What a Steak Dinner Should Look Like

[Butch 3,456]

Damn you Evil and your infernal (excellent) reviews and links!

 

I'm going to be coming home 2 stone heavier after our trip to the USA now.

[Fatboyfat 361]

As with Jacky; I too found the standard of steak in the USA to be probably my biggest disapointment about the country, from a very early age; again probably just expecting too much through the boasts in movies etc. However, last year, on my final work contract in New York, I mentioned this continual disapointment to the CEO involved; who took me to this Peter Luger restaurant. In fact we had that very meal, and my view of USA steaks has been forever changed! The "Porterhouse" nomer got me at first, as in the UK that cut normally does not include the fillet and bone, and is generally just the outer part: In general there is no discriminating between the two ends of the cut, and it would be called a T-bone. The bacon concept was also novel to me, but good, and you are right, my host frowned upon my enquiry about a "peppercorn sauce", and refused to ask for it! Absolutely the very best steak meal I have ever had anywhere, and it was free !!!!

Next in line is Figlmuller in Vienna; on the recommendation of "Andy Cap"; for the ultimate Wiener Schnitzel.

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Really detailed info about Peter Luger's: http://www.eater.com/2014/7/7/6196861/the-porterhouse-at-peter-luger-steakhouse-in-new-york-city

 

Evil

[graymatter 153]

 

And in case anyone wants more info about the best steak houses in NYC, the U.S. and the world, take a look at these links:

 

https://www.zagat.com/l/new-york-city/best-steakhouses-in-nyc

http://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/best-steak-in-the-us

http://www.cntraveller.com/recommended/food/best-steak-restaurants-in-the-world

Evil

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The reason I asked the name of the restaurant is that I did a Tineye image search for the source of the photo you posted. It's a pic that is used by the Outback Steakhouse chain inside and outside the U.S.

 

www.outbacksteakhouse.com.au:

 

Outback3A.jpg

 

If there is a local restaurant in Perth that is ripping off an Outback signature dish and photo, the owner could be in real trouble. But if you had that steak in an Outback branch (is there one in Perth?), then you'll have a difficult time convincing many people that a corporate chain steakhouse serves a better product thaan Peter Luger.

 

Evil

 

Thanks for identifying the origins of that photograph.

 

In Perth we have a restaurant called Out Back Jacks and this is what I was thinking about. Not my favorite but my brothers and sisters often use it as a meeting place. I tend to avoid theme restaurants if I can help it. The image I was searching for was a 2 foot long steak kebab which is hung vertically from a chrome stand when delivered to your table. It looks impressive but your food gets cold too quickly.

 

I picked this image because it clearly looks more appetising than the one on display.

I am surprised that the USA has a restaurant called “outbacks” because this is an Australian term which refers to the interior of the continent but I suppose there is good reason for an Australian themed restaurant that specialises in steaks. Australia is one of the leading exporters of beef in the world and a good percentage of this market is to USA.

 

The USA also exports its beef so why buy it from Australia?.

 

The secret comes from the difference between grain fed and grass fed. The producers in the USA prefer to grain feed their top quality beef where as the Aussie farmers and big on grass feed. What’s the difference? Well the industry is split on which is the best.Grain feed produces more tender meat but the grass fed beef has better flavours. Which do you prefer? Tender or tasty?

At the moment grass fed is more popular with top restaurants and that results in 75% of Australia’s beef being exported. This annoys me because the demand has raised prices in the local market. Australia doesn’t subsidise its farmers like the US does, but our government uses interest rates to manipulate the value of the Aussie dollar. When the dollar is low our exports are very attractive which means the local market has limited supply and we have to pay $50 per kilo for good steaks.

I understand that the US market grades the meat with the top 3% graded as prime. Australia has similar grades of beef and I assure you that our prime beef compares very favourably with US prime beef but with smaller herds we have a higher percentage. Our grading system is called MSA and producers label all the quality meat this way. When you look at the various things that are checked to match up with the grading you realise how intricate it can be.

Just for interest sake the following list gets used.

 

• Body number and lot number – cattle from individual vendors will be kept in separate lots
• Carcase weight – important in determining weight for maturity
• Sex – male or female
• Tropical breed content– the hump height is also measured to guarantee the most accurate eating quality grade
• Hanging method– determined as being either Achilles hang or tenderstretch
• Hormonal growth promotants– will affect MSA score obtained for different muscles
• Ossification– measured to determine carcase maturity
• Marbling– using both the MSA and AUS-MEAT measurement systems
• Rib fat – a minimum of 3mm is required, measured at the AUS-MEAT standard site. Overall fat cover is also assessed including any hide puller damage
• pH and temperature– pH is measured using a pH meter and must be below 5.71. Temperature should be below 12˚C according to AUS-MEAT standards
• Meat colour – recorded using AUS-MEAT standard meat colour chips. Meat colours in the range of 1B to 3 are accepted depending on the abattoir or brand specification

So as a guide to determine the quality of steak I am happy with MSA quality beef.

 

Now I don’t know where Outback Restaurants get there steaks from but in a country of high quality beef, with a thorough testing system I believe that they are likely to purchase it locally using Aussie grass fe meat.

If Peter Lugar is only using USA grain fed beef as you are suggesting then they are missing out on some great flavours.

Your OP did talk about the ”look” of the steak dinner and my comments have been based on that statement, I will reaffirm that the pictures chosen do not look that appetising. If you genuinely believe that your picture looks superior then I will simply beg to differ. We all have opinions.

As to the “Best” steak houses in the world then I would not include This Peter Lugar restaurant in my top 100. I say this having never been there and I will give you my reasons.

 

Firstly the prices. I understand it is very expensive and yet the picture shows laminated tables and uncomfortable looking bentwood chairs. The table linen crockery and cutlery resemble a road side cafe rather than a top restaurant. I believe the owners motto is that “the customer is always wrong” and he has been likened to Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi. This is not what I would expect in a top restaurant.

I have already commented on the way the food looks and I will give them the benefit of the doubt due to poor photography. What I can’t excuse is he presentation with the cream of spinach, the slices of tomatoes and bowl of chips. These is absolutely no flair or imagination in the presentation and I can pick any of Perth’s ordinary restaurants to find better.

Please don’t tell me this is what passes as the “best in New York” or America. If it is then you need to get out more. It wouldn’t rate in my country. (Remember we expect good steaks from every place) Decor, flair and service make a huge difference.

[brotherbuzz 3,206]

These is absolutely no flair or imagination in the presentation

Perhaps if they "sprayed with extra oil to make it glisten and has probably got something underneath it to make it look plump" it would improve the ambiance. But then "The enhanced lighting takes out any imperfections and gives us the fresh appearance", which simply adds to the false presentation.

 

You crack me up dude. You get called out for passing off a picture from a chain restaurant and proceed to go off on another 'I'm not an American bashing' bash rather than show even a modicum of humbleness.

 

Never change

[MM 6,562]

All I can say is, I like creamed spinach!

[nkped 1,208]

Been away from the farm for a long time, but I don't recall any subsidy for beef production.

[yselmike 393]

You gotta love a menu when they don't need to put the prices on it.

 

It takes a special skill to photograph food to make it look good. Unfortunately. the photographs in this thread don't look appetising to me. The steaks look burnt on the outside and although they seem medium rare they look dried out. Why cream spinach when fresh looks, tastes and is so much better and calling sliced tomatoes a salad is taking liberties. I can't even suggest that the chips would pass muster. They are double fried but don't look crispy. As I said, the photographs probably don't do the food justice but maybe there are issues with the food.

 

I have included a photograph of a Sirloin steak crusted with herbs. I have had this steak several times and it tastes good but the one in the picture probably wouldn't. It will have been sprayed with extra oil to make it glisten and has probably got something underneath it to make it look plump. The enhanced lighting takes out any imperfections and gives us the fresh appearance.

 

sirloin.jpg

 

So which is the best steak...that is a good question and very. subjective

 

it looks like fillet steak certainly not sirloin, the sirloin is the large side of the porterhouse on the op.

[graymatter 153]

it looks like fillet steak certainly not sirloin, the sirloin is the large side of the porterhouse on the op.

 

https://www.google.com.au/?gws_rd=ssl#q=sirloin

 

I'm no butcher but it looks very similar to me.

[graymatter 153]

Been away from the farm for a long time, but I don't recall any subsidy for beef production.

 

 

There are many different subsidies at work and I'm not a US beef producer but a simple Wikipedia search would suggest that there are subsidies for beef production.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_subsidy

 

 

"An agricultural subsidy is a governmental subsidy paid to farmers and agribusinesses to supplement their income, manage the supply of agricultural commodities, and influence the cost and supply of such commodities. Examples of such commodities include; wheat, feed grains (grain used as fodder, such as maize or corn, sorghum, barley, and oats), cotton, milk, rice, peanuts, sugar, tobacco, oilseeds such as soybeans, and meat products such as beef, pork, and lamb and mutton."

 

To be fair the sudsidies in the beef industry are probably to do with the feed more than anything but they are there

 

Market distortions due to subsidies have led to an increase in corn fed cattle rather than grass fed.[54] Corn fed cattle require more antibiotics and their beef has a higher fat content.[54]

Edited April 26, 2015 by graymatter

[SlipSlopSlap 186]

I think I sort of agree with GM.

 

The OP pictures of the meal don't do much for me.

 

Slices of raw tomato and onion (while healthy) don't make a salad.

 

Creamed spinach is best left for your indian saag and chicken. (Freshly steamed spinach with a little garlic would tempt me).

 

At $50/$70 whatever the final price, I want the CHOICE of it being cooked to my preference (which is well done, I dislike uncooked meat) so they can fuck off on that score alone.

 

A good chef can cook a steak well done, not burnt on the outside, cooked all the way through and still have it tender and juicy.

 

PS I find my $39.99 per kilo fillet steak from Woolworths butchers is pretty bloody good (no pun intended) and after this discussion is looking like the decision for din dins tonight

 

EDIT PPS the chips do look pretty good though.

 

Edited April 27, 2015 by SlipSlopSlap

[Fatboyfat 361]

 

A good chef can cook a steak well done, not burnt on the outside, cooked all the way through and still have it tender and juicy.

 

 

However a really good (top) chef WON'T cook a steak like that! They know best ... you know !?!

[SlipSlopSlap 186]

However a really good (top) chef WON'T cook a steak like that! They know best ... you know !?!

 

I wouldn't know, I have only ever been to places that give me what I order.

 

I guess I need to go to a really top restaurant to not get what I want.

 

Yes, I can see your point...

[SlipSlopSlap 186]

PS this may blow your mind...

 

I drink whatever alcohol I fucking feel like regardless of what the dish is

[SlipSlopSlap 186]

And one last one...

 

For those who have never thought outside the box and suffer half cooked steak because they think it is the only way to keep it tender...

 

CUT IT THINNER!!!

 

I take the standard thick fillet and stand it on its edge and slice it through like a breadroll. It ends up about as thick as your finger.

 

It will grill to perfection... a little brown on the outside, cooked all the way through and melt in your mouth.

 

When did the whole world stop thinking for itself?

[BigDUSA 71]

I prefer my steak medium rare and I have no problem with guys who like their steak well done. I like Ruth Chris Steak house. She knows how to serve meat.

[atlas2 4,329]

I prefer my steak medium rare and I have no problem with guys who like their steak well done. I like Ruth Chris Steak house. She knows how to serve meat.

 

I like it rare….."Take its 'orns off and wipe its arse"

 

I had one last week so rare it helped me eat the salad!!

Edited April 29, 2015 by atlas2

[brotherbuzz 3,206]

 

I like it rare….."Take its 'orns off and wipe its arse"

 

I had one last week so rare it helped me eat the salad!!

Medium rare for me, with only salt and pepper to taste.

 

The old man used to come home from the bar with a couple of T-bones, toss 'em in a cast-iron skillet and proceed to smoke up the house at 10 pm or so. Good times.

[Gary 4,119]

The best steaks I have had in Thailand were from Neil's Steak house. You pick your own steak from a platter of raw steaks. You are charged by the gram. Expensive but very high quality US beef. Since I live upcountry, beef is no longer a part of my diet. I did buy some very expensive imported aged steaks in Udon Thani and several of them were spoiled. No refund or replacement. That guy, not surprisingly is no longer in business. It's now fish, chicken or pork. Actually what I miss the most is a good hamburger. McDonald's just doesn't cut it.

 

I like my steak pink in the center, not dripping blood but not over done either. Salt and pepper only. If I have to use steak sauce, that means the steak is no good. I had a truck driver friend in the US. He would ask the waiter/waitress if their steaks were frozen or thawed. If frozen, he would order something else. If thawed he would tell them exactly how to cook his steak. He told them to drop the steak on a hot grill and as soon as it hit, to turn it over on another part of the hot grill. He warned them if his steak was warm in the center, he would send it back. THAT is a bloody steak.

Edited April 29, 2015 by Gary

[BeerBelly 1,026]

I prefer my steak medium rare as that's what I think tastes best. I'm surprised so many people have found steaks overcooked to shoe leather status in the States. I suspect they simply order a steak well done and the cooks don't have experience cooking it that way as very very few people in the States would order it that way.

I have a Thai friend who moved to the States and loves a different chain steakhouse restaurant because they can do well done without over cooking it. It seems most Thai's order their steak that way, that is until they live with a Westerner who serves a steak that tastes much better cooked medium rare.

 

I've been using the oven-sear-sear method lately as well with very good results. More accurately, it is oven-rest-sear-sear-serve compared to the traditional sear-sear-oven-rest-serve method most high end restaurants use. The key to success with the oven-sear-sear is the use of a meat thermometer with an alarm or a watchful eye.

The theory behind it is that since the meat is warm out of the oven, the sear does not have to be as long. While searing cold meat, it takes longer to sear the outside, and the heat will end up over cooking the a lot of the interior.

 

I used to pan fry my steaks in cast iron, but never have I gotten great results for the same reason the sear-sear-oven method doesn't work (for me). That is, to get the interior of a thick steak cooked right, the meat closest to the exterior will simply be overcooked. I tried "The Steak" at Kitchen Bistro recently and they only pan fry their steaks, no oven at all. They could not get the cook right at all. The interior was well below medium rare.

 

I think I'll have steak and potatoes tonight.

[brotherbuzz 3,206]

Alton Brown would be proud of you BeerBelly .

 

I read about a method a while back and have been really happy with the results, though many may scoff at it. Cook it frozen. Seemed odd as hell but it works.

 

Edit in... I would never freeze a fresh piece of meat I planned on having that day, but I do buy a few extra steaks when they're on sale so freeze them for later.

Edited April 29, 2015 by brotherbuzz

[Kev 178]

Making me bloody hungry Beer Belly :-)

[MM 6,562]

 

 

I read about a method a while back and have been really happy with the results, though many may scoff at it. Cook it frozen. Seemed odd as hell but it works.

 

 

How do you do that?

[BigDUSA 71]

Actually what I miss the most is a good hamburger. McDonald's just doesn't cut it.

 

.

Carl's in Central Festival serves a good burger.

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

At $50/$70 whatever the final price, I want the CHOICE of it being cooked to my preference (which is well done, I dislike uncooked meat) so they can fuck off on that score alone.

I don't know why you got so emotional over a steak house in NYC. If you ever visit NYC, just don't go there. It's not like you'll be hurting for choice when it comes to steak houses or any other sort of restaurant.

 

Of course, customers can have a steak well-done at PL's should they want it that way. But the waiters may advise the customer that the USDA Prime (top 2-3% of U.S. beef) is better when coked at a lower temperature. That's because USDA Prime meat is heavily marbled, i.e., tendrils of fat run through it. The melting of the fat at an internal temperature of 125 F or lower contributes much to the flavor and juiciness of the steak, but that fat is lost at temperatures high enough to cook it well done.

 

Also, the beef PL uses is dry-aged in house for 28 days and dry-aged beef is best when cooked rare or medium rare as it has most flavor at that stage of "doneness." Those who like their meat well-done would be better off selecting a wet-aged cut of beef, but it really wouldn't matter if it is USDA Prime or Choice, as high temperature cooking blurs the distinction between the grades.

 

And there is one more reason for preferring a steak cooked medium rare or rare:

 

 

Evil

Edited April 29, 2015 by Evil Penevil