Butcher Guide
Who better to ask for advice about meat than a butcher? We asked one of our favorite PQM butchers Tom Carlin to share his favorite cuts and cooking tips.
Flap Steak: AKA Bavette, this diaphragm cut is well-marbled and affordable. When cooked medium rare/medium it's so tender. I prefer medium for the diaphragm cuts as they are chewy when undercooked, and even worse when over. I substitute this steak for more expensive cuts, because it eats like a "real" steak. I like serving flap steak with coal roasted potato and grilled beans. When topped with a bright salsa verde it doesn't need much more than salt and pepper.
Skirt: My roommate Pedro, who also works at the butcher shop, and I use skirt to make tacos. We do a simple marinade of cilantro, lime, garlic, onion and olive oil, as well as some sliced jalapeño and fish sauce. We warm tortillas on the grill and top them with raw onion, cilantro and an árbol salsa I picked up when I was living in Houston.
Flanken Short Rib: I often hear, “so short rib is a braising cut right?” Wrong. They come from the first three ribs on a cow. If you clean them up just right on well-marbled beef, cook them mid-rare/medium they slice into such tender and rich meat! I love it with humita (a fresh corn polenta) and a tomato salsa made with lemon (not lime) and basil/parsley from our window sill garden (not cilantro). Italy has tomato salsa too!!!
KC Strip: It's just better than ribeye: bone-in, bone-less, well trimmed or fatty. We dry age these guys and sell them as NY strips, but let's be honest, it's a KC strip to me. I cook these whenever my folks come into town to visit. It's big. It's impressive. Best served with the greatest salad, the wedge (iceberg, blue cheese, tomato, onion and bacon).
Ranch Steak: I just found this cut, I think I like it! It comes from the chuck, basically the arm of the cow. Usually it just goes into burger meat, but I wanted to play so I cleaned it up, seamed it out and it makes these great...cutlets? I dunno they are almost tournedos (classic french). They grill up nicely and since they are small little individual steaks they would be great to share.
Grilling Tips
When you light a fire build it on one half of the grill and use the other half to control your heat with indirect cooking, it helps with flare ups.
Temper your meat. 20 minutes for every inch of thickness. Minimum 20 minutes tempering. Rest your meat! We all have been drunk and hungry, and torn into a hot and eventually dry steak. Let those juices settle. It's worth the wait. Pro tip: drink a beer as soon as you pull the meat off. Once your beer is gone, your meat is ready.
Grilled meat loves bright flavors: lemon, tomato, feta. If you want to make it a healthy night take some market spinach, shave some garlic on it and place your still warm, sliced steak in it. It wilts everything and makes those pesky veggies taste great!