1,000th Post - Meatscape Gigantes & Boli GM - Best & Biggest Steak so far in 2012

[brazoseagle]

1,000th Post

Fittingly, I have paired this evening with the biggest and best Steak I have cut so far of all of 2012.

Steak: 24 ounce (pound and a half) Prime, Beautiful Texas Ribeye - 2.5 inches thick!!! "Optimus Prime"

Cigar: Bolivar Gold Medal - (Compliments of Shlomo)

My 48 Hour Dry Age Cheat Method

Recipe - http://www.friendsof...howtopic=107315

First a little Steaknowledge 101:

Prime Steak is Prime for several reasons, mainly though is the bloodline of the breed, the marbling of the fat, the food the cow ate, the environment the cow was kept in, and the age. All of these have to be perfect for the cow to produce Prime quality Steaks. Now there is another hidden secret. So next time you are at your store, or the butcher, and picking out steaks, keep this in mind.

Fat marbling takes priority but next after that, when choosing the perfect steak.

The lighter (pinker) the meat = The younger the cow = The more tender the meat = the better the steak!

Those familiar with Veal know that veal has very little fat, but it so juicy and tender because it is very very young, and if you have ever seen raw veal, it's bright pink in hue.

Regular beef is the same way. Always pick the brighter pink colored steaks with the best, most evenly distributed marbling of fat. This is why this piece is one of the best I've cut in all of 2012, thick cut, great marbling, and a very bright and light pinkish hue. If your store or butcher doesn't have any already cut, there is no shame in asking them to find you one in the back and cut it fresh for you. In fact, I recommend always having your steak cut for you fresh , right in front of you.

So anyway - Steak was fantastic as always, juicy, cooked perfectly = Great char and crust, but a thick even middle of medium rare. There are no layers of different doneness, just a great char and a even thick middle section cooked perfectly the way I want it. There is not rings of char, grey, pink and then red center, is what I am trying to say. This is one of the most important but hardest skills to master when cooking a steak properly, especially a thick steak like this. 100/100

Cigar - Great Cigar! Started out - It started out with a tight draw but opened up half way through. First 3rd - White Pepper, Cedar, Earth, melded into a coconut husk and coconut white meat flavor with after tastes of dark chocolate and dried fruit. The final 3rd was creamy tapioca pudding soaked in butter, with a little sea salt. I loved it. 95/100 easy.

Steaksperience:

Fresh Cut Optimus Prime

The Dry Age Transformation

Notice the Background

[Ghabanos]

Holy crap. That a steak.

[TexAg]

Only a picture can describe the emotions that I feel about this post with pictures...

[Smacky]

One of the best posts I have seen on FOH thus far!

[mbrody]

Great 1000th post!

David, how do you best achieve even temperature of meat (great char, medium rare through entire thickness). That is what I keep experimenting with regarding temperature, how I rest a steak, etc., and seem to get varied results...

[ohioldd]

Delicious!

[canadianbeaver]

Two words, k owing that you raise and but her the beef yourself:

Cow sex.

[canadianbeaver]

Damn iPhone: knowing, butcher

[brazoseagle]

Great 1000th post!

David, how do you best achieve even temperature of meat (great char, medium rare through entire thickness). That is what I keep experimenting with regarding temperature, how I rest a steak, etc., and seem to get varied results...

First) I set my steaks out at least 3 hours, if not more, before cooking. You want the middle of the steak to be the same temperature as the outside of the steak before cooking, which is room temperature. If the center is still cold, it will take longer to cook , and you will get uneven doneness.

Second) It's all about the HIGH heat. and knowing the different hot and cool zones of your grill. Searing on super high infrared/gas heat, and finishing with lid closed in a cooler zone. Infrared burners are really the only way to get heat this high. Just gas can get hot, but not near as hot as it can get coupled with Infrared. There is probably not a steakhouse in the country that doesn't have some form of Infrared equipment. It really helps penetrated the heat to the center of the steak at the same time as the outside. I also drill out the holes in my burner pipes to a larger diameter, to get more gas flow, larger flame and more BTU's. I replace the cheap heat plates/shields that cover the burners and come with every grill, with thick cast Iron plates, that will retain the heat very well. Also, I only use cast Iron grates, even if a grill came with stainless steel grates, I would always replace them with aftermarket cast iron grates.

Letting the meat rest is important, but will not make a big difference, if any in the layers of doneness. It will insure the meat is juicy though. I let mine rest for about 7 -10 minutes.

My last step in the cooking is turning all of the burners off and putting the steak back on the hottest zone with the lid on for 3 minutes, with no flame on.

[Rogers72]

You are a savant. i use that word only because there is no other word ever created that would do you justice. Also, I think you may be my long-lost brother.

[Ghabanos]

David. Can I come over for your 10,000th post please?

[charlesod]

Goodness. Everything really is bigger in Texas!

[EL1990]

Wow! Man! Everytime I look at these posts I go out and buy a steak!

[MrDowse]

Hats off to you sir. You're an artist. *Drools*

[lostsoulcamero]

Damn my mouths watering

[Wil]

A 680 gram steak???!!

[brazoseagle]

A 680 gram steak???!!

Indeed!

[Styler]

Great post as usual mate. Most of the places I buy my beef from have already hung the meat for long enough to darken it, making the age much harder to identify by sight.

[Jnaube]

Man, what a steak! My mouth watered so much i had to mop the floor

[thechenman]

Mmmm....Mmmm....Good. I'm suddenly very hungry and have a hankering for a rare steak and some single-malt scotch.