BDAABAT
is one Smokin' Farker
Good day all!
Quick story.
I recently retired from full time work at the end of June. Left for a lovely vacation with my 87 year old mother soon after. Travelled to Lisbon, Porto, and Madeira. It was an adventure! My mom was a trooper during the trip. She's got serious mobility issues that made moving around Portugal quite challenging (there are elevation changes everywhere! Can't avoid it entirely, but we made do with uber and tuk tuks). She also let me know that this was her last big trip. It took a lot out of her. She's realizing her age and her limitations. it is what it is.
We returned home last week and my mom was staying with us for a couple days before she returned to Florida. I wanted to do something to not only help celebrate the accomplishment of this last big trip but to also provide as positive an eating experience as I could for her before she left.
She's a fan of steak but doesn't often cook it for herself. She also doesn't like dealing with fat/connective tissue. Soooo...what to get?
Ordinarily, I'd get rib eyes for flavor/tenderness. Unfortunately, she would be less enthusiastic about rib eye than I would be. I decided on filet. Went to the local market bright an early one morning. Chatted up the individual behind the counter. He introduced himself as Sean, the meat counter manager. He noticed me looking at the prime filet in the window case. Tried to convince me to partake. I let him know that $34/lb was a bit out of my price range (NOTE: I didn't really have a price range...I'm just not gonna pay $34/lb for something from the local supermarket). After pushing me a bit and getting nowhere, he then changed course.
He came out from behind the counter and said, "I got you!".
He let me know that the store puts managers special items (in this case, special meaning, on sale) in a particular area of the meat section. Since I was there early, he said that if I was someone that shopped early that it would be good to check out this section for those deals. He happened to have a deal on the same prime grade filet as what's in the case, but it was half off the price in the case.
Yes, it worked. I bought a small pack of those filets (my mom is not a big eater of any one item...she wants a little of this and a little of that).
Umkay, now I've got a very nice couple pieces of meat... how to prepare/cook?
The answer: sous vide, then finish on the grill.
Cooked sous vide at 122 degrees for 2.5 hours, then seared on a hot gas grill.
The steak?
My mom was THRILLED! Absolutely loved it! In fact, she's still talking about it several days later. It was a very nice piece of steak. I'm not ordinarily a big fan of filet. In my experience (generally with lower graded filet) the texture is lovely, but the taste can be...lacking. This was one that had all of the desirable characteristics of filet (very tender) and one that had very, very good flavor.
I was happy that my mom was happy. Nice way to enjoy a meal before she took off for her home.
Bruce
Quick story.
I recently retired from full time work at the end of June. Left for a lovely vacation with my 87 year old mother soon after. Travelled to Lisbon, Porto, and Madeira. It was an adventure! My mom was a trooper during the trip. She's got serious mobility issues that made moving around Portugal quite challenging (there are elevation changes everywhere! Can't avoid it entirely, but we made do with uber and tuk tuks). She also let me know that this was her last big trip. It took a lot out of her. She's realizing her age and her limitations. it is what it is.
We returned home last week and my mom was staying with us for a couple days before she returned to Florida. I wanted to do something to not only help celebrate the accomplishment of this last big trip but to also provide as positive an eating experience as I could for her before she left.
She's a fan of steak but doesn't often cook it for herself. She also doesn't like dealing with fat/connective tissue. Soooo...what to get?
Ordinarily, I'd get rib eyes for flavor/tenderness. Unfortunately, she would be less enthusiastic about rib eye than I would be. I decided on filet. Went to the local market bright an early one morning. Chatted up the individual behind the counter. He introduced himself as Sean, the meat counter manager. He noticed me looking at the prime filet in the window case. Tried to convince me to partake. I let him know that $34/lb was a bit out of my price range (NOTE: I didn't really have a price range...I'm just not gonna pay $34/lb for something from the local supermarket). After pushing me a bit and getting nowhere, he then changed course.
He came out from behind the counter and said, "I got you!".
He let me know that the store puts managers special items (in this case, special meaning, on sale) in a particular area of the meat section. Since I was there early, he said that if I was someone that shopped early that it would be good to check out this section for those deals. He happened to have a deal on the same prime grade filet as what's in the case, but it was half off the price in the case.
Yes, it worked. I bought a small pack of those filets (my mom is not a big eater of any one item...she wants a little of this and a little of that).
Umkay, now I've got a very nice couple pieces of meat... how to prepare/cook?
The answer: sous vide, then finish on the grill.
Cooked sous vide at 122 degrees for 2.5 hours, then seared on a hot gas grill.
The steak?
My mom was THRILLED! Absolutely loved it! In fact, she's still talking about it several days later. It was a very nice piece of steak. I'm not ordinarily a big fan of filet. In my experience (generally with lower graded filet) the texture is lovely, but the taste can be...lacking. This was one that had all of the desirable characteristics of filet (very tender) and one that had very, very good flavor.
I was happy that my mom was happy. Nice way to enjoy a meal before she took off for her home.
Bruce
