Marinating a $29.00/lb steak

[sepandee]

I bought two Striploins from The Butchers on Yonge (south of Lawrence). THey were quite expensive at $29/lb, so the total came to around $60. A one-time splurge.

I usually marinate my steaks in either a simple olive oil and dijon mix (rub it on the steak), or if I feel like the steak needs some taste, I'll add some onions around it, a bit of soy sauce, a tad bit of bbq sauce, dash of vinegar, beer (I even heard Coke from a person), and pepper.

But these are supposedly good steaks. SHoudl i even marinate it in anything?

[szw]

look up the ducasse method of cooking steak (youtube it).

deeeeelish.

[bogie]

Steaks like striploin, t-bone, porterhouse, tenderloin, rib and ribeye do not require marinating as they have enough fat to baste themselves during cooking. However, one of my favourite cuts is top sirloin (a real beef lovers cut IMHO) and I will marinate it overnight with soy sauce, wor. sauce, olive oil and fresh ground pepper b/c it is very lean and it helps to tenderize it before cooking.

[Edward Tyson]

I season my steaks with salt and pepper. I tie fresh rosemary and thyme to a small wood handle that i dip in melted butter to brush steaks after they have been on the grill for a few minutes. i do this a couple of times while they cook and when i pull them of the grill. The first thing I do after I take the steaks off the grill is rub them with head of garlic that i have cut in half. I sometimes put a mixture of EVOO, grey salt, and flat leaf parsley on the cutting board that I slice the steaks after they have rested.

[sparky403]

that;s a tough one - I would ask the bucher if he thought it was a foolish exercise to bother and see what he says.

When I do marinate, I usually use dejon, worshchire, garlic, EVOO, and Instant expresso (really excellent - use a bit more than you would pepper). When I do, but for this good of a steak I might just go S&P and Worschire.

[jmarcroyal]

My personal style, some oil, soy sauce, garlic powder, pepper, a bit of montreal steak spice. I like to score the meat in a checker pattern to make sure all the flavor gets deep inside, and then I put dab of puree garlic on top and rub it all into the meat. So damn good!

[sumdumgoy]

At $29/lb the meat should be dry aged, well marbled and spectacular.
A little EVOO, salt, pepper and grilled over lump charcoal is all you need.
If you want garlic, crush or finely dice a clove into melted butter and pour on.

The better the ingredients the less you have to add.
Just don't screw up the cooking!

[jmarcroyal]

As much as grilled is good, I kinda like cooking it on a pan with some garlic butter, sear up both sides nice and finish in the oven for a little bit while I finish cooking the sides. I just like the crust that you get from the pan

[sumdumgoy]

Me too.
Because I like a striploin cooked "Chicago" medium rare, I do just about the same thing.
Aggressively sear then roast to caramelize and warm through.

The difference is a hauntingly gorgeous, light smokiness which works best with the finest beef and a serious red wine like La Turque or La Tache.

[foodyDudey]

Is this organic meat from cows only fed on 3 week old kentucky bluegrass? Seriously, for that price they better be dry aged steaks.

Below you will see the 40 days dry aged steak I cooked up last night. All that I added was salt.
That steak was around $2.79/ 100 grams ($12.66 /lb) at the Cheese Boutique.

[grandgourmand]

40 days dry aged t-bone for less than $13/lb at Cheese Boutique? I thought that place was hideously expensive. That's actually a really good deal. 30-40 day dry-aged ribeyes at Cumbrae's are in the low 20s per lb.

But yeah, that Butchers pricing must reflect the "awesome" deal they've been providing through their coupons.

-----
Cumbrae's
481 Church St, Toronto, ON M4Y, CA

Cheese Boutique
45 Ripley Ave, Toronto, ON M6S, CA

[foodyDudey]

Even though I wanted to go to the Cheese Boutique for many years and often pass by, I never stopped in until made a special trip a few weeks ago. My wife and I spent about 90 minutes in there. And she never wants to spend more than 10 minutes to shop!

The meat section is really good, and the prices seem more than reasonable to me. I did notice that prices on certain other products seem higher than elsewhere, but not the meat.

I edited this post to mention that the service at the C.B. is amazing. If some of you have n't tried it out, it's worth a visit.

-----
Cheese Boutique
45 Ripley Ave, Toronto, ON M6S, CA

[Flexitarian]

Isn't there more to comparing steaks than days ages and what cut? Cumbrae selects what they sell (and charges more for it) on the basis of how the animal was raised, what it was fed, etc.

-----
Cumbrae's
481 Church St, Toronto, ON M4Y, CA

[grandgourmand]

ya ya. I'm just surprised Cheese BOutique doesn't charge more, based on my perception of their prices.

I didn't say I though Cumbrae's was too expensive (it's not cheap). I'm willing to pay their prices, because they deliver excellent product quality.

-----
Cumbrae's
481 Church St, Toronto, ON M4Y, CA

[foodyDudey]

I'm thinking that possibly Cheese Boutique has the coolers for aging cheese and the temperatures and humidy are also suitable for aging beef, so they somehow have a lower cost to age the beef than other places. I don't know for sure, but I can tell you it tastes great.

[JennaBean]

I'm inviting myself to your house for dinner. That steak looks fantastic!

[foodyDudey]

My wife said it was the best she had had in a very long time, and commented that the smell of the steak should be bottled so you can spray it in a home that is for sale just before the "open house" :-) I was also extremely pleased with that steak, which I cooked to medium rare over charcoal on the BBQ.

[bogie]

I would also be happy b/c that t-bone has an amazing piece of tenderloin on it! Often, when I see what some butchers cut as a t-bone and want outrageous prices for, I LMHO at the little triangular sliver of tenderloin.

[sepandee]

No, just organic grain-fed meat. That's it. I know, ridiculous. But I purchased one of those online deals they had put up a while ago. Let's just say I won't be buying their striploin anytime soon (their bacon is to die for though).

[Snarf]

They make a very decent steak rub.

[AdamD]

I like a little bit of rub when I am cooking an ordinary supermarket steak. Chipotle powder and garlic powder.

[AdamD]

Prime dry aged steak or something similar?
I would not marinate them or serve with any sauce.
A little oil, salt and pepper rubbed in right before cooking. Some folks like to top with a pat of butter while the steak is resting.

Less is more when you have really nice steaks.

[Kagemusha]

Agree. Less is more. Marinades often help cheap, lightly-aged, potentially tough steaks towards something better. Works for me during the summer if I'm pressured to feed steak to a hungry, potentially over-refreshed crowd.