Where's the Beef?
Eureka! You’ve finally done it, this is it, this steak will be melt in
your mouth tender just like the ones at your favorite steakhouse. You carefully
examine the bite of porterhouse steak on the end of your fork. The exterior
of the steak is seared to a dark crusty brown and seasoned to perfection (just
like the guy on Food Network said it should be), the interior is a perfect
medium rare. Now for the moment of truth, you lift fork to mouth and as you
start to chew you realize that once again it’s not anywhere even remotely
close to what you get at your local steakery. You throw up your hands in mock
surrender and vow you’ll either quit trying and resign yourself to mediocrity
when it comes to steak at home and or be willing to fork over the $25-$40 per
person for a phenomenal night at your favorite neighborhood restaurant. You
reason to yourself that it must be some secret spice mix the chef will take
with him to the grave or maybe it’s a high tech grilling device of some
sort?
Last quarter I talked about the indescribable taste difference when you get your tomatoes and other vegetables from a local farmer’s market. Well, the same holds true when it comes to steak and other cuts of meat. There is a world of difference in tenderness and the flavor of steaks that will vary enormously from store to store. The most important thing in your quest for the ultimate steak is marbling, which is the amount of fat a piece of meat has. The more marbling or streaks of fat a steak has the more juicy ,tender and flavorful the steak will be. Degrees of marbling are rated by the USDA ; Prime -incredible the top of the line melt in your mouth , Choice- wonderful, tender and flavorful, Select - very little marbling, less tender and less flavor and the lower levels which are usually only used for ground meat, canning etc.
Buying steak at one of the grocery chains can be anywhere from good
to awful. The real problem is the fine print on many if not most meat
packages at all the chain stores nowadays .Let me get up on my soapbox
for a moment. An insidious plot was hatched about ten to fifteen years
ago. We started seeing “up to 10% solution added” on the
meat labels. Basically they are pre brining the meat or adding flavored
salt water to the meat.
Now don’t get me wrong, brining is a great process, it adds lots
of flavor and will keep the meat juicy and tender (it also greatly increases
shelf life for the stores). But if I want to brine a piece of meat I
can do it at home for a penny or two. I’m just really opposed
to spending $10.99 a pound of my hard earned paycheck for a piece of
meat that has had its weight artificially increased with salt water
( in some cases up to 22%!) Honestly if you start with good USDA Choice
steak no brining would ever be necessary. USDA prime is what most restaurants
use. For the home chef USDA Choice will produce wonderful results. Within
each classification there are two or three sub categories:
Prime + -11% and above marbling
Prime o - 9.5% - 11%
Prime – - 8% - 9.5%
Choice + - 7%- 8%
Choice o - 5% - 6%
Choice - - 4%-5%
Select + - 3.5% - 4%
Select - - 3% - 3.5%
Now the labels at your local Biggie Mart are only labeled choice or
select. This means you could end up buying a steak labeled choice with
only 4% marbling, the same quality as a high end select, which will
make for a pretty crummy dining experience!
Ok at this point you’re probably saying “I give up its hopeless”.
Let me make it simple for you. There are still a few small family owned
stores around that have honest to goodness real butchers. These stores
will usually carry USDA choice meat on the high end of the scale, which
can sometimes be close to or the same as low end prime!
One of my favorite places is Wohlner’s, located at 64th and Center.
I’d heard a lot about Wohlner’s but I only recently made
it over to the old location on Leavenworth a few months before they
moved. I was trying out a new steak recipe and needed a thicker cut
than what they had in the case. The butcher without hesitation pulled
out new package of meat and custom cut and trimmed a beautiful 1 ½ inch
thick porterhouse steak, all done with a genuine smile and true customer
service. Since the porterhouse steak was on sale, the price was the
same or less than what the chain stores were offering and the steak
itself was incredible; juicy tender and flavorful( just like my favorite
steakhouse for a fraction of the cost)! Needless to say I’ve been
making stops at Wohlner’s a part of my regular routine.
So,” where’s the beef”? Armed with a few good recipes
and your new skills as a master steakologist you can confidently say “my
house”!
Be sure to check out the website for my pictures of a trip to Wohlner’s and my new recipe for pepper crusted New York strips with cognac morel cream sauce. Also be sure to send me an email or stop in to the leasing office to sign up for a chance to win a gourmet Valentine’s Day dinner. The winner will receive a certificate good for Two N.Y. strips and all the ingredients, so that you can try out my recipe for you and your special someone on Valentines Day. The winner will also receive an excellent bottle VSOP Bache Gabrielsen cognac, generously donated by J & M Heritage imports.
Here's a list of some of the best local steakhouses for when you don't feel like cooking:
| Anthony's 72nd & F 331.7575 |
Mahogany Prime 13665 California St 445.4380 |
| Brother Sebastian's 1350 S 119th St 330.0300 |
Omaha Prime 415 S 11th St 341.7040 |
Cascio's |
Piccolo Pete's 2202 S 20th St 342.9038 |
The Drover |
Pink Poodle 633 Old Lincoln Highway Crescent, IA 545.3744 |
Gorat's |
Spencer's For Steaks and Chops 102 S 10th St 280.8888 |
