Temperature tantrums
If you’re someone who can’t tell how far along your meat is, invest in a meat thermometer. It really comes in handy. Here is an approximate guide for middle of the steak temperatures:
Rare: approximately 125 Fahrenheit
Medium-rare: approximately 130 Fahrenheit
Medium: approximately 145 Fahrenheit
Medium-well: approximately 155 Fahrenheit
Well-done: approximately 165 Fahrenheit
Expert advice
Daniel Panjwaneey, a musician and a Food and Beverage Management graduate, shares his experience in the kitchen with some guidelines for steak enthusiasts:
• Make sure your butcher knows his cuts. Telling him you want undercut for steaks will usually result in getting a tender but flat piece of meat. Get the tender filet mignon instead.
• Don’t buy marinated steaks; be experimental and look up a nice recipe. Beef is amazing to work with.
• Steaks should be cooked at medium heat on the griddle/grill. For best results, charcoal grill it.
• Overdoing it means ruining it. Also, avoid steak sauces. The secret is to keep it simple and fresh.
A cut above the rest
Some of the best restaurants in the country and the most popular steaks on their menu:
Café Flo, Karachi: The undercut steak
Covo, PC, Lahore: The rib-eye steak
Texas Steak House, Islamabad: The undercut steak
Where is my cut?
The Rib-eye: A boneless cut found from the rib section of the cow that comprises mostly the Longissimus dorsi muscle (the rib primal of the steer).
The Sirloin: A cut made from the rear back portion of the cow — the best cut being the top sirloin.
The Tenderloin: The tenderloin spans two primal cuts, the short loin and the sirloin. It is found underneath the ribs, next to the backbone.
The Undercut: Popular in Pakistan, the undercut is the tender meat of the loin muscle, found on each side of the cow’s vertebral column.
The Filet Mignon: An easily available cut on most steak menus, it is a beef fillet cut from the smaller end of the tenderloin.
Marinate Meat
• According to Panjwaneey, to make the marinade get a bottle of Worcestershire sauce, a bit of mustard, dried or fresh herbs such as rosemary and oregano, crushed garlic, simple salt and pepper. For extra flavour, add grape and orange or lemon juice.
• Marinate your beef for at least four hours — if not more — for best results.
Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, October 13th, 2013.
COMMENTS (9)
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@Pakistan: Internet is not Arabic invention to be used only by you.
So cruel
Chicken steak hahahahahah. WHO EATS CHICKEN STEAK?!
Delicious and Nutritious :D
cruel and disgusting..... eww!!