Jim Langford
TVWBB Fan
I found this on the California Barbecue Society site. It involves first searing the meat over high heat in a cast iron pan and then finishing it off on the grill. I've got four thick steaks marinating in the frig., and I'm going grill them this weekend. Have any of you tried it? The marinade tastes great. The cardamon adds an unusual flavor.
A Perfect Steak From A Place Called Brush Prairie, WA?
August 14, 2002
By David Spriggs
Brush Prairie, Washington -- The quest for "a perfect steak" may be at an end. Carl Lau, Mary Budde and I have tweaked an anchovy-mustard marinade with suitable techniques to produce a steak that rivals the best restaurant steak at a fraction of the cost. In the true spirit of barbecue, the steak need not be of super high quality such as prime beef.
What it the secret?
The inclusion of red wine vinegar transforms a very good marinade into one with the potential of jaw dropping greatness. Utilizing a high heat sear in a cast iron pan followed by cooking the steak or mini-roast on a barbecue with a cooking compartment temperature of 250F, the resulting steak, cooked to an internal temperature of 125F is what beef is all about. There is a complexity and depth of flavors that Ruth Chris' Steakhouse or Arnie Morton's cannot match.
High Searing Heat
The concept of a high heat sear is nothing new and results in a semi-sealed surface and added complexity of taste because of the Maillard reaction that is detailed in Shirley Corriher's "Cookwise" (ISBN 0688102298). For that reason, searing meat is a highly accepted technique that enhances roasts. An external high heat sear not performed on a grill is an additional step, but lends itself to better control of the variables. The subsequent finishing of the steak at a low temperature is another time-honored techniques that preserve the evenness of the color, preferably medium-rare from edge to edge. This has been fairly well documented in Cooks' Illustrated Magazine.
The Anchovy Mustard Marinade
Ingredients
2 cups yellow mustard (cheap yellow mustard is fine)
4 ounces anchovies in oil (2-2 oz. tins)
1 or 2 heads garlic, separate cloves but no need to peel
3 tablespoons whole black peppercorns, freshly ground
2 tablespoons brown mustard seed
2 small red chilies, ground>
2 tablespoons cardamom
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons star anise, grind after measuring in mill
1/4 cup olive oil (does not need to be extra virgin)
1/4 cup inexpensive red wine vinegar (to control the viscosity)
Preparation
Put into a blender or food processor, starting with the yellow mustard. Then layer in the anchovies, unpeeled garlic cloves, ground black peppercorns, brown mustard seed, red chilies, cardamom, cumin, and star anise. Then add the olive oil and red wine vinegar. Blend and use a large wooden spoon to force the ingredients into the blades, if necessary. The red wine vinegar should be used to control the thickness of the marinade. It should have the thickness of a thick milk shake, but still be able to flow out of the blender or processor container with minimal scraping.
The marinade should not be runny. This will yield about 5 cups of marinade, which is enough for three to six pounds of meat.
Use top sirloin, thickly cut (2-3 pounds each). Place meat into a plastic zipper bag and add the marinade. Let it sit in a refrigerator for at least 24 hours (temperature in the mid 30'sF), if not longer. It can easily go 48 or even 72 hours. Refrigerate and knead it a few times in the plastic bag so that all surfaces of the meat are exposed to the marinade.
Cooking the steak
Use a cast iron skillet to do a high heat sear on all sides of the meat after wiping surface of meat to remove excess marinade. Lightly oil the pan or use lard, and turn the burner to high. Scrape off as much of the marinade as possible via paper towel. If it is a three pound piece of meat, cook about 2 minutes per side or longer until the surfaces are seared. Sear all sides of the meat. Finish the meat at a lower temperature on a grill or inside of an oven (preferably about 250F.) to an internal meat temperature of 125F, which should be medium rare.
There are many other alternatives and techniques that are applicable to the marinade/steak recipe, such as: high temperature grilling alone, substitution of stone ground mustard for the inexpensive ballpark stuff, or the addition of other seasonings into the marinade.
Bon Appetit
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Perfect Steak From A Place Called Brush Prairie, WA?
August 14, 2002
By David Spriggs
Brush Prairie, Washington -- The quest for "a perfect steak" may be at an end. Carl Lau, Mary Budde and I have tweaked an anchovy-mustard marinade with suitable techniques to produce a steak that rivals the best restaurant steak at a fraction of the cost. In the true spirit of barbecue, the steak need not be of super high quality such as prime beef.
What it the secret?
The inclusion of red wine vinegar transforms a very good marinade into one with the potential of jaw dropping greatness. Utilizing a high heat sear in a cast iron pan followed by cooking the steak or mini-roast on a barbecue with a cooking compartment temperature of 250F, the resulting steak, cooked to an internal temperature of 125F is what beef is all about. There is a complexity and depth of flavors that Ruth Chris' Steakhouse or Arnie Morton's cannot match.
High Searing Heat
The concept of a high heat sear is nothing new and results in a semi-sealed surface and added complexity of taste because of the Maillard reaction that is detailed in Shirley Corriher's "Cookwise" (ISBN 0688102298). For that reason, searing meat is a highly accepted technique that enhances roasts. An external high heat sear not performed on a grill is an additional step, but lends itself to better control of the variables. The subsequent finishing of the steak at a low temperature is another time-honored techniques that preserve the evenness of the color, preferably medium-rare from edge to edge. This has been fairly well documented in Cooks' Illustrated Magazine.
The Anchovy Mustard Marinade
Ingredients
2 cups yellow mustard (cheap yellow mustard is fine)
4 ounces anchovies in oil (2-2 oz. tins)
1 or 2 heads garlic, separate cloves but no need to peel
3 tablespoons whole black peppercorns, freshly ground
2 tablespoons brown mustard seed
2 small red chilies, ground>
2 tablespoons cardamom
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons star anise, grind after measuring in mill
1/4 cup olive oil (does not need to be extra virgin)
1/4 cup inexpensive red wine vinegar (to control the viscosity)
Preparation
Put into a blender or food processor, starting with the yellow mustard. Then layer in the anchovies, unpeeled garlic cloves, ground black peppercorns, brown mustard seed, red chilies, cardamom, cumin, and star anise. Then add the olive oil and red wine vinegar. Blend and use a large wooden spoon to force the ingredients into the blades, if necessary. The red wine vinegar should be used to control the thickness of the marinade. It should have the thickness of a thick milk shake, but still be able to flow out of the blender or processor container with minimal scraping.
The marinade should not be runny. This will yield about 5 cups of marinade, which is enough for three to six pounds of meat.
Use top sirloin, thickly cut (2-3 pounds each). Place meat into a plastic zipper bag and add the marinade. Let it sit in a refrigerator for at least 24 hours (temperature in the mid 30'sF), if not longer. It can easily go 48 or even 72 hours. Refrigerate and knead it a few times in the plastic bag so that all surfaces of the meat are exposed to the marinade.
Cooking the steak
Use a cast iron skillet to do a high heat sear on all sides of the meat after wiping surface of meat to remove excess marinade. Lightly oil the pan or use lard, and turn the burner to high. Scrape off as much of the marinade as possible via paper towel. If it is a three pound piece of meat, cook about 2 minutes per side or longer until the surfaces are seared. Sear all sides of the meat. Finish the meat at a lower temperature on a grill or inside of an oven (preferably about 250F.) to an internal meat temperature of 125F, which should be medium rare.
There are many other alternatives and techniques that are applicable to the marinade/steak recipe, such as: high temperature grilling alone, substitution of stone ground mustard for the inexpensive ballpark stuff, or the addition of other seasonings into the marinade.
Bon Appetit
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