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Suggestions needed for tough steak

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Shiff
Shiff Posts: 1,835
edited May 2012 in EggHead Forum
One of our local markets had an ad this week for whole NY Strip (10-15 pounds) for $3.99/pound.  It was listed as Sukarne beef. I looked that up on the web and it said it was a Mexican company.  I was a little leery but I wanted to give it a try due to the price.  The meat is definitely not marbled as much as we are used to and, when cooked, was on the tough side.  Flavor was good, but too tough for a NY Strip steak.

Any suggestions on what to do with the remaining steaks?  Something cooked with liquid would probably make them more tender.  Looking for some ideas.

Barry
Lancaster, PA

Large BGE
Barry, Lancaster, PA
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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
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    I would do the rest as roasts, 250*

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • Shiff
    Shiff Posts: 1,835
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    I should have only cut off 2 steaks for tonight's dinner but I didn't have a good way to store the rest of the chunk, so I cut it up all as steaks.
    Large BGE
    Barry, Lancaster, PA
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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
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    Do the steaks at low temps then and sear at the end. Do you have a Jacaard?

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • forty_crk
    forty_crk Posts: 52
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    Tuff normally means cooked to fast (high temp) or too long...Like LS said lower teh temp? But we do not know what temp you cooked them on...but it could be just the meat.  then again take LS's advise cookem like a roast slow and low.

    I hit a home run this weekend.  I was planning to cook for mom and sister for mother's day.  I went by Albertson's and they had rib eyes for $5.98/lb...good thick cuts (normally $11.99)!  Prolly was the best steak I have cooked in many years! the egg made me look like a chef!!!

    just my $0.02!

     

    Reed- Springhill, Louisiana
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  • Shiff
    Shiff Posts: 1,835
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    It wasn't my method of cooking. I cooked them the same as all the steaks I cook - 600 or so to sear then finish at 400-500.  I have cooked hundreds of steaks this way - sirloin, NY Strip, Rib Eye, etc and have always been happy.  These Mexican steaks are not marbled and are probably Select grade (even though  they are not graded).

    Maybe I'll try tying a few steaks together into a roast and see how that goes.
    Large BGE
    Barry, Lancaster, PA
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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
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    Barry

    Try a marinade and punch them a bunch of times with a fork if you don't have a jacaard

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • Hillbilly-Hightech
    Hillbilly-Hightech Posts: 966
    edited May 2012
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    Barry

    Try a marinade and punch them a bunch of times with a fork if you don't have a jacaard

    I had to look up "jacaard" to even know what that was!! ^:)^

    why couldn't he just use one of those hammer-looking meat tenderizer thingies that my Mom & her Mom had, back in the day??

    Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup... Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. - Bruce Lee
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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
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    Cause it would make minute steak out of a thick prime rib. You guys call it minute steak? Maybe cube steak? A Jacaard pierces the meat with like a hundred little blades every time you punch it but it doesn't flatten the meat. The blades tear the tissue and soften the meat.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,961
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    Stir fry/fajitas. These sound like select grade with no intermuscular fat which is ok for some things, but not for others. These should be eaten in small, well done bites with lots of seasoning. Perfect for stir fry etc. could be a very good candidate for the hot tub method if you want to eat them as steaks, but at that price, I would marinade/ season the hell out of them and enjoy in smaller bites (even kebabs with a wet marinade).
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • Hillbilly-Hightech
    Hillbilly-Hightech Posts: 966
    edited May 2012
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    Cause it would make minute steak out of a thick prime rib. You guys call it minute steak? Maybe cube steak? A Jacaard pierces the meat with like a hundred little blades every time you punch it but it doesn't flatten the meat. The blades tear the tissue and soften the meat.
    ahhhhh, "cubed steak" - I haven't heard that term (or eaten that stuff) in YEARS!!  But yeah, that's what she called it!!  Back then, as a kid, I didn't know any better, but I guess that was a way to take cheap, not-so-tender meat & at least make it edible :P

    anyway, thanks for the new vocab word & cooking accessory (jacaard) - learn somethin new every day!! :-B
    Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup... Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. - Bruce Lee
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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,961
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    If you do them as steaks, eat them as rare as you can and slice it razor thin.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
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    Jaccard, sorry bout the spelling earlier. They sell for less than fifty bucks and are a terrific tool.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTeH-Xc9J7g&feature=related

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • Shiff
    Shiff Posts: 1,835
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    Thanks for all the suggestions - even  one to buy a new cooking tool that I have thought about several times in the last year or so.  Sounds like a few good things to try.
    Large BGE
    Barry, Lancaster, PA
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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
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    Jaccard, sorry bout the spelling earlier. They sell for less than fifty bucks and are a terrific tool.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTeH-Xc9J7g&feature=related




    Uh, sorry. Those bad boys are a little over fifty bucks. No idea how that happened. Here is the one I thought I copied

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9CfHH2iSJc

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • Shiff
    Shiff Posts: 1,835
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    Looks interesting.  I see that Amazon sells a 48 blade one for $26 including shipping.  There were some mediocre reviews on the  product - any comments from BGE folks here?  Ever try one on a brisket?
    Large BGE
    Barry, Lancaster, PA
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  • Doc_Eggerton
    Doc_Eggerton Posts: 5,321
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    Uh, sorry. Those bad boys are a little over fifty bucks. No idea how that happened. Here is the one I thought I copied

    http://www.surlatable.com/search/searchContainer.jsp?q=tenderizer&s=true

    XXL #82 out of the first 100, XLGE X 2, LBGE (gave this one to daughter 1.0) , MBGE (now in the hands of iloveagoodyoke daughter 2.0) and lots of toys

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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,337
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    Jaccard-I have one (got it a few years ago after talking with a serious smoker who used it on brisket).  All I can get are brisket flats-and I used it fairly regularly for a while-then stopped.  Given the nature of the flats, I can't tell a difference with or without. Sounds like it's time to try again. I'm sure LS has a much better experience base to draw from. I would save the $$ and spend elsewhere on BGE toys-
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
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    Jaccard-I have one (got it a few years ago after talking with a serious smoker who used it on brisket).  All I can get are brisket flats-and I used it fairly regularly for a while-then stopped.  Given the nature of the flats, I can't tell a difference with or without. Sounds like it's time to try again. I'm sure LS has a much better experience base to draw from. I would save the $$ and spend elsewhere on BGE toys-
    I have used them on briskets but just lightly to allow the rub to penetrate better. Low and slow cooking is the best tenderiser

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • GeauxEggin
    GeauxEggin Posts: 31
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    My method for making cheap steaks nice and tender:

    Take a carton of kosher salt and cover the steak (totally completely cover it, no red visable.)  Rub it in, flip the steak and cover the other side.  Let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes, take it out, wash off the salt then pat dry.
    Don't add anymore salt, but otherwise season and cook as usual.  This will make a $3 steak taste like prime (or close enough to count).
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  • Village Idiot
    Village Idiot Posts: 6,959
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    Sous vide will get them fork tender, and it's very easy.

    First, get a Sous Vide cooker ..... 
    :D
    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
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    Have I told you that I hate you lately

     

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,961
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    Sous vide will get them fork tender, and it's very easy.

    First, get a Sous Vide cooker ..... 
    :D
    Nothing better to tenderize $3 steaks than a $400 water heater :))

    But you are right.


    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • Village Idiot
    Village Idiot Posts: 6,959
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    Have I told you that I hate you lately

     

    Yes, Steve.  How do the little people cook their steaks?
    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


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  • Cullum
    Cullum Posts: 215
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    Sous vide will get them fork tender, and it's very easy.


    First, get a Sous Vide cooker ..... 
    :D
    My local Sam's sells ribeyes around $8 a lb. That's a good price but I can't seem to make them come out very tender. Would you recommend the sous vide cooker for these ribeyes? Do you think it would make a difference?
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  • Village Idiot
    Village Idiot Posts: 6,959
    edited May 2012
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    Sous vide will get them fork tender, and it's very easy.

    First, get a Sous Vide cooker ..... 
    :D
    Nothing better to tenderize $3 steaks than a $400 water heater :))

    But you are right.


    But, it tastes like a $10 steak.  You are saving $7.  That Sous Vide machine will pay for itself in just 57.14 steaks.
    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
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    Have I told you that I hate you lately

     

    Yes, Steve.  How do the little people cook their steaks?
    Well first we get our little ladders and set them up beside the egg....

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,961
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    Sous vide will get them fork tender, and it's very easy.


    First, get a Sous Vide cooker ..... 
    :D
    My local Sam's sells ribeyes around $8 a lb. That's a good price but I can't seem to make them come out very tender. Would you recommend the sous vide cooker for these ribeyes? Do you think it would make a difference?
    You should have no problem getting tender ribeyes with any method of cooking. How done do you cook them?

    Sous Vide will make them tender, but certainly not the only way to do so.

    If you are looking for an excuse, but all means, get one. They are great. But you don't "need" one to get good tender steaks




    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • Village Idiot
    Village Idiot Posts: 6,959
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    Oops.  Cheap shot.  I meant "little people" ala Leona Hemsley.  ^#(^
    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,961
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    Oops.  Cheap shot.  I meant "little people" ala Leona Hemsley.  ^#(^
    If little people = having 8 eggs...call me pipsqueak




    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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