28 replies to this topic

[Mackus]

Got steaks from Trueth's this weekend.

 

Ribeye was $15/lb and tenderloin was $19/lb.  So about $5-6 more than I can get USDA choice for at the grocery store when on sale.  About equal to non-sale prices.  Ate the ribeyes Friday night and the filets on Saturday.

 

I don't know what grade equivalent the beef was, they don't post that at their counter and it was too crowded for me to be able to chat with the butchers.  But I thought both the ribeye and the filet were noticeably better than the USDA choice is when I get it from the grocery store or BJs (and I think the USDA choice at the grocery store is noticeably better than "ranchers reserve" or whatever non-graded beef they sell for a buck or two less per pound).  The ribeye had beautiful pieces of fat in them that were absolutely delicious, if you like that part of a ribeye (my wife doesn't, so I get to eat hers!).  The filets were very tender, you never get a ton of flavor in a filet but they were good.

[Mashed Potatoes]

Parts and Labor has super high quality meats and interesting cuts. http://www.partsandlaborbutchery.com/

 

For the best kosher butcher, Wasserman and Lemberger, (great stuff even if you don't keep kosher) https://www.facebook...anandlemberger/

[The Epic]

My neighborhood is having a rib cookoff and I am going all out and want to get ribs at a butcher.  Is Bullocks the place to go for that?

 

Rob, totally sorry for missing this. I'd have emphatically said yes. 

[The Epic]

FWIW, I did Trueth's as well (as well as Bullock's, which I talked about earlier in the thread). I'd probably prefer Bullock's, but they're both superb. I've probably made about 8 butcher shop runs since I started this thread. 

 

Nothing...nothing...beats a perfectly cooked ribeye. Maybe chicken and waffles. MAYBE. But it'd be close. 

[Mackus]

Nothing...nothing...beats a perfectly cooked ribeye. Maybe chicken and waffles. MAYBE. But it'd be close. 

 

You should look into sous vide cooking.  Can start with just an immersion circulator for about $100 (sometimes on sale for less, check on Black Friday).  I have an Anova and I love it.  You don't need to get a vacuum sealer, can just use zipper-lock bags and force the air out by submerging in water.

 

Steaks cooked to perfect doneness (with no possibility of over or under cooking) all the way through from end-to-end.  Then sear it on a smoking hot cast iron pan for an amazing crust.  I've recently started using my outdoor propane burner (the thing for steaming crabs or frying turkeys) to get the pan insanely hot, about 750 degrees when my indoor range only gets it up to about 550.  The crust I'm getting that way is wild.  Top end steakhouse quality, IMO.

[The Epic]

You should look into sous vide cooking.  Can start with just an immersion circulator for about $100 (sometimes on sale for less, check on Black Friday).  I have an Anova and I love it.  You don't need to get a vacuum sealer, can just use zipper-lock bags and force the air out by submerging in water.

 

Steaks cooked to perfect doneness (with no possibility of over or under cooking) all the way through from end-to-end.  Then sear it on a smoking hot cast iron pan for an amazing crust.  I've recently started using my outdoor propane burner (the thing for steaming crabs or frying turkeys) to get the pan insanely hot, about 750 degrees when my indoor range only gets it up to about 550.  The crust I'm getting that way is wild.  Top end steakhouse quality, IMO.

 

Huh. You know, I might have to think about making this purchase.

[Pedro Cerrano]

“Immersion Circulator” was McNulty’s mom’s nickname in college

[Mashed Potatoes]

You should look into sous vide cooking.  Can start with just an immersion circulator for about $100 (sometimes on sale for less, check on Black Friday).  I have an Anova and I love it.  You don't need to get a vacuum sealer, can just use zipper-lock bags and force the air out by submerging in water.

 

Steaks cooked to perfect doneness (with no possibility of over or under cooking) all the way through from end-to-end.  Then sear it on a smoking hot cast iron pan for an amazing crust.  I've recently started using my outdoor propane burner (the thing for steaming crabs or frying turkeys) to get the pan insanely hot, about 750 degrees when my indoor range only gets it up to about 550.  The crust I'm getting that way is wild.  Top end steakhouse quality, IMO.

 

I prefer the inner texture of a steak when done completely on the grill or in a hot cast iron pan over the sous vide then sear method.

[Mackus]

I prefer the inner texture of a steak when done completely on the grill or in a hot cast iron pan over the sous vide then sear method.

 

Hmm...I haven't noticed much textural difference.  How long of a sous vide bath have you given those steaks?  I've read that if you leave steak in for a long time (over 4 hours) that the texture starts to change and the meat breaks down a lot easier.  I haven't left any steaks in for long enough to find out, I haven't gone more than an hour or two.

 

I do think if you are finishing on the grill, that you get much less of a grilled/smoky flavor than you do cooking a steak entirely over the coals.  Whether that's a good or bad thing depends on the cut and personal preference.  I like that charred taste on a fatty, marbled cut like a ribeye, but not so much on something leaner like NY strip.