned flour and fry in oil. Serve with mashed potatoes and white gravy.
Make angioplasty appointment the next day.
Turst me on these!
You could also do what I did in College. Go hungry for a day or so. You will save enough money to feast at the Steak altar, and your fast will enhance the experience.
Tracer:
Tender is such a relative word. Your technique will not leave the steak as shoe-leather, true, But it ain’t tender.
Clearly you’re in denial here, and I don’t mean the river. By opening up, your taking the first step towards recovery. Don’t waste it. You can be cured. Gradually start cooking your meat less and less.
Hello, my name is Kunilou, and I can’t cook a steak. (GASP!!!)
My father was an intelligent, well-read man with one failing. He was absolutely convinced that rare meat would give you worms or food poisoning. As a result everything – beef, pork, chicken, lamb, you name it – had to be cooked so well that the top blew off the meat thermometer.
Fortunately, I believed in USDA inspection. I began to enjoy a little hint of pink in my porterhouse. I liked finding the sirloin on sale, having one tonight, and freezing a few for another time.
But try as I might, I can’t go any pinker than medium rare, and both Mrs. Kunilou and our firstborn like their meat still moving.
I ask the panel for help. How done is “enough” when you’re cooking it rare? I normally cook meat either under the grill in the oven, or on the grill outside. I don’t think I could ever get one of the stove burners hot enough (it’s electric) to make my cast iron skillet turn white. Does that mean pan-frying is out?
Is it a question of time? Am I putting the meat too close, or too far away from the heat source? Should I turn the meat over midway through, or simply cook on one side? No matter what I try, the best I can do is medium rare.
I am neither too proud, nor stubborn, to learn.
Saw this on the Food TV network. Tried it, and it worked out great.
It is from a program called ‘Good Eats’
Peace.
† Jon †
Phillipians 4:13
An alternative way to prepare the holy cow is to mix together soy sauce and lemon juice (put enough of each in so the mixture doesn’t taste like either one of them. Take a good cut of steak (filet or other), quickly immerse in the marinadeand IMMEDIATLY remove from the marinade (It’s only for flavour not for tenderizing, thats why we use a good cut of meat) and pan fry or barbecue until medium rare. Do not put any sauces on it or they will caramelize and taste horrible. Serve it with what you like and enjoy
Keith
You want brilliance BEFORE I’ve had my coffee!!!
Just thought I would interject a true story to reveal the situation of a man who travels the road to steak damnation. I used to work for a company that delivered top quality meat directly to people’s homes. ( And no, I didn’t drive a little pick-up truck w/ a Kenmore strapped to the back door to door. This was one of the 2 national companies that truely provided corn and grain fed, prime grade, aged beef, cut to order and delivered to your home. If you have never had steak of this quality, I assure you that even well done it is twice as good as supermarket steak, even if the supermarket cut is prepaired by one of the above masters.)
Anyway, the meat is cut to order and then vacuum sealed to seal in freshness. It is then flash frozen at over 150 degrees below zero-this keeps it fresh. ( Many will not believe this, to which I say there is a world of difference between freezing stuff at home {bad, damages the food}, and flash freezing, which keeps it fresh.) The steaks look like they would look if you put them in a baggie and sucked out the air-only the process is a little more sophisticated.( BTW- that is an excellent idea for when you must freeze stuff at home. Seal it as air-tight as you can-Air is the ally of freezer burn.) Anyway, the food is of such quality that it is unconditionally guaranteed-even if you ate it, it would be replaced. A customer called in wanting his fillet mignon replaced, he said it was tastless. Since this is like complaining about the quality of a BMW, we asked him how he had cooked it. He replied:" Oh, I boiled it in the handy boiling bag it was shipped it." ARRRRRGH!!! Some people do not DESERVE fine steak!
Dave
P.S. we did replace it, and told him it wasnt a “boiling bag”
Cecil said it. I believe it. That settles it.
For those of us who only eat kosher meat, as others have pointed out, cooking medium rare is not a problem with respect to consumption of blood as long as the meat was properly soaked and salted. The real problems are twofold:
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Cooking meat in butter is a major no-no, kashrut-wise. Any alternatives?
-
Eating meat from the hindquarters (such as filet and prime rib) is forbidden unless a particular nerve is removed from the meat. This process is apparently difficult and is thus only performed, IIRC, in Israel, where the market supports it. In the US, the hindquarters of kosher-slaughtered cattle are sold through the non-kosher side of the slaughterhouse. So, if I want a kosher steak, which cut from the forequarters is best?
Rick
Ran across this fajita recipe:
1 tbs salt
1/4 tbs white pepper
1/4 lime, squeezed
3 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
2 tbs vegetable oil
1 lb beef skirt (flank steak), sliced into 1/4 by 3 inch strips
16 6" flour tortillas
1/2 cup olive oil (or chili oil for spicier taste)
1 can whole green chilis, sliced into strips
1 large whole onion, halved and sliced
For marinade, whisk together salt, pepper, lime, garlic and vegetable oil in a large bowl. Put meat in marinade and set aside 1 hour.
Heat oven to 200 degrees; set tortillas in for 1 to 3 minutes, to warm. Remove and put in a covered basket.
Heat a large skillet and add olive oil. Add marinaded meat and saute until almost done; add green chilis and onion and saute until onion becomes translucent.
Place cooked meat in a large bowl or platter and serve with tortillas, toppings and garnishes.
Serve with refried beans, black beans or Spanish rice.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
(FWIW, the recipe says chicken breast can be substituted for steak. I’d rather have the steak. Also, 16 tortillas seems excessive. And will there be enough marinade?)
Variations:
For spicier marinade, add cayenne pepper or crushed dry red chili pepper. Instead of lime juice, try pineapple juice, papaya juice, beer, wine or bbq sauce.
Toppings:
1 cup sour cream
1 cup guacamole
1 cup salsa
4 to 6 lime wedges
Garnishes:
Avacado chunks
Chopped tomatoes
Shredded lettuce
Chopped jalapenos
Chopped fresh cilantro
Yummy