Prepping Premium Steaks for Cooking

Please tell us sometime about the "mouth-feel" must be pro lingo.
Klaus S

Think about a tender premium beef tenderloin cooked to perfection vs. the toughest chewiest piece of steak you have every eaten. Completely different textures in your mouth. Or Penne pasta and Angel Hair pasta (very thin spaghetti). The minute you bite into food, your brain is unconsciously evaluating the food on texture, often even before you evaluate the flavor of the food. It is an important part of the eating experience for everyone, even if you weren't aware of it.

Here's the Wikipedia description:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texture_(food)

Here's a good blog post on it:
http://nourishedbodymind.wordpress.com/2008/05/02/melts-in-your-mouth/

Hope this helps.

Thank you so much.
What a great inside and so true.
Thanks
Klaus S

Mouth feel is also very big with sauces. Imagine a smooth and silky sauce compared to one that has been reduced too far. A silky sauce will melt and almost glide in your mouth.

Whereas a sauce that is too thick, (like a demi glace that has been reduced too far) will feel almost gummy in the mouth. You know that "feeling" when the sauce almost sticks to your mouth because it is just a bit too thick...this is all about the "mouth feel".

Fantastic!
Great info. I would not know where to find this kind of guidance.
I love it!
Thanks for the inside scoop.
I new I did the right thing when I sighed up for ROUXBE.com
Regards
Klaus S.

One of the questions asks steaks should be tempered by bringing to room temperature 1-2 hours before cooking. I would like submit that the question (the answer was true) should actually say bring to room temperature FOR 1-2 hours before cooking.

Is there a preferred type of oil to use? It looked like EVOO in the video

I would also love to know if EVOO is the oil of choice, and if the quality matters?

There is a rather long thread on this subject that was started in the pan frying lesson discussion tab.

The short answer...yes quality of olive oil matters - here is a Drill-down called "Choosing Quality Olive Oil"

As for what to use...we almost always use grapeseed oil when pan frying, as it has a higher smoke point. Again here is a link to a Drill-down called "Smoking Points of Oil"

Hope this helps!

Thanks Dawn, shortly after I posted my previous question I found the lesson on Pan Frying and read the thread you just linked. Tonight I made Prime Rib Eye steaks (using grapeseed oil!) with Cognac-Pepper sauce, using the fresh batch of chicken stock I made yesterday, following the instructions on this site. It was great! I absolutely LOVE your site. Thank you so much for doing this.

Thanks David...so glad we could help! I too love rib eye steaks, they are by far my favorite...so juicy and full of flavor.

Do you need to wash steak or chicken when you take it home before cooking them?

Depends. If your chicken needs washing, it wasn't too fresh. Check the date. But smell it. If it doesn't smell of anything, simply pat dry.

Vacuum sealed meat needs to be washed and patted dry as its blood develops an off odour in an anaerobic environment. Wrapped red meat does not; simply pat dry. If it does smell, it has likely gone bad.

Always unwrap packed meat and pat dry immediately when you take them home. Cook within a day or so. If not, marinate or brine for longer storage time.

What causes the black crust on the steak after it's been out for too long?

Max, my guess is your steak is simply drying out, the black crust you see is... beef jerky!

I did some research on the crust topic. Turns out it has to do with the hemoglobin in the blood oxidizing. Our blood does the same thing.

http://ask.metafilter.com/21292/Why-does-meat-turn-dark

In this lesson just before cooking the steaks are lightly coated with oil. But in the lesson on how to cook premium steaks the pan is heated, oil is added, and then the steaks put in when the oil has just started to smoke. My question is whether the step of oiling the steak (which makes my hands greasy) can be omitted because the pan will have oil in it, or if there is a reason to oil both the steaks and the pan?

Good observation. Here again, you have options. You can either oil the steaks beforehand for additional moisture or you can simply season the steaks and put oil in the pan prior to cooking. It's up to you and what works for you best. Cheers!

If I buy steaks and I want to freeze a portion, would I air dry the steaks and the freeze them or vice versa?

Also, if I want to cook a steak a couple of days after buying it (before having to freeze it), what is the best method to store it for the first day or two before air drying, tempering, then cooking?

Air dry the steaks after you thaw them. As for storing the steaks before cooking, here is another forum thread on this topic. Cheers!

Question # 4 asks true or false, you can temper the steak by putting directly into water. the answer they say is true, but I say false, because to me it left out the most important word , and that was placing it in a "resealable bag", then placing in warm water, as is demonstrated in question 7, with the answer being all of the above, and (b) stating you can temper by placing in a sealable bag in warm water 30 min. I answered #4 as false because to me without the words "resealable bag", it implies you just place the steak in water, please explain how I could have misunderstood question 4

You didn't misunderstand the question regarding tempering steaks by putting them directly in water. You are correct that the answer is, in fact, false because the words "resealable bag" are missing from the question. If you answered "false", the quiz marks your answer as correct. I checked the quiz and everything seems to be working fine. If you are having problems with the quiz where it is marking "true" as the correct answer, please let us know and we'll contact you offline to sort it out. Cheers!

I am cooking pork chops this week. Do I need to air dry them like steaks and should they also be tempered?

Air dry only to make sure they are dry, not aged. I don't recommend tempering small pieces of pork simply because it's a meat more susceptible to going off than red meat. Though some chefs do temper all meats, thís is one I'm not comfortable seeing the home cook do. But make sure to rest your chops after they are cooked just like a steak.

I have some bacon wrapped pork tenderloin steaks 1 3/4 inches thick. They look just like the beef ones. Would they be cooked the same way?

Yes these can be cooked using this method but of course you won't want to serve them rare or anything like that. Cheers!

I cooked them last night flipping often and they were terrific, tender and juicy, perfectly done. We had them with collard greens and roasted sweet and white potatoes. Yum!

The question was the easiest way to temper steaks, would it not be easier to set the oven to 200 degrees turn it off and allow the steaks to come to room temp. in approx. 30 minutes?

The way you suggested would be the fastest way; however, the easiest way is to not have to turn on the oven. Cheers!

I know for prepping premium steak you only season with a dry rub and try to keep the meat nice and dry. What about non-premium steaks (sirlion, flank, etc) I see alot of recipes that call for marinating a steak. That is opposite of trying to dry out a steak. So what kinds of steaks would be marinated or should you not marinate any?

Good question. You might want to check out the lesson on How to Marinate Foods. We cover, in great detail, the types of foods that are suitable for marinating. Cheers!

will garlic salt or some other season besides salt and pepper help enchance the flavor of the steak itself?

How one seasons their steaks is ultimately up to them. We are just saying that a good steak with nice marbling often needs no more than a bit of salt and pepper. It is the flavor of the meat that is most appreciated; but, this is up to the cook. If you like garlic salt and other seasonings, then you are free to give it a try. To know for sure, it is best to do a taste test - one steak with S/P and one with your other seasonings. Hope this helps. Cheers!

When tempering a steak, can you season it at this time also, or after tempering it?

This is covered in the topic on Seasoning Steaks. It's up to you. Some people prefer to season in advance of cooking, some just before and some after. You'll have to test it for yourself to see what you prefer. Just keep in mind that if seasoning beforehand, you'll need to pat the steak dry before cooking. Again, refer to the lesson for more information on this. Cheers!

I thought that eating pork cooked to temp had become acceptable again? Trichinosis being the concern here, of which there hasn't been a documented case in something like 18 years. I hope so because I have been eating pork to temp for quite some time now.

Next is that I was told the grape seed oil is very similar in flavor to olive oil, have you found this to be true?

My thought here is, man this site rocks!

With pork, there was a threat of trichinosis long ago; however, there is no concern in commercial pork today. Government guidelines still recommend cooking pork to at least 165F, but many chefs prefer to cook lean cuts of pork to as low as 145F so the meat is still slightly pink in the center. It is up to you, the cook, to determine what you are most comfortable with though.

UPDATE: Looks like the USDA revised their recommendations for cooking pork. Check out: USDA and Rouxbe Facebook Page - yay!

Regarding oil...there are so many different types of olive oils that have very distinct flavors. Grapeseed oil is very neutral in flavor and does not compare to the different flavor notes that olive oils provide. It is best to taste each type and compare them for yourself and also try a variety of olive oils to find one that suits your tastes.

Lastly, in the future, it would be better if you start a new forum thread if your question is not directly related to the content of the lesson. This helps us keep the focus for other students so they do not have too many subjects to read through. Thanks!

I am from New Orleans and love a little but not overwhelming spice. Should I just put the seasoning on and pat dry or should I sear it first and can you suggest a nice spice for rib eyes.

As mentioned in Topic 4 of the lesson, seasoning is quite a personal thing, so it's hard to say what you should do and which spice you should use. Personally, if I was using a spice, I would add it at the same time I seasoned with the salt, which for me is before I sear the meat. This allows the seasoning to penetrate the meat somewhat. As for what spices to use, you may want to start simple, maybe start with some chili flakes and then work you way from there. Cheers!

Hi. Evend if i'm going to braise my dry aged meat that has developed some black spots, should I trim these spots off? Thanls in advance.

It really depends just how dry they are. If they are really dry, then yes you may want to trim them off; otherwise, they should be fine. Cheers!

Can you tell me if you're supposed to season both sides of the meat or just one side.

Steaks, are generally seasoned on both sides, as shown in Topic 4 of this lesson (around the 00:44 second mark). Cheers!

Hi,

How about meat from the freezer?

Hi there, I am not 100% sure what you are asking in regards to meat from the freezer. Can you please clarify? Thanks!

Hi Kimberley. Sorry, I should have elaborated. The videos showed us how to prepare meats when it is from the butcher or from the fridge. But what if I keep my meats in the freezer? How do I temper them? Do I wash them first? How do I know they are ready to be cooked? How long do I have to wait? Thanks!

All meat that is frozen needs to be fully thawed before you can cook it. This means that it is best to let it thaw in the fridge or you can speed up the process by sealing it in a plastic bag and placing it in cold water. Once the meat has completely thawed, proceed with the techniques shown in the lesson (tempering, patting dry, seasoning, etc.). Cheers!

Thanks!
A) Why thaw with cold water?
B) And how do I know it is completely thawed? How long does this take?
C)Meats, either from the freezer, fridge or butcher should never be washed, is it? Why?

a) For food safety reasons, meat needs to stay cold until you start to prepare it. This is why cold water should be used to help thaw it.

b) You'll be able to tell if a steak is thawed through. It will feel like a fresh one. With larger cuts of meat, you will need to plan a bit in advance. For instance, a whole chicken can take a full day or more to thaw in the refrigerator (turkeys are longer) but when immersed in water, it can take a few hours. For larger cuts of meat (i.e. a roast), again, you'll need to plan in advance. You could insert a skewer or even a thermometer into the roast to see if it is thawed through.

c) You can rinse meats but it is very important to pat them dry, especially if you plan to cook them using a dry-heat cooking method. Cheers!

Thanks!

So meats can be thawed by putting them directly in water? It doesn't effect their quality?

One of the videos tells us to put oil on the steak after patting dry. What's the point in this, as we still have to put oil on the pan befors starting to cook, right?

No, as mentioned above, you should place the meat into a plastic bag, seal it completely and then submerge it into cold water. You may need to place something over top to weigh it down.

A thin coating of oil will help to promote even browning in the pan (even though a thin layer of oil is added to the pan) but this step is up to you. Try it once with and once without and see if you notice a difference. Cheers!