Text 19091, 103 rader
Skriven 2011-12-16 05:17:00 av Dave Drum (57413.cooking)
  Kommentar till text 19068 av DAVE SACERDOTE (1:123/140)
Ärende: It's Beef Chuckie
=========================
-=> DAVE SACERDOTE wrote to DAVE DRUM <=-

 DD> I have been sort-of watching the mention of chuck steaks,
 DD> roasts, etc. and I can't get a grip on why some low-rate
 DD> chuck - unless it's a "snob" thing.

 DS> Chuck is a generally less tender cut than other bits and requires
 DS> more care to cook properly. It's often held in lower esteem by
 DS> consumers for that reason. That's not to say that it's a bad cut,
 DS> it just isn't in the same league as the rib, short loin, or loin
 DS> primals if you're looking for a steak.  The muscles in the chuck
 DS> do more physical labor than the three primals that follow it on
 DS> the carcass, and so the meat is just naturally tougher.

That's sort-of not what I was getting at. Although all of that is true and
many, nay, most, American "cooks" are just plain lazy as well as unknowing. I
was referring more to those (and I know several) who will make a stew or pot
roast from what would normally be steak cuts then brag that they "didn't use
chuck" in a dish designed to be cooked with the caveats you mention in mind. 
<SHRUG> Snobs as well as ignorant of the facts.
 
 DD> For years I have been eating (at home) chuck eye steaks by
 DD> preference. They are nearly as tender as a rib-eye (if you
 DD> cut around that line of gristle in the centre) and *much*
 DD> less expensive ... meaning I can have them more often.

 DS> Chuck eye steaks are indeed a decent cut for eating as a steak.
 DS> Your comparison to a rib eye is well-founded, because chuck eye
 DS> actually is cut for the part of the chuck adjoining the rib
 DS> primal. (You might call it a "transition" area from rib to chuck,
 DS> actually.) It is slightly tougher, and requires care not to
 DS> overcook, because it's a bit dryer. I personally wouldn't want to
 DS> eat it well-done (but, you know, I wouldn't want to eat any steak
 DS> well-done, so there's that.)

I don't care for any meat "well done" - which to most means cooked to death,
dried out and as flavourful as pine sawdust. "Well done" for me means (at most)
cooked to what most call medium. While I do not geek for blue-rare beef as MLoo
does I would also not make a good observant Jew as blood dripping from my beef
does not bother me at all ... assuming that it has been cooked enough to start
the (minimal) connective tissue to breaking down. Not to mention that I likes
me pork and shrimp/lobster/crab/catfish - so, that lets me out of going to
temple on Saturday.
 
 DD> I am of the opinion that chuck is the all-around most useful
 DD> part of the beef animal. Ground for chilli or hamburgers,
 DD> thick chunks for pot roasts or further cutting into stew meat,
 DD> thin(ish) sliced for steaks, etc., etc.

 DS> Well, yeah, because that's exactly what the chuck primal is used
 DS> for. I often enjoy chuck arm steaks and eye steaks - I think the
 DS> awesome flavor is a fair trade off for a bit less tenderness (and
 DS> you must admit that a steak cut from the chuck is never going to
 DS> be as tender as a good porterhouse or even a top sirloin.)

Even with as few teeth as I have remaining a little chewiness is a good thing
as it extracts more flavour from the meat. I don't find most porterhouse/T-bone
steaks to be as tender as, say, rib-eye or filet. And who the hell started the
practice of ruining good bacon by wrapping it around a puck of beef filet and
calling it filet mignon? 
 
 DS> I don't think anyone thinks less of the chuck for it's usual uses
 DS> (as you mentioned, braising and burgers) but that the steaks have
 DS> a poorer reputation among people who are used to more expensive
 DS> cuts.

Just the doofuses I mentioned above who think they are being "classy" by using
more expensive cuts for chuck dishes.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.02
 
      Title: Lobster Parisienne
 Categories: Seafood, Citrus, Sauces, Herbs
      Yield: 6 servings
 
      6    Lobster tails; cooked,
           - chilled
      6 tb Mayonnaise
      1 ts Prepared mustard
      1 ts Lemon juice
      1 ts Tarragon wine vinegar
      1 tb Chives; minced fine
      1 tb Parsley; minced fine
           Salt & pepper
 
  Remove lobster meat from tails. Reserve tails. Chop meat
  into bite-sized pieces. Combine remaining ingredients and
  blend well. Add chopped lobster, blend with a fork, and
  refrigerate until chilled.

  To serve, stuff lobster tails with chilled lobster mixture.
  Serve as first course on lettuce-lined small plates.
 
  From: http://www.recipesource.com

  Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives

MMMMM

... The more alternatives, the more difficult the choice. - Abbe' D'Allanival
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