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October 20, 2006

Steak a la me

Last night Joe and Anna came by for dinner. We had steaks with roasted potatoes, a simple garlic pasta, vegetables sauteed in butter and peach cobbler for desert. On the beverage side, Trang drank hard cider and some T-Daddies (her latest cocktail creation, it's a tropical explosion of coconut, pineapple, rum and all of the greatest things in the world), which she shared with Anna. Anna also joined Joe and me in some Sam Adams Octoberfest. Finally, Anna had some of a particularly exquisite late harvest Riesling that Trang and I have been enjoying recently.

Why am I telling you this? Oh yeah: to let you know my philosophy on steak. First off, I am a charcoal man. I do not believe in propane and propone accessories. Charcoal imparts a certain distinct taste that simply cannot be replicated with gas. Crucially for steak, only with charcoal can you achieve the truly extreme heat required for the first phase of the grilling process.

So here is how it works in my house. First, we grill only thick cut T-bones or New York Strips. I like to have a rub on my steak. The usual recipe, and the one employed last night, is a southwest kind of thing: equal parts chili powder, paprika and sugar. I think sugar is essential in steaks: its sweetness somehow tremedously amplifies the beautiful flavor action between charred sections and the marbeled richness just below them. Basically, you rub the steaks all over with this combination and then leave them in the fridge for 3-4 hours. Be sure to remove them one hour before grilling.

Second, light your fire. I have a big charcoal grill with enough grill surface to truly achieve separate temperature zones. Using only the "natural" charcoals sold at places like Whole Foods, begin building your zones. (I use "natural" charcoal, as opposed to briquettes, for two reasons: first, the "natural" charcoal creates a more convincing woodsy flavor; second, the "natural" charcoal burns to much higher temperatures and more quickly, which is ideal for steak.) You want one moderate sized pile and one really big pile, for moderate and really hot heat zones. Add in mesquite chips, wine barrel staves, etc.: whatever you can get your hands on that will add that really thin but clear smokey subtext to the whole thing. (Hickory, cherry, etc. and other hardwoods, which I use for slow smoking, could be used here but I think their talents are wasted in this setting: they are more useful for achieving deep penetration of a kind of rich, manly smoke.) At peak, you should have two temperature zones: one over which you can place your hand for less than one second and one over which you can do so for perhaps 2 seconds or so.*

At that point put your steaks down on the high heat zone for 2 minutes on each side. Following this, you shift to the lower heat zone and the timing differs depending on what you want:

For a rare steak:

Give it 30 seconds to a side on the lower heat zone.

For a medium rare steak:

Give it 1 minute to a side on the lower heat zone.

For a medium steak:

Give it 2 minutes to a side on the lower heat zone.

For well done steak:

Go to someone else's house.

After the first flip on the high heat, it is very important that you brush the side facing up with olive oil on each subsequent flip. This really immeasurably improves the surface texture (ie mouthfeel) of the steak.

Once you have completed grilling (and remember, the longest it should take is 8 minutes for medium; the shortest is 5 minutes for rare), let rest for 5-10 minutes.

*One other issue here is whether lighter fluid is acceptable. I have heard purists argue that they can taste the residual of the fluid in the food. However, my understanding is that, from a scientific standpoint, with a well-burning fire there should be nothing left of the fluid by the time meat meets heat. An interesting general truth about these "purists" is that none of them seem willing to take me up on a blind taste test to settle the matter.

Posted by dag at October 20, 2006 9:19 AM

Comments

Posted by: The Good Rabbi at October 20, 2006 3:09 PM

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