Was a "new" cut of steak "discovered"?

[pastameshugana]

Didn't see this posted already, so I thought I'd bring it up. Apparently 'steak specialists' in Vegas have discovered a new cut of beef. It sounds to me as if what really happened was discovering a method to portion a part of the carcass that would normally be ground.

Anyone seen or heard of the 'Las Vegas Strip Steak'?

Here's the link.

[weinoo]

You'd be right, but it's really not that new. The "seminal" butcher Jack Ubaldi, author of Jack Ubaldi's Meat Book: A Butcher's Guide to Buying, Cutting, and Cooking Meat also discovered a new steak, as the NY Times wrote in his obit:

He was also known for inventing, decades ago, his own cut of beef, which he named the Newport steak. It is still sold at the store, under its current management.

[rotuts]

This is interesting. Is this the 'newport steak?'

http://www.google.com/search?q=newport+steak&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

http://blog.kathrynmcgowan.com/2011/04/07/the-mysterious-newport-steak/

some variation on Tri-tip?

interesting also that there is so much 'marketing' involved. and you can patent a hunk of cut cow?

Ive also wondered why various tough but delicious cheap cuts from the shoulder are not SV'd, sold in the package 'rare' 'medium' etc with instructions to warm (somehow) and then deep sear.

[Ashen]

Rotus. it is funny you should mention Tri-tip. When I saw the piece steak on a fork picture on the OP link , I immediately thought, that looks like tri-tip. If you weren't worried about trim waste , it would be very possible to trim out a nice looking steak from a tri-tip that looks like the ones on this site. http://vegasstripsteak.com/site

[rotuts]

My library system unfortunately does not have the Ubaldi book. Im originally from California and i know that Tri-tip was preferentially sent west for the BBQ there. Demand i guess supported a higher price than the East. I now live in the East and have gotten some TT's and SV'd them. They were delicious. On the grill they tend to be a little tough when cut 'as steaks' California Tri-tip BBQ was usually marinated and then grilled but cut very thin. That helped with the tenderness issue. I think the cut was popular for BBQ because a whole tri-tip is fairly large with a fairly uniform thickness. You could get even cooking and by knowing the consistent grain pattern get nice across the grain thin cuts.

One of the ref. I mentioned above Tri-tip for the newport steam.

[Kerry Beal]

I suspect it's a rib cap steak - spinalis dorsi.

[weinoo]

My library system unfortunately does not have the Ubaldi book. Im originally from California and i know that Tri-tip was preferentially sent west for the BBQ there. Demand i guess supported a higher price than the East. I now live in the East and have gotten some TT's and SV'd them. They were delicious. On the grill they tend to be a little tough when cut 'as steaks' California Tri-tip BBQ was usually marinated and then grilled but cut very thin. That helped with the tenderness issue. I think the cut was popular for BBQ because a whole tri-tip is fairly large with a fairly uniform thickness. You could get even cooking and by knowing the consistent grain pattern get nice across the grain thin cuts.

One of the ref. I mentioned above Tri-tip for the newport steam.

Tri-tip is what's used in the famous Santa Maria barbecue. A delicious cut.

When I had "my" butcher at the Essex St. Market (sadly no longer in biz), he would sell me some special cuts. Most, if not all, from the chuck, a naturally delicious part of the animal.

[rotuts]

Excellent point. Your choice is a top candidate. in looking again at the Vegas pic, it might also be a Flat-iron trimmed in a special way:a whole flat-iron with the central tendon removed. I used to do this all the time: you purchased a whole flatiron (blade roast) which you trimmed as follows: with the central tendon horizontal to your cutting board, you cut down in the center of the meat to the tendon, and then slid you knife along the tendon to the end and repeated in the other direction. you turned over the meat and repeated the process. you ended up with 4 steaks that were delicious cooked rare on a very hot grill. The meat had tremendous flavor, was tender and inexpensive. This meat is usually cut in steaks with the tendon running down the middle. The butcher trimmed off the thinner ends of the roast which left the steaks with a more uniform thickness. The grain of this cut ran horizontal through the steak, as it would on a rib-cap steak. The grain on most USA steaks (viewed on the plate) runs vertical.

Edited May 16, 2012 by rotuts (log)

[jsmeeker]

I'll be in Las Vegas in a few weeks. I wonder if any of the steak joints on the strip will have it on the menu by then

[Chris Hennes]

Incidentally, Oklahoma State University is trying to patent (yes, patent) this cut.

[Kerry Beal]

Incidentally, Oklahoma State University is trying to patent (yes, patent) this cut.

So they get a cut (pun intended) every time I pull out a knife to trim up 'their' steak?

[Chris Hennes]

It's not real clear what it's going to mean, actually. It's obviously going to be protected by trademark (so your butcher won't be able to sell a "Las Vegas Strip" without paying for the privilege) but with a patent they are clearly going to actually attempt to prevent anyone from selling the same cut even under a different name without paying up. There is not a whole lot of legal precedent for this, that I am aware of.

[heidih]

Sounds like a recipe copyright on the ingredients list - not gonna fly

[Shalmanese]

Actually, it sounds more like a "process" patent which will be a patent on the specific steps used to extract the meat from a primal.

[tim]

The weight and tenderness of the Vegas steak sounds like flat iron but that is certainly not new. I;d like to see the whole uncooked steak.

The Newport cut looks suspiciously like a sirloin cap rolled into a half circle, the same cut you see at churrascaria. In this case, they cut through the center and fold the steak over smooth outer fat cap. The Loin cap would be much more expensive.

Tim

[Chris Hennes]

Actually, it sounds more like a "process" patent which will be a patent on the specific steps used to extract the meat from a primal.

Yes, I think that's the idea: but I believe this is the first time anyone has tried to apply for patent protection for their method of cutting. The idea of a process patent is not new, of course, but applying it to butchery is, AFAIK.

[gfweb]

University "technology transfer" lawyers are usually completely out of control; at least the ones that I've had the pleasure dealing with. Sounds like it would be a tough patent to defend.

[rotuts]

BTW if this is Blade Roast with a 'new cut' as i think it is, Ive been cutting it this way for many years.

[rotuts]

for some reason I could not edit the above. i meant it in jest

however, if you can get a whole blade roast, cut out the 4 steaks as mentioned above, season as you prefer then grirl a couple of minutes a side to your favorite 'doneness' and you can see why these are so good.

Edited May 31, 2012 by rotuts (log)

[KD1191]

Actually, it sounds more like a "process" patent which will be a patent on the specific steps used to extract the meat from a primal.

Yes, I think that's the idea: but I believe this is the first time anyone has tried to apply for patent protection for their method of cutting. The idea of a process patent is not new, of course, but applying it to butchery is, AFAIK.

If a butcher skirts the patent on this new steak, is the rancher on the hook for contributory infringement? What about the knife maker?