American Steak?

[CharlieD]

I guess, before going into this whole discussion we should have asked original poster of how he/she makes the stake. Starting with the cut of meat used, the seasoning and the cooking method. After that we could have go into figuring out the "local south cuisine".

 

[CraigC]

Rib-eye is not a steak that should be marinated, IMO. Salt and pepper is all the seasoning it needs before cooking. Now if your doing flank steak, I like a nice marinade.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I'm going out on a limb here to ask if the OP has asked the picky steak eater what she means by a good old American steak. As we all know, taste is highly subjective, and takes into play past experiences with culture, family experiences, smell, how food looks, and tastes, textures, and memories of loved ones with whom food was shared. It is nearly impossible to make a specific kind of food for someone without them giving you a place to start. She needs to say how she likes it done, whether it's blue, to burnt. She needs to let you know if she likes it seasoned, or just likes the beef flavor to shine through. She has to tell you if what she was used to was corn fed, or grass fed, if she knows.

One can not know what another person likes without one of three situations;
1. She tells you in detail what makes a steak great to her
2. You've had the chance to observe her eating steaks of different types, and witnessed her response to them.
3. You've eaten what is to her, the perfect steak.

After that, it's simply conjecture

As an example, I once met a lady who stated that she made the most wonderful steaks. I and my wife were invited to dinner, and she cooked up her version of the most wonderful steaks. I watched her prepare the steak. She took perfectly good strip steak, seasoned it with salt, then liberally sprinkled baking soda over one side. Then she pierced it all over, strating that the baking powder would tenderize the meat. She did the same to the ohter side. Then, she picked up the steaks and put them on a hibachi, over hot charcoal. These were the worst steaks I had ever eaten, for my tastes. Yet, the lady who prepared them thought they were amazingly flavorful and tender.

That's an example of how wildly different tastes can be.

If you have no background, you have very little chance at success.

Oh, one other idea for you; do you know her family, i.e. her brother/sister/parents. If so, you could email them the same question about her beef eating preferences.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Addie]

The best advice I have ever had came from this forum. Salt the steak, wrap it for 24 hours, bring it to room temp and then sauté. You don't even have to pierce the meat for the salt to penetrate the meat. Perfect seasoning. I don't remember who gave us this advice, but a big Thank You to you.

 

[jennyema]

You Can Cooked by yourself try this recipe

Griff's American Grilled Black Pepper & Garlic Steak

Ingredients:

4 lbs. (approximate) thick cut rib eye steak (four steaks)

2&2/3 cups Italian dressing (cheap is good!)

8 tbsp. butter

4 large cloves minced garlic

2 tbsp. freshly ground black pepper (or more, if you love black pepper!)

Instructions:

Marinate the steak in the Italian dressing for at least 1/2 hour. In a small pan, melt the butter and add the garlic, heating slowly until the garlic is golden brown. Place steaks on hot grill (preferably a charcoal grill), sprinkling half of the pepper on steaks. When the first side is done, turn the steaks over and sprinkle the rest of pepper on steaks. With a spoon, pour the butter and garlic mixture over the top of steaks while they are still on grill.

I do not recommend marinating expensive ribeye steaks in cheap Italian dressing. That would ruin a damn good steak. Ribeyes are delicious on their own.

And if you pour melted butter on a steak while it's cooking over a live fire, it will probably catch on fire. Better to mount with compound butter when it's resting or on the plate.

 

[Kayelle]

She took perfectly good strip steak, seasoned it with salt, then liberally sprinkled baking soda over one side. Then she pierced it all over, strating that the baking powder would tenderize the meat. She did the same to the ohter side. Then, she picked up the steaks and put them on a hibachi, over hot charcoal. These were the worst steaks I had ever eaten, for my tastes. Yet, the lady who prepared them thought they were amazingly flavorful and tender.

So Chief, was it baking soda, or baking powder? Both sound horrible...

 

[Kayelle]

The best advice I have ever had came from this forum. Salt the steak, wrap it for 24 hours, bring it to room temp and then sauté. You don't even have to pierce the meat for the salt to penetrate the meat. Perfect seasoning. I don't remember who gave us this advice, but a big Thank You to you.

The first time I heard it here it came from BuckyTom......gosh I miss that guy!

 

[Mad Cook]

Shame on you,
I find your post rude, judgemental , and insulting.

Josie

Why?

 

[Addie]

I do not recommend marinating expensive ribeye steaks in cheap Italian dressing. That would ruin a damn good steak. Ribeyes are delicious on their own.

And if you pour melted butter on a steak while it's cooking over a live fire, it will probably catch on fire. Better to mount with compound butter when it's resting or on the plate.

I wouldn't recommend marinating even the cheapest cut of meat in cheap Italian dressing. There are too many recipes for a good marinade. Better to do some research instead.

 

[Kman]

"KISS" works great and all you need is a grill. Steaks do vary in taste and tenderness depending on cut,grade,diet and environment of the animal. I would suggest a ribeye with salt ,garlic and pepper. Get your grill extremely hot and toss the steak on. Char both sides and leave the middle medium as it will cook a little off the grill. Southerners like to char and liquify the wonderful marbling of fat in a good rib eye steak. Crispy on the outside and tender juicy in the middle. YUM!

 

[BlindRabbit]

Perhaps fly over a piece of "Louisiana" steak (whatever that is?). Seriously however, it sounds like an psychological affectation to me as you can get terrific steak in ANY country, especially Australia.

I've noticed many (but not all) Americans are big on food elevation, i.e. the more ingredients the better, so perhaps your friend is used to a Steak with particular dressings and spices or perhaps the preparation method is more complex?

And of course, as others have mentioned each animal tastes slightly unique, down to breed and diet and whatnot.

For me, as long as a steak is good quality, I'm pretty happy to have it any style or breed or whatever way it comes.

 

[roadfix]

I think we need to hear more from the OP on this before we flood this thread with a zillion steak recipes....

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

So Chief, was it baking soda, or baking powder? Both sound horrible...

Yeh, it was baking soda, and it was horrible. I hope she isn't on this site under a name I would never recognize. She really was a great freind, other than her steaks.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Roll_Bones]

I am also in the camp of simple seasoning and high heat grilling to rare or medium rare for thick marbled cuts like ribeye and strip steaks.
Resting is also very important.

There is much debate on salting before grilling or cooking.
I was raised to season well ahead of cooking.
I was taught to never season a steak until you are ready to cook it.
What do you all think?

 

[Roll_Bones]

Yeh, it was baking soda, and it was horrible. I hope she isn't on this site under a name I would never recognize. She really was a great freind, other than her steaks.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

Chief. I can see you are a very thoughtful guest.
But I could not have stood idly by while she put baking soda on a steak I was supposed to eat.

At the very minimum, I would have told her that both myself and my wife were allergic to baking soda. First!
You sir, have much more patience than I would have had.
In fact, I most likely would have told her that what she was doing was crazy. And hope she did not take to much offense.

 

[Rocklobster]

You sir, have much more patience than I would have had.
In fact, I most likely would have told her that what she was doing was crazy. And hope she did not take to much offense.

Hey! Have you ever tried baking soda on steak? Maybe she knew something you didn't. Where is your sense of adventure, man! If your host wants to eat baking soda on their steaks, bring it on!

 

[GA Home Cook]

Baking soda is a very common meat tenderizer in some Asian cooking. Typically done with thin sliced steaks and always either washed with water or lemon juice is used to dissolve. ATK has used it during brining to help tenderize.
On a seperate note just because you are from the south does not mean that you burn your steak.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Baking soda is a very common meat tenderizer in some Asian cooking. Typically done with thin sliced steaks and always either washed with water or lemon juice is used to dissolve. ATK has used it during brining to help tenderize.
On a seperate note just because you are from the south does not mean that you burn your steak.

There are regional preferences. However, I agree that you can't paint everyone with the same brush. I make perfectly good egg rolls, southern fried chicken, Italian food, and so many other things. And yet, I don't live there, though I did live in Tennessee for a year, and San Diego for ten years, and other places for various periods of time. More importantly, I have had the opportunity to try foods from many places, and what I liked, I learned to cook.

I get tired of the idea that you have to be form this or that place, or have to have some particular ethnic background to make some kind of food properly. In my opinion, just about anybody can learn to cook just about anything.

I still maintain that if the OP is to make a steak that will work for his prospective guest's taste, then he needs to have some background from her, so that he knows what she likes.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Addie]

I do believe the baking soda question has been discussed earlier.

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f14/tenderising-meat-using-bi-carb-of-soda-24012.html

 

[Roll_Bones]

Hey! Have you ever tried baking soda on steak? Maybe she knew something you didn't. Where is your sense of adventure, man! If your host wants to eat baking soda on their steaks, bring it on!

I will try anything and do. But to pour baking soda on a steak would most likely get a negative response from me.

Baking soda is a very common meat tenderizer in some Asian cooking. Typically done with thin sliced steaks and always either washed with water or lemon juice is used to dissolve. ATK has used it during brining to help tenderize.
On a seperate note just because you are from the south does not mean that you burn your steak.

I hope you did not take that personally. I guess I should say "in my personal perception" when I make remarks about the south.