Ok I need some tips

RUGER

RUGER

Well-Known Member
TNDeer Supporter
2-Step Enabled
Joined
Nov 19, 1999
Messages
4,145,978
Reaction score
26,367
Location
TN
Having a birthday supper at my house on Friday.
Gonna cook my wife a fillet (not worried about that one) but my best friend wants to buy porterhouse steaks for him and myself.

He gave me the money to buy them and I am going to cook them.

The nearest "butcher shop" is Trollingers (sp?) in Paris.
I don't mind driving there to get the steaks but I would rather not if possible.
The next best option I have is the local supermarket.

What can I do, without a degree from culinary school, to insure the steaks are not tough?

Generally I will marinate overnight with alegro & apple juice.
Then I will set them out several hours before cooking to let them get to room temp before throwing on the grill.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
 
Not big on adding flavors to my steak. I get the grill as hot as it will get which is around 550, 3 minutes a side, turn grill off and let set for 6-8 minutes. Comes our pretty good.
 
the only thing you can do to guarantee a store bought steak is not tough is to not overcook it, medium rare, unless trollingers has some 21 day dry aged steaks. i dont do the marinate thing, i let the steak sit out 30-45 minutes, season with montreal or course salt, pepper and fresh thyme. i cook mine on medium to medium high grill, 4 minutes with lid closed, flip and 4-5 minutes with lid open. for 1 inch steaks pretty much guarantees medium rare and both sides get seared so that it remains juicy. let the steaks rest 5 minutes before cutting.
 
Its hard for me to comment on the quality of the meat not knowing anything about the supermarket or butcher, but I have to assume the butcher is the better choice.

I agree with the others, ditch the marinade. Let the meat come to room temperature, salt liberally add fresh ground pepper. Also get about 1/4 ounce of butter for each steak to room temperature. Close all air vents on your grill, close the lid, and cook them as hot as you can get your grill 3-4 min's each side. Open the grill vents and lid to get some flames active and cook them in the flames for 20-30 seconds each side. Immediately add butter the wrap each steak in aluminum foil for about 5-6 mins.
 
So it appears my problem has been in the way I cook them sounds like.

I normally get the grill hot and throw them on the hottest part for about 1 minute each side then move them off to the side and let them just kinda sit there for a while.
Never over med rare for me but sometimes they are on the actual grill for 20 minutes or more.

Could that be what is making them tough?
 
your probably drying them out so they appear tough. when i cook them they are never on the grill more than 10 minutes. medium to medium high on my grill registers 450-550 on the built in temp guage when i first throw them on.
 
BamaProud":1h0189cz said:
If they are on a properly heated grill for 20 mins or more I would think they are far beyond medium rare. Are you using a meat thermometer or just ball-parking-it?
Click to expand...

I cut it open and if it isn't bleeding it is overcooked. :)

Sounds like I am cooking them too long and with a fire that is not near hot enough.
 
jb3":2vn8as6a said:
Not big on adding flavors to my steak. I get the grill as hot as it will get which is around 550, 3 minutes a side, turn grill off and let set for 6-8 minutes. Comes our pretty good.
Click to expand...

Me either, especially not a true steak cut such as a porterhouse.

1) For a porterhouse to be worth fussing over, it should be at least 1 1/2" thick
2) Truly, all you need is salt & pepper
3) HOT grill. Hot oven (or cool side of grill)


1) If you're cooking the steaks on Friday, order them today for pickup on Tuesday.
2) Liberally sprinkle Kosher salt over both sides of each steak. Pepper the hell out of them as well.
3) Put the salted steaks in a gallon Ziploc bag, mash out all the air, and put in the fridge.
4) On Wednesday morning, rub the steaks around, make sure that juice gets in contact with all the meat, and put the baggie back in the fridge. Make sure the steaks are flipped.
5) On Thursday morning, do the same thing, but this time add about 2 splashes of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
6) On Friday around lunch, remove the steaks from the bag, & pat dry with paper towel. Let steaks sit on a plate, in open air, for at least 2 hours before you light the grill.
7) Light the grill & let it preheat for a while to get the grates SCREAMING hot.
8) Oil the grates to prvent sticking.
9) Slap that meat on there. Grill about 2-3 minutes per side, just long enough that the meat lifts off the grate without scraping.
I usually cook a steak twice on each side, for a total cooking time about 8-12 minutes
10) Either transfer to a 450° oven or indirect heat on the grill. Let it roast for about 7-10 minutes (check it's doneness).
11) Remove steaks from heat when you think the steak is just "not quite done enough", place on a warm or hot plate, and let it rest for at least 10 minutes.
12) Either carve the meat off the tee-bone or serve it bone in. If you carve it, you can slice the steaks into 1/2" slices across the grain.
13) If you slice the steaks, sprinkle a little bit of salt across the exposed meat in the middle
 
No, "marinade" is a wet mess that covers up the tasty flavor of beef with crap flavors, usually via chemical additives, and likely too much moisture. Marinade chicken and storebought pork because it has zero flavor. use salt & pepper on dark meats (beef, quality pork, venison, duck) to accentuate the natural flavors of good meat.

Brining meat (whether submerging in a liquid brine or coating the meat in salt) adds flavor, plus changes the structure of the meat so that it won't dry out as bad. For beef, venison, duck, etc. never use a wet brine as it'll turn the meat soggy. Dark meats are more flavorful when they're "dry" to some extent.
 
Also, what most people call "marinading" is usually not marinading, but soggifying meat by drowning it in soy sauce and MSG.
 
Gotcha so it is a personal preference and has nothing to do with grilling a tender steak.


I am definitely gonna try something different with the heat and cooking times.
Going by what was said here I think that is the root cause of my problems.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top