A friend of mine, Rachael McCaskill (from Rachael Bakes, the Providence Alternative Market, and the Providence chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation), posed this question in the Primally RI Facebook group:
“Going to make my first steak tonight. A sirloin from Windmist Farm. I feel nourished when I eat grass-fed beef and have only been consuming it in ground or stock form. Any suggestions to help ease me into chewing on a piece of meat? #recoveredvegetarian”
Some tips on cooking good steak
- The key to a piece of meat is both quality product and mindful preparation. Cook it so it’s tender and juicy, not dry and chewy.
- Make a rub/marinade and let it hang out for as long as possible (starting the night before you’re planning to cook it is good). In something with some vinegar and citrus. Pickle juice is a good marinade ingredient.
- Let the meat come up to as close to room temp before cooking.*
- Brown it (in coconut oil is good) on a high heat briefly to lock in juices, then lower the heat, cover the dish, and slow-cook it for a while.
- Let it rest at least 5 minutes after cooking.*
PS. My favorite steak to cook is skirt steak. It’s nice and thin. It’s perfect to cube for a stew.
*Suggestions from Corey Ireland.
The fate of the steak in question
“I really enjoyed the steak. I rubbed it with a little lemon juice, crushed black peppercorns and large grain sea salt and let it sit at room temp for about 2 hours. Then seared each side on a super hot cast iron. Served it with local asparagus with tons of pasture butter and a cup of my homemade kombucha.” —Rachael
What are your meat-cooking tips? Add yours below and check back often for others’ suggestions. (I will also post additions to They Call Me Oystergirl’s Facebook page and maybe throw some in to the monthly newsletter once in a while.)
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Pork fat, baby !!!
vanessa says
Could you elaborate, please, Mr. Beck?
Slather with rendered pork fat mixed with garlic and rosemary. Take your fat back and cook down gently in cast iron to melt out fat. This is great to cook your steaks or burgers on the flat top. You can also render the fat in a pot of water (wet method) and cook at much higher temp - i.e. slather a roast with it..