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| Name: |
roswellric
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| Subject: |
Tough Steaks!
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Date:
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4/24/2010 9:44:00 PM
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i just cooked a NY strip I had in the freezer from Foodland. I noticed the lack of marbeling and hit it twice with my 24 prong tenderizer but it was still like eating shoe leather. A couple of months ago I bought a whole boneless rib from Winn Dixie. The steaks I cut have been like eating jerky. I am braising them like pot roast. What is going on with the meat here? I think we are now being fed not choice, not standard but utility grade beef here. Do the grocers think we are stupid? Anyone know what's going on?
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| Name: |
BamaKat
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| Subject: |
Tough Steaks!
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Date:
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4/27/2010 12:56:56 PM
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I never put steaks or chicken in the freezer, if you are cooking on a grill I turn it up on high until it gets good & hot then put the steaks on & sear both sides to seal in juices. After they are done I cover with a plastic bowl for a few minutes until the juices start coming out & serve. The problem could be in the freezing.
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| Name: |
Mack
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| Subject: |
Tough Steaks!
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Date:
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4/27/2010 5:49:52 PM
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We use a freezer at the lake to make meal planning there much easier. We buy all meats, beef, pork and chicken in bulk,(veggies too) vacuum seal it and use it up to 8 months later with no problem at all.
I do think that meats, especially beef steak, is inconsistent on quality, including Publix and WD. One steak will be fabulous and the next week the same cut from the same case will be terrible. Don't know a solution.
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help from my ancestral farmin' and beef raisin' roots. Freezing makes no difference on toughness, unless it's left in the freezer too long and dries out. It can make a difference on flavor if not frozen properly or if frozen for too long. The problem is the steer, how it was feed and raised, when it was slaughtered, and where it came from.
Also, I never turn the grill on high...oh wait, my grill's don't have a high setting...what I do is light the lump charcoal and throw the steaks on when it's bright red. Seers in the juices and adds that real outdoor flavor! Yum..
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same for chicken on freezing....but I cook them real slooooow perched up on a can of beer. Three hours in the BGE, and we are talking awesome!
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| Name: |
Talullahhound
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| Subject: |
Butchering
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Date:
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5/11/2010 9:19:30 AM
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I wonder if the inconsistency in the meat doesn't have to do with the butchering of the meat. The stores no longer employ butchers, so the meat is being butchered in some meat packing plant that probably employs a number of butchers with varying skills.
I don't think the freezing makes any difference as long as you don't keep it too long.
According to everything I've read, you should initially sear steaks to lock in the juices, then reduce the heat to finish the cooking. And it is important to let the meat rest for 15 minutes. But, if you get a poor cut of meat to start with, I don't know that anything can save it.
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Butchering really makes no difference either. The butchering done in meat plants is about as efficient as it gets. What will make a difference is the amount of time and the way it is aged. Beef, goat, and chicken are usually aged and pork is not. The old way to age is to dry age (like you see with beef hanging the movie Rocky), but most meat sold these days is wet aged by vacuum sealing the meat in it's own juices. Dry aging is more costly and results in a more distinctive flavor. Both are effective if done properly, and have different effects on various cuts and grades of meats. The aging process relies on natural enzymes to break down and tenderize the meat and its effectiveness can be changed by temperature, time, the cut, and processed used.
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| Name: |
Mack
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| Subject: |
Butchering
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Date:
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5/13/2010 10:16:53 PM
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I don't think there are many authentic butchers anymore. Went to an upscale shop in Montgomery recently. The "butcher" told me that he gets his beef in a cello-wrapped package thru a wholesaler, who gets his thru another outlet,,,,, etc, etc.
He said he orders the highest quality available, but is forced to accept what is shipped. Unless he can find a local source for beef, which is iffy and much higher in price.
Just like the hardware store of old; sailing into history.
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True butchers are getting harder to find, but are still around in rural areas that have livestock readily available with people needing their service. Where I'm from, slaughtering/ butchering operations don't necessarily keep retail hours, but provide a service for the local farmers. Some butchers are farmers with the necessary equipment and they do the work as a supplement to farming. When I was younger, my Grandparents would do their own slaughtering, quartering, and curing and then take the meat down the road to have it sawed, cut, and wrapped. I remember butchering hogs from start to finish right on the farm and Grandma had a chicken stump about 20 feet from the front door. Now, it is more common to drop off the steer or hog at the shop and come back a few weeks later for the finished product.
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| Name: |
Talullahhound
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| Subject: |
Dry Aging
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Date:
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5/14/2010 9:38:19 AM
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Definitely agree with you about dry aging. I have gotten dry aged steaks from Whole Foods before and they were quite good.
There was an interesting article in the paper the other day about Fudge Farms, that is raising hogs that are interbred between duroc and berkshire. The article said that mass producers are rasing much leaner animals so that they can be kept in more confined spaces. He said the result is less flavorful pork. The article further claimed that the Fudge Farms pork needs much less seasoning and is a tastier pork because it is better marbled.
I wonder if that is the case with steak? Leaner cuts are resulting in tougher meat.
I've gone to Catherine's and bought prime meat a few times when I felt like splurging -- with mixed results. Sometimes the meat has been very, very good. A couple of times, it was tough.
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| Name: |
lakngulf
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| Subject: |
Peppertree
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Date:
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5/14/2010 9:48:16 AM
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Peppertree Steak and Wine, in east montgomery, near Taylor and Vaughn. We have never been disappointed with the meat we get there. Of course, they are not disappointed with the amount we spend on them. It is a good splurge every now and then.
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On the farm, we went for a combination of fat and muscle tone (my Uncle Bob was great at picking the right animals for family use). The animals were corn fed and confined on feed lots so they could not get exercise (which would toughen up their muscles). Cattle/Hogs that are allowed to roam and eat grass are cheaper to raise, but it will definitely cause them to be a little chewy. I've had round steak from a well chosen steer that is as good as some lower grades of tenderloin sold in grocery stores.
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| Name: |
Talullahhound
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| Subject: |
Peppertree
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Date:
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5/19/2010 8:31:43 PM
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I'll have to try it. I'm over that way at least once a week.
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| Name: |
shaggy
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| Subject: |
Butchering
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Date:
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6/29/2010 7:52:49 PM
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No butchers employed? How do you think the meat gets cut at the store. Everytime I get something special cut, there is always a meat cutter available. Only Wal-Mart and Kroger out source their meat cutting.
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| Name: |
shaggy
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| Subject: |
Tough Steaks!
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Date:
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6/29/2010 7:55:30 PM
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Hey bud, maybe the tough steak was not the cow's fault, or the meat cutters fault, but the fella who froze a good steak and over cooked it! I have bought plenty of steaks at Foodland and they have the best meat around!
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