Caveman Aged Porterhouse Steaks


 
B

Bill Schultz

TVWBB Hall of Fame
So i had all four of my kids home for a change and aged some nice Porterhouse's with the Alton Brown Method, it works really good. Started last Saturday. As you can see from this shot I may have a Outdoor Cooking Problem. OCP is what it is called in medical jargon.



here are what the steaks looked like after allowing to come to room temp and seasoning with Kosher and fresh ground.



Red Oak Lump coming up to ready



On that note was a little disappointed as I found this after dumping the coals from the starter, a piece of fiberglass, ***



The scariest thing I have done on coals for sure, placing beautiful meat directly on the coals, two minutes per side, first three off and set to rest for fifteen minutes



So it was Bush maple flavored baked beans and some very large Idaho Baking potatoes as sides.



Great meal, all meat at medium rare and came out perfect, great fresh salad from our garden,

 
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So here is the skinny, I buy choice Porterhouses, I look for ones that have a good size tenderloin on the side opposite the NY Strip. I age them for six-ten days like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47dDpVC9QD0

If you have not aged steaks like this you are missing a lot. I don't have the money to feed a family of six plus guests which we have constantly with prime level meat. Let me tell you I do not need it, this method works so fine I have done it now maybe twenty times and it is phenomenal.
I have done what Alton says about using the charcoal starter and it works great, problem comes when you are cooking for more than two, maybe three. So i have now done five or six times with this on the wood charcoal method (Google Cave Man Steaks ) and have offers of marraige from married women and big hugs from strapping men.
When you first do it you are like nervous, like the teen age days in the back seat. But just do it. It will be the best taste you will get in a steak. Reason is you are searing that meat at around 1000 Deg. and it cooks so fast you are doing two minutes per side tops. The aging works incredible. You get the results of a butcher or steakhouse 28 day age without the waste and time.
These came out medium rare and were incredible in flavor and texture.
 
Now I want a porterhouse! Nice vid.... maybe I'll cook one tomorrow like that - and start aging another one.
 
if you do it like in the video I don't think it matters whether it's briqs or lump...you're just sitting the chimney over the top of the steak like a broiler (great informative video, even though it's a little cheesy). The only time I've done caveman steaks, most likely porterhouses, was the first time I climbed Lone Peak (second attempt, first attempt was on skis). I seasoned a couple of frozen steaks, wrapped in a couple layers of foil, & by the time we got to the top they'd thawed out (5 miles distance, >1 mile vertical). They were cooked just below our camp. It was dark, we were drunk (and out of alcohol!), but I didn't really like it all that much, too many embers or ash, made it a little crunchy ;). I'm sure with a little light & a kitchen, + known wood type (most likely scrub oak) it'd be a lot better.

I have lump now, but I've also reversed the funnel in my chimney (points down now, not up) so I'll have to check fit.

>>>Nice grill by the way Bill
 
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Wanna thank you for this post! Really cool...Aging a steak always sounds complicated. But this one is really easy. A MUST TRY! And whatta backyard you have bro...A little peice of heaven right there
 
My suggestion was for the Caveman steaks on the coals, for that you need to use lump. For the starter Alton Brown version you can use either with me preferring Stubbs or similar briquettes as they are uniform and don't drop a lot through the grate onto the meat.
As far as the first time in the mountains with those steaks I think you should try them again like this, especially if they are aged. The flavor is to die for.
And thanks Wolgast for the compliment, it is my retreat from the rest of the world sometimes.
 
The dry aging thing Alton does in the video really does work. I was amazed!
I have also combined his chimney cook with Steven's Caveman style. I use the baskets in my grill to get the hot coals right up under the grate. Nice grill marks and super high heat sear all in one! Plus as Clint said you can use briquettes or lump. I know I am hitting some high temps when the baskets warped! Also notice how it burned all the seasoning off the grate. (There is another episode where he cooks a ribeye ontop of the chimney.)

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Follow what you see Brad and you will be rewarded, I promise they are the best steaks you will eat. Just get the coals about three inches thick or more and you will be fine.
 
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The aged steaks I was doing were about 1 1/4" thick and they came in at a nice medium rare at just a hair over two minutes per side, another thirty seconds would not be a problem at all. I do not care for rare meat and would not have liked it if it was rare with a crust.
But on that note I am thinking if you had a very wet steak out of the package that could effect it and so could not letting the steak get to room temp before cooking.
 
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