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tough steak leftovers: what to do? Here's a thought.

 
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pbone



Joined: 05 Jan 2008
Posts: 99
Location: Dutchess County, NYS

PostPosted: Wed May 30, 2012 1:49 am    Post subject: tough steak leftovers: what to do? Here's a thought. Reply with quote

I bought a 2" thick "steak" from my regular butcher that was supposed to be sirloin tips, but it looked more like maybe top round. It weighed about 2.5 lbs. It still had some internal silverskin, and it had very little fat, but I marinated it in Worcestershire sauce, and charcoal grilled it anyway, for a couple minutes each side. Hint: If you want that nice criss cross burn lines on your steak, lay it on the charcoal grill (or the ridged grill on top of your stove) looking diagonal. After one minute, DON'T FLIP IT OVER; just turn it so it is diagonal the other way. Another minute by the timer, and THEN flip it and repeat the process, one minute, then change it, on the same side, to the other diagonal, for a total of only 4 minutes on the grill. You'll get flavor and crisscross burn patterns on both sides. Then put it into a preheated oven on a hot platter and cook it until it is done. I like rare, and for the above steak, 350 for 8 - 12 minutes. But I digress. This "steak" turned out to be flavorful, but tough. I had about 1 1/2 lbs of leftover, rare, tough, tasty steak. I decided to make "steak salad"...this means I sliced and diced the leftovers into little cubes (I didn't chop it) about 1/4" or less. Then I added a little chopped vidalia (0r other) onions, salt, peppper, olive oil and finally a brief toss with a very small amount of balsamic vinegar. Or, I believe, you could use a little mayo, just to moisten the beef and onions. Add some roughly chopped celery if you like extra texture. Voila! Beef salad! Serve it over or mixed in with your favorite salad greens or in a bun, like a clever, tasty, burger. You will love the taste, and the texture. You will NOT say: This is disappointingly tough beef! Use your imagination. Mayo or olive oil? add marvelous herbs or lemon juice or whatever you fancy. The trick is to cut up the leftovers into little cubes; don't chop it into oblivion. My pleasure to share this epiphany with all you engineers/cooks. Note: lemon juice or balsamic vinegar tend to tenderize and make the meat soft and un-meatlike, so if you use these, eat soon after adding. Mayo does not have this effect. Or you can skip any of the above and simply use olive oil and salt and herbs, etc. Really delicious as a sandwich. Add more celery if you want less meat in the mix. ))))x, pbone
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