Steak: a nice change in approach
January 17, 2009
Steak at Ristorante Tasso, Sorrento, Italy
One of the key elements of the classic American steakhouse is girth. We love big steaks, and steakhouses know how to cook 'em: charred on the outside, and medium rare inside. I'm certainly of the opinion that a steak needs a good "char" on the outside, which adds to the flavor and texture of the meat. A thick cut of meat and 1800 degree broilers help to make that char possible while still keeping the inside at a medium rare temp. That's the steakhouse approach, and one to which I fully subscribe.
But on occasion I've had steak that doesn't fit into that paradigm: steaks with little to no char, and much thinner than 2 inches thick. And they were phenomenal. We had a steak in Sorrento (pictured above) a while back that fell into this non-American steakhouse category. And it was wonderful. The Italians know a bit about food, and a bit about steak as well.
Inspired by that steak, I went off to the Market Basket in Franklin Lakes, NJ, and figured I'd get a nice thin strip to duplicate the experience. Well they just don't have them cut thin (they'd do it if you ask, I suppose). But not wanting to ask for a special cut, and feeling a bit defeated, I grabbed a couple of 1.5/1.75 inch thick strips, figuring I'd fall back on what I know best: high heat, char, etc.
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