Mission: Education

Education anchors SteakPerfection from pasture to plate. Our mission includes the goal that we educate others about SteakPerfection. We teach others and learn ourselves about the complex elements of cattle, beef and steak which are necessary to achieve SteakPerfection.

What is SteakPerfection? We explain the many elements that result in SteakPerfection. If an important element is eliminated, then the steak may be good or even great, but it cannot attain the pinnacle of true SteakPerfection. Our mission is to educate others about the exact meaning of SteakPerfection.

How can a restaurant guest recognize SteakPerfection? Most steak houses and fine restaurants strive to serve excellent steaks to their guests. Many succeed in serving steaks that are good; a few serve steaks that are great; but few restaurants around the world serve steaks that have attained SteakPerfection. Our mission includes identifying specific restaurants which serve good, great and perfect steaks. In addition, we help diners identify restsaurants and steakhouses which succeed in SteakPerfection.

How can an amateur cook attain SteakPerfection in a backyard setting? Most people love fine steaks, but very few know how to cook a fine steak. We explain the steps to achieving SteakPerfection, and we caution amateurs on the problems that they should avoid.

We explain about how steak is produced, including cattle, breed, sex, geography, feed, age, slaughter, grade, butchery, distribution, dry aging, trimming, cooking and the many other elements that contribute to SteakPerfection. We help others learn about what makes a steak perfect. We show them what makes a perfect steak different from an average steak, a good steak and even a great steak. We explain how a steak should be selected, aged, trimmed, seasoned, cooked and served.

We teach and demonstrate the art and science of SteakPerfection.

In addition, we ourselves are students, and we study constantly to educate ourselves and to learn more about SteakPerfection from farmers, ranchers, producers, feeders, butchers, agers, scientists, chefs and other steak masters and steak lovers.

SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

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Mission: SteakPerfection

"SteakPerfection is our mission."

We organize our mission into four separate functions: education, research, consultion and promotion.

EDUCATION. We teach others and learn ourselves about the complex elements of cattle, beef and steak which are necessary to achieve SteakPerfection.

RESEARCH. We conduct direct research and sponsor, support and report the research of others about the complex elements of SteakPerfection.

CONSULTATION. We provide consultation services to professionals in the cattle, beef and steak-related business in the areas of management, finance, quality, preparation and other areas of SteakPerfection.

PROMOTION. We make media appearances, give interviews, write articles, produce films, conduct seminars and do other promotions of SteakPerfection.

Our SteakPerfection twitter, blog and website are dedicated exclusively to SteakPerfection.

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Cooking: Doneness

A steak master honors the axiom that we feast first with our eyes.

To achieve steak perfection, the steak master presents the guest a steak which, when first sliced, reveals an interior which is grilled to the exact measure of doneness requested.

This is a challenge, even for a steak master. Success would be much easier if the guest always requested the same doneness. But guests are never constant, so the steak master adapts. To adapt to differing guest preferences, the steak master uses a secret. The steak master varies the steak's thickness in accordance with the requested doneness.

Before cutting a steak, the steak master first learns of the measure of doneness desired by the guest.

Doneness may be one of several ranges. The rarest is called "bleu" by the French and means that the interior is so rare (raw, really) that the center is cool to the touch and the color is dark purple. The next is "rare", in which the center is warm and the color is purple or very dark red. The "medium rare" doneness means that the center is warm and that its color is either red or very dark pink. The "medium" doneness means that the center is hot but the color is medium pink to light pink. "Well done" means that the center is very hot and its color has no trace of pink.

If the guest requests a strip loin steak grilled to "bleu", then the steak master will cut the steak 2" thick or more; for rare, 1.5" to 1.75" thick; for medium rare, 1.25" to 1.5" thick. No fine steak should be cut to less than 1.25" or grilled to medium done or more.

Note: A steak master never wants to serve a USDA Prime+ Grade, dry-aged steak, which is grilled beyond medium rare. When grilled beyond medium rare, fine steaks suffer a loss in texture and juiciness that. Therefore, a steak master tries to educate guests to appreciate the rich taste and texture of a great steak which is grilled perfectly.

SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

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Cooking: Grill Marks

"We taste first with our eyes."

The steak master serves the guest a steak with the perfect exterior: a dark-brown crust, which is highlighted by a criss-cross diamond-pattern of dark grill marks.

To achieve this perfect exterior, the steak master brings the temperature of the grill to exactly 750F. The temperature is measured with an infrared thermometer at the center of the grill level, where the steak will be grilled. If the temperature is significantly hotter, the crust will be overly charred; if cooler, the crush will be too soft. When the grill reaches 750F, the steak is placed on the grill, directly over the live coals. If the steak has been trimmed properly of all major fat, there will be no flare-ups.

The steak master uses a timer and flips the steak at the following times, in four separate steps.

Step 1: First, the steak is placed over the coals and grilled for 2 minutes.

Step 2: Then, the steak is flipped and grilled for 2 minutes.

Step 3: Next, the steak is flipped, rotated 60 degrees (so that the grill marks form a diamond pattern) and grilled for 3 minutes.

Step 4: Finally, the steak is flipped again, rotated 60 degrees, grilled for 3 minutes and then removed to a plate, covered with foil and rested for 5 minutes.

In summary, the steak master grills the steak at 750F over hot coals for a total of 10 minutes, with 5 minutes per side. Each side is grilled first for 2 minutes and then rotate 60 degrees and grilled for an additional 3 minutes. This results in a perfect exterior, with a dark-brown crust and distinctive grill-mark pattern.

Reason: The difference in the grilling times of 2 minutes and then 3 minutes is because the steak's exterior is relatively cool for the first 2 minutes. Thus, during the initial grilling period, the crust and grill marks form quickly. After the flip, however, the exterior has warmed significantly, as the crust has begun to form. As a result, the grilling time is increased to 3 minutes per side, in order to complete the crust and so that the offsetting grill marks (the second set) achieve the same dark color as the first grill marks. Grill marks form as a function of the difference in temperatures between the steak exterior and the grill, not the absolute temperature of the steak exterior. Thus, perfect grill marks require 2 minutes for the first set and 3 minutes for the second.

Clarification: The cooking times given here assume the following:

• The ambient temperature is 60F
  
• The relative humidity is 60%
  
• The air is still (no breeze)
  
• The steak is a top loin (New York)
  
• The steak is 2" thick
  
• The steak has been trimmed of all fat
  
• The steak is to served rare
  
• The steak is cooked over live hardwood coals
  
• The temperature at grill-level is 750F

If there is any significance difference in any of these variables, then the steak master will change these cooking times to account for the difference.

SteakPerfection requires perfection in each step from pasture to plate.

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Cooking: Feast First with Our Eyes

The culinary school axiom teaches us that "We taste first with our eyes".

A steak master applies this lesson to achieve Steak Perfection.

The steak master presents to the guest a steak which looks perfect. The steak looks perfectly grilled on the outside, with a dark-brown crust and a distinct pattern of grill marks.

In addition, the steak master ensures that, when the steak is first sliced, the guest feasts on the steak's interior, which is grilled to the exact measure of doneness requested by the guest.

Thus, to achieve steak perfection for the eyes, the steak master must achieve a triple success for the eyes:

• The rich brown colors of the crust;
• The dark highlights of the grill marks; and
• The purples, reds and pinks of the interior.

With the eyes, the lucky guest feasts first on the steak with these three attributes, knowing that the steak is cooked to the exact doneness requested.

SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

Click here for our Steak Perfection Twitter.

Click here for our Steak Perfection Facebook.

Click here for our Steak Perfection Blog.

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Click here for our Steak Perfection website.

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Thanksgiving Wishes to Farmers and Ranchers

On this Thanksgiving, 2009, I and everyone at Steak Perfection extend our profound thanks and sincere gratitude to all farmers and ranchers.

Without farmers and ranchers, we would have no steaks, no steak masters and none of the pleasure of a perfectly bred, fed, marbled, aged, trimmed and grilled New York steak.

Thanks again to all farmers and ranchers.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

We welcome your comments and invite you to follow us on Twitter and on our website.

Dry Aging Secret #5

Dry Aging takes place over several weeks inside a specialized meat locker, called a dry-aging room. Inside the locker, four different variables are regulated precisely: temperature, humidity, air-flow and bacterial growth. The temperature is maintained at 34°F and at 85% relative humidity. In addition, the air inside the locker moves at a constant rate, and special lighting controls bacterial growth. Thus, the controlled environment inside the meat locker ensures that the beef ages perfectly.