I'm a pretty good chef. But I gotta say some of the best steaks I have ever had are SO far off the charts good that I just don't get it.

From what I understand, restaurats get a grade of beef that I'm not even sure retail consumers are even allowed to buy.

I know that El Gaucho may seem trendy or overrated - I do not care. They make a really good steak. Mortons doesn't fail either - but I don't crave it like El Gaucho. Ringside knows what are doing too. I just kind of don't enjoy eating there all that much.

Is it that vertical broiler that nails it?

I have a Traeger and have really mastered it. But I like a tad bit of char and Traegers do things a bit differently.

This summer, you will all have to take a risk and come down for my annual thing and go nuts with the pulled pork.

That sounds so gay.

MAN, I like steaks.

Im obsessed with steaks also. If I go to Ringside I will get The Top Sirloin steak, to me it has better flavor than the New York Cut, and it is less expensive. I really enjoy Ringside BUT that place is so damn dark, I hate it.

Ya beat me to it!! I started one too!

Chickenjuggler writes:
From what I understand, restaurats get a grade of beef that I'm not even sure retail sonsumers are even allowed to buy.

Ever read "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan? It's a great book about the western world's (especially America's) food system and our eating habits. A good portion of the book deals with how farm animals are industrial produced vs. raised on small farms. One section of the book details the author's internship (of sorts) on a small farm in Virginia that raises the animals in a "natural" way (not even "organic").

It's a great book in general, but I was intrigued to read how the chefs of these fancy restaurants have learned where they can buy their meat from the small farmers, locally, to get the best-tasting stuff. You can certainly buy this stuff if you want to look for it (and pay more than you pay at Safeway). I don't know if free range beef really tastes better than the industrial stuff, but at least the free-range cattle eat grass, not corn, and supposedly that has a big effect on the taste.

Andrew

CJ, here you go: http://www.lobels.com/store/main/naturalprime.asp

Way to rich for my blood, but I'd love to try it sometime!

I love steak as well.

#1 Tenderloin
#2 New York Strip
#3 Flank steak
#4 Ribeye
#5 T-bone/Porterhouse

All cooked bloody as hell, served with mashed potatoes, asparagus, mushrooms, and a nice bottle of red wine.

Vit, I can't disagree with any of that!

I might replace the ribeye with a sirloin, and put them in this order, but all is good.

#1 New York Strip
#2 T-Bone/Porterhouse
#3 Tenderloin
#4 Flank Steak
#5 Sirloin

The asparagus should be 1/4" diameter or less, and lots of it!

I love steak! I've always found good ones at Bauman's Custom Meats in Woodland, located behind the Oak Tree (Bauman also has great house made pepper jerky and wild game...)

I like Prime Rib along with all the cuts already posted. I don't usually order steak at restaurants, I'm always too tempted by the things I'll never make at home.

Blacken it in the backyard in (not ON) the Weber: get a nice pile of coals going, leave the grill off, and put the cast iron right on the coals. Dip the steak in melted butter, then blackening spices, throw it in, and don't touch it! Flip it only once. Usual timing applies.

I like to grill corn on the cob in the husk and all those squash and zucchini we grow too many of every year, too, with this.

I forgot about prime rib. Make that #6. With horseradish!

Steak, a subject near and dear to my heart (one look at me and you'll understand!)

I bought a 22 lb. Sirloin roast for Super Bowl, cut it into steaks myself, made a marinade and let 'em soak for about 48 hours ... grilled them, and my God that went down way too easy. Righteous stuff.

I love a nice slow-cooked London Broil too ... I like my meat more on the medium-well side, the rare texture I just can't get past.

Eat your heart out guys. I live in Omaha, the steak capital of the world. We have it everywhere.

Back when I went to school at the university, when it was steak night at the cafeteria, most of my friends wanted their steaks cooked "Extra Rare." Now don't get me wrong, I believe it's a sin to overcook a steak, but "Extra rare" for a steak is going overboard.

I have never had London Broil. I think I will order that next time I can.

Bring an appetite CJ. It's a THICK cut!

London Broil is a good one, when prepared properly. It's really easy to turn it into shoe leather. I like to butterfly the really thick ones and stuff them with bleu cheese, bacon, and mushrooms.

It's another great reason to have horseradish, too!

I didn't know that any of our Supreme Court Justices could sponsor such an event. Good for her.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/04/05/goldberg.contest.ap/index.html

Craig and I like to go to Sayler's (on the eastside, now that the Beaverton restaurant is gone)... Damn, they sure know how to serve-up a 20-oz ribeye!

We ate our steaks at home last night.

(damn, those things are getting pricey)

For me, the best steak is a simple steak. T-bone cut, grilled, light garlic salt & pepper, maybe some MSG, maybe not. That just depends.

Serve with steamed veggies. I like broccoli, carrots and califlower. Double bonus points for a simple pepper cheeze sauce.

Round that monster out with damn cool baked potatoes. Fry up some real bacon, chop some green onions, grated cheeze (different one than whatever is in the cheeze sauce), pepper, salt, sour cream, chives.

It's a family deal. Once the steaks arrive, and we know we are gonna cook them (when don't we know, right? WE HAVE THE DAMN THINGS, LET'S EAT!), we all just jump in and start making stuff.

Takes about an hour, there is a hell of a mess, mostly because we all just want to do some eating and talking, so we let it all go for the evening.

We eat, we talk, we eat some more, we talk some more, some have a small drink, some don't. Everybody laughs, everybody sleeps early. We don't have the TV on.

Whoever wakes up first, the next morning, starts on the mess and all is fine by noon.

Good food is good food x 10 when happy people are part of the recipe.

My girlfriend likes to nibble on my tubesteak
and then play with my meat balls. (sorry, I couldn't resist!)

The last time I was at Saylors Old Country Kitchen, the woman behind me was hoping for victory as she was trying to finish the famous 72 Ouncer. She was a large woman,and she had half gone right when I left. I still wonder if she finished that thing or not.

<<i>>

Funny you guys put up a blog about steaks. Two of my crew were just chatting about steaks last Wednesday, as most of us have had both since our families raised cattle. DEFIINITELY go the free range verses pack and slaughter when you can.

We were joking that it's the same when you live on the coast and eat fresh seafood verses wait until it's shipped to you. Example, I knew a guy who missed the Pacific Northwest so much that when he would call to say he was coming back in the area, he would bring me two fresh Maine lobsters and I would have a fresh brick of Tillamook and a Coho ready to swap with him. MMMMMM, steak and lobster, the BEST of both worlds.

For those down Southeast or California, the same goes for juice. When living in Miami and Orlando, you don't have to question juice as being fresh, as it almost always is, but anywhere else, beg for the fresh.

You know, Wenatchee apples and cherries, etc. You get the picture.

MMMMM steak, yes, STEAK!

It must be those flashes of bright light and blue sky telling us it's time to get outside and cook food the way nature intended: with FIRE!

Cooking With Fire