Splurged on Wagyu filet and T-bone at local farmers market but didn't want a fancy dinner

Foghorn

We went to the Pearl Brewery Farmer's Market here in San Antonio last weekend and picked up a couple of steaks for a weeknight cook from Startz Cattle Company in Floresville, TX.  They're pretty proud of their beef but we thought we would give it a try and see how it compares to the Snake River Farms steaks we recently had at a friend's house.

I threw them in warm water then lit the egg and got in a short workout. 

Seasoned them with a little kosher salt plus some Montreal Steak seasoning (wife's favorite combo).

Internal meat temp was in the 70s when I took them to the grill.  Seared them about 2 minutes per side and the filet came out a perfect medium-rare for my wife while the slightly thinner T-bone was a perfect medium for me.  They were a little less cooked than the pics suggest. 

My wife's take is that the SRF filet was a 10 and this was a 9.9.  Better than any prime steak we have ever bought from a regular grocery store.

I haven't had a SRF T-bone but the strip side of this steak was the most tender strip I have ever eaten.  The filet side was in the same league with SRF's larger filet cut, but probably not quite the same which is not unexpected in my mind it was thinner and from a different part of the tenderloin.

We ate this with some leftover hot and sour soup.  We had each had salads for lunch and just wanted some good, easy protein for dinner.  Sorry for the crappy plating/presentation/photography.  I just thought folks might want to know about another possible source for really great meat. 

Thanks for looking.

rmr62

I like that crazy bent fork!!

Foghorn

rmr62 said:

I like that crazy bent fork!!

Yeah, I'm not sure what happened there. 

nolaegghead

Looks delicious.  I love what they did with the Pearl Brewery.  With the added bonus of not producing more Pearl beer, although I hear they still make it in Dallas or somewhere.

Foghorn

nolaegghead said:

Looks delicious.  I love what they did with the Pearl Brewery.  With the added bonus of not producing more Pearl beer, although I hear they still make it in Dallas or somewhere.

Thanks @nolaegghead.  It was delicious.  I hadn't thought of the lack of production of Pearl beer as a bonus, but now that you mention it that is definitely a positive.

I don't go there enough.  The last time I was there during the daytime was when I saw you at Meatopia.  My wife makes it down there with her girlfriends for lunch fairly regularly...

The farmers market isn't a place where you go to find a bargain, but it's interesting nonetheless.

nolaegghead

I was there in December for some drinks at that new hotel Emma.  Almost forgot my DSLR in the bar, fortunately I recovered it.  Most of the stuff was closed but I'm dying to eat at the CIA kitchen.

caliking

That looks like a fine meal. 

I've been thinking of a split direct-indirect setup like yours. How do you like it? I really miss the 2 zone cooking option of a kettle grill.

And I hear  ya about the prime steaks  from the store. Cooked one the  other day (SV then CI) and was somewhat disappointed. It just seemed more fatty than flavorful. I'll try and hunt some Wagyu down and give it a shot. 

Foghorn

I've had a sandwich and some of their pastries from the takeout area and they are unsurprisingly excellent.

I haven't found any food in the Pearl complex that wasn't great.

Foghorn

caliking said:

That looks like a fine meal. 

I've been thinking of a split direct-indirect setup like yours. How do you like it? I really miss the 2 zone cooking option of a kettle grill.

And I hear  ya about the prime steaks  from the store. Cooked one the  other day (SV then CI) and was somewhat disappointed. It just seemed more fatty than flavorful. I'll try and hunt some Wagyu down and give it a shot. 

@caliking, with the XL I find I have plenty of space for the split setup.  I wasn't sure if I was going to need it or not given that the meat temp was over 70 when I started.  I seared them 2 minutes per side and then put them on the raised indirect grate while I checked the temp.  The T-bone was a perfect 128.  The filet was only at 95 internal so I just put it back on the fire for another minute and rechecked.  It was 115 at that point so I took it off.   This setup works really well for searing and roasting about 6 steaks because it is easy to burn yourself checking meat temps in the middle of the flames.  It is also easy to quickly overcook steaks on a 600 degree grate even with a Thermopen working as fast as it does.  Having a cooler place where you can set a steak while you assess doneness is nice, but it was a little superfluous for 2. 

Photo Egg

Great write up and photos...
Thank you.

bgebrent

That looks awesome brother!

Foghorn

Thanks @Photo Egg and @bgebrent.

Toxarch

nolaegghead said:

Looks delicious.  I love what they did with the Pearl Brewery.  With the added bonus of not producing more Pearl beer, although I hear they still make it in Dallas or somewhere.

Pretty sure it's been contacted to be produced at the Miller Brewery in Fort Worth.