Prime New York Strip Steaks - And Then There Were None

All good things must come to an end, right?  So it is with the Year of Meat.  A 61-cut endeavor that started in early January, and truth be told, was questionable to complete in one calendar year, is now over.  In just over 9.5 months, yours truly cooked the 61 cuts on display in Paulina Meat Market.  And when you are cooking Veal, Pork, Lamb and Beef, and the taste preferences of Braise, Broil, Grill or Roast vary, there is truly no way to "save the best for last".  So, each meal, I just kept looking at the list and picked what sounded good for the next cut.  And lo and behold, as the year evolved, and the past few weeks passed, I was left with one cut, one final meal to complete the year.  The cut?  Prime New York Strip Steaks.

After having learned so much about steaks this year, I have learned what to season and what to leave well enough alone.  When it comes to New York Strip, it's a steak that could use some help on the outside (e.g. a char, a rub, a flavor step) while being sure to cook it to medium rare/medium and no more.  So, my idea for the final cut was to take a page from many a steak-house's book and go with a blue cheese theme.  Thus, I found a recipe for Blue Cheese Butter here.  Now, the recipe suggests putting this on a filet.  But I was just fine with using the Butter on the New York Strips.  Simple enough.  Blue Cheese, Butter, Thyme, Salt and Pepper.  Deliciousness.

As for the steaks, I got 2 12 oz Prime New York Strips from Paulina.  I seasoned them on both sides with Kosher Salt, Cracked Pepper and Cajun Seasoning.  Not too much, but enough to "blacken" when placed on a hot skillet.  Speaking of which, I got a large cast iron skillet good and hot over medium high heat with some butter and olive oil.  Once hot and ready, I seared the steaks for about 5 minutes per side (it really depends on how thick they are).  I took them off, good and blackened and test the temperature and found them at the perfect 125 degrees I sought.  I then let them sit under foil for a minute or two, and place a good size tab of the blue cheese butter on top.  Meanwhile, my wife made her signature hashed brown potatoes (thank you, Julia Child) and a new favorite, crispy brussel sprouts.  My goodness gracious, this meal was going out on top.  We ate this meal with a bottle of Robert Biale Black Chicken Zinfandel, and I am still ooing and awing over the crazy tastiness of everything we had.  So good.

As the Year of Meat is now over, I look back at two questions people keep asking.  1)  What were my favorites? and 2) What lessons did you learn?  Well have no fear.  Those will be my last two blog entries coming soon.  For now, let me just savor the wonder of tonight's meal, and look forward to starting the "greatest hits redux".

61 down, 0 to go!

Spare Ribs - Easy as 3-2-1

When you are on a massive countdown of 61 cuts of meat, it is an odd coincidence that the 60th cut has a recipe that is essentially referred to as the 3-2-1.  It sounds a bit more like a countdown to take-off than it does an instructional guide to cutting meat.  But hey.  Here I am with only one more cut of meat left after today, and I am going to describe a super easy spare rib recipe by the expression 3-2-1.  So here goes.

Now, let me first say that if you had to prepare "everything" in this recipe all at once, it could be a bit more consuming.  But I have been fortunate enough throughout the year to have made and accumulated a bit of a collection of rubs, marinades and sauces.  I have a highly regarded pork rub that I used with the Pork Shoulder - Pulled Pork recipe just a few months ago, and plenty of it leftover.  And I of course have the BBQ Sauce recipe that Fat Dan provided me, and always have a homemade bottle handy.  So, taking into account that I had the rub and the sauce ready to go, this really was as easy as 3-2-1.  But if you're trying to replicate mine, feel free to use any high quality rub and sauce.  If you don't want to make your own, I say go local.

Paulina provided me with a full rack of spare ribs, membrane removed (that's important) and halved for convenience.  I got the Big Green Egg fired up for cooking on indirect heat, and used a large supply of soaked cherry wood chips for smoking.  My target temperature for the egg was 230 degrees, and once there, it needs to stay there for 6 hours.  Yep, I just gave away the rationale behind 3-2-1.  While the Egg was coming to temperature, I prepared the ribs rather simply:  A light coating of dijon mustard, followed by a complete (not thick, not thin) coating of my pork rub.  Once the Egg got to 230, the half racks went on the grate on indirect heat.  Closed the lid, and went to work (literally).  Here's where the "3" comes in.  After 3 hours on the grate unwrapped, I took the ribs off and wrapped them in foil (securely), and placed them back on the Egg for "2" hours.  Keep an eye on the Egg temp every so often to stay at 230.  And after the 2 hours wrapped, I unwrapped them and put them back on the grate for "1" hour (the final step in the 3-2-1.  During this last hour, I brushed the ribs several times with the BBQ sauce, to get the ribs wet with some of the sauce to caramelize.  Yum.

These ribs are phenomenal.  Paulina has provided me many delicious meats and this year has provided me many delicious recipes for my repertoire, but these spare ribs and more likely, their cousin (the Baby Back Ribs) are going to be frequent endeavors post Year of Meat.

60 down, 1 to go!

Bone-In Rib Eye - Butcher's Cut

I have made a lot of steaks this year, both in volume and in variety.  So, a couple of weeks ago, when I was in Paulina Meat Market buying meat for that night's meal, two of the guys there asked me what was left for the Year of Meat.  At the time, I was down to 5 or so.  When I told them what cuts remained, and when I said "Bone-In Rib Eye", an immediate reaction came from Andy who proclaimed it his "go to steak".  An immediate "second" to the motion came from Tim.  These are two guys who know their meat.  And I trust them when it comes to this sort of thing.  So, I stored that in my memory bank, and away I went.

A couple nights later, I was at dinner with my wife and another couple at Erie Cafe in Chicago.  I had never had dinner there, and I heard such amazing things about their steaks.  I was excited.  Since I knew the Bone-In Rib Eye was on my personal horizon, I opted for the Bone-In New York Strip.  And across the board, it was delicious.  But then I tried a bite of the Bone-In Rib Eye, and I heard Andy and Tim's voice in my head, and I "got it".

This past Monday, it was my turn to the grill up the Bone-In Rib Eye.  Because I knew this cut had no lack of flavor, I kept it simple.  Kosher Salt and Cracked Pepper.  That was it.  On the grill it went.  About 5 minutes per side.  Off it came, and got tented in foil.  Served it up with a now favorite side of Watercress, Radish and Blue Cheese salad with a new rendition of Polenta (say "Cheese" as in Cheddar).  Pair that meal next to a bottle of Amapola Creek Zinfandel, and you are talking about a high quality Monday evening meal.  Now, again.  I have made a lot of steaks this year.  But this is one I will make again soon after the 61st cut is cooked.

59 down, 2 to go!

Rolled Veal Roast - Porcini Rubbed Awesomeness

This was one that scared me.  It's Halloween season, so it's only appropriate.  But cooking a roast, which used to be terrifying, is now no big deal.  But a veal roast?  Never tried that, and had no idea what to expect.  But thanks to Paulina Meat Market and a Food Network Magazine recipe found here, this was delicious and fun to make as well.

First, I started off with a 2.5 lb rolled veal shoulder roast, tied with kitchen string.  Following the recipe, I blended dried porcini mushrooms, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper and blended it into a pasted.  After a quick rub down of olive oil, I rubbed the paste all over the veal roast, and seared it in a cast iron skillet on all sides for about 90 seconds per side.  It smelled awesome immediately.  I then put it right onto a rack in an oven set to roast at 375 degrees, with a drip pan underneath.  And I let that go for about 90 minutes, and tested the temperature until it said around 135 degrees.

While the veal was roasting, I prepared/cut yukon gold potatoes, fennel bulbs (that's a new one for me) and garlic.  In a warm shallow roasting pan, I tossed them all with olive oil, Kosher salt and black pepper, and then roasted those in an oven set to 350 degrees for 60 minutes.  Thank goodness for the double oven.  The timing worked brilliantly.  When the potatoes/fennel had about 10 minutes left of roasting, the veal hit its temperature.  Simply tenting the veal under foil while the vegetables finished was all I needed to go.  By the time I carved the veal, the vegetables had cooled and we were eating our feast.  And what a feast it was!  I love smells!  And I love tastes!  And this dish had them both in spades!

58 down, 3 to go!

Flat Iron Steaks - Whiskey Glazed

2014 is clearly the Year of Meat.  But I would also say that for me, it's also been the Year of the Manhattan.  I have grown an appreciation for Whiskey in all its forms.  But with meat?  Not yet.  Thus, tonight was the collision of the Year of Meat and the key ingredient in the Year of the Manhattan.

Whiskey Glazed is not the description of me.  Well, on some mornings after a few Manhattans, you might say it is.  But not tonight.  Tonight, it's all about marinating, basting and glazing.  Now, I have used flat iron steaks many times before, but never for grilling.  Because it is lean, quick to cook and adapts well to sauces, I tend to use it cut up as the beef for stir fried dishes.  And it works wonderfully for that cause.  But grilling?  Never done it.  But, I tell you what, it works quite well.

As for the recipe, it was the epitome of simplicity.  I found it here, courtesy of Food Network Magazine.  I chose not to use the recipe for the potatoes, because my wife concocted a newer version (and dare I say better version) of mashed sweet potatoes.  It's one of my favorite sides, and it just got better.  Paired next to a new grilled rendition that includes whiskey in the menu, and you have a happy weeknight meal.

Brown sugar, salt, pepper, whiskey whisked together until all is dissolved, followed by olive oil and smashed garlic.  Put the flat iron steak into the marinade, flip a few times for coverage, and let sit for 20 minutes.  After that time, remove them, pat them dry and ready them for grilling.  While they wait to be put on the grill, take the marinade and boil it on the stove top for about 3 minutes while stirring.  This will be used for basting the steaks while grilling. Speaking of grilling, get the Big Green Egg to 450-475 degrees.  And one they go.  About 4 minutes per side brought the internal temperature to 130 degrees, and medium rare deliciousness.  Off they came, tented them in foil for about 5 minutes, served them with mashed sweet potatoes, and the rest (yep, it's all gone) is history.

I have one veal, one pork and two beef dishes left.  The countdown is truly on.

57 down, 4 to go!