Ha, shows what you know.
Stick to beef! :)
— Alan
Well, if you go with the assumption that live animals, freshly killed, cleaned, prepared, cooked and served taste much better, I would assume the same about beef.
I’ve never had a steak fresh off the cow, so to speak, so I cannot attest to how it compares with one which has been dry or wet aged. But I have had chicken, duck, pork, all sorts of seafood, prepared and eaten within an hour of its death - and I can say that it tastes vastly better than their counterparts you buy off the butcher or fresh meat/seafood areas in supermarkets or specialty stores.
Getting back to the offtopic at hand:
Was visiting a friend in Salt Lake City a few years back, and he took me out to the Rodizio Grill there – holy sweet god, I’ve never had meat like that before or since. Not that I’ve never had an individual cut of meat that was better, mind you – but rather, there’s so MUCH excellent meat that they’re literally shoving at you, and so much variety… I think one of the offerings that day was Brahma Bull? Something like that, egads. Meat heaven! Even though my friend moved away from SLC a year ago, I’m almost to go out there again just to eat.
Here’s a nice writeup I found while googling for the restaurant’s page. Oh, and there’s also one in Denver, apparently.
So, why can’t kickass restaurants like this one be the ones to morph into chains? I’d trade the local Logans, Applebees, Ruby Tuesday, Branns, and whatever else is around here for a Rodizio in a meat-induced hypertensive heartbeat.
Geez that’s cheap too… rodizio here in NYC starts around $40. If you happen to be here, i recommend churassceria plataforma. Good stuff.
I may have to start a cheese snobbery thread soon. I’m not one, but am curious to see who is.
— Alan
Maillard Reactions. Learn em and love em.
Uh, right. Not sure anyone–especially me–ever said as much, either, Emily Litella.
My point was this: if you have the option of a local butcher shop, that’s the way to go. They hand-cut their steaks, and if you establish a good relationship with your butcher, he’ll clue you in when they have a solid price break on different cuts.
Hey, if we’re talking ground beef or lower-graded meat, sure, go ahead and freeze it. No biggie. But freezing a good NY or KC strip, or a Porterhouse, or center-cut filet, or bone-in ribeye? That I don’t get. Those cuts of beef cost enough as it is, especially since you’re usually forced to buy USDA Prime or Choice when you buy them. Freezing Choice-grade meats is something I can shrug off, but freezing prime-grade is like buying a Porsche and then painting it AMC Gremlin orange metal-flake. Support the local guys–hit up your butcher. Your taste buds will thank you.
Beef should be aged to allow the connective tissues to breakdown, making it more tender. Aging also tends to cause water in the tissues to evaporate which helps improve the flavour.[/quote]
Yep. Dry or wet-aging beef 21-30 days is the way to go. Most butcher shops keep pretty careful track of how they age and for how long, and love to talk to their customers about it if you ask.
And, as Chet and others have said, if you’re ever lucky enough to be able to buy shrimp, lobster, hell–any fresh fish right off a boat, do it. The difference in taste is striking.
Seriously, you sound like a surgeon. Maybe irreparable damage is a bit harsh for this situation? We’re talking about meat, not about huffing.
Kobe beef is very nice, ive had that prepared teppan yaki at some outrageously expensive Suntory resturant in Singapore.
As for beef, Scottish Aberdeen Angus beef, roasted in the largest joint you can afford/fit in the oven, nothing else touches it.
Seriously, you sound like a surgeon. Maybe irreparable damage is a bit harsh for this situation? We’re talking about meat, not about huffing.[/quote]
By “irreparable damage to the flavor”, I meant “it won’t ever taste as good as when it was fresh”. Not that it’ll kill you, and not, even, that it won’t be delicious…but, steak especially, is deliciouser if you have access to a good local butcher and can have him give you stuff that’s been dry or wet aged and climate-controlled. Costs an extra buck or two a pound, but c’mon. It’s steak! Live it up!
Yeah, think of the fact that the water in the cells would expand and burst the cells, allowing certain enymes to mix, causing unfavorable reactions at a cellular level.
I’m not saying you should freeze steak it’s… nevermind.