Post by BBQ Butcher on Mar 30, 2008 6:22:15 GMT -5
08/25/07
The Barbecue Butcher, #5, by Steve Graves
"I love Carne Asada, how would I ask a butcher to prepare a cut of meat for me for this dish? Thanks"
There are as many recipes for Carne Asada out there as there are recipes for making bread. Carne Asada Steak, Carne Asada Roast Beef, Carne Asada sandwiches and so on. The one thing they have in common is a long marinade in an acid based sauce for flavor and tenderness.
For Carne Asada Steak I would recommend a nice Rib Eye or a Sirloin, both of which are tender and full of flavor. If you are looking for a roast beef, I suggest a Sirloin Tip, Rump, a Bottom or Top Round. Those are lean roasts, but still have the flavor and they will slice up nice after cooking.
If you are looking to make Carne Asada steak slices or sandwiches, there are several options available to you. The most popular would be the Skirt Steak, Flank Steak and Flap Meat. Whether cooking as a steak or into slices, all three of these need to be sliced thin against the grain before or after cooking.
How much will you need to order? Well, that depends on the recipe and the amount of people being served, but I would figure at least approx 3/4 lb per person, maybe one pound if you don't mind leftovers. That may sound like a lot, but I prefer to have 'too much' than 'not enough'.
For MY version of Carne Asada, I wanted to recreate the Carne Asada Sandwich that I had the other day at Casa Bacardi in the airport terminal. Click on the link below for my recipe…….
askabutcher.proboards42.com/index.cgi?board=bbq&action=display&thread=1187005392&page=1
“What is the difference between a “Pork Chop” and a “Pork Steak”?
Pork Steaks are cut from the Boston Butt, or Pork Shoulder. Sometimes they are even cut from the Fresh Ham (hind leg), but not very often.
Pork Chops are cut from the Loin and they may be presented boneless or bone-in. Pork Chops are normally more tender than the Pork Steaks. Chops can be cooked hot and quick because they are naturally tender, as long as they are not over cooked. An internal temperature of 150° is good.
Pork Steaks require a longer cook at a lower temperature to get tender and are usually done at 185° internal.
The pork of today is fed and raised different than it was in the day of your grandmother, therefore it is safe to eat at a lower internal temperature and it’s not necessary to cook it to shoe leather consistency. According to the National Pork Producers Council, “Because of modern feeding practices, trichinosis is a no longer a concern. Although trichina is virtually nonexistent in pork, if it were present, it would be killed at 137 degrees F. That's well below the recommended end cooking temperature for pork, which is 160 degrees F.”
“In terms of the color of raw steak, should I be choosing a pink one, or a deep red and bloody one? I figured out the answers about marbling, but I’m still not sure about the color.”
The 'ideal' color for a steak is a bright cherry red.
However, due to various conditions and factors, it's tough to find one like that. When steak is first cut, it's sort of pinkish and bland looking. Once it's been exposed to the air for awhile, it more or less "blooms". All that means is that the oxygen is getting to the meat and the blood is rising towards the surface, giving it a somewhat different shade of color. Now, how long the steak stays in the meat case is another factor....the longer is stays in the light, more color changes appear, usually darker red until it starts to turn grayish or brown. Also, a bloody steak in the meat case can mean one of three things..1) Its been there awhile (few days) 2) there is no pad under the meat to soak up the blood and 3) there may be a refrigeration problem.
The grade of meat also determines color. A lower grade of Choice and Select will be dark red (or even brownish red) with no marbling. A higher grade of Choice and Prime grades will be a tad lighter..hopefully the 'bright cherry red' with a good amount of marbling.
Don't forget...most of the steaks from the Round (Top Round, Bottom Round, Eye Round, Sirloin Tip, etc) will have less marbling than their counterparts from the Loin and Chuck.
The Barbecue Butcher, #5, by Steve Graves
"I love Carne Asada, how would I ask a butcher to prepare a cut of meat for me for this dish? Thanks"
There are as many recipes for Carne Asada out there as there are recipes for making bread. Carne Asada Steak, Carne Asada Roast Beef, Carne Asada sandwiches and so on. The one thing they have in common is a long marinade in an acid based sauce for flavor and tenderness.
For Carne Asada Steak I would recommend a nice Rib Eye or a Sirloin, both of which are tender and full of flavor. If you are looking for a roast beef, I suggest a Sirloin Tip, Rump, a Bottom or Top Round. Those are lean roasts, but still have the flavor and they will slice up nice after cooking.
If you are looking to make Carne Asada steak slices or sandwiches, there are several options available to you. The most popular would be the Skirt Steak, Flank Steak and Flap Meat. Whether cooking as a steak or into slices, all three of these need to be sliced thin against the grain before or after cooking.
How much will you need to order? Well, that depends on the recipe and the amount of people being served, but I would figure at least approx 3/4 lb per person, maybe one pound if you don't mind leftovers. That may sound like a lot, but I prefer to have 'too much' than 'not enough'.
For MY version of Carne Asada, I wanted to recreate the Carne Asada Sandwich that I had the other day at Casa Bacardi in the airport terminal. Click on the link below for my recipe…….
askabutcher.proboards42.com/index.cgi?board=bbq&action=display&thread=1187005392&page=1
“What is the difference between a “Pork Chop” and a “Pork Steak”?
Pork Steaks are cut from the Boston Butt, or Pork Shoulder. Sometimes they are even cut from the Fresh Ham (hind leg), but not very often.
Pork Chops are cut from the Loin and they may be presented boneless or bone-in. Pork Chops are normally more tender than the Pork Steaks. Chops can be cooked hot and quick because they are naturally tender, as long as they are not over cooked. An internal temperature of 150° is good.
Pork Steaks require a longer cook at a lower temperature to get tender and are usually done at 185° internal.
The pork of today is fed and raised different than it was in the day of your grandmother, therefore it is safe to eat at a lower internal temperature and it’s not necessary to cook it to shoe leather consistency. According to the National Pork Producers Council, “Because of modern feeding practices, trichinosis is a no longer a concern. Although trichina is virtually nonexistent in pork, if it were present, it would be killed at 137 degrees F. That's well below the recommended end cooking temperature for pork, which is 160 degrees F.”
“In terms of the color of raw steak, should I be choosing a pink one, or a deep red and bloody one? I figured out the answers about marbling, but I’m still not sure about the color.”
The 'ideal' color for a steak is a bright cherry red.
However, due to various conditions and factors, it's tough to find one like that. When steak is first cut, it's sort of pinkish and bland looking. Once it's been exposed to the air for awhile, it more or less "blooms". All that means is that the oxygen is getting to the meat and the blood is rising towards the surface, giving it a somewhat different shade of color. Now, how long the steak stays in the meat case is another factor....the longer is stays in the light, more color changes appear, usually darker red until it starts to turn grayish or brown. Also, a bloody steak in the meat case can mean one of three things..1) Its been there awhile (few days) 2) there is no pad under the meat to soak up the blood and 3) there may be a refrigeration problem.
The grade of meat also determines color. A lower grade of Choice and Select will be dark red (or even brownish red) with no marbling. A higher grade of Choice and Prime grades will be a tad lighter..hopefully the 'bright cherry red' with a good amount of marbling.
Don't forget...most of the steaks from the Round (Top Round, Bottom Round, Eye Round, Sirloin Tip, etc) will have less marbling than their counterparts from the Loin and Chuck.