What is the best cut of beef steak?

[Plumbata]

ORIGINAL: RedGinger
Maryland Blue Crabs!!

Best food to have ever graced our steaming-pots! G-damn I wish I could crack open a dozen of those delicious invertebrates right now and extract all the succulent flesh possible. It is a mix of nostalgia, and just plain love of the sweet, delicate flavor, so far superior to lobster, snow crab, king crab, crayfish, or any similar creature. Got my mouth watering like no steak ever could. Can't wait to go crabbin' again, it has been over 12 years but I remember catching about 5 dozen with my family back on Chincoteague Island over the course of 4 hours and would kill to be back there in 1997, before the crab harvests fell off. The sun was shining down, the waves were lapping at the piers, the breeze blowing from east to west, and the dip nets scraping the hapless creatures off the pilings (and chicken necks) at healthy intervals. I don't much care for fishing, but crabs? Best creature that natural selection ever invented (besides us humans, naturally []). Bushels of crabs were staples at family gatherings in MD back in the 90s, and the source of some of my fondest memories. []

I have read and watched a great deal about the nature of factory farm meat production, and although it is disgusting in practice, the meat still tastes awesome. My father used to raise rabbits on organic feed for meat and I ate them for several years. I had a pet rabbit, one I chose after much deliberation at a county fair, which was the most affectionate, loving, calm, and generally agreeable rodent I have ever encountered, as it would actively come up to me to snuggle. It was so awesome. Best pet ever. Unfortunately a neighbor threw it in the air and broke its back. It was so sad to see the sweetest of creatures die a painful, lingering death; my first tangible encounter with the reality of the end of a life cycle. No way I could consume the flesh of its brethren thereafter. Best rabbit I have seen before or since, and this is an objective observation, not a foolish and unfounded statement. To get back to the subject at hand, I also know all about the horrors of smoking cigarettes as well, but still indulge if that puts my willing consumption of adulterated meats in perspective. An exhibition of some of the problems of rationalizing away one's valid worries I suppose, hehe. Perhaps in 10 years I will tone it down, but I plan to live it up for the time being. I'm in the process of quitting smoking though, 5 years is more than enough! [:'(]

So after cooking up the NY strip and some tri-tip steaks, I must say that the ribeye is still the #1 cut as far as I am concerned. NY strip is better than the tri-tip, but nothing to rave about. Perhaps i need to perfect my methods though. Fat is good because it tastes great and I haven't gained any weight at all for over 4 years regardless of how much i eat, so I guess 160 is where I am supposed to be for a while. Haven't tried cooking it over flame but I bet it would create the juiciest bit of meat, with the quick searing of the outside which would likely lock in the juices, fats, and flavor. I used a McCormick Garlic Sea salt grinder with some other spices and it was good on the former cuts, but on ribeye it was exquisite. Simple fare as far as it goes, but I will be trying out the crock pot/slow cooking and other excellent suggestions shortly, and hope they will go well.


Thanks for all the awesome opinions, I will be reviewing and trying out all your suggestions as time and facilities allow, and will continue seeking more advice so please donate some more bits of personal experience! Thankee much! []

 

[bostaurus]

Since Animal Science was my major and my Masters is in Dairy Reproductive physiology I thought I might add a couple tidbits that may answer a couple questions.
The reason that Angus is so popular has to do with the genetics. Angus has much better marbling than most other breeds...marbling being the distribution of fat throughout the muscle. Of course that can vary from animal to animal within the breed. Most of the English breeds (Angus, Hereford, Shorthorn) are known for good beef though the Angus stands out. The European breeds, Charolais, Salers, Simmental,etc, tend to be much leaner and make a much drier steak. The Waygu breed from Japan is the leader in the amount of fat and marbling. It is the breed that is used to make Kobi beef. In the case of Kobi the animal is feed special diet, kept in a stall, massaged and given beer. The Waygu are being bred here in the States now so you can buy it here. Is a Waygu steak any better than Angus? I will never know. I checked prices.. 2 strip steaks weighting 1 lb total...$99.95, 2-36 oz ribeyes $199.99. Ouch!
Red, as far as embryo transfer in cattle, you don't have to worry about the hormones in the meat. The embryo transfer is used only in the very best cows..ones unlikely to be in the food chain. The cow is given a couple shots to make her ovaries produce extra eggs, the same hormone she would already be producing. You have to give more than one shot because the hormone is naturally flushed out of the system. They are then artificially bred using bulls that the majority of farmers would never be able to own. Many of the bulls are syndicated for millions. The embryos are harvested without any surgery and implanted, without surgery into other cows. From there on it is just like any other pregnancy with no extra hormones needed. It is an expensive procedure but its influence,especially in the dairy industry, has been great. One cow may have 4-6 calves over her lifetime. With embryo transfer she can produce 30, 40 or more. With artificial insemination one bull can have many thousands of offspring. With the advances in freezing semen and embryos a cow or bull can still be producing offspring years after they have died.

 

[coreya]

In my humble opinion the best cut is the T-Bone or Porterhouse from a hand fed sweetfeed grain stuffed steer, cooked on a very hot grill, seared on both sides and screaming red in the middle.
The last steer we had was named T-Bone and weighed in at 1400 lbs when he was killed by lightning in our field. He and our 100 lb boxer would run back and forth along the fence, spinning around and making noise at each other. When T-Bone died the dog would sit by the fence for two weeks looking for his bud, it was so sad. I still Love a great steak though!!!!

 

[towhead]

ok then, if not steak, I'll take the Romaine Salad, with red onions, cherub tomatoes, shredded cheese, sunflower seeds, etc, etc and seasoned chicken breast! And, if only I could stop there! But no, now I'll need all those flavorful (fatty) dressings! Oh well, I hear you need some fat to absorb the vitamins....

-Julie

 

[towhead]

And, to go really healthy, Wild Caught Alaskan Salmon...

-Julie

 

[Poison_Us]

Shrimp...all the way. As much as we love crab, I have to agree with my wife, blue crab is a lot of work for little reward.
We love shrimp in all ways, from hot peel and eat to shrimp caesar salad.

Now I'm craving the Crab Shack. We only go maybe once a year...but now we are talking seafood...dang it!

http://www.thecrabshack.com/

 

[bostaurus]

My Louisiana hubby loves crawfish but they are even more work than crabs...unless you master the art of the "twist and pinch". My in-laws are always sweet enough to throw some shrimp in with the crawfish so those of us that don't want to work so hard for our dinner will be happy.
They raise a few head of Angus too. When the boys were still at home they would feed one out each year and fill the freezer. They used to have 14 gallons of milk delivered each week and go through a gallon of ice cream almost every day.

 

[RedGinger]

I'm with you, Julie. I like a salad with lots of stuff in it! I forgot about the sunflower seeds. I have to get some anyway, as I heard they release the same chemicals in your brain as chocolate, which I eat too much of lol. Wild salmon is definitely the best and so good for you.

Thanks for the info, Melinda. I didn't know that. I won't get into veal. That is one thing I refuse to eat, ever.

I was raised on MD crabs, and for us Marylanders, part of the fun is sitting around, having a beer with your crabs and talking as you pick them. It is work to get the meat, but to me, it's worth it. I also like to chop some tomatoes and dip them in the Old Bay from the crabs. Then, you save the claws and pick the remaining crabs for soup. To me, you just can't beat it. You can also buy the meat for some awesome crabcakes. It's been a few years since I've had crabs. We're too far from the coast for any seafood. It makes me a little homesick.

Lobster and steamers are at the top of my list too. There was a place on the beach in NH that used to have 2 1 1/4 lb lobsters for $15! I miss that area a lot too.

 

[towhead]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm Lobster, Crab Legs Yum Yum. Cost too much here!

Laur-A square of dark chocolate a day is good for you. That's right, one little square off the whole chocolate bar.[]
-Julie

 

[RedGinger]

I know. I used to kind of like dark chocolate, but now not as much. On the healthy side, I found Passion Fruit at the grocery store yesterday! What a surprise! I went to the Bahamas once and they served French Toast with Passionfruit sauce. It was heavenly. Passion Fruit is known for its calming properties and is used in a OTC medicine called "Calms Forte". I tried it, but it didn't do anything for me. It works for Joe, though.