The Most Amazing Steak I have ever eaten!
American Waygu From Snake River Farms
Did you ever hear the saying “tough as a 2 dollar steak”? I looked up the etymology of this saying and apparently there are a ton of sayings about a tough steak being cheap. Growing up as a kid, I didn't like steak. Mostly because it was always too dry, chewy and bland. I now know that I’m sure I didn't have quality meat cooked well as a kid. I’m going to teach you about high quality beef and pork in the rest of this post. My goal is to make sure you NEVER order the 5.99 steak and eggs special. Let's discuss different grades of meat to help you make informed decisions about what to bbq or grill.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a division called the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The mission statement of the FSIS is “Protecting the public’s health by ensuring the safety of meat, poultry, and processed egg products.” There is a lot of this regulation of the food we eat to make sure we get safe products to eat. As a result, the USDA grades beef and poultry. Not pork though. Their website states “Pork is not graded with USDA quality grades as it is generally produced from young animals that have been bred and fed to produce more uniformly tender meat. Appearance is an important guide in buying fresh pork.”
The USDA grades poultry as grades A, B and C. Grade A chicken is for retail, where Grades B & C are used for processing. Have you ever thought about different grades of chicken? I know that there is free range or organic chicken. What about those pieces of chicken that are huge like turkey size pieces? Is it steroids? Wait a minute, we are here for Beef enough about chicken.
The USDA designates (8) categories for beef:
Prime Grade: abundant marbling and is generally sold in restaurants and hotels
Choice Grade: high quality, but has less marbling than Prime
Select Grade: fairly tender, but, because it has less marbling, it may lack some of the juiciness and flavor of their higher grades
Standard and Commercial Grade: frequently sold as ungraded or as "store brand" meat
Utility, Cutter and Canner: seldom, if ever, sold at retail but are used instead to make ground beef and processed products
I’ve always heard the advice that you should buy the best meat you can afford. Remember, no matter what you buy you still need to cook your protein correctly, it definitely adds to the pressure when you buy that $80 tri-tip. I typically try to buy choice on a regular basis as it is found pretty normally at grocery stores and membership stores. When I’m trying to do something special, I get prime meat. Prime meat that is well marbled is so full of flavor and incredibly tender.
Wagyu Tri-Tip from Snake River Farms
When it's time to go really big with beef. Then you can get “higher than prime”! What is higher than prime? It's called WAGYU! (say it with me: WAA-GYOU) Wagyu simply means japanese cow. Wagyu.org has a tremendous amount of information on this delectable delight. I hold wagyu in the highest regard. The few times that I have had wagyu beef it always felt like the best beef I’ve ever had. Super silky, beefy flavor, the meat is mind blowingly rich in fat and flavor. Beef butter! Pause and think about that term for a minute. When I eat meat this good, I feel like I don't deserve it.
Let me tell you about the year 2018 in Palm Springs, California. The site of the King of the Smoker cooking competition hosted by Big Poppa Smokers. It was an invitational competition where 24 top teams across the country got the opportunity to compete in one of the most prestigious competitions on the west coast. Travis Clark from Clark Crew BBQ was doing a steak cooking demonstration. He cooked one of the best steaks that I ever had. He started with an entire new york roast wagyu gold grade from Snake river Farms. on an incredible Weber Ranch Kettle. The Weber Ranch Kettle is like a giant size Weber Kettle. It's really impressive. He used a couple of seasonings from Big Poppa Smokers, Double Secret Steak Rub and Little Louie Garlic Rub. Both great products. There was a simple 2 zone cooking setup on the grill where he got a great sear on each steak and then cooked them indirectly until it hit the temperature he was looking for. While he was explaining his techniques and talking about the high quality of the meat, his assistants were slicing the meat and handing out samples. You could see the crowd of about 20 to 25 people's jaws drop and eye brows perk up as they ate the meat. When I finally got a chance, the slice was so tender and soft to the touch. The taste on the tongue was immediately pleasing with salty peppery buttery notes and the beef flavor so prominent but silky smooth. I watched carefully to make sure everyone got some and then I got back in there for more. Not trying to flex or anything but I have been to some of the country's high end steak houses, but they could not compare to being cooked and served Snake River Farms Gold Grade New York Steak. This is still one of the most amazing steak experiences in my life.
Eating high quality beef should be done with caution. Why? Each time you get better quality, you set the bar higher than the last time. High Quality meat can be expensive and difficult to get. My friend and partner on The Grill Coach Podcast, Wes once told me. “You ruined my steak experience. I can never buy regular grocery store steaks again!” He was converted and on his way to a meat snob. My job was done and I could walk away in the sunset until the next convert. Can I convert you?
