Philadelphia Tasters' Club

[Andrew Fenton]

One thing I noted is that, at least of the samples I ate, the sous-vide and grilled steaks were slightly more well-done than the pan-seared. The SV steak, for example, was medium-rare, and the pan-seared steaks were quite rare.

I have a suspicion that this helps explain the reaction that the pan-seared WF steak tasted like "nothing"-- not only did those other cooking methods concentrate flavor, but the amount of cooking intensifies flavor as well. (This may be one of those obvious findings, but still...)

Oh, and to answer Sandy's question:

So what hope do we with little more than countertop grills at our disposal have?

Buy the best meat you can (the Flannery is quite good, and not much more than the WF) and pan-sear it. Make a nice pan sauce with lots of butter and serve it alongside. Enjoy it; it will be a very good steak.

[brucedelta]

Big thanks to Vadouvan for hosting this tasting and inviting me along.

No one has yet mentioned the wonderful starter of Polenta, Pork Belly, and soft egg that I thought was delicious. That was a nice treat.

And now onto some steak thoughts:

I clearly agree with the opinions already expressed that the Flannery steak was substantially more flavorful than the WF product. I think by itself the WF steak would be considered good by most, or by me at least. Since I suspect aging has a lot to do with creating strong beefy flavors, I would have to attribute most of the difference in flavor to this. I think they were both very tender, and I would be proud to serve a steak as nice as the WF one in my home. On the other hand the pan sear technique did little to add any flavors to the meat, so clearly the WF steak with less inherit flavor fared worst with that method.

On the other hand I felt the CSV did the most for the WF steak with the end result that both were very close on this count. I suspect the infused flavors went well with the mellow WF beef and made it a fine dish. As has already been mentioned the results of the CSV cooking were very tender and subtle with the hazelnut oil infusion. As someone who normally orders a Filet Mignon when I do order steak, I would have to believe this is the closest a Strip could ever come to being a filet. I would also have to say I was very disapointed about this discovery because it is a cooking technique that is currently beyond my capability. I was planning on replacing my ovens this year, but may have to rethink that plan.

The suprise to me was how much the steaks picked up the smoky flavor of that little grill. If I were to order that steak in a restaurant I would definatly request it buterflied or such since the smoke flavor and crust were excellent. The center cut bite was not any different than the pan sear, but the bites with crust clearly were a treat. Again you could taste the beefier flavor of the aged steak more on these samples, but I think this is a case where the flavor of the technique brings them very close. As someone who likes filet I may lack the proper appreciation of the beefy flavor of the aged steak, so while I could taste it, I would rather be tasting the flavorful crust. While 3" steaks look wonderful and impresive I think a thiner cut would have done well here.

I also now have a better understanding of something I see on Iron Chef. I always wondered about it when one of the chefs on the show sets up a grill by putting some wood or charcol into a pot with a grate on top, now I have a much better understanding.

Edited March 16, 2007 by brucedelta (log)

[mrbigjas]

since i missed the original steak tasting, the thing about this one was how much more beefy the flannery steak was. so in a way it was the first tasting for me.

where the difference in flavor really shone was in the sous vide preparations, where other flavors were introduced. with the whole foods steak you could really get the flavor of the hazlenut oil and bay laurel. while you could still taste those things in the flannery steak, its own beefiness beat them out.

charcoal grilling does make all the difference, though. the browning from the intense heat, combined with the slight smoke flavor from the charcoal, make up for the quality differences in the meat.

OK it doesn't QUITE make up for the difference. if you're eating the two grilled steaks side by side you can tell. but if you weren't.

i gotta wonder if my hood's powerful enough to suck out the CO from one of these mini mini (7" x 7")versions of a konro grill. i mean, a grill that size would take like two charcoal briquettes, i got a good vent directly to outside.... damn.

anyway, i agree with andrew that the pan-seared steaks were rarer than the others. i wonder if they had been in there longer, cooked to a little less rare, would they have more of a crust like the grilled steaks did?

[percyn]

I consider myself luck to be a participant at both steak tastings. This time around the winners and loosers were quite straight forward (and unanimous?):

Better Steak - Flannery

Best Cooking Method - Bincho-Tan grill, followed by Sous Vide, followed by pan seared

Best Comeback - Whole Foods steak (the last one was pathetic)

I wish we had 1 preperation which was CSV and then grilled. Not no worries, I have the grill now and just need to find the charcoal and Sous Vide some steaks.

Big thank you to V, David G, Ms Rae, Phil-A, Schake and the gang. Oh, after the tasting we also consumed 4? bottles of wine - a terrific PN, an OK Bordeaux, a Sautern and Sherry, with PhilA's chocolates.

Cheers

Percy

[wkl]

"I have the grill now and just need to find the charcoal and Sous Vide some steaks."

hey percy- the charcoal can be had at www.korin.com

[Jeff L]

"I have the grill now and just need to find the charcoal and Sous Vide some steaks."

hey percy- the charcoal can be had at www.korin.com

←

Percy, if you can put this on your expense account, I'd get me some

http://www.korin.com/product.php?pid=1677&df=korin

[percyn]

Thanks for the link...its on its way

Edited March 17, 2007 by percyn (log)

[wkl]

fyi to all- korin (link in previous post) is having a clearance sale, which they seem to fairly often, and the konro grills are marked down 15%. the charcoal is also reduced 15%.

the sumi charcoal is discounted to $100! a screaming bargain...

seriously, i've ordered lots of stuff from them and they are very reliable.

[dagordon]

fyi to all- korin (link in previous post) is having a clearance sale, which they seem to fairly often, and the konro grills are marked down 15%. the charcoal is also reduced 15%.

the sumi charcoal is discounted to $100! a screaming bargain...

seriously, i've ordered lots of stuff from them and they are very reliable.

←

Damn... we don't even have a patio or a backyard and I'm about to pull the trigger on this thing (if you see the guy grilling his dinner on a konro grill on the corner of 15th and locust, that's me)

i'm not seeing the discount, though -- the sumi, for example, is showing up as $128, even after I add it to my cart. is there a code or something?

[mrbigjas]

same question from me.

[Jeff L]

I just got off the phone with Korin and the Konro grill is selling at a 15% discount. Shipping to PA is $12. Call 1-800-626-2172 - I ordered the small one with some binchotan coals. There are a pleasure to deal with.

Also, they offer a 10% trade discount but not combinable with the 15% off.

I don't know, get creative

Edited March 28, 2007 by Jeff L (log)

[wkl]

i called korin and they said the sale prices won't be on the web until 4/1/07. but if you order now just put in the comment section you want the 15% off sale price and they will adjust.

[Tim Dolan]

That grill looks perfect for an apartment dweller with a small outdoor patio, no?

[Jeff L]

That grill looks perfect for an apartment dweller with a small outdoor patio, no?

←

Tim, particularly if you buy some of the binchotan charcoal. It burns at a very high heat and is virtually smokeless. I was told the Konro grill is made for indoor use with use of the wooden base. Can't wait to try mine out!

[Vadouvan]

We now interrupt our programming for a public service announcement.

I CANNOT OVEREMPHASISE HOW MUCH YOU *CAN NOT* USE THAT GRILL INDOORS.

SUMI CHARCOAL WHILE IT BURNS SMOKELESS CREATES CARBON MONOXIDE, A COLORLESS ODORLESS GAS WHICH WILL MAKE YOU PASS OUT EVENTUALLY, POSSIBLY DIE TOO.

and now we return to Oprah....

[Jeff L]

We now interrupt our programming for a public service announcement.

I CANNOT OVEREMPHASISE HOW MUCH YOU *CAN NOT* USE THAT GRILL INDOORS.

SUMI CHARCOAL WHILE IT BURNS SMOKELESS CREATES CARBON MONOXIDE, A COLORLESS ODORLESS GAS WHICH WILL MAKE YOU PASS OUT EVENTUALLY, POSSIBLY DIE TOO.

and now we return to Oprah....

←

V, I had no intention of using it indoors as I got a big ass back yard with patio. Just repeating what I was told. I know a liitle about carbon monoxide as we have a gas fireplace and I once forgot to open the flue all the way. That doesn't happen any more!

[Tim Dolan]

Quick question. Anyone know what warrants the sumi charcoal to be $100 more expensive than the binchotan? (That's a legit question, I'm not trying to be a smart ass).

[mrbigjas]

the binchotan comes in a 500g pack, and the sumi comes in a 10kg pack...

[Tim Dolan]

So is there anything on the docket for the Taster's Club? You guys have been too quiet. We can't be having these month long layoffs! Who do you guys think you are?!?!

[Jeff L]

Quick question.  Anyone know what warrants the sumi charcoal to be $100 more expensive than the binchotan?  (That's a legit question, I'm not trying to be a smart ass).

←

Tim, that binchotan coal is a bitch to light. I tried everything including my chimney starter and couldn't get it lit. They say to use fuel gel paks but I didn't want to potentially smell or taste that in the food.

fyi, I am waiting for a call back from Kamada as soon as they get their container load of coconut shell charcoal. Check out this site, the stuff is supposed to be pretty great and it's a hell of a lot cheaper than the Japanese stuff.

http://www.tropicalcharcoal.com/

[dagordon]

All I wanted was a good strip steak to cook last night for dinner.

I went to the 9th St Whole Foods, which has served me well in the past. Unfortunately, the regular (non-aged) strips looked pretty lame. The dry-aged strips were kind of hiding in the back of the display case, for good reason; they looked even worse, greying around the edges and with uneven marbling with evident lines of tough fat.

So I went to the 20th St Whole Foods. The regular strips looked about the same as at 9th St; the dry-aged strips here, though, had virtually no marbling at all. They looked like USDA Select. Kind of shocking, actually.

So I went to Di Bruno's center city; the last time I had a steak there was at the tasting we did over a year ago, where it didn't fare so well. But the butcher area at Di Bruno's has looked better these days, so I decided to give it a try. They didn't have any aged strips; I got an unaged strip that was probably a high grade of Choice.

I gave it the special treatment. I seared it briefly to get some Maillard flavors, as well as to sterilize the exterior, as I then used a Jaccard meat tenderizer on it. nathanm has done some experiments proving the benefits of the Jaccard not only in improving texture, but also in preventing the loss of liquids during sous-vide cooking. But there's some concern that when you use it you're pushing possibly dirty meat into the sterile interior of the steak, which if you're cooking to rare to medium rare might be a problem; hence the sterilization.

So I put it in the water bath for an hour and a half or so at 50 C. I salted and peppered both sides and then seared again, this time for a crust. What resulted was this:

A perfectly cooked, perfectly tender steak, if I do say so myself: nice crust, but perfectly and evenly rare to medium rare in the interior.

Only one problem: the steak had no taste.

I conclude that it's way more difficult than it should be, if it's possible at all, to get a high quality steak in Philadelphia on the spur of the moment.

[Tim Dolan]

Well, if it makes you feel any better, it sure as hell looks pretty good.

I'm dying for a local place to produce prime, steakhouse quality meat. This thread proves that you don't need a steakhouse quality broiler to obtain satisfying results.

[hathor]

Peanut gallery piping up here: do you know if it was corn or grass fed? Just curious.

I've been in Italy for awhile, and they cut meat very differently here, so looking at that carefully cooked piece of meat....reminded me that I haven't seen meat like that in awhile. Meat here has a ton of grizzle, and fat and it's 'hard' compared to soft American meat. Could that softness result in a loss of flavor? Just idle wondering....not that this will help you find a good cut of meat in Philly.