Cowboy Essentials: The Steak

Steak Selection

USDA PRIME, dry-aged steaks are available through good butchers and through high-end grocery stores.

USDA Choice, the grade just below USDA Prime, is available at most fine grocery stores and can give you a more than acceptable steak.

Look for steak with fine texture and firm to the touch. You want the color to be a light cherry red color, not deep red.

A well-marbeled steak: Look for thin veins of fat running through it.

Storing Your Steak

Store your steaks in the coldest part of your refrigerator (usually the Meat Compartment)

You can store steak in its original packaging in the refrigerator for a couple of days or in the freezer for about two weeks. You’re better off wrapping it in freezer paper or a freezer bag however, even if for just a short period of time.

Defrost your steak in the refrigerator and only bring it out right before you cook it to bring it up to room temperature.

Cooking Your Steak

Steaks can be prepared any number of ways: on the grill, in the broiler, in a pan or in a stir-fry. That said, different cuts of meat perform better with different methods.

Tender cuts like the dry heat from a grill or broiler. Less tender cuts take to dry heat only after they’ve been marinated. If you don’t have adequate prep time to properly marinate, then you’re better off braising the less tender cuts.
Heat: The Invisible Ingredient in Every Kitchen
Turning: Use tongs to flip your steaks and a spatula to flip your burgers. You don’t want to pierce the meat as that will allow juices to escape.
Let the steak warm to room temperature before you grill it; it will be much easier to get the inside cooked to the level you want without charring the outside.