Re: Steaks on the Tuscan Grill

[scwino95]

Alright, this time we did cowboy steaks instead of beef steak Florentine. These steaks were certified angus beef, which does make a difference. Given a choice, we'd have aged Kobe - but we're not that rich.

We dry aged the one-rib ribeye steaks in the fridge for three days and cooked them on the Tuscan grill in a fully-heated oven for about 12 to 13 minutes, turning once. When we pulled them off of the grill, the internal temperature was 118 degrees. We let them rest for a few minutes; the final internal temperature was 128 degrees. The steaks, which had been two inches thick prior to cooking, were about an inch and a half thick once cooked.

While we heated the grill, we prepared an accompaniment of roasted brussels sprouts and fingerling potatoes with onions and bacon. We began by briefly blanching the sprouts and potatoes in boiling water and then tossed them with the chopped raw bacon, olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Next, we roasted them in the oven for about 15 minutes. Admittedly, we pulled them out intermittently and tossed them to prevent burning. They were incredible. The steak, once rested, was sliced and drizzled with olive oil. The results were amazing. While I still prefer the two and a half inch porterhouse beef steak Florentine, these were not bad indeed.

Photos of the endeavor below:

[texassourdough]

Re: Steaks on the Tuscan Grill

Nicely done, scwino!

The Tuscan grill is IMO the best way to cook steak I have found.
Good job!
Jay

[DaveW]

Re: Steaks on the Tuscan Grill

You lost me at "brussels sprouts"

[heliman]

Re: Steaks on the Tuscan Grill

Thanks for the detailed overview of the process scwin.

I found a cast iron grill from a BBQ dumped out for the rubbish collection on somebody's front lawn and made an improvised Tuscan Grill - with excellent results!

This is the main focus of my WFO activities now and I've moved away from pizzas as a way of change. The "Tuscan" approach highlights the versatility of the WFO as more than just a pizza oven.

Please keep the recipes coming...

PS - How do you "dry age" steaks in the fridge?

[scwino95]

Re: Steaks on the Tuscan Grill

I have to admit that brussel sprouts is not one of my favorite vegetables, but when roasted in the oven the taste was very different. The final product was much more caramelized than the picture shows. They were eaten almost before I could carve the steak. Carl

[texassourdough]

Re: Steaks on the Tuscan Grill

Badly prepared BS (brussel sprouts) can be awful! For those who are brave enough, they are far more interesting roasted. I usually don't parboil them but...for those of you who are BS averse a brief parboil will mellow the flavor even more.

I trim the base and cut them in half. Then IF I am parboiling or blanching I give them about three to four minutes in boiling water. Then chill them in ice water to help them keep their color and then drain.

To cook I use a heavy cast iron skillet with a good dose of EVOO. Heat it to near smoking and add the halved BS. I cook them until they are well browned on the bottom and then flip them over and cook until the other side is well browned. Sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. They are shockingly good. In the WFO I simply shake them in a plastic bag with olive oil, salt, and pepper and dump them in the cast iron skillet. Then into the oven where the top and bottom cook at the same time.

Don't be afraid of BS - and that is not BS!
Jay

[scwino95]

Re: Steaks on the Tuscan Grill

Dry aging in the fridge is really easy. Just unwrap the steaks when you get home from the store, then place them on a rack with no cover in the fridge. THe steaks will first turn bright red then start to dry out a little on the edges. Trim the extra fat and and dried areas and season and cook as usual. 2-3 days is the most you want to do with this technique, unless you are willing to trim quite a bit off the steak. The best steaks for this technique are porterhouse or bone in rib steaks with enough fat that you can trim without losing too much lean meat.

[heliman]

Re: Steaks on the Tuscan Grill

Thanks for the info ... don't you waste a lot of the steak that way?

[scwino95]

Re: Steaks on the Tuscan Grill

If you age for 2 days the is almost no loss Carl

[heliman]

Re: Steaks on the Tuscan Grill

Excellent - I am definitely going to give it a try! Thanks!

[scwino95]

Re: Steaks on the Tuscan Grill

This weekend we did beef tenderloins. We cut them so the head and the chateaubriand were two pieces and they came out great. Everyone raved! Sorry forgot to take pictures. The pizza the night before was not bad either although it was a tough competition between the margarita and the bbq chicken. Carl

[Lburou]

Re: Steaks on the Tuscan Grill

Dry aging in the fridge is really easy. Just unwrap the steaks when you get home from the store, then place them on a rack with no cover in the fridge. THe steaks will first turn bright red then start to dry out a little on the edges. Trim the extra fat and and dried areas and season and cook as usual. 2-3 days is the most you want to do with this technique, unless you are willing to trim quite a bit off the steak. The best steaks for this technique are porterhouse or bone in rib steaks with enough fat that you can trim without losing too much lean meat.

This description is reminiscent of a story about an old homesteader in Montana who kept his moose hung in the back (unheated) room over the winter. When he needed some meat, he just went out and cut a piece. The topic at hand when I first heard this story was 'aging meat' and how tender it became with age.

[ricflo]

Re: Steaks on the Tuscan Grill

Try this one. Burn wood till you get many coals, spread coals over bottom of oven. Get a cast iron skillet and coat it with a thin layer of oil. Put it on top of the coals for about 10 minutes. Coat your steaks with whatever you like. Put the steaks in the skillet and put on coals. Doesnt take long, what a great taste. This is how they do it in Italy in some of the small restaurants. Let me know how it comes.

[Sparky005s]

Re: Steaks on the Tuscan Grill

Just to revive an old thread...

We age steaks in the fridge by wrapping the steak in clean cloth diapers (although any clean, absorbent cloth would probably work). Change the cloth after the first day, then about every other day after. Do this for 5 days. Fabulous. Although lately we have just been soaking steaks in a brine and that has been fantastic as well.

[woods witch]

Re: Steaks on the Tuscan Grill

we have an extra fridge in our basement that we use to dry age meat, too. I used a bone in rib roast ( it was a rare treat $$ )
I put it on a rack over an enamelware tray and covered it lightly with cotton cheesecloth. We put a small 5" desktop fan in the fridge to keep the air moving. We changed the cheesecloth once or twice and just let it stay in the fridge for about 12 days. There was some loss when we trimmed off the dry crust but wow...it was incredible. We will age thick steaks, but only for a few days. It really does make a difference, flavor is awesome and it is sooo tender!