On 12/11/2013 3:04 PM, l not -l wrote:
> On 11-Dec-2013, Roy > wrote:
>
>> I have been cooking and consuming beefsteak all of my life but still
>> I don't seem to be able to match the flavor of steak from commercial
>> steak houses or restaurants. I've tried many of the common brands of
>> so-called steak spice but nothing quite works.
>>
>> Is there some "secret" ingredient or combination that works best?
>
> Unless you're commercial steak houses and restaurants are of the
> Bonanza/Ponderosa/Corral/etc ilk, you are likely to be getting a better
> grade of beef than you buy at the supermarket. A steak from a butcher
> shop or, maybe, the "Service Meat" department of a very good supermarket
> should come close to what you find in most decent restaurants.
> Personally, I have never found a good steak to need anything but salt
> and pepper; only the lower grades require "steak spice". Of course, I
> like to taste (good) steak; if I wanted to taste "steak spice" I could
> put that on just about anything.
>
> If I were in your predicament, I'd find a good butcher shop and ask for
> steaks that are Prime grade. Sprinkle on a bit of salt and fresh ground
> pepper, cook rare to medium rare and I'd be a happy camper.
>


Ditto on the Prime grade, Costco is always good.

Alton Brown has a good show on dry aging:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4aI_O8kcN8

Hard to beat food science.