You can pick steak by the cut, the grade, and whether or not the beef has been aged. And there's another-- the cow’s diet. Most American beef is grain-fed. But what about grass-fed beef? Why does grass-fed beef have a bad reputation for being tasteless, too lean, and gamey? In our test kitchen, we judge whether grain-fed beef is richer and fattier than grass-fed. We're also check whether grass-fed beef is lean and chewy with a gamey taste. To judge, we purchase meat that is aged for the same number of days, and we purchase meat that was fed with the same grain. We then sear the steaks to medium-rare and taste. With various steaks, our taste testers could not make any major distinctions between grass-fed and grain-fed meat. Our taste testers noticed some of the flavor of the grain-fed beef was mild, and the flavor of the grass-fed beef was nutty. But there were no major difference between grass- and grain-fed beef. In the past few years, grass-fed beef has become more tasty, more appealing to chefs and kitchen. Why? "Finishing" grass-fed beef is becoming more popular. Farmers are letting their cows eat clover and similar grasses to bring in a sweeter final taste. Many farmers are dry-aging their meat, which helps to concentrate a more "beefy" flavor and increase tenderness. Our conclusion is that grass-fed beef that is dry-aged and are of fattier cuts, like rib-eye, you'll find that the meat is rich in flavor and buttery compared to the regular, grain-fed, dry-aged beef. Go for the grass-fed beef. And also, grass-fed cows live a better life, but that topic is for another article.
You may be interested in reading Tips to Grilling Ribeye Steak. We've tested in our test kitchen many different types of steaks, and for the purposes of this article, we've chosen the ribeye. We like the ribeye steak that has lots of marbling. The steak is about 1 and 1/2 inches thick. And each ribeye steak is about one pound. The bigger the steak, the longer it can be left on the grill to achieve that great, crispy outer layer. So order some thick steaks. Local, grass-fed steaks are some of the best. The bigger the steak, the longer it can be left on the grill to achieve that great, crispy outer layer. So order some thick steaks. Local, grass-fed steaks are some of the best. The drier the steaks are, the better. If you put a damp steak on the grill, the moisture will steam the outer layer of steaks, and you won't achieve that nice crispy brown layer. We tested a few different ways of making the outer layer of the steaks dry. One of the best ways is to coat the outer layer of the steaks with a combination of corn starch and sea salt. That'll dry up the outer layer of the steak, and get it ready for searing. You can use paper towels to dab the steaks to absorb the major amounts of moisture on the steaks. Then, rub that cornstarch and salt mixture all over the steaks on all sides. Don't freak out when you rub the steaks. They'll look white. Then throw some crushed pepper on them. That's flavor. Yum. An option is to place the steaks in the freezer for 15 minutes. That'll get the steaks really cool - not frozen. If the steaks are cool, then they'll be able to last longer on the grill in order to achieve that seared, crispy outer layer. We tested several different types of beers to pair with the grilling of the ribeye, and we chose the Imperial Saison Ale from Funkwerks. And, yes, you have to pair beer with grilling the steaks. Then, after the grilling is complete, you have to pair something with the ready-to-eat steaks. Throw the steaks on the hot, hot grill. No cover. Grill until the steak layer is well browned. Maybe a couple minutes.
Turn over the steaks and grill until well browned on the other side. Another couple minutes. Once the steaks seared on both sides, and both side are are well browned, cool down the grill and continue cooking, uncovered, until you reach your desired temperature doneness. Maybe 6 to 8 minutes of more grilling. Once you achieve the desired temperature, remove the steaks from the grill and let them rest for a few minutes. Serve. Good job, man. Get another beer and eat. You may be interested in reading about 5 Steps to Grilling Steak on a Gas Grill. Here's a recipe to make a pan-seared steak with a red wine sauce. We first sear the steaks, throw them in the oven to cook slowly, then make the sauce using the same pan. It starts with cutting up an onion, sauteeing it, and adding that to the sauce. Chop off the ends of the onion, peel off the outer skin layers, then dice it all up into chunks. To make the sauce, you're going to need the sauteed onion, butter, thyme, balsamic vinegar, red wine, and dijon mustard. Take out the steak from the fridge. Let it warm up to room temperature. Rub some olive oil on the steak, then add salt and pepper. Turn on the oven to 350 F. Heat up a pan. Throw the steak on there. Add a few chunks of unsalted butter. That butter will later on be the brown scraping stuff used for the sauce. You'll want to cover the steak, because it'll be popping hot butter in the pan. The goal is to sear the steak sides for one minute. To seal in the juices. One minute on one side. Flip. One minute on the other side. It should look like this. Grab a mitten. Grab the pan. Slide it into the oven. Cook the seared steak in the pan in the oven at 350 for about 4 minutes on either side. Flip after 4 or 5 minutes. 10 minutes total maximum cooking time. While this is all going on, I'm also rendering lard. Lard is the fat of a pig. Rendering is heating it up to get all of the fat out of it. And then we cook with it. It's our main cooking oil. We use it in our test kitchen for everything. Using a meat thermometer, I'm flawless. Takes out all of the guessing. After reaching your desired meat temperature, take the steak out of the oven, and out of the pan. Plate it. Let it rest. Now, you're pan is where you make the sauce. Put slabs of butter on the steak. Cover with foil. Rest it. Sautee the onions in the same pan. At a bay leaf. Add some dijon mustard. Add a splash of vinegar. Add the wine. Sweeten the sauce up with some organic coconut sugar. The steak came out perfect. Medium. And there you go. Pan seared steak with red wine sauce.
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