I love big slices of rare beef... beef that's carved similar to a
standing rib roast with a bright pink center, but with a more intense
beef flavor - and - a cut that's not gonna empty my wallet. So I
finally asked the butcher for a top sirloin steak at 3 inches thick...
One thing to mention is that at 3 inches thick this suckers huge,
about 12 inches long end to end so it looks more like a roast than a
steak. I seasoned both sides with a heavy dose of course salt about 3
hours before cooking which I've found REALLY helps to season beef, I'm
guessing it's a dry brine. (doing so lets the whole slice tastes
seasoned rather than just the crust) I let the steak come to room
temperature and cranked up the cast iron pan until smoking. I patted
the steak dry with paper towels then added a little peanut oil to the
pan and dropped in the steak (roast) and seared the first side for 4
minutes. I flipped the steak and immediately added a heavy dose of
fresh cracked pepper to the seared top and popped the pan in the oven
for about 6 minutes at 400 degrees. I pulled the steak out and moved
it to a resting rack for a good 10 minutes. At 3 inches thick when I
carved it, the slices looked more like prime rib with a bright pink
center but tasted much more "beefier". I paired it with some sliced
beets and water cress and a tall glass of red wine. Dinner for two
with at least 16 ounces left over for steak sammiches tonight.... all
for $15. At the current price for Top Sirloin, that is in fact the
perfect steak....

~john

levelwave said...

> I love big slices of rare beef...

> At the current price for Top Sirloin, that is in fact the
> perfect steak....
>
> ~john


You forgot the obligatory "imho."

Price being no object, chateaubriand is the most perfect steak on the cow,
imho.

Andy

On Mar 5, 12:56 pm, Andy <q> wrote:

> Price being no object, chateaubriand is the most perfect steak on the cow,
> imho.
>
> Andy


>From wikipedia

"At the time of the Vicomte the steak [chateaubriand ] was cut from
the more flavorful, but less tender sirloin"

Flavor trumps tenderness... IMO

~john

Andy wrote:
> levelwave said...
>
>> I love big slices of rare beef...
>
>> At the current price for Top Sirloin, that is in fact the
>> perfect steak....
>>
>> ~john
>
>
> You forgot the obligatory "imho."
>
> Price being no object, chateaubriand is the most perfect steak on the
> cow, imho.


I'm iffy about considering the chateubriand an actual cut of meat, rather
than a *recipe* for cooking a specific cut of meat (tenderloin).

--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

levelwave said...

> On Mar 5, 12:56 pm, Andy <q> wrote:
>
>> Price being no object, chateaubriand is the most perfect steak on the
cow,
>> imho.
>>
>> Andy
>
>
>>From wikipedia
>
> "At the time of the Vicomte the steak [chateaubriand ] was cut from
> the more flavorful, but less tender sirloin"
>
> Flavor trumps tenderness... IMO
>
> ~john


That's what you get for trusting wikipedia!!!

It's the end of the filet mignon.

Andy

On Mar 5, 1:38 pm, Andy <q> wrote:

> That's what you get for trusting wikipedia!!!
>
> It's the end of the filet mignon.
>
> Andy


Chteaubriand
[sha-toh-bree-AHN]
Contrary to popular belief, Chteaubriand is actually a recipe, not a
cut of beef. This method of preparation is said to be named for the
19th-century French statesman and author, François Chteaubriand. It's
a succulent, thick cut of beef (usually taken from the center of the
tenderloin) that's large enough for two people.

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD
LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

On Mar 5, 11:29 am, "Dave Bugg" > wrote:
> Andy wrote:
> > levelwave said...
>
> >> I love big slices of rare beef...
>
> >> At the current price for Top Sirloin, that is in fact the
> >> perfect steak....
>
> >> ~john
>
> > You forgot the obligatory "imho."
>
> > Price being no object, chateaubriand is the most perfect steak on the
> > cow, imho.
>
> I'm iffy about considering the chateubriand an actual cut of meat, rather
> than a *recipe* for cooking a specific cut of meat (tenderloin).
>
> --
> Davewww.davebbq.com

That's what I thought, too- it's a recipe, not a cut. Isn't Bernaise
sauce part of it?

levelwave said...

> On Mar 5, 1:38 pm, Andy <q> wrote:
>
>> That's what you get for trusting wikipedia!!!
>>
>> It's the end of the filet mignon.
>>
>> Andy
>
>
> Chteaubriand
> [sha-toh-bree-AHN]
> Contrary to popular belief, Chteaubriand is actually a recipe, not a
> cut of beef. This method of preparation is said to be named for the
> 19th-century French statesman and author, François Chteaubriand. It's
> a succulent, thick cut of beef (usually taken from the center of the
> tenderloin) that's large enough for two people.
>
> © Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD
> LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.


Fine, just wrong again, Sharon.

Andy

On 5 Mar 2007 11:53:19 -0800, "merryb" > wrote:

>On Mar 5, 11:29 am, "Dave Bugg" > wrote:

>> I'm iffy about considering the chateubriand an actual cut of meat, rather
>> than a *recipe* for cooking a specific cut of meat (tenderloin).
>>
>> --
>> Davewww.davebbq.com
>
>That's what I thought, too- it's a recipe, not a cut. Isn't Bernaise
>sauce part of it?
>

Bearnaise sauce can be a part of anything, as far as I am
concerned...LOL.

Christine

Christine Dabney wrote:
> On 5 Mar 2007 11:53:19 -0800, "merryb" > wrote:
>
>> On Mar 5, 11:29 am, "Dave Bugg" > wrote:
>
>>> I'm iffy about considering the chateubriand an actual cut of meat,
>>> rather than a *recipe* for cooking a specific cut of meat
>>> (tenderloin).
>>>
>>> --
>>> Davewww.davebbq.com
>>
>> That's what I thought, too- it's a recipe, not a cut. Isn't Bernaise
>> sauce part of it?
>>
>
> Bearnaise sauce can be a part of anything, as far as I am
> concerned...LOL.

ROTFLOL!!!!!!!!

--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

On Mar 6, 9:12 pm, Steve Wertz > wrote:

> How much was it per lb? Top sirloin is $4/lb here. That would
> mean you ate about 3lbs of it last night.
>
> -sw


Not sure... but damn, it was good. I wasn't the only one eating it the
first night.

~john

"levelwave" wrote:
> Andy wrote:
>
> > That's what you get for trusting wikipedia!!!
>
> > It's the end of the filet mignon.
>
> Chteaubriand
> [sha-toh-bree-AHN]
> Contrary to popular belief, Chteaubriand is actually a recipe, not a
> cut of beef. This method of preparation is said to be named for the
> 19th-century French statesman and author, François Chteaubriand. It's
> a succulent, thick cut of beef (usually taken from the center of the
> tenderloin) that's large enough for two people.
>
> © Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD
> LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.


It's actually both, a recipe and a cut... the same source argues with
itself:

short loin
Of the major wholesale cuts of beef, this is the most tender. It lies
in the middle of the back between the sirloin and the rib, and the
muscles in this section do little that could toughen them. The two
main muscles in the short loin are the tenderloin and the top loin.
The elongated tenderloin muscle (when separated from the bone and the
rest of the short loin) can be sold as tenderloin roasts (often
labeled CHATEAUBRIANDS), or cut into TOURNEDOS; or FILET MIGNON
steaks. The top loin muscle with the bone attached is called a CLUB
STEAK. When removed from the bone, the same muscle is marketed as New
York (or Kansas City ) STRIP STEAK; or DELMONICO STEAK. When the bone
is left in and portions of both the tenderloin and top loin muscles
are included, the short loin is the source of PORTERHOUSE STEAKS and T-
BONE STEAKS.

� Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD
LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

The best of the tender steaks is the Porterhouse.
The most flavorful steak is a chuck steak.

Sheldon

On Mar 7, 7:13 am, "Sheldon" > wrote:

> The most flavorful steak is a chuck steak.
>
> Sheldon


Is that cut from what is labeled a "chuck roast" in the supermarket?

~john

"levelwave" > wrote

> On Mar 7, 7:13 am, "Sheldon" > wrote:
>
>> The most flavorful steak is a chuck steak.

> Is that cut from what is labeled a "chuck roast" in the supermarket?

Chuck steak has a bone. I used to get chuck steak all the time,
it was one of my favorites. I hardly ever see chuck steak any more.
I think it's also called 7-bone, because of the shape of the bone.

nancy

On Mar 7, 9:12 am, "Nancy Young" > wrote:

> Chuck steak has a bone. I used to get chuck steak all the time,
> it was one of my favorites. I hardly ever see chuck steak any more.
> I think it's also called 7-bone, because of the shape of the bone.
>
> nancy


Ok, yeah I see that at the store... it's a pretty large cut from what
I can tell. I've used it for stews and such.

~john

"levelwave" wrote:
> "Sheldon" wrote:
>
> > The most flavorful steak is a chuck steak.
>
> Is that cut from what is labeled a "chuck roast" in the supermarket?

Chuck is the entire primal cut. There are many ways to portion the
chuck section; roasts, steaks, stew, ground.

Just as there are various chuck roasts so are there various chuck
steaks... and different meat cutters prepare chuck differently, and in
in different geographical locations different terminology is used.
One pretty much needs to try different cuts (same as with any meat
cut) to discover which they prefer.

Perhaps this will help: http://www.yellowsheet.com/retail

What's shown here as an under blade roast makes a great grilled
steak. The trick to tender chuck steak is that it should never have
been frozen... which is true for all beef. People who spend good
money on expensive tender beef cuts and then pop them in their freezer
are idiots. If you're going to use beef for stew or cook it well done
freezing doesn't matter, but if beef is going to be cooked to med or
rarer it should never have been frozen, and that's for ground beef for
burgers too... of course no one should ever buy preground mystery
meat, not only does it need to be cooked well done anyway, you don't
know what/who is in it.

Sheldon

On Mar 7, 9:25 am, "jrobinson" > wrote:
> Ok, yeah I see that at the store... it's a pretty large cut from what
> I can tell. I've used it for stews and such.
>
> ~john


Damnit... did it again, posted under the wrong email. Bring on the
spam... ugh

~john