up until a few years ago, i never ate "store bought" steaks, and rarely ate one at a restaurant. my grandfather raised beef cattle, and then when i was in high school, my father took over the cattle operation. we always had our own cornfed and aged beef in the freezer. nothing could compare to it. unfortunately, a few years ago, my mother convinced my father that feeding out a steer for family use was too time consuming, expensive, blah, blah, blah. she nagged until he stopped. i still haven't forgiven her for that one. and you don't want to know the names that i still call her when i think about it. but i am like wee. i just like a good steak. rare to medium rare.
Do you know how to age beef at home? Any special equipment needed or something? I buy whole ribeyes from the supermarket when they go on sale. I would like to age it, but not sure how. I was told to let it sit in the frig up to 10 days, but that sounds too simple and potentially unsafe.
I have dry aged some small cuts but the link below will serve good instruction for the same. Good Luck! http://www.goodcooking.com/steak/dry_aging.htm
i'm not sure about the specifics because it was aged before it came home. something about hanging the whole (cleaned) carcass for a certain number of days (not sure but maybe at least 10?) before it was cut up. it needs to age before cutting. all i know is that i cannot buy beef anywhere the way my grandfather and father used to raise it. they picked out a young steer early so that one wasn't given antibiotics or anything. then, it was raised very specifically to get good growth and a good frame on him. only after they were satisfied that he was the proper size and age did they start corn feeding him to get the flavor they wanted. there wasn't a cut that wasn't incredible. even the ground beef had so much flavor, it was difficult to phuck up any dish!!! omg, i drool just thinking about the burgers even! i miss those days.
along the same lines, not exactly steak, but..... my uncle used to be the head of the sheep science dept at miss state until he retired a few years ago. he raised sheep and the best lamb chops and roasts i have ever had were ones he would send me. every few years he would pack in dry ice and ship me or my parents several packages of lamb. generally roasts and chops. *drool* can't find lamb like that in the super market either!!
The best steak I ever had was châteaubriand in a New York restaurant for an astronomical price, but for ordinary steaking, the rib-eye is my usual choice.
My husband has become quite a good steak chef at home. But our favorite place to eat out (when we have a babysitter and want to drop $100 on dinner) is Randy's Steakhouse in Frisco. The filet is incredible and comes out swimming in melted butter, on a white plate that is still sizzling as it's set in front of you. My husband gets his crawfish stuffed, which is the filet with a crawfish dressing. Also, we had filet in red wine sauce at Antoine's in the summer of '06. That was also to die for.
I don't really grill steaks that much, but I can tell you that a London Broil makes a really good gravy. Sirloin makes a great gravy too.
I like what I've seen called the Kansas City strip the best. It's a NY Strip with the bone still on. Not as fatty as a ribeye but more flavorful than a fillet. The best restaurant steak I've ever had was a 14 oz bone in fillet from Nick and Sam's in Dallas. Second best would be a place in Kentucky. I don't remember the name but it's right next to the Marriott golf resort. Most over rated steaks were: #1 Sullivans in Houston and BR - I've been multiple times and have not been impressed. Way over priced. #2 Cattleman's in Fort Worth - Quality was on par with Lone Star or TLC. Seriously, Outback is better. #3 Ditka's in Chicago - Wasn't bad but definitely did not live up to the billing or the price.
I will agree. For the prices they have the food is nowhere near what it should be. I would much rather head around the corner to Ruths Chris.
