Steak (Chateaubriand, etc.)
Professor Vonroach
Steak in general - `Belly' or `straps' from abdominal wall used in
fajitas, etc.
Chuck steak is arm steak.
Blade steak is similar to arm steak
Flank steak - one per side, a lesser cut.
Round steak - this and flank are appropriate for
`chicken fried' steak if tenderized, also hamburger, etc.
Top round - best of the Round
Bottom Round - similar to top round, but two more
muscles involved and some loss of tenderness.
SIRLOIN: Club Delmonico and Sirloin Steak. Can be
curt to desired weight.
Tenderloin - CHATEAUBRIAND - about 3" cut from
thickest part of tenderloin.
From tail side of tenderloin - Filet mignons
From round, usually cut thin - Minute steak.
From short loin - T-bone steak
Comment on cooking: "Application of heat is the most difficult part of
the whole process of cookery. It is so easy to have the heat too
intense or too low and expose the food for too short or too long a
time to its action. We should look upon the application of heat as a
continuation of nature's slow ripening process, a softening of tough
fibers and development of pleasing flavors. For why do we cook at all
except for these reasons? Primitive man thought only that the food had
a better taste. He may have decided that it was also easier to
masticate. ... We have learned that it also makes the food easier to
digest and destroys some harmful lower organisms and parasites."
"Chateaubriand steak. Few people know what a Chateaubriand steak is.
And very few cooks prepare the dish properly, chiefly on account of
the waste involved. Plain steaks are being served all over the States
under the name `Chateaubriand', but they bear scant resemblance to the
steak named for the brilliant French writer and statesman, Francois
Rene', Vicomte de Chateaubriand. This dish was first cooked in the
year 1802 at the restaurant Champeaux, in the Place de la Bourse in
Paris.
A real Chateaubriand is the center portion of a beef tenderloin
stuffed with a mixture of beef marrow, chopped shallots, tarragon, and
parsley. The profane wits of the kitchen thought that a good steak
sent to the fire between two malefactor steaks was a fair parody of
the title of Chateaubriand's book, `Genie du Christianisme'. The filet
of steak was cut so thick that by the ordinary means of cooking it
might be burned on the surface while quite raw inside and therefore -
although the original and authentic method is often ignored nowadays -
it was put on the fire between two slices of beef which if burned
could be thrown away. _Thus only is the Chateaubrian properly cooked_.
It is carved on a slant with one slice going to each person".
From Gold Cook Book by Master Chef Louis P. De Gouy with foreword by
Oscar of the Waldorf. The author was a practicing master chef for 60
years who learned his chosen profession under his father who was
Esquire de Cuisine at the Court of Austria and Belgium.
Now one may not chose to go to the trouble, expense, and waste of the
proper preparation of a Chateaubriand, but this is a full account of
the method practiced in some fine kitchens in Paris and New York.
Also aging the steak contributes to nature's slow ripening and partial
digestion by organisms later destroyed in the cooking. A marinade is
an attempt to speed the natural process.
Professor Vonroach
wrote:
>In article <3ae5f763...@NNTP.ix.netcom.com>,
>Professor Vonroach <vonr...@popd.ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>
>> Tenderloin - CHATEAUBRIAND - about 3" cut from
>> thickest part of tenderloin.
>> From tail side of tenderloin - Filet mignons
>> From round, usually cut thin - Minute steak.
>> From short loin - T-bone steak
>
>
>Ribeye's in there somewhere, yes?
Mais oui, The cut just forward of the sirloin is called the rib.
Starting forward: Chuck (`shoulder'), Rib (`back of chest'), Loin
(`back' of abdominal area') - Loin end, forward, Strip loin, middle,
Short loin , back, Round - hip area. Sirloins and tenderloins come
from the loin cuts, Rib from the rib area (bones usually removed
leaving a `strip' or `eye' of muscle to be cut into individual steaks.
Scores of fabricated cuts are available: Strip loin, bone-in (off of
which sirloins and tenderloins are cut), oven prepared rib (off of
which ribeyes can be carved; Round (Chicago-cut: rump and shank off);
Chuck square (Boneless chuck clod in; boneless brisket).
Loin further offered by wholesaler: Strip loin bone-in, Boneless strip
regular, Boneless strip 81/2" trim; Full tender; Boneless sirloin butt
= each fabricated cut involves loss of about 20 to 80% loss from first
'primal' cut but yields maximum number of individual portions.
Cuts below the primal and fabricated cuts are done at butcher shop or
restaurant supplier or in kitchen. There is considerable shrink when a
`side of beef' is prepared for the cooking.
All of major meat supplier furnish guides to exactly what they have
for sale. Most of above information is courtesy of the Armour Packing
Co.
Then when you decide on cut a considerable selection of _quality_
remains. Many grocer's designations are meaningless.
Professor Vonroach
wrote:
>On Tue, 24 Apr 2001 23:13:57 GMT, vonr...@popd.ix.netcom.com
>(Professor Vonroach) Offered these words of wisdom:
>
>>Some waiters seem confused about what the items on their menu infer.
>>Steak in general - `Belly' or `straps' from abdominal wall used in
>>fajitas, etc.
>> Chuck steak is arm steak....................
>...........dribble dribble
>
>Hey roachboy, took you long enough to respond to that thread.
>Must have taken quite an effort to look up all that information.
>
>Nice to see you confirm what I said with half the bandwidth!
>
Don't hang on the newsgroup daily. Correcting your misinformation was
a pleasure done with little or no effort. I have long had an interest
in steaks and cooking in general. The inspiration for learning the
truth about Chateaubriand was my father's description of this fabulous
steak he first became acquainted with in Paris during WW1. I've
enjoyed steaks in many fabulous restaurants - New York, Chicago,
Kansas City, San Francisco, Fort Worth, New Orleans, and Houston.
Chicago produces la creme de la creme but their best products go to
NYC and Private clubs across the country such as Houston Club.
Houston is not blessed with many great Steak Houses anymore
tragically. The artful aging and correct preparation is seldom
encountered anymore.
>
>
>"Chew Softly and Carry a Big Fork"
>
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>
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Jack Tyler
Professor Vonroach <vonr...@popd.ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:3ae8deaf...@NNTP.ix.netcom.com...
True. However, one designation that's not meaningless is the number
assigned to every cut of meat on all commercially sold food animals by the
USDA. Asking a butcher what the USDA cut number is on a product he's
selling with a strange "marketing name... such as a "strip steak" cuts all
of the hype. I haven't checked, but I imagine one can such a chart on the
web.
Jack