Post by BBQ Butcher on Jan 29, 2015 4:41:54 GMT -5
Finger steaks
There are two menu items called finger steaks. One is a simple thin cut of meat prepared in conventional French ways. The other is a deep-fried portable beef fair food akin to corn dogs and chicken strips. The latter is proudly claimed by Boise, Idaho. Willie Schrier at the Torch Restaurant, is often credited for its "invention" in 1957.
"'Willie' was Willie Schrier, founder of the home-style cooking eatery, and originator of finger steaks at the Torch Restaurant he also owned....Willie Schrier died in 1996, but Marian and her twin sister Mary Thomas, continue to run the restaurant."
---"Restaurant doesn't pull punches with its witty signs," Charles Etlinger, The Idaho Statesman, June 21, 1999 (p. 1B)
"In my May 1 column, I shared with you that the fingersteak recipe from the original Torch restaurant was under lock and key by the current owner. Since then, the first owner, Margaret (who co-owned the establishment with husband Mylo Bybee), has told me they've kept their recipe a family secret. I've since found out that the second owner of the Torch sold a recipe to the third. That's the one under lock and key. In any case, the recipe is still not available to the public. Sorry, folks."
---"Garden stroll can lead to great food," Romaine Galey Hon, The Idaho Statesman, June 5, 2002 (p. 3)
The earliest recipe we find for "conventional" Finger Steaks in the New York Times (a far cry from Idaho) was published in 1948:
"Finger Steaks in Wine Sauce
1 pound round steak
1 cup dry red table wine
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1.2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon pepper 2 tablespoons fat
1/4 cup finely diced onion
1 eight-ounce can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Kitchen Bouquet
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1. Slice steak into thin slivers or strips. Place in a bowl with wine, garlic, salt, sugar and pepper. Cover and let stand in a cold place severla hours or overnight. Drain meat, reserving liquid. Remove garlic and discard.
2. Melt fat in a frying pan over moderate heat. Add meat and brown. Add onion and continue cooking five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomato sauce and Kitchen Bouquet. Combine cornstarch with the liquid drained from the meat. Add liquid and cook, stirring constantly, till sauce thickens and boils. Yield: four portions."
---"News of Food", Jane Nickerson, New York Times, October 9, 1948 (p. 10)
There are two menu items called finger steaks. One is a simple thin cut of meat prepared in conventional French ways. The other is a deep-fried portable beef fair food akin to corn dogs and chicken strips. The latter is proudly claimed by Boise, Idaho. Willie Schrier at the Torch Restaurant, is often credited for its "invention" in 1957.
"'Willie' was Willie Schrier, founder of the home-style cooking eatery, and originator of finger steaks at the Torch Restaurant he also owned....Willie Schrier died in 1996, but Marian and her twin sister Mary Thomas, continue to run the restaurant."
---"Restaurant doesn't pull punches with its witty signs," Charles Etlinger, The Idaho Statesman, June 21, 1999 (p. 1B)
"In my May 1 column, I shared with you that the fingersteak recipe from the original Torch restaurant was under lock and key by the current owner. Since then, the first owner, Margaret (who co-owned the establishment with husband Mylo Bybee), has told me they've kept their recipe a family secret. I've since found out that the second owner of the Torch sold a recipe to the third. That's the one under lock and key. In any case, the recipe is still not available to the public. Sorry, folks."
---"Garden stroll can lead to great food," Romaine Galey Hon, The Idaho Statesman, June 5, 2002 (p. 3)
The earliest recipe we find for "conventional" Finger Steaks in the New York Times (a far cry from Idaho) was published in 1948:
"Finger Steaks in Wine Sauce
1 pound round steak
1 cup dry red table wine
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1.2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon pepper 2 tablespoons fat
1/4 cup finely diced onion
1 eight-ounce can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Kitchen Bouquet
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1. Slice steak into thin slivers or strips. Place in a bowl with wine, garlic, salt, sugar and pepper. Cover and let stand in a cold place severla hours or overnight. Drain meat, reserving liquid. Remove garlic and discard.
2. Melt fat in a frying pan over moderate heat. Add meat and brown. Add onion and continue cooking five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomato sauce and Kitchen Bouquet. Combine cornstarch with the liquid drained from the meat. Add liquid and cook, stirring constantly, till sauce thickens and boils. Yield: four portions."
---"News of Food", Jane Nickerson, New York Times, October 9, 1948 (p. 10)