Beef steak what part of the carcass. Large bone-in steaks are food for real men! Beef steak on the bone

How many people exist - there are so many understandings about what a steak is. For me personally, a steak is a piece of fried beef without any impurities. The meaning of steak for me personally is the pure taste of beef. And nothing else.

In order to fry a piece of meat without admixtures of other flavors, you must fry it without oil. Because any oil will change the taste of the meat. For this, marbled beef was invented - the bull is fattened in such a way that significant streaks of fat form in the meat. We can put a piece of meat with such veins of fat on a dry hot frying pan, and the meat will be fried in its own fat, which will be rendered out of these veins.

That is, the first significant point is the marbling of meat. It is determined both by the way of fattening (experts separate grass and grain fattening, I honestly don’t feel the difference in taste), and by the part of the carcass from which the piece is taken. Let's say tenderloin is the most tender meat, but there is absolutely no fat in it. And for the preparation of tenderloin medallions, you will definitely need to use oil. But the thick edge - that around the ridge from the back, above the ribs - is what you need. This part is called “ribeye” by our Western partners. It makes the best steaks.

But part of the carcass and its marbling does not guarantee you pleasure. If you buy "Lipetsk marbled beef" - you will not cook from it what you can cook from Australian or Argentinean beef. The reason for this, paradoxical as it may seem, is the freshness of Lipetsk meat.

The fact is that animals also have rigor mortis. What is called “steam meat” is the meat of a freshly killed animal, from which literally “steam comes”. Yes, it is very soft and tasty. But after a couple of hours, this meat will become hard, like a sole. And it will remain so for quite some time.

If we want to eat such meat (and this is, in general, all the meat that is sold in our markets and in our stores), we need to rid it of this rigidity. This is usually achieved in three ways.

Method number one is to chop this meat into small pieces. Knife or meat grinder. And out small pieces fashion yourself new meat. Beefsteaks, meatballs or lula. Method number two is to beat the meat with a special hammer to destroy the tough fibers. It's called "chopping". And method number three is to marinate the meat. That is, dip it in any acid (vinegar, wine, crushed tomatoes, onions, lemon, carbonated water) to soften the fibers. These three methods are used if you want to eat the meat given to you in sensation with pleasure. But, as we understand, these methods change either the structure of the meat or its taste.

But there is a fourth way. The method is simple - the meat is aged for at least four weeks at a temperature of about 4 degrees Celsius. It begins natural processes fermentation. The meat becomes very soft. It can be eaten raw and will melt on the tongue.

And the meat for steaks, which is sold in stores at a price of 2,000 rubles per kilogram, is processed in this way. And that's why we buy it, fry it and get the same steak that they do in steakhouses. There is no wisdom - everything depends only on the meat.

Where can you buy this meat? In any supermarket where there are conditions for storing refrigerated products. If you see a piece of beef packed in thick polyethylene with the inscription Angus (this is a breed of bull) and imported from banned Australia or permitted Argentina - ask them to cut you a piece four centimeters thick. Such a steak will weigh four hundred grams. Heat up a frying pan (no cast iron needed, no ribs - just a good frying pan with a thick bottom, I do on Ikea), put this piece on it, three minutes on the side, turn it over, another three minutes on the other side, then turn off the gas, salt coarse salt and do as you like, with or without blood. That is, you can cover the pan with a lid for another three minutes, or you can eat right away. In fact, there is no blood there, and the aged meat is so tender that it seems you can spread it.

This is, of course, the ideal model. And it doesn't mean that you have to stick to it. You can buy meat at the market. See that it is not very lean. The piece must be cut necessarily against the direction of the fibers (that is, the fibers must be across the plane of the steak). If there is no marbling - well, ok, use a good olive oil. If there is no exposure - well, ok, marinate it in lemon or onion for literally up to an hour. If that changes the taste of your beef, it's no more than a $600 wine tastes like a $600 wine. Honestly.

And remember that now the post, of course.

It would seem, what meat dish could be easier than a steak? Fried on both sides an impressive piece with minimum set spices and you're done. In fact good steak far from everyone can cook: the point is not even in the technology of roasting, but in the selection and preparation of meat. And, by the way, meat is most often understood as beef, although a steak can be cooked from lamb, pork, and even chicken.

Professionals believe that it is great both on gas, on wood or electric grills. The main thing is to focus on the power of the equipment. The higher it is, the better, as in this case the meat is quickly fried and remains juicy.

The main principle of buying a grill for steaks is revealed and we turn to the choice of meat.

Beef steak

Not every part of beef is suitable for a steak - this dish is so expensive precisely because the best parts of the carcass are taken for it. Moreover, depending on which part of the carcass the meat is taken from, a certain steak is prepared. In total there are about 100 various kinds, but the most popular are the following.

"Ribeye", or " marbled steak". For its preparation, a piece of meat is used, which is cut from the subscapular part of the carcass and has a large number of fatty veins that make it look like marble. The more these fatty layers in the meat and the thinner they are, the better.

"T-bone". The steak is called so because of the bone, resembling the letter "T". The billet itself is a juicy piece of meat on a T-shaped bone, which is cut out at the border of the lumbar and dorsal parts of the carcass, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bconvergence of the thin edges of the longest muscle and tenderloin. As a rule, the carcass is cut in such a way that the meat remains on the bone, and such steaks are sold in stores already cut.

"File Mignon". For this steak, choose the middle (most tender) part of the tenderloin. It is cut in the form of a “stump”, all the veins and veins are cleaned, and then lightly beaten, giving the shape of a steak. And they are beaten off not with a kitchen hammer, but with a knife handle or the edge of a palm.

If you can't find it in the store suitable piece meat, try cooking:

- "Roundrumb steak" - the meat for it is cut from the upper piece of the hip part;

- "Porterhouse steak" - from the lumbar part of the back in the area of ​​​​the thick edge of the tenderloin;

- "Tornedos" - pieces are used from the thin edge of the central part of the tenderloin;

- "Club steak" - the meat is cut from the dorsal part in the area of ​​​​the thick edge of the long back muscle, has a small costal bone;

- “Sirloin steak”, or “New York steak” - from the head of the tenderloin;

- "Chateaubriand" - a thick edge of the central part of the tenderloin is taken;

- "Rum steak" - the tenderloin is cut into thin slices and carefully beaten off.

In any case, keep in mind that to cook a steak, beef must be cut into slices from 3 to 5 cm thick, and strictly in the transverse direction, so that the heat passes evenly through the fibers, heating the meat to the desired temperature.

Lamb, pork and chicken steaks

Lamb for steak is better to choose from the neck, thigh or sirloin. Remember: the older the ram, the tougher the steak will be. Another feature is the specific smell of meat if the ram has not been castrated. However, this smell is easily drowned out by various spices and marinades.

Pork should be taken from the shoulder blades, thighs and neck - in these places the meat is the most juicy and quickly fried. Before cooking, cut the blanks into “columns” about 6 cm thick and lightly beat with the palm of your hand.

Choose chicken that is not frozen or even chilled. Among all the carcasses on the counter, look for the one that is larger than broiler ones, with yellowish skin. Despite the fact that the breasts seem to be the most suitable meat for a steak, they will not work - they are too dry, so cut the thighs and drumsticks.

General principles

Regardless of which steak you decide to cook, pay attention to the following nuances.

Meat color. Beef should be dark red, lamb light red, and pork pink. The paler the meat, the stronger it is fried, but the darker, the older the animal was.

Muscle fibres. The thicker they are, the tougher the steak will be. Therefore, choose cuts of meat with thin and dense, but not hard fibers.

Fat layers. Fat gives the meat juiciness and tenderness, so choose pieces where there will be thin streaks of fat. During frying, they will melt, and if they remain somewhere, they can be removed. The color of the fat layers should be white, a yellow tint indicates that the animal was old.

The maturity of the meat. Steaks can not be prepared from either frozen or fresh meat. It must be sustained, then the fibers will soften and fermentation will begin. The standard “ripening” period is a day or two for chicken, five days for pork, and 21 to 28 days for beef. You can check the maturity of the meat by simply pressing your finger on a suitable piece: if the dent remains, but soon returned to its place, it is suitable for a steak.

It's interesting that...

the country of delicious steak Argentina is considered - it is there that special breeds of bulls are specially grown on grain feed, from which “marble” beef is made, where the meat is intertwined with the thinnest layers of fat.

In Japan from special grade veal prepare “Kobe steak”: six months before slaughter, the animal is drunk with clarified yeast beer and massaged on the back. It is believed that because of this, the steak acquires a special taste and extraordinary softness.

Maria Silence especially for Village Club

The perfect steak starts with choosing the meat. By purchasing a quality product, you doom the result of cooking to success. Fresh meat is difficult to spoil with the wrong recipe, the wrong marinade. How to choose the right steak for a particular steak will be discussed in this article.

There is an opinion that the steak is prepared only from beef, everything except that is just fried meat. First, you should pay attention to the types of steaks in order to understand which part of the huge carcass to buy.

Steaks

There are more than 100 options, but only a few of them are the most popular. They are served in famous restaurants, chefs compete in roasting and serving. Home chefs dream of learning the secrets of cooking.

1. Ribeye. The fillet is located under the shoulder blade of the animal, consists of pulp, many fatty streaks. Ready it turns out juicy, if not the most tender, however, very tasty.
2. Club. Meat on a small rib bone, cut from the dorsal part.
3. T-bon. It has a bone similar to the letter T, cut from the dorsal-lumbar region.
4. Filet Mignon. Famous for indescribable tenderness, has no bones, central sirloin animal. The highest piece is cut off with a thickness of 5 centimeters. For this species, only medium, strong roasting is relevant. Saturation suffers due to the lack of fatty layers. You can not beat the meat with a kitchen hammer, the steak will lose its shape, the flesh will break, the knife handle will do.
5. Porterhouse. A combination of two types of steak - tender loin tenderloin, T-shaped bone with a thin edge. It is considered ideal: juicy, tender, saturated with fats.
6. Tornedos. Tenderloin cut into small medallions.
7. Striploin. The thin edge of the lumbar section of the carcass has a characteristic beef taste. The appearance of a thin strip.
8. Roundrumb. hip part The steak is round in shape.

Based on the choice of the type of steak, we go shopping. It is necessary to follow the recommendations, choose carefully, taking into account each item, then the dish will exceed expectations will get a lot of compliments.

Choosing meat

It is recommended to take pieces rather thick, at least 2 centimeters. Fatty pieces are especially good, ready meal it turns out juicy even at maximum roasting, the shape of the piece is perfectly preserved, does not spread, remains elastic.

When choosing a place to buy, give preference to markets for several reasons:

• quality meat is much easier to find there, especially the most expensive cuts;
• you can sniff well - an indicator of staleness is the smell of ammonia;
• touch the pieces - the meat returns its shape after pressing with a finger - it means good, sticky - stale;
• choose a seller who supplies only good pieces.

meat color

We pay attention to color - the main indicator of quality.

• red meat, pale pink crust, pale pink is acceptable, spots of a different color, mucus are indicators of a poor-quality piece;
• white fat - yes, yellow, brown, gray - no;
• the texture is too dense, loose - stale, uniform, elastic - suitable.

We examine the counter, trays. cloudy juice in containers - an indicator of not the best quality of the product. We look at the environment, notice the details (towels, knives, boards).

An even cut of the piece guarantees great steak. The ribbed surface is fraught with loss of juice, the steak will turn out dry.

Sellers Tricks

An inexperienced buyer is easy to deceive, consider the most famous tricks of sellers:

• simple calves are given out as thoroughbred bulls;
• fresh meat is a popular misconception, it is considered as such the first three hours after slaughter, for beef steak aged fillets are suitable - a maximum of 28 days after slaughter;
• cheap, for example, shoulder cuts, are presented as an elite tenderloin Ribeye, Filet Mignon.

It is necessary to look for sellers who can clearly see where the piece was cut from. Each part differs in roasting time, garnish, sauce. Pay attention to the marbling of the product, a large number of veins - a guarantee of a juicy steak.

Pay attention to muscle fibers - thick means tough meat.

Where is the best beef?

For steakhouses, meat is supplied from the following countries:

1. New Zealand - the most famous breeds graze on the fields of the island, the meat of which is used in the preparation of perfect steaks.
2. Argentina - the best breeds of animals are grown, it is considered the country of the most delicious steak.
3. Australia - the climate of the mainland allows you to grow excellent cattle.
4. Japan - the animal is drunk with yeast beer, do a back massage. It is believed that this helps to make the pieces softer, the taste is richer.

Cuts Russian manufacturer are also different high quality if the representative did not save on care, feed. The buyer does not know this for certain, so you have to trust the words of the seller, rely on appearance product, trust your intuition.

The cost of good beef is quite high, a low price means a low-quality product. For feeding, caring for bulls, large labor costs and financial investments are needed.

What affects the price

1. Cut type. There are especially valuable places on the carcass - dorsal, lumbar, central parts. Shoulder, ham have a lower cost.
2. The age of the bull. The meat of an older animal will be darker, tougher. Characteristics do not depend on the part of the cut.
3. Conditions. The quality of meat directly depends on the growing area, mode, walks. Gobies live according to a clear schedule: they walk, eat, take certain procedures. The amount of fat streaks depends on the diet - in quality product there should be a lot of thin ones.
4. Nutrition. The most delicious meat is considered to be from grain-fed gobies, good fresh grass is suitable for a minion.

Professional chefs study in detail the characteristics, conditions for growing animals before purchasing a piece, the quality of dishes and reviews of restaurant guests depend on this.

• to determine the roasting is necessary, checking the readiness with sharp objects is fraught with juice leakage, therefore, the pieces will be hard;
• turn over only with culinary tongs - no punctures;
• fry on high heat minimal amount time, so the juice is sealed inside;
• lay out the pieces on a hot surface;
• add spices only after frying, thus preserving the juice in the dish.

Knowing the criteria for quality beef, following the recommendations, you can easily purchase right pieces, fry perfect steaks. Cook, enjoy the process, buy excellent beef please loved ones.

1. Take only beef

Just in case, we remind you: only beef has the right to be called a steak. No pork, lamb, or especially chicken! This is the fundamental point.

2. Decide in advance which steak you want

If you think that “steak is steak”, you are wrong. There are about a dozen types of this fried meat. Basically, they can be divided into three groups:

• marble steaks. Prepared from the so-called marble meat: tender, soft, fat-veined parts of the back and loin (thin and thick edges). This type of steak includes the popular ribeye and striploin.

• lean steaks. Prepared from cuttings. They are also distinguished by tenderness, but at the same time, due to the smaller amount of fat, they are slightly less high-calorie. These include, for example, filet mignon and chateaubriand.
• Alternative steaks. Prepared from other parts beef carcass: shoulder blades, flanks and so on. These steaks are less fat and tender, rarely have the correct shape and may contain tendons. They are more suitable for lovers of "real" meat, which can be torn with teeth ... This type of steaks includes flank, skert, top blade and so on.

Only by deciding which flavors and nutritional characteristics you need, go for meat.

3. Don't Just Buy Beef

We partially repeat the previous point. The rules are strict: to get exactly the steak that you want, you need to choose meat from well-defined ones. A skint steak is always a flank. Top blade - shoulder blade. Ribeye and striploin - back and loin. Filet Mignon is made from tender tenderloin- and from nothing else!

4. Be smart

If you are not an expert in choosing and cooking meat, it is better to limit yourself to the classic, most popular and easy-to-cook types of steaks - marbled (ribeye) and lean (filet mignon). The premium parts of the carcass from which they are prepared will be quite edible, including in inexpensive meat.

But alternative steaks will only taste good if they are made from really good, aged grain-fed beef bovine meat.

5. Check the quality of meat before buying

The meat for a rib-eye steak should be soft and marbled, that is, with visible streaks of fat.

The quality of meat for filet mignon can be checked as follows. Press firmly on the cut with your finger: it should give in easily, but as soon as you remove your finger, quickly return to its previous shape.

We will not talk about the quality of meat for other types of steaks now: it is difficult for a non-professional to determine desired characteristics, so it's better to stick with the classics.

6. Frozen meat is allowed

But it is important to take it only from trusted sellers, so as not to run into a “second freshness product” or the wrong part of the carcass.

Please note that this option will require competent defrosting. In no case do not defrost meat in the microwave or in the sun: a temperature jump will lead to the loss of precious juice, and this will worsen taste characteristics future steak.

About a day before the planned frying, put the beef out of freezer into the main compartment of the refrigerator. So the meat will become soft, but not lose its juiciness.

In general, you can not defrost meat at all.

How to prepare meat for frying

5. Dry the meat thoroughly

Before frying, pat the meat dry with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture from the surface. If you do not get rid of the liquid, the steak in the pan will cook rather than fry.

To remove moisture for sure, you can sprinkle raw meat with cornstarch.

And a way for perfectionists. Take a disposable foil mold, pierce it in several places wooden skewers(so that inside the form you get a semblance of a lattice) and put the meat wrapped in a paper napkin on this lattice. Let it sit in the refrigerator for about 24 hours. Perfect dryness of the surface is guaranteed.

However, if you have a wire rack, you can do without skewers.

Let it lie in the air for at least 20-30 minutes. During this time, the meat will be weathered around the edges and covered with a light crust, which, when frying, will keep the juice inside the piece.

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7. Do not salt or pepper!

If you add salt to the steak during the frying process, the meat juices will seep out. As a result, you will get a harder piece than you could.

Here we will make a remark: many neglect this recommendation, because they prefer just such a slightly harsh type of meat. Experiment. IN this case you can rely on your own taste sensations.

If we are talking about alternative steaks, then they should either be marinated, or salt and pepper and brushed with olive oil before frying.

What else to do before frying a steak

1. Choose the right pan

The ideal choice is a grill pan or regular frying pan with a thick bottom (cast iron would be nice). The thick bottom of the pan ensures that after heating it will keep the temperature at one level for a long time.

If the bottom of the pan is thin, it cools down quickly. This means that the meat is not fried, but rather boiled in its own juice.

2. Consider Your Oil Choice

Butter adds fat (softness) and flavor to the meat. Which one would you like? Some recommend frying in olive oil, adding a little cream towards the end.

Others advise Food Tips: How to Cook the Perfect Steak exotic - liquid peanut butter: it has soft fragrance, which will give the steak tenderness and originality.

However, if you are cooking rib eye or other marbled meat steak, additional fat content is not necessary. It's up to you, but come to this moment consciously.

Another important point is the boiling point (smoke point) of the oil. smoke point. If the fat smokes, it will give the steak an unpleasant taste. Therefore, it makes sense to choose for frying vegetable oils boiling at an elevated temperature.

For example, unrefined sunflower and linseed oil not suitable for cooking steaks. They begin to smoke already at 107 ° C, while the temperature of a well-heated pan is 150 ° C and higher. Extra virgin olive oil ( extra virgin) and unrefined peanuts tolerate up to 160 ° C. Creamy, coconut, unrefined sesame do not smoke up to 170 ° C.

Fine options are refined sunflower and avocado oil: they begin to smoke after 200 ° C.

3. Get a thermal needle or learn to do without it

The degree of doneness of a steak is determined by the temperature inside the piece of meat. The easiest way to measure it is with a needle thermometer.

Common degrees of roasting look like this:

• 38 ° C and above - raw / blue (steak with blood);
• 48 ° C and above - rare (very lightly fried);
• 52 ° C and above - medium rare (lightly fried);
• 58 ° C and above - medium (normally fried);
• 63 ° C and above - medium well (well fried);
• from 74 ° С - well done (very well fried).

If there is no needle at hand, you can roughly determine the level of roasting by pressing the meat with your finger.

Blue and rare steaks feel like the muscle tissue at the base of your thumb: press down on it with your other index finger and feel soft.

If you squeeze the tips of your thumb and forefinger, the muscle will tense and the base of the thumb will resemble steak done medium rare. Large and medium - medium. Big and nameless - medium well.

Well, by combining thumb and little finger, you will feel about the same pressure as when you press a well done steak.

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1. Pre-fry the steak in the oven

This technique How To Reverse Sear A Steak will allow you to get the most uniform roasting without gray, overcooked meat around the edges.

Put the steak on a baking sheet and bake at a temperature of 90-95 ° C for 30-60 minutes - depending on how well-done the steak you want to get at the exit.

If you need a steak with blood, then the episode with pre-roasting can be omitted in the oven.

By the way, in a similar way, you can restore the taste of an already cooked, but cooled and stale steak. Place it in the oven at 120°C for about 30 minutes and then pan fry on both sides to bring back the crispiness.

2. Heat up the pan

Let it stand on high heat for at least 8-10 minutes. Better - more. The chef at Alinea in Chicago, for example, recommends 12 Unexpected (But Totally Legit) Tricks For Making The Best Steak heat cast iron pan within half an hour!

Then add the oil, wait a few more minutes until it warms up, and only then lay out the steak.

3. Fry the steak at a high temperature

1.5-2 minutes, depending on the desired color of the crust, on each side. During frying, protein - primarily on the surface of a piece of meat - folds and turns into a kind of film that blocks the exit of liquid. This means that the steak fried over high heat will remain juicy inside.

Only then reduce the heat to low, cover the meat with a lid and let stand for another 1-5 minutes - depending on the desired degree of roasting. This recommendation applies to steaks made from fatty and juicy marbled meat.

Check readiness with a thermal needle or a finger. Cutting or piercing a steak with a knife is not worth it: juice will flow out of the meat.

If we are talking about leaner tenderloin steaks, the technology will have nuances. Fry the steak properly on both sides until golden brown, add a little more oil (for example, butter) to the pan, and also - if desired - your favorite spices (the same garlic) and herbs (rosemary, lavender, thyme, sage ...). Lower the heat to medium and continue browning the meat on both sides, basting it with the juices that come out. This will ensure the steak is properly cooked.

4. Bring to the desired degree of roasting in the oven

In a frying pan covered with a lid, steaks are perfectly cooked with a degree of roasting up to medium rare. If you want a really well done steak, place it in a preheated oven at 180°C immediately after browning it in oil on all sides.

The time the meat is in the oven depends on the desired level of roasting:

• medium rare - 4 minutes is enough;
• medium - 7 minutes;
• medium well - 10 minutes;
• well done - 14 minutes.

How and with what to serve a steak

1. Let the steak rest for 3-5 minutes

At high temperatures the top layers of meat are compressed, fixing the juice inside. If you cut the steak right away, the juice will simply run out onto the plate. Wait up to 5 minutes: this is enough for the top layers of the meat to expand and absorb the juices as well.

2. Serve hot!

This is one of the basic rules for serving a steak. In this case, meat is an independent dish, simple and understandable. To fully reveal its taste, the steak must be hot.

3. For fatty juicy steaks, choose a minimum of spices

On the same ribeye, it is enough to put a sprig of rosemary or a clove of garlic: hot meat will quickly absorb the aroma. Also, the taste characteristics of the steak are well emphasized by parsley, thyme, cilantro.

4. Lean Steaks Need Sauce

The tenderloin from which filet mignon is prepared is a very tender meat that literally melts in your mouth. But at the same time, it is rather tasteless, and therefore such a steak is always served with sauce.

5. The best side dish is vegetables

Fresh or grilled. This perfect option side dish for steak in terms of proper nutrition.

Despite claims by some doctors that eating red meat is injurious to health, and a rise in the number of zealous vegetarians, there are still many more meat-eaters among city dwellers. But few people really understand what is on his plate: often people do not even suspect where the beef came from, from which the served steak was prepared, how it was butchered and stored, and what part of the carcass is made of, for example, ribeye or striploin. The Village I decided to investigate this issue from a to z. The meat specialist helped us with this Kirill Martynenko, Managing partner of the Moscow network of steakhouses Torro Grill.

Kirill Martynenko managing partner of a chain of steakhouses Torro Grill

IN catering business Kirill got in 1989 as a waiter at the restaurant "At Jozef", where he later became an assistant cook. Then he worked as a cook in the restaurants "Assol" and "Anna Mons", as a chef and manager of the bar-restaurant "At Petra", the manager of the Finnish restaurant-club Maxim's and as a chef in the entertainment complex "Alexander Blok". In 2002 Kirill became the chef of the Global Foods company, and in 2004 he became the concept chef of the Arpikom restaurant group (Goodman, Filimonova and Yankel, Kolbasoff). In 2007, together with partner Anton Lyalin, he opened his first steakhouse Torro Grill, which has now become a chain of six restaurants in Moscow.

Story

Steak(English) steak, from Old Norse steikja - « fry"") - a piece of meat cut from the carcass of an animal and cooked on fire.

It is difficult to say exactly when the steak appeared, but it is safe to say that our ancestors began to eat raw meat many millennia ago in order to survive in harsh conditions. They began to fry meat on fire when they realized that it was easier to eat it that way. In the middle of the 15th century, the description of the steak first appeared in British cookbooks. Three centuries later, the technology of cooking meat on open fire began to spread across continental Europe.

IN New World English Herefords and Scottish Aberdeen Angus were brought in, on which, in fact, the American meat industry began to develop. In addition to the United States, steaks have become widespread in all former British colonies, as well as in Latin America, Germany, Italy and France.

Actually the culture of steak and steakhouses was born at the end of the 19th century, and it happened, as you might guess, in America - in Chicago.

Meat

The herd of cattle is divided into two unequal parts: meat, intended for quick slaughter, and dairy. The first is, as a rule, bulls, the second, of course, cows. But even from meat gobies, not everyone is suitable for steaks.

Pedigree

An extremely important parameter is breed. All the time that people were engaged in animal husbandry, they bred and fixed breeds that were best recruited. muscle mass, could lay a certain amount of fat and were unpretentious in content. It is also important for the steak industry that the animal be compact. The most steak breeds are the entire Angus family ( Aberdeen Angus- a breed bred in Scotland and brought to the USA in 1873), Herefords ( Hereford- a breed bred in the county of Herefordshire, in England), as well as their hybrids. It is from them that the vast majority of steaks in restaurants around the world are made.

The diet of the animal plays a special role in meat production. The natural food for a cow is grass and hay. But from the point of view of the meat industry, this is unprofitable and is possible only in countries where there are appropriate areas, and climatic conditions allow livestock to eat grass. all year round like, for example, in New Zealand.

cow stomach able to digest exceptionally poor feed: hay and grass, so the transition to more rich fodder, grain, must occur gradually, otherwise the animal gets sick.

Grain feeding appeared relatively recently, in the mid-60s in the United States. The producer, by giving the cattle a standard highly nutritious feed, can control the growth rate of the animals. Besides the consumer wanted to receive beef of a certain marbling (eng. marbling- small particles of fat deposited between muscle fibers), the degree of which cannot be controlled with herbal fattening. For this reason, it became necessary to develop a system of grain feeding and certification of meat. Grain-fed is more expensive than grass-fed, and the diet itself is more complicated. The transition to a richer feed, grain, should occur gradually. It is important to develop a balanced diet and gradually transfer the animal to a new diet of compound feed, barley, alfalfa, corn and other ingredients.

IN USA meat is divided into eight categories, three of which are - prime, choice And select- suitable for cooking steaks. IN australia categories are denoted by a serial number from 200 before 1 100 (most marbled) in increments of 100 units.

In Russia today there is no beef certification system similar to Western ones. Modern GOSTs and TUs do not describe what kind of meat is suitable for steaks. While other countries have their own criteria for certification and categorization of meat. The most stringent standards are set in countries with a developed meat industry: in the USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Russia must develop its own standards and definitions of VKG (high-quality beef) within a year and a half after joining the World Trade Organization, that is, approximately by 2014. In Russia, beef that meets VKG standards has not been produced and is not being produced.

Main exporters and meat prices

The country of production also plays a role in pricing. It is easy to guess that the labor force in the US and Australia is more expensive than in Argentina, and therefore the price of meat is higher. Climatic conditions and seasonal fluctuations are also important. In the USA, for example, meat always rises in price around Christmas, and gets cheaper in summer. Financiers often play on meat - futures contracts for beef are concluded no less often than for grain.

Japanese beef Wagyu marbling surpasses the American prime. The price, of course, is higher than one and a half to two times.

Beef is brought to Russia mainly from the USA and Australia. The most popular breeds are Angus. Sometimes on the Russian market appears supermarble beef, made according to Japanese technology, - Wagyu. Due to the lack of manufacturing capacity in Japan, this meat is also produced in the US and Australia. Less is coming from Latin America and New Zealand, since the fattening there is grassy - marbling cannot be guaranteed, and the consumer is already used to a certain level. The price of beef depends on the complexity of transportation and seasonality. However, Angus from the USA and Australia are comparable in price. Japanese varieties are significantly - up to one and a half to two times - more expensive. Grass-fed beef tends to be cheaper, as grass-fed beef is cheaper than grain-fed beef if there is adequate grazing land.

Russian meat

On sale in Lately there is more and more Russian meat claiming to be a steak. However, the price-quality ratio is still shocking. Considering that there are places to raise cattle in Russia, it is sad that meat production is still at an early stage.

An underdeveloped industry and infrastructure does not allow farmers to sell their goods efficiently and profitably. Since the restaurant business is able to absorb no more than 10% of the carcass, the rest of the meat remains ballast in the hands of the manufacturer. In countries with a developed meat industry, everything is recycled.

carcass cutting

There are documents that regulate the process of carcass cutting and describe in detail how to properly cut fat and how each piece should look. In the United States, standards for cutting are written in a handbook called Meat Buyer's Guide. Australians have a similar Australian Beef Product Guide, In Canada - Meat Cuts Manual.

The tradition of cutting carcasses in our country does not at all imply such a product as a steak. Therefore, those wishing to experiment with domestic meat should be prepared for the fact that the restaurant will have to additionally mess with the carcass - to make steaks from an unformed piece.

Storage and transportation

Meat enters the market in two forms - frozen and chilled.

Freeze

The meat is subjected shock freezing: its temperature drops from plus 2-4 degrees to about minus 30 in a matter of minutes. Thus, the cell walls do not have time to be destroyed by ice crystals. Subsequently, when defrosting, the loss of juiciness is minimal. Such meat, as a rule, comes to Russia by sea: this is the cheapest way. Properly frozen and thawed beef is no doubt inferior in taste to aged examples, but it is perfectly serviceable. Defrosting should take place in the refrigerator at a temperature of plus 4-5 degrees.

Vacuum storage

dry aging

Generally, dry aging takes place where the meat will be cooked. In this case, it is delivered to a restaurant, where it enters a special chamber and ripens and winds there. Such exposure leads to a loss of up to 25% of moisture, which means that a piece of beef is much more expensive than frozen or aged in a vacuum, but it also has a brighter taste. In Moscow restaurants, dry-aged meat is extremely rare. But it is normal to keep the meat in a special refrigerator in a separate area with the subsequent delivery of the vacuum-packed cut to the restaurant kitchen. On the Russian market there are offers of foreign dry-aged meat.

Steak

Up to 10% of the total weight of the animal's skeleton is suitable for cooking a steak (the weight of the skeleton does not include the weight of the head, entrails and skin) - hence the high price of the steak. The whole back is suitable for steaks: tenderloin (inside loin), ribeye (breast) and striploin (loin), shoulder and front of the back are the main cuts used in the restaurant industry. The shoulder and front of the hind cut are characterized by a low price and a more pronounced taste. There is also a diaphragm - these are two cuts - skirt And hanger(thick aperture). The diaphragm is the softest muscle of the animal, since its purpose is to support the insides, it is not involved in movement. Diaphragm is also called "butcher's steak" because traditionally butchers kept these cuts for themselves as the most tender.

Moscow restaurants prepare these steaks:

Roasting

Of course, all these cuts require varying degrees of heat treatment, as their fat content is different. Experts are still arguing about the number of degrees of roasting a steak, but most are of the opinion that there are still six of them:

There is a simple rule: the fatter the piece, the higher the degree of roasting suits it. Ribeye steak is recommended to be brought to medium or medium-well, but it is better to serve tenderloin medium-rare or even rare. low degree the French and Spaniards are especially fond of it, while the Americans prefer well-done meat.

Photos: Olya Eichenbaum
Illustrations: Alexander Pokhvalin