Besides thanking God for the certified Black Angus cow, I would like to dedicate this blogpost to all of the evangelistic/militant Vegans, Vegetarians and PETA Members out there. I thank you for your lack of market participation which makes my grilling experiments somewhat less expensive. You also add to the anticipation of a nice steak by your sprinkling of guilt, which makes firing up the grill a guilty pleasure, further enhancing the meat preparing/ eating process. The photos are for you.For the rest of us, I am attempting the grilling of a better steak by using a "dry-aging" technique in the good ol' fridge and thought I'd document the process with the camera and our blog.
-First things first. Selection of Meat! I'm going with USDA "Prime" Filet Mignon. It can be hard to find a "Prime" steak at your corner grocery store. If you do find one it'll probably cost you. You'd might as well fire up the car and head for a Ruth's Chris. Most of the time, in this cut, you'll find USDA "Choice" or maybe "Trimmed Prime" not the stuff you got that time in a restaurant. Sam's or Costco carry the USDA "Prime" filets and at a fairly reasonable cost ($6 - 10 per steak). Our Sam's usually cuts them @ 3 inches thick give or take.
-This next step is new to us. As I said above we are dry aging our filets. From what I understand this should lead to maximum flavor/ tenderness. We'll see. It is supposedly best to leave the meat in the fridge on a wire baking rack uncovered, but with something underneath to catch any moisture for 3-5 days. The idea is that the the moisture inside will retreat to the center of the meat as the surface dries to form a light crust. It is common for the meat to shrivel a bit and even discolor. Below is my photo log of the process.
24 Hours (no significant drippage, only a few drops)
48 Hours (yep, a little shriveling and discoloration)
72 Hours (eight hours till they hit the inferno!)
80 Hours (Do I smell smoke?...Yes)
***It is very important to note that you need to rinse your steaks in cool water, then dry them to the point of only being a little damp before you add the salt, pepper and garlic. If I were you I would rub them with minced garlic first, then remove as much of that as you can before you hit them with salt and pepper.
Alrighty, Here's a brief explanation of my grilling theology when it comes to steaks.
1) It's a steak! You don't need a special sauce with 57 flavors, you don't need to cover up the natural flavor of the beef. In this case, with the Filet Mignon most people wrap it with bacon. This is one of those fleeting rare moments in life where you don't NEED pork...It's a Filet... you don't put racing stripes on a Bentley!
2) So What? Salt and Pepper, That's what. I like Sea Salt and cracked black pepper, a little ground black pepper is also a good thing. A little minced "gah-lic" won't hurt. Don't over do it.
3) Plenty of Charcoal. You want a hot, consistent heat. Don't skimp on the bricks.
4) Heat Zones. I go with three, Hellfire, medium heat and cooooool.
5) I like to sear the steaks on Hellfire for three-four minutes on each side, this seals in the juices and gives the meat that certain crust. Finish them over the medium heat to desired doneness. Turn them as little as possible.
6) Never cut the meat on the grill to "take a peak". Do you really want to lose the juices you've so fiercely protected?
7) But how will I know? A firm steak is a well done steak, a springy steak is a medium steak and a spongy steak?... Well, "There will be Blood" ... so, I'll take my straw and.....
8) NEVER over cook it. Better to hear it moo than moan. Besides in the 5 minutes you let it set while your saying Grace it is still cooking.
9) Butter. One pat, per steak, as you bring it off the grill. I suppose olive oil could work.
10) At this point Justin Wilson would recommend "a little red wine" I usually go with a hand full of spicy grilled shrimp (with a squirt of lemon) spicy green beans, a baked tater (mmm hmmm, I like a big un') and a nice salad.
Get you some.
"Medium"
"Medium Rare"
The Verdict on "dry aging"? This Steak was right up with the best I've ever had which would be the one from our wedding reception dinner at the Hermitage Hotel's Capitol Grille back in Nashville. About a month ago we bought the same deal but marinated them with salt and pepper for about 36 hours and they were very, very good. I expected these dry aged steaks to be even more tender and juicy and they were, very much so. What floored me though was the depth of the flavor of the beef all the way to the center. This was a very successful experiment so I will highly recommend this technique. I don't think we will grill steaks ever again without dry aging them. For @ $7 each it makes for a superb evenings meal.
-Jud
