2008-08-31 - By Steve Graves, Ask-A-Butcher.com
I hope every one is enjoying the Labor Day weekend spending time with family and enjoying some great foods from your grill. For those of you in the path of Hurricane Gustave, my thoughts are with you, please take all precautions to protect yourself and your family.
From Bob, “Could you give me a few tips on grilling/seasoning the perfect Rib Eye on my gas grill?”
Get a Rib Eye at least 1½" thick, no thinner, and hopefully USDA Choice or higher. But I'm slowly changing my mind on this.
You don't want to cover up the taste of the beef, so just season it with Kosher Salt and fresh ground black pepper. For a little more kick, you could use my steak seasoning.
Light just one burner on your gas grill, about medium or just a tad lower. Let it heat up for about 15 minutes. We are looking for a temperature of around 250°-300° inside the grill. Now, place your Rib Eye on the top rack OPPOSITE the flame or fire (Bear with me, I'll explain more at the end). Let the meat stay there about 20-30 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the steak reaches 100°. Use a quick reading meat thermometer for this. Take the steak off the grill, cover it with foil.
Now, crank up the heat/flame on your grill to HIGH. After about 5-10 minutes, put the steak back on directly over the flame, flipping a couple times until your desired doneness...I prefer medium-rare....about 135°. Take the steak off the grill, let it sit for 5 minutes and then serve. Letting the steak sit for a few minutes allows the juices to redistribute themselves, so you won't have a big puddle of blood when you cut into it.
Whoooaaaaa......the method you just described goes against every thing I've ever learned about cooking a steak!!!!!
That's right. It's just been proven that 'searing' steaks at the beginning damages the cells on the meat, ruining a perfectly good steak. Searing DOES NOT hold in the juices, sorry. The magazine, "Cooks Illustrated" and Alton Brown, of "Good Eats" have done extensive testing on this, and they advocate the 'reverse sear', which I described above.
More information can be found here........"To Sear or, NOT To Sear?"
“G'day! I'm an Aussie who just moved to the US recently and thought I would try my hand at grilling some ribs. I bought a pack (10lb) of pork ribs from Costco yesterday and upon opening them today was quite taken aback by a very strong sulfur smell coming out of the packet. The ribs look normal, but the smell is very strong!! I've rinsed them before putting them in the freezer, but am very worried about whether they are going to give me a bad case of food poisoning if I eat them. Are they still good or have a wasted $30?
Eddie”
Morning Eddie....welcome to the US! Sometimes there will be a 'sulfur like' smell when you first open the cryovac, even on fresh looking ribs. This is part of the bacterial reaction of aging inside the plastic and most times dissipates after a few minutes of air drying or a rinse in cold water. If the smell doesn't go away in, say, 30 minutes, take them back for a replacement or refund.
However, the first rule of thumb is up to you.....if in doubt, throw it out (well, take them back to the store, but you know what I mean. Good Luck.
From HN, “How is the percent of lean to fat determined in making ground meats like
hamburger. Surly the butcher doesn’t cut up and separate the two and then
weigh each like I have to do when I grind and mix my own at home. And I know
meat inspectors don't separate the fat from the lean in hamburger and weigh
each one. What's their secret that would make this easier for me, the home
grinder? Thanks”
Up until a few years ago, all butchers determined the fat-to-lean ration by
eye balling it". No kidding. It takes practice, but it can be done.
Nowadays, with boxed meat and pre-trimmed portions, meat trimmings are a
thing of the past. There will be some during processing, but not much. Meat
processors make what they call "chub" hamburger available for sale to the
markets in leanness ratio's of 73/27, 75/25, 80/20, 81/19, 85/15, 90/10, 91/9
93/7, 97/3. The 73/27 being plain hamburger and the 97/3 being the leanest,
or ground sirloin (what ever they call it in different parts of the country)
These "chubs" have been pre-chipped, or coarse ground, only once and
require more grinding at market level. Sometimes the butcher will grind his
trimmings with these "chubs".
How are the chub's fat content determined? The meat processors will get in
some totally lean meat, mostly whole muscles, and add fat percentages
accordingly to get the desired finished product.
Some markets, usually your small supers and meat markets, do not use these
chubs (thankfully). They will grind straight untrimmed Chuck Rolls for an
80/20 mix and whole untrimmed Bottom Rounds for a 90/10. For leaner ground
beef, a trimmed Sirloin Tip will produce you 95/5 ratio.
How does the meat inspector determine if the store/market is selling what it
says on the label of the ground beef? He has a little test kit with him
(looks like a briefcase) that contains scales, an infrared cooker and
several test tubes. He will make a patty out of the hamburger to be tested
about the size of a silver dollar pancake. Normal weight range .20 of a
pound. He'll put that patty on the cooker and literally cook it very well
done. The fat drips out of the cooking burger into one of the test tubes,
which will be weighed after cooking to determine the fat content. Nifty huh?
The fat content can come in UNDER what the label says, but never OVER.
Depending on how lean you like your burger, I would suggest that for Ground
Chuck, ask for a piece of Chuck Roll, or Shoulder Clod. If you like Ground
Round, ask for some Bottom or Eye Round. Leaner meat? Ask for Sirloin Tip.
You may, or may not, have to trim a little extra before grinding. It's
entirely up to you. Good to see that you are grinding your own meat, unless
you've got a butcher you can trust. More on grinding meat at home can be found here.
Something light for a great summer dinner side salad
Kiwi & Tomato Salad
¾-1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
¾-1 cup peeled & chopped Kiwi fruit
Dressing
2 TBS Raspberry Vinaigrette (light, if possible)
1 TBS Honey
½ TBS Balsamic Vinegar
Whisk the dressing together and pour over the tomatoes and the Kiwi. Mix well and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
This would be great with some chopped cucumber or zucchini added to it, as well
I've tried most of the popular commercial 'no salt' seasonings on the market today and have not been satisfied with them at all. I think they just put too many spices and herbs in them, so I've made my own with just eight ingredients.
AAB’s 'NO SALT' Rub
½ cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
½ cup Turbinado (raw) sugar
½ cup granulated garlic powder
½ cup ground black pepper
¼ cup granulated onion powder
1/8 cup smoked paprika
1/8 cup Penzey’s Chili powder, medium hot
1/8 cup thyme
Mix well and then run through the spice mill on medium grind. Store in an airtight container.
This may look sweet, but the combo of the chili powder and the thyme cut back on the sweetness, giving you a nice ‘no salt’ flavor and aftertaste.
Great on pork, chicken, fish and veggies.
