Beef 101 Flashcards
What is Chuck?
Meat is basically a muscle, heavily exercised muscle. The upper shoulder of the cow.
Flat Iron Steak (Private Dining Only)
Is there marbling on this steak?
Is the steak tender?
How do we cook our steak?
Why is it called ‘Flat Iron’ steak?
Cut from the chuck. Considerable marbling, produces great flavor. Tender steak. Josper oven cooked. Called ‘Flat Iron’ because it looks like an older style clothes iron.
From the rib…
What cuts come from the ribs?
What is the difference between the way they’re cooked?
“Prime rib” and Ribeye.
From the rib…
What cuts come from the ribs?
What is the difference between the way they’re cooked?
Which cut has the most marbling of our steaks?
What is a cowboy steak?
“Prime rib” and Ribeye
Prime rib is cooked whole and then cut. Ribeye is cut first and then cooked.
Ribeye has the most marbling of the steaks.
Cowboy steak: Ribeye steak with the Bone attached.
From the short Loin…
How can short loin cuts be prepared?
What are the different types of cuts from the Short Loin?
These cuts can be sauteed, pan fried, broiled, pan broiled, or grilled.
Porterhouse Steak: rear end of the short loin. Consists of both the tenderloin and New York. ‘Porterhouse’ name comes from days when alehouses served dark beer ‘porter’.
Tenderloin: Considered the most tender of cuts. AKA Filet Mignon. WaterGrill uses 8oz or 12oz. 6oz for PEO.
New York Steak: AKA Strip Loin, without the bone. WG uses 14oz.
Sirloin
Where is it located?
Small section between the Short Loin and the Round.
What is marbling and what does it do?
Marbling is little white flecks of fat in the beef.
Marbling ensures flavorful, tender, and juicy beef.
Aging
What does aging mean for the steak?
How does aging work?
What are the two styles of aging?
What style do we use at WG?
Aging = better flavor and more tender cut of beef.
Aging allows natural enzymes to breakdown the hard connective tissue meats and for water to evaporate away, concentrating the natural flavor.
Dry and Wet Age.
We use Wet Age at WG.
How is meat wet aged?
How long is our meat wet aged?
Butcher’s store the packaged meat in refrigerators and allow them to age within their own juices. The enzymes from the juices will breakdown the connective tissues and make the cut more tender.
Our meat is wet aged for 28 days.
How is meat dry aged?
What temperature is the meat stored at?
How much humidity and why?
Why does the price increase substantially?
Dry aging is done by hanging the meat in a controlled, closely watched, refrigerated environment. Temperature needs to stay between 42oF & 36oF (too hot=spoil, too cold=freeze).
85% humidity to reduce water loss, control bacteria, and constant flow of air around the meat.
Increased weight loss from water loss, time, storage space, refrigeration, and labor.
What are the three Beef Grades (best to worst)?
Prime, Choice, Select
Prime Grade Guidelines and Classifications?
What kind of cooking is Prime great for?
What steaks are Prime at WG?
Young, well-fed beef cattle. Abundant marbling. Only 2% of beef can be graded prime.
Colors, Marbling, Texture, as well as Feed Quality and Aging.
Great for dry - heat cooking(i.e., roasting, broiling, and grilling).
WG’s New York and “Cowboy” Ribeye is Prime Grade.
Choice Grade Classifications
What steaks are Choice at WG?
High quality but less than Prime.
Slightly tougher texture than Prime.
We use Choice for our Filet Mignon.
Select Grade Classifications
What steaks are Select at WG?
Select has less marbling than Choice and less complexity to the flavor.
Select can be more tough in texture.
Select can dry out easily when overcooked.
We don’t use Select Grade at WG.
What are the cooking methods at WG?
Josper Oven - Mesquite Grill Oven
Our oven is from Spain. You get all the flavors of the mesquite in the meat.
