What @epbrown said, however sirloin is also good for me.
Fancy prep is good and all, but really, at the end of it, all that’s really needed is a little salt and a little pepper, a good hot cast iron pan for stove top cooking (what I prefer and do most of the time) and a little olive oil for flavor and cooking.
I think my favorite ever was a very thick cut of porterhouse for four, salt pepper, smoked to medium rare then reverse seared. Of course it was sourced from the local higher end butcher aged and it was one time thing.
But for me a Johnny’s Italian Beef sandwich wet with hot peppers is the special occasion treat.
Man, it’s hard to choose. Any one of:
T-Bone, salt and pepper, medium rare.
Brisket smoked for 17 hours or so.
Round steak, pounded to hell and back and chicken fried.
Filet made as Shaken/Saigon beef, medium rare, served on some nice greens.
As a musical interlude:
I like all the above but will go with the cheeks, just to add something different to the thread. It’s a cut that requires prolonged cooking, for which a pressure cooker works very well. Wonderfully tender, and, if you cook them with vegetables, you can put the latter through a blender or food mill and make a very tasty sauce.
Really? A fucking hamburger?
Oh, in honor of cheeks, I do want to give an honorable mention to roasted beef marrow.
I don’t love it in the same way as a cut of meat, but dear god, is it a thing of beauty when well roasted and schmeared over good bread.
“People who love to eat are always the best people.”
As long as they don’t want to eat my lunch, a la Jules Winnfield.
Prime rib roast Must be pink, no gray except for the circumference.
Beat me to it, just.
I like both ends of the spectrum: tartare, and also the cuts that require very long and slow cooking, like cheek, short ribs, and tongue.
But marrow is really something else.
Thick cut filet mignon sous vide rare, then a quick torch sear.
I’ve never had a steak cooked sous vide, but it sounds good in theory. Just give me a nice filet medium rare with a tasty salt and pepper crust, and mushrooms on the side. Or Chateaubriand if I’m feeling spendy!
Fillet, and I’d like it seared all over, coated in pâté, then duxelles, then prosciutto, covered with puff pastry and baked.
I did a sous vide sirloin roast back in February when I got it on sale. About 6lbs, 138F for 48 hours, then back into the freezer. I thawed it about 3 weeks ago and put it on a roasting hot bbq for a reverse sear. It was delicious and fork-tender.
It is a tie for me between:
Osso Bucco- though I’ve only had it once where it was done well enough that the marrow didn’t just melt into the sauce. Amazing.
Bone -in Prime Rib- there is something extremely satisfying about a bone in prime rib. The last time I got this was at a casino with a very, very mediocre steakhouse. However, like most casinos in Vegas, they nailed the prime rib. I ate the bone in part at home like someone with an eating disorder. Just primeval and delicious.
Bone-in Ribeye - lots of seasoning and a good sear. Give me the interesting bits, the bone & the fatty parts!
I think it goes without saying both the rib-eye and prime rib are medium rare.
Choice, center cut top sirloin. Medium rare tending towards rare. Some herbed butter is nice. Tabasco on the side for a tiny dip.
Simmered corned beef. I’ve never been much into steaks and chops and corned beef & cabbage has been a treat as long as I can remember. Lots of carrots, onions and potatoes in the broth, please, some for now, some for skillet frying tomorrow.
Second place goes to smoked brisket.
I did a picanha roast on the smoker yesterday, started at 180 degrees before finishing over high heat. Just exquisite with roasted small potatoes, broccoli, chimmichurri & an Cab/Malbec blend. Was even better for lunch today.
My fave is a toss-up between a reverse seared 1.5 inch bone-in ribeye on the smoker and finished on cast iron directly on the coals, or Beef Dino ribs using Aaron Franklin’s method.
Filet Mignon - butterflied, salt, pepper, garlic, medium well
Top sirloin - salt, pepper, garlic, medium well
Arm or chuck roast cooked in a crock pot with beef broth and a Liptons onion soup packet until it shreds on a nice soft bun.
Sirloin as a medium to well-done char-broiled steak.
I love a well marbled rib eye steak. A blue cheese, butter and chive spread to smear on top is extra decadent.
Also flank and or skirt steaks with chimichurri.
My favorite is the New York Strip. Baked Sweet potato and green salad. I order mine cooked medium.
Second is beef brisket barbecue.
Honestly I’m not going to turn any well cooked steak down.