Rose Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Dear all... what am I doing wrong please? Greyman loves his steak and no matter what I seem to buy or how I cook it he says it's just not as nice as an english steak.Can anyone tell me what I should buy. He wonders if steak is just cut differently here? I dont like it much so I really dont know... should I be asking the butcher for a different cut or joint?Any advice would be welcome as it's Father's Day on Sunday and I'd like to dish him up a nice juicy steak :)p.s. my smily faces dont work anymore either :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 In my experience steak bought in France does not like being overcooked, anything beyond saignant and the texture and taste dissapear.I now cook mine bleu and then let them repose in foil for 10 minutes.My other suggestion is to buy the frozen pre-packed and marinaded argentinian steaks from either Lidl or Aldi, they are stocked together with lamb and pork steaks made in the same way, any of these are delicious no matter what level of cooking they have suffered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 I know what he means. I think the cuts are different but may I recommend a nice thick entrecote, marbled with a reasonable (but not excessive) amount of fat. Don't cook it straight from the fridge but allow to come up to room temp for an hour or more. I like lots of black pepper on both sides or rub in those soft green peppers you see sometimes in a jar (or not at all as you prefer). Before cooking I would avoid salt as this can make the steak tough.Cook briefly (2-3 mins on each side) on a very hot griddle or BBQ. Do not serve immediately but put on a plate, cover and keep warm for 10-15 mins.I've had my lunch but my mouth is watering just writing this [:P]I expect the real chefs on this forum will be along soon to say I've got it all wrong [:$] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patf Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 I think I saw or read somewhere that the french don't hang their beef for as long as eg UK or South America. This being the reason for the lack of flavour and toughness. So as JR says, try the Argentinian beef if you can find it.I can't cook grilled steak nicely either. I cook it slowly in the oven on a bed of pre-fried onions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose Posted June 18, 2009 Author Share Posted June 18, 2009 I knew there would be a few experts out there who could help me! thanks for all the ideas... will have a look in lidl tomorrow - I've bought lamb from there and always been very happy so I'll give that a go... if not I'll look for the marbled meat (I always thought that was too fatty! so that shows how much I know!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babcock Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 True they don't hang their meat for long enough. A retired French chef of my aquaintance agrees. He used to buy a side of beef and then hang it for another week or so. If you are anywhere near Correze a local (English) farmer is proposing to market meat hung as the brits like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoverfrog Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 try getting your steak from a different butcher/supermarket.It doesn't matter which cut and how nice it looks, I can't get steak from Casino to be tender. Steak from SuperU, however, is always tender, flavoursome and delicious!I can't agree with those who say that French steak has less flavour - I find it has more flavour :)There is a Routiers in Limoges that often has Limousin steak on the menu, and it is always superb. Sometimes it looks like it should be tough but it never is!I didn't realise the hanging time made a difference - maybe that's why the quality of the cooked product varies according to the butcher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose Posted June 25, 2009 Author Share Posted June 25, 2009 Give that man (JR) a huge pat on the back! We just had the steak as suggested from Lidl and greyman says it's the best he's had in France... I will be back to Lidl tomorrow to buy some more for the freezer!Now... can you tell me about teabags? :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clair Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 [quote user="Pierre ZFP"]Before cooking I would avoid salt as this can make the steak tough.[/quote]There is a new school of thought on this: How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Thank you Rose, thats given me a warm glow [:)]What can I tell you about teabags?Well I am no connaisseur (how the hell do you spell that in English?) but I can tell you that the thé melange anglais as sold by either Lidl or Aldi is the devils brew and does Anglo-French relations no good at all.I did a réderie (brocante) a couple of weekends ago and a French lady asked me to bring back some English tea bags for her and was proud to tell me that she likes to take hers with milk, I thought perhaps that she wanted Earl Grey or some fruity paisible infusion but no she wanted thé anglais quotidien, to be certain I asked her what she thought of the thé melange anglais, she said it was dégueulasse and made her want to dégueuler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clair Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Tea-wise, Mr Clair drinks Tetley's English Breakfast, as sold in Géant:http://www.tetley.fr/en/products/display/1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nell Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 [quote user="Clair"][quote user="Pierre ZFP"]Before cooking I would avoid salt as this can make the steak tough.[/quote]There is a new school of thought on this: How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak[/quote]Have you tried this Clair ???I have followed the Aldi/Lidl advice and have a steak pack in the freezer, but all that salt urm...... [:-))] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose Posted June 25, 2009 Author Share Posted June 25, 2009 Glad you're glowing JR... will maybe wait and see what others make of the salted steak... Greyman is meant to have none!We've tried the Tetley's breakfast but it's a tad too weak... we're thinking of using leaves and having a go with the pot and strainer... otherwise we're at the mercy of food parcels from friends and family in the UK... we're ok for the moment as we've got a stream of visitors who come bearing gifts :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 I can't believe this will work but I won't knock it until I've tried it.I couldn't quite run to the €25 per kilo they were asking for Aberdeen Angus filet so I've just bought a nice slab of basse cote (bargain at €5.90 per kilo). I had some last week and know it's good. I will cut off a piece and salt it as described and compare against the untreated piece then report back, probably not before Monday though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clair Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 [quote user="Pierre ZFP"]I will cut off a piece and salt it as described and compare against the untreated piece then report back...[/quote]Looking forward to reading your report [:)]Do make sure you use gros sel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 My one indulgence is to do a cookery class once a month, my chef loves to shock by adding whole handfulls of sel de guerande as seasoning, the finished dish always tastes equlibre.We did a rolled smoke salmon dish and he brought out of the fridge "one that he had made before" à la Blue Peter, it appeared to be swiming in at least a bottle of olive oil, in fact when we prepared ours we just drizzled the mimimum of oil over and then buried the salmon completely with sel de geurande, the overnight marinading had leeched out all of the excess water (I wonder whether they pump it in, I used to make brine injectors for turkeys), the salmon did not taste in the least salty.I reckon that it will work, please let us know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clair Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 [quote user="Nell"][quote user="Clair"][quote user="Pierre ZFP"]Before cooking I would avoid salt as this can make the steak tough.[/quote]There is a new school of thought on this: How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak[/quote]Have you tried this Clair ???...all that salt urm...... [/quote]I haven't tried it yet [:)]We're soon getting a new "proper" BBQ and I'll definitely have a go.The salt is not eaten, as it is washed off when you rinse the steak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 I will also be very interested to know if it works, the theory seems good, I would have tried it now but have no steak handy, I will have to settle for 'blackened salmon' instead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patf Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 The salting and rinsing of meat/chicken is also part of the jewish kashering process. Exactly as in Claire's article. Meant to draw out excess blood.We buy kosher meat and it's nearly always tender, so perhaps that's why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchie Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 We just love the marinated steak from LIDL ( not the frozen one JR recommended, never tried that one), but the fresh one in a pack , next to the steak hachés. It is SUPERB !Or , of course, a good steak de Parthenaise, Limousine, or Salers , from the butcher, but that s far more expensive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Well, I gave it a go but I have to say I'm not convinced.Yesterday, I cut a representitive sample from my steak and covered it on all side with gros sel and left it for about an hour.After that, I washed it well and dried it with paper towel. Even before cooking the meat had a firm texture, not like the original piece at all not surprising as a lot of water had come out of the steak and into the salt. Oh well, into a hot pan with a little olive oil, cooked for a couple of minutes on each side then wrapped in foil and kept warm for 10 minutes or so.The result: a delicious, tender, tasty steak ......and..... a firm not so tasty piece. See if you can guess which is which?The salted piece was quite firm to cut (and chew) it was also about a third thinner than the original. It also tasted salty even though I was careful to was all the salt off.I don't think I'll be doing this again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Punaise!My last remaining faux filet is reposing in its salt bath as we speak [:(] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchie Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Makes me feel like inviting home all the ones in the area and cook them a steak.. !! [:D]Never understood why so many British people complain about steak, I always buy good tender steak.But maybe it s the way you Brits cook it, indeed.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clair Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Pierre, can you say how thick the slice was before salting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 It was about 2 cms I would say, the piece after salting was closer to 1.5 cms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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