How to grill a steak

Around the World in 60 Steaks

By: Chef Cristian Feher

www.tampabaychef.com

Ah, the life of a jet-setter! Traveling around the world. Carefree. More pictures than your camera can hold. Praying with monks in the Himalayas. Soccer with Argentinian children. An epic meal at El Bulli in Spain - followed by mollecular gastro-intestinal pain on the way to Morocco, where you befriend some Saudis and before you know it you’re stepping down the stairs from a private jet in Dubai. Your first sand storm. But it doesn’t end there, because in Dubai someone told you about the modern mountain country of Khazakstan, and there you met some Russians whom you’ve joined for a motorcycle tour of the former Soviet Union. The plane ride from Magadan to Anchorage, Alaska is a nightmare, but you made it with another story to tell. We don’t even need to go into the skiing adventure in Banff, fighting a Yeti in British Columbia, or the horseback riding in Montana, because for most of us this will never happen.

Before you get too depressed, however,  I have some “staycation” tips of how you can travel the world in your own backyard, vicariously through your steak! May is Florida beef month, after all.

Your trip starts in Argentina where good beef speaks for itself. And although the only accompaniment of an Argentinian steak is some chimichurri (herbs, garlic, olive oil), the main course charcoal-grilled rib eye steak is preceded by fine cheeses, pickled roasted peppers, a green salad, “empanadas” (the best damn thing that’s ever been wrapped in pie dough), grilled sausages on a bun (called “Chori-Pan”) and is finished with fine liqueurs and “alfajores” (Argentinian Pastries). This is why Argentina shuts down for three hours each day, and you’re taking an extra long afternoon off to enjoy your steak.

You’re on the same side of the planet still, so a flight to Australia just makes sense. Here you put throwing “Another shrimp on the barbie!” to good use as you grill a garlic-rubbed beef tenderloin and poach some tiger shrimp in butter, Foster’s beer and curry powder. But don’t even think about having that steak before you’ve had a sumptuous appetizer of Australian beef pies with ketchup - yes, you heard right. And according to an Australian I once met, they consider ketchup to be a flavor enhancer (which sounded more like “Floyvah inhanzah mate!”.

Japan is the land of the Samurai, Sapporo beer and Kobe beef, and it’s a straight shot north from Australia. You start with an exotic appetizer of raw kobe beef sashimi with ponzu sauce and ginger, before you move onto a main course grilled Kobe beef steak marinated in garlic Tamari (a cousin of soy sauce) and served on wasabi mashed potato. As you wash it down with with an ice-cold can of Saporo beer, you learn about how the japanese cows which produce Kobe beef are fed a nutritious diet which includes daily beer and massages. This yields a nicely-marbeled, tender beef the Japanese tout as the best in the world - and although it’s really good beef, it doesn’t compare to the grass-fed Argentinian beef you had earlier on your trip, or good American beef.

You’ve spent three days in Tokyo trying to find a Mexican restaurant and although the taco-sushi Mr. Oyakada made you, it’s not the same. 36 hours later you land in Cancun, and head over to Playa Del Carmen where you marinate your steak in liquid smoke, soy sauce, garlic, and cilantro before you rub it with cumin. While you’re letting the flavor sink in, you make yellow rice, cumin black beans, pico de gallo, salsa verde with green tomatoes, and your famous avocado guacamole. Leftover avocados? No problem, stick them in a sauce pot with some sauteed onions, cilantro, garlic and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer, and stick it in the blender for the most amazing cream of avocado soup you’ve ever had! Now you’re ready to sear your steaks on the grill and enjoy a little taste of Mexico!

Your next stop is the pirate port of Jamaica in the caribbean where you begin your culinary journey with a spicy beef oxtail stew powered by scotch bonnet peppers. Yowza, that’s hot! You soothe your taste buds with an ice-cold Red Stripe beer while you rub jerk seasoning on your steak (thyme, allspice, garlic, onion, hot peppers, sugar, salt, soy sauce, orange juice, lime juice, vinegar, nutmeg and ginger) did you get all that? Good. Sear that on a charcoal fire and bring your taste buds back to life, the good life!

You’ve saved the best for last now that you’re back in Florida! You enjoy the sunshine while your steak swims in a pool of mojo (garlic, onion, cumin, oregano, black pepper, kosher salt, cilantro, Tabasco sauce, lime and orange juice) No need to get your grill out though, because in Florida, every day is a BBQ day! You sear your mojito steak and enjoy it with a citrus red cabbage coleslaw and fried plantain. A perfect end to a perfect trip, all in the comfort of your back yard!

How to cook steak

How to Make the Perfect Steak
By: Chef Cristian Feher
www.tampabaychef.com

A question that I am regularly asked is how to make a good steak. And while tastes and preferences can differ, I would like to give you a comprehensive guide to what I consider good steak.

A wise man once said that to understand life, you have to live it from the top down, and the bottom up. And having eaten steak from Poland to Argentina, I consider myself to have an understanding of beef; enough to write this article.

Finding the perfect steak will take a four-man team. Pick the fastest man as the “bull-bait” and give the strongest man the hammer. Now, remember, although cows look stupid, they are well aware of their surroundings - especially the bull. Now, when you spot your cow, it will most likely be part of a harem belonging to an individual bull. You want your “bull-baiter” to run up to the bull, smack him in the butt and start running away from you, leading the bull with him. An experienced bull-baiter will have an assortment of screams and yells to further entice the bull. Next, you’ll quickly sneak up on the harem - hold it! On second thought, this may be too purist. I’m going to take this up to the 21st century.

For most people the perfect steak begins nicely cradled on a foam tray with an absorbent diaper at the supermarket or butcher shop. Many people brag about their specialty butcher, but honestly, I love the Kirkland brand beef at Costco. It is very good. I get grass-fed Argentinian beef at my local organic food store (Nature’s Food Patch) and I find the Fresh Market to have good-quality Hereford beef. When I need superlative, high-class, I don’t-care-how-much-it-costs Wagyu beef, I order it online at exoticmeatmarket.com. So, what cut do you choose?

Cut of Steak

My three favorite cuts are tenderloin, sirloin, and rib eye.

Organic beef is better for you because it’s lacking antibiotics and growth hormones (as in regular beef which may make you fat and have your kids go through puberty at an early age) but compared to corn-fed beef, organic may lack in taste. American corn-fed beef will taste better than organic, and will be more fatty. But the best is Argentinian grass-fed beef - it’s marbled with nutritious fat, it rarely has growth hormones or antibiotics, and it will taste amazing - you’ll know it the second you put it in your mouth.

I don’t mention Wagyu beef here, because at an average price of $50 per pound, it’s not something most people would eat on a regular basis. But just so you know, Wagyu beef is super fatty, flavorful and melts in your mouth. A little about each cut below:

Beef Ribeye - The beef rib eye is the cadillac of steaks. It’s well marbled (it has a lot of fat spread out throughout the meat), it’s very flavorful (again, because of the fat and its proximity to bone), and it’s soft. When all I care about is enjoyment, I choose this cut. The juicy inner-fat melts in your mouth, while the outside fat can be cooked to a crunchy, fatty, flavorful bonus. If Elvis had invented a steak, this would be it.

Beef Tenderloin - If I’m feeling health-conscious and want to keep my fat intake to a minimum, I will choose a nice beef tenderloin steak. This is the only lean muscle on the cow that remains soft (even if you overcook it). The tenderloin is the muscle used by a bull to mount a cow. Cows don’t mount bulls, and hence the muscle is never actually used. That’s why it’s so soft. It is also a good steak for beginners, since it will still be edible if you should choose to make it “very” well-done.

Beef Sirloin - If you’re looking for a semi-soft steak with the option of lean or fat, this is it. Anatomically speaking, the sirloin was raised in the same neighbourhood as the rib eye. But while the rib eye was out partying with hot girls, the sirloin stayed home and studied. However, the rib eye grew up to be a fat guy with a menial job, while the sirloin is now fit, drives a nice car, is a good provider, and has options. The meat is lean (for when you don’t feel like eating fat), but there is fatty cap on the side that gives you the option of keeping the fat on, or taking it off. It’s definitely my go-to steak when I want to enjoy my meal, but save some money. It’s not as fun as the rib eye, but it’s still good.

How to Season

All a good steak needs is some salt and pepper. If you need steak sauce to make your steak taste good, you may need to buy better meat. If you put ketchup on your steak, you need to stop reading this and really think about what you’ve done. But actually, I sometimes enjoy a good side condiment like chimichurri, garlic butter, or spicy guacamole to augment my steak. So, ketchup guy, you can come back. I know I was a bit harsh on you. But seriously, you should stop putting ketchup on steak.

Before my steak is cooked, I like to rub it with Goya brand Adobo seasoning (which has powdered salt). And If I don’t have any of that on hand, I like to use just regular powdered salt (or popcorn salt) because it melts and permeates through the meat much better than coarse salt does. Coarse ground pepper is also rubbed in.

How to Cook It

Although I only know one way to skin a cat, there are several ways to cook a good steak. And they depend largely on how much time I have.

No time - If I have very little time to cook a nice steak, I will heat a cast iron skillet on the stove on high heat until it smokes. I will then sear the steak about 2-3 minutes per side - I like it rare. If I wanted it more cooked than that, I would sear the steak once on each side and finish it in the oven at 450 until desired doneness is reached. Or I would just keep it on the skillet longer.

30 minutes - A half hour usually gives me enough time to light up the propane grill and cook my steak on it. I don’t cook the steak directly on the flames. I turn on two heating elements on high and put the steak over the third heating element that is off. I close the lid and cook it like an oven at 500. If you have a simple grill that doesn’t allow for this, you can cook the steak directly over the flames, making sure to flip it often so it doesn’t burn.

All the time in the world - If I have a lot of time, I like to cook the steak properly in the charcoal grill. I start by making an oakwood fire, then I add charcoal, and wet applewood chips (to create smoke). I cook the steaks with the lid closed so as to smoke them at the same time. This is the best method for a perfect steak!

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