Hey, it's been a while since I wrote about anything fun. This week I was watching David clean some absolutely beautiful beef tenderloin and I thought "Hey, our residents really like beef." I have these deep thoughts now and then.
Anyway, there are some things you should know about the beef you eat, so here is a quick overview of one of our favorite proteins.
Most of the beef we eat in this country is grain fed-the cattle finishes it's life being fed straight grain-usually corn. This has been the standard since about the 1950's as farmers understood feeding grain to cattle concentrates their forage into a smaller area which frees up land for other uses. Grain fed beef is juicier, more flavorful and the cattle reach market weight sooner. Drawbacks are that it is not a normal diet for ruminants such as cattle and may lead to health problems in the livestock. This is hotly denied by many cattle ranchers and meat purveyors so be careful who you repeat that to.
Grass fed beef is much higher in vitamins and essential nutrients, as well as being much lower in fat. Grass-fed beef, can cost more money per pound. The cost lies behind the fact that it takes longer for grass-fed cattle to reach their processing weight on an all-grass diet. Raising beef this way, though more sustainable, is more expensive for the farmer. Grass fed beef can be very tasty but with the lack of marbling in the meat it is really only suitable as rare or medium rare in my opinion and will have a very different texture.
The processed beef is assigned a grade by the USDA. These grades are based on the meat's potential tenderness, juiciness, and flavor. The main factors that determine the quality grade are: marbling, age of the animal, muscle color and texture.
The biggest factor we will discuss is the marbling. Basically, this is the amount of intramuscular fat that the beef contains-small flecks of fat contained within the muscle. This is not the same as subcutaneous fat which is the stuff that you trim from the edge of your steak. A piece of meat with high marbling will be juicier, more flavorful and have an altogether tender texture when compared to beef that doesn't. Almost all retail beef falls into three grades, Select, Choice, and Prime. There are lower grades but these are not usually used for retail or restaurant sales.
The first, Select is high quality beef that does not offer much in the way of marbling, or fat distribution. Most of the meat you see in grocery stores is Select-about 65 to 70 % of the retail beef in the USA. Nothing at all wrong with this, but if you've ever wondered why a restaurant has better steaks than you cook on your own grill this may be why. It's leaner, there are fewer restrictions on the age of the animal and the color of the beef is not as big a concern. If you've ever had Grass fed beef by the way most of that is graded as Select as grass is not nearly as calorie laden as grain and leads to almost no marbling.
Most restaurants serve the next category which is Choice. Approximately 10-15% of US retail Beef is graded as Choice. There is a minimum amount of marbling, the color needs to be primarily light red. The challenge with Choice cuts for a Chef or Butcher is that there is a huge span between the best choice and minimum choice, with very little to indicate which s which. This is why certain marketing groups such as Certified Angus Beef (what we have used for about ten years), Gold Label and the like within the Choice grade have higher standards than the USDA as brands. A Chef simply ordering Choice beef rolls the dice a bit in terms of what he will get but a Chef ordering CAB Choice knows that the marbling and other quality factors are much higher.
The highest USDA grade is Prime. Only about 2% of the beef served in this country qualifies as Prime Beef. This beef has the best color, the highest amount of marbling and the highest standards of quality-as well as the highest price tag. This beef will be the juiciest and most flavorful option for our dining program. Within the category of Prime is Wagyu or Kobe beef, which meets all the same criteria and is the very best option within the category of the very best. You may see Kobe or Wagyu from time to time as we work it into our menus.
Well this is all well and good you may say, but how do I know that I am ordering my steak the way I want it? Good question. Let's take a look.
So grilled beef in this country is ordered in one or five standard ways. Rare, Medium Rare, Medium, Medium well, and Well.
Rare; Steaks cooked to Rare will be finished at around 120 degrees. The center of the steak will be red and cool. Rare is a great way to go for cuts that might be thinner or may not be as tender like Hanger or Skirt steak. The drawback to Rare is that all that nice expensive marbling isn't melted at all so you lose some of the juiciness.
Medium Rare; 125-130 degrees, give or take a few. Medium rare steak will have warm red center This is a near perfect steak texture with a nice brown crust, and maximum juiciness. Any cut of beef is appropriate for this temperature. The fat is either soft or melted, the outside has enough charring to concentrate the flavor, really have to stress that this is what all chefs want you to order.
Medium; 135-145°F). The center is warm, pink, and slightly cooked. This is good if you don't like your steak "bloody" but still want it juicy. This is good for loin cuts like ribeye, strip steak or tenderloin. Might be ok for Sirloin but only if it is really high quality and has time for the meat to "rest". Remember, any good steak needs about five minutes off the grill for the juices to redistribute and cool a bit. Even a perfectly cooked steak will leak all it's juice and color all over the plate if it doesn't rest- leaving a messy overcooked disappointment. Don't ever rush the grill cook.
Medium Well; 150-155°F. A bit of pink in the center, but mostly brown throughout. This steak is cooked, no doubt about it. With a good quality like Prime and a cook that has time to rest the meat, this is still juicy but not nearly as much as it was. I would avoid Flank steak, Skirt, Hanger, or Sirloin cooked this much, you will be disappointed.
Well; 155 -165 degrees. This steak is finished. There is no trace of pink, and the texture is very firm. The outside is dark, and you will need plenty of gravy and possibly a beer to enjoy it.
Some people like to order their steak Pittsburgh style also known as a Black and Blue. So this is where the outside of the steak is charred nearly "black" while the inside is still entirely raw or "blue".
It has been said that the "original" method of preparation was by searing the meat with a welding torch. Whether this is true or not is unknown. Another method, originates from the region's steel mills and the practice of workers cooking a steak on a cooling piece of steel. The temperature of the steel would be such that it would be impossible to do more than char the outside of the steak while keeping anything worth eating. One popular version of this myth is that steel workers would bring raw steaks to work and, on their lunch break, throw them against the huge searing-hot molten steel "tubs". The steak would burn almost immediately and then fall off, after which they would put the other side of the steak up against the tub to finish it. Whether any of these origins are genuine or just a play on Pittsburgh's industrial image is debatable. I have known Chefs from Pittsburgh who claim that no one eats this way and they get pretty testy about it so be careful. I certainly don't recommend you order your steak Black and Blue, I just find it interesting how food folklore develops.
Thanks for listening, as always we purchase only the finest beef, and we know how to handle it. Please call me if you have any questions, about this or any aspect of our Menus.
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