Steak Questions

[bowens]

So, having read the Outback thread, I have a couple of questions for the membership.
1. How do you describe a "good" or "great" steak?
2. How much are you willing to pay for said steak?

I'm curious, because I always thought Outback had a good steak, but it seems I'm in the minority. Do I need to scrap my original thoughts and work harder to become a steak snob??? [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[Dominic]

I'll pay 60 bucks for a great steak.

[MrWookie]

My grandfather was an angus farmer. The ones he was fattening were fed the corn he grew in his fields every morning and evening. His cows always sold for top dollar. You could see the whole auction house perk up when they announced that his cows were coming up for sale next. They went directly to the finest steak houses in NY and Chicago. When we'd visit the farm when I was a kid, we'd routinely have steaks from his cows. I'll pay $0 for an out of this world steak [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]. Unfortunately, he had to give up farming when he had a stroke while I was still young.

[GambleGamble]

I paid $92 for an australian kobe steak, I was very dissapointed, but will pay obviously outrageous amounts for the chanve at a great steak, on average Ill pay between 40 to 60

[ScottieK]

I like steaks how my dad and I make them...seared to hold in juices, medium rare or medium. Olive oil and pepper on both sides, grilled over charcoal.

Description? So tender you want to chew it forever. So flavorful that you dare not put anything else on it. So thick you wonder if you can really eat all of it.

Ruth's Chris does make a great steak, but I'm not a butter fiend. IIRC, $50-$60 a steak. Capital City Grill in KC makes a ribeye rubbed with Kona coffee grounds that is also pretty damned good. Same price range.

ScottieK

[OneChipWarrior]

If I say I don't like Steak, is it just becuase I've always had bad luck with the limited sample I've eaten? Or do some people just not like steaks?

[sushijerk]

Steak snobbery is one of the greatest pleasures in life and is less expensive than wine snobbery. It is also less gay than clothing/accessory snobbery.

There are two criteria for steak. The cut, and the prep. Various people prefer different cuts, but in most cases the difference comes out to the marbling of the meat, aka the fat deposits within the muscle. More marbling will result in a more tender and more flavorful steak, and marbled cuts will be more expensive than leaner cuts.

Also, most people are under the impression and the fresher the cut of meat is that is used for a steak, the better the steak. This is untrue. True steakhouse steaks are "dry-aged". Steak is big piece of muscle, which means by nature it is going to be tougher than say, a piece of pork belly. Tenderness in steak is achieved by leaving the steak in a controlled environment to decompose. As the meat "rots", enzymes break down the tougher fibers in the muscle, making the end result tender, with a "nuttier" flavor to the meat, although I can't vouch for the latter. The reason top steakhouse cuts are so expensive is because when steak is aged, there is an outer laying of inedible rotten meat which must be cut away before the steak can actually be cooked. Also, the dry aging process dehydrates the steak, meaning it loses almost 15-25% weight during the process. When you buy a 12 oz steak at Outback, it was probably a 12 oz cut. When you buy a 12 oz steak at a top rated steakhouse, it came from a much bigger piece of meat.

The best piece of traditional steak comes from Peter Lugar's in Brooklyn. Single steaks are $30-40 and the porterhouse for two (the best choice imho) is $72. This price is pretty much the standard at most top steakhouses in NYC.

Oh yea, too add to your snobdom make sure to ridicule anyone:
1) who orders white wine with steak
2) uses steak sauce
3) cuts their steak with the grain instead of against (although this is standard)

[peterchi]

[ QUOTE ]
My grandfather was an angus farmer. The ones he was fattening were fed the corn he grew in his fields every morning and evening. His cows always sold for top dollar. You could see the whole auction house perk up when they announced that his cows were coming up for sale next. They went directly to the finest steak houses in NY and Chicago. When we'd visit the farm when I was a kid, we'd routinely have steaks from his cows. I'll pay $0 for an out of this world steak [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]. Unfortunately, he had to give up farming when he had a stroke while I was still young.

[/ QUOTE ]
This is money.

My ex-gf's dad buys beef by the half-a-cow from a farmer in Wisconsin. He made us steaks from them, definitely one of the best steaks I've ever had. Also made us some meatloaf from it that was out of this world, but now I'm getting slightly off topic.

[miajag]

[ QUOTE ]
I'll pay 60 bucks for a great steak.

[/ QUOTE ]

A "great" steak can easily be had for $40 in my experience. (That's in a restaurant...if you're a good cook you can go to the butcher shop and grill a great steak yourself for like $20)

[AncientPC]

[ QUOTE ]
Description? So tender you want to chew it forever. So flavorful that you dare not put anything else on it. So thick you wonder if you can really eat all of it.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is an accurate description of a good steak. For me the first bite of the steak needs to almost melt in my mouth with just a little bit of chewiness with a seared, slightly crispy exterior to match.

However I dislike steak restaurants and would not pay more than $30 for one. I can get high quality meats shipped to me and make the steak exactly how I like it for cheaper.

Plus a lot of "steak" restaurants just plain f*ck up the steak. It's a big hit or miss so unless I've had good steak there before I'll order something else.