November 9, 2011

• Steak 101

   

  Beef searing on an open grill emits a primal scent. San Francisco chef and humorist Shirley Fong-Torres credits it for our place in the evolutionary food pyramid.

  “What do you think encouraged our ancient ancestors to straighten their spines, walk on two legs, fashion weapons and invent fire? They didn’t do all that for an amuse bouch of fiddlehead fern foam. They did it so they could eat seared ribeyes while taunting their enemies with its aroma.”

  Steak was the food of the rich and powerful for several millennia but today most Americans can afford to indulge in this protein of kings. Late twentieth century feeder and packer technology initiated by Iowa Beef Packers made it possible to produce beef more affordably than at any time or place in history. In fact, it became such a bargain that a large part of the cow was lost. Americans ate burger and steaks and not much else.

  

  Today, beef cuts that disappeared half a century ago are back. At Azalea Chef Sean Wilson serves roasted marrow delightfully paired with his homemade syrah onion jam and toast points. He also features a should steak, tenderized and matched with fingerling potatoes and blue cheese creamed spinach. George Formaro grills skirt and hanger steaks at Django on his steak frites menu. He also braises chuck for his beef bourguignon . At Centro, he serves flank steak sandwiches and salads. He braises entire heads of beef to make tacos, for personal use and for staff meals.

  

  “I really do a lot of braised barbacoa beef with chuck and brisket, even oxtail to put on tacos. There are not a lot of parts out there to work with. I like pushing the marrow out of bones to use on grilled hanger or skirt. The cuts that are not the prime cuts by far taste beefier then the rest, with the exception of the prime rib. If you know how to cook them, you can make really great dishes for not a lot of money,“ Formaro said.

  Steak Des Moines

  Any discussion of steak in Des Moines begins with steak de Burgo. What is it? If you’ve never been to Des Moines, you probably don’t have a clue. Even if you lived your whole life in Des Moines, your answer might differ significantly from that of your neighbor. Since the end of World War II, Des Moines’ culinary identity has been heavily invested in this dish with the mysterious name. While the dish is pretty much unheard of beyond Polk County, most sit-down restaurants in Des Moines serve some version of de burgo. To further confuse things, within central Iowa steak de burgo is made from utterly different recipes.

  In 2007, after seven decades in the friendly confines of greater Des Moines, steak de burgo moved up to the culinary major leagues when it was featured at CityZen in Washington, D.C.. Iowa’s provincial specialty made it to the hottest new restaurant in our nation’s capital via a long, strange route — from the Spanish Civil War to the Francis Avenue coal miner neighborhood in Des Moines, then through Ames, Cedar Falls, and finally to a legendary Hong Kong hotel’s signature restaurant in Washington.

  Let’s begin in the middle. The last two years have been a coming out party for Ames’ Eric Ziebold. Food & Wine named him one of “America’s Best New Chefs.” Bon Appetit put him on a list of just five “Chefs to Watch” and he won a James Beard Award.

  You can take the chef out of Iowa, but you can’t take Iowa out of the chef. Eric says he still derives culinary inspirations from growing up here. For instance, he uses a lot of shoat in his cooking and his ‘chips and dip’ are inspired by an Anderson Erickson product.

  “Anyone who visits me from Iowa, including my parents, is required to bring AE dip,” he told us. So it seemed appropriate that he feature “steak de Burgo” on his tasting menu last year.

  “My first job was at Aunt Maude’s in Ames, but I came across de Burgo when I was cooking in Cedar Falls. At CityZen we took our interpretation and it morphed into a wonderful dish (see Eric’s elaborate instructions below). As I knew the dish, it was olive oil, herbs, garlic, and breadcrumbs,” he recalled.

  That’s how Jerry and Julia Talerico remember it. Their father Vic Talerico had steak de burgo on his menus at his Tally Rand Club, and later at Vic’s Tally Ho, as early as 1939. That’s the first documented appearance of de burgo in Iowa, although the 1964 book “Famous Food From Famous Places” credited steak de burgo to Johnny Compiano, at Johnny & Kay’s (now closed) restaurant. That recipe was different from Talerico‘s, more of an herb butter added to steaks.

  Both Vic Talerico and Johnny Compiano lived in the Francis Avenue neighborhood in north Des Moines. Unlike the mostly southern Italian southside of the city, Francis Avenue included immigrant coal miners from northern Italy, as well as southern Italians and other Europeans. It seems quite possible that both Talerico and Compiano could have both been influenced by a Francis Avenue preparation, possibly from someone who passed through Spain in the 1930‘s.

  Probably the most plausible explanation for steak de Burgo’s name is that it evolved cynically out of the Spanish Civil War. During that conflict, Barcelona and the rest of Catalonia were strongholds of the Loyalists while Burgos was the base of the Nationalists. After the latter prevailed, references to all things from Catalonian became politically incorrect in Generalissimo Franco’s dictatorship. Enterprising chefs changed names instead of recipes. The first Des Moines recipe for de Burgo amounted to adding fresh herbs to Catalonian “allioli,” a garlic-infused olive oil that is eaten with practically anything in Barcelona. So it would have made sense for a Spanish chef to re-name such a preparation “de Burgos” after Franco’s stronghold. According to this theory, somewhere between Barcelona and Des Moines, Italian-Americans personalized the recipe by losing the final “s” in “de Burgos.”

  The original recipe sauce of garlic, olive oil and herbs differs little from what is known as “Detroit zip sauce” in Michigan and “chimichurri” in South America. The steaks referred to as “Greek style” at the Northwestern Steak House in Mason City are quite similar too. Today, butter is almost always added to de Burgo recipes, even at Julia and Jerry Talerico’s Sam & Gabe’s restaurant in Urbandale.

  “I tweaked that part of Dad’s recipe because the combination of butter and olive oil has more flavor,” Jerry explained.

  Though most places in Des Moines are consistent about using beef tenderloin, everything else differs. Barrata’s, the south side of Des Moines’ oldest Italian café, makes their de burgo with combined olive oil and butter, but most other places completely replace olive oil with butter. Simon’s prepares such a recipe. The Iowa Culinary Institute (ICI) teaches it that way, after steak pans are deglazed with white wine. The most drastically altered versions originated at Johnny’s Vets Club in Valley Junction, a popular, clubby place that drowned in the great flood of 1993. That Johnny’s made a creamy steak de burgo sauce out of butter, sauterne and half & half, besides garlic paste and herbs. It caught on so well that at least half of Des Moines now thinks it’s the real deal.

  Chef’s Kitchen and Jesse’s Embers use that de Burgo recipe. So do Christopher’s and Mezzodi, but with sherry replacing sauterne. Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse, unrelated to either Johnny’s Vet’s Club or Johnny & Kay’s, fuses the two main styles by using both olive oil and a cream reduction.

  By whatever recipe, from whatever origin, de burgo is still ‘da bomb” in Des Moines.

  Eric Ziebold’s Steak de Burgo

  Make a reduction with minced garlic, shallots and sauternes. Once the wine is almost gone, emulsify butter into the reduction to make a sauce.

  Right before serving, mix fresh parsley and oregano into the sauce. Sauté prime rib-eye, and once the meat is cooked, top it with a garlic/herb panade.

  For the panade mix fresh brioche crumbs with butter, salt, pepper, garlic, and herbs so that it is thick and creamy. Then spread it very thin and chill it out. Once chilled, cut out pieces the size of the beef.

  Put the panade on at the very end so that it won’t be completely melted, but will form almost a breadcrumb crust on top of the beef.

  To serve, place the beef in the middle of the sauce, place a glazed shallot, baby leek, and spring garlic tempura on top of the beef and then take it out to your guest.

  Iowa Culinary Institute Instructions

  For each beef tenderloin steak: sauté beef tenderloin steak to medium-rare in 3 tablespoons of butter in heavy skillet. Remove steak from pan. Add 2 teaspoons chopped garlic and sauté. Add 2 teaspoons fresh or dried basil and deglaze pan with 2 to 3 tablespoons white wine. Pour sauce over steak to serve

  Bargains Beyond the Ribeye

  Steak lovers come in two types: those who prioritize texture, and those who value flavor more. Generally speaking, Japanese consumers prefer texture and pay dearly for heavily marbled, melt-in-the-mouth steaks from pampered cattle. Europeans tend to prefer flavor and they eat more steaks from chewier cuts that others grind into hamburger. Americans want it both ways.

  The nicely marbled Flat Iron, from the top of the shoulder, has a texture similar to beef tenderloin. It‘s making its way into even the best steakhouses.

  From underneath the filet, Hanger is the traditional cut for “steak frites” in French bistros. It has a coarse texture and should be butchered against the grain. Known as “onglet” and “bistro steak” in France, hanger steak is strongly flavored by its proximity to the kidney.

  A small, triangular muscle from the bottom sirloin, Tri-tip is famous in Central California where it’s seasoned and grilled, or smoked.

  From the abdominal muscle (plate), Flank steak is popular in Mexican fajitas and in France as “bavette.” Relatively chewy, it does best marinated or slow cooked.

  Beware of Cleaver Words

  Today it’s harder than ever to find a real butcher and yet there’s so much butcher terminology being thrown around that consumers find the supermarket meat section confusing. Relish created this helpful dictionary.

  USDA prime – The highest grade of beef by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) standards, USDA prime represents the top three per cent in quality of marbling – the white flecks of fat in the muscle that lend juiciness.

  USDA choice – Amounting to just over half of all graded beef, USDA choice contains sufficient marbling for taste and tenderness while costing less than USDA prime.

  USDA select – USDA select beef has less marbling than prime or choice, so it’s leaner but not apt to be as tender, juicy or flavorful.

  Dry aged – Dry aged beef has been hung for two to four weeks in a cooler to intensify flavor and tenderize the meat naturally. “Dry aging” is an expensive method that adds softer texture and deeper flavor.

  Wet aged – Wet aged beef is vacuum packed in Cryovac with liquid and refrigerated for one to three weeks. This tenderizes muscle meat but flavors are milder than with dry-aged beef. “Wet aging” costs much less than dry aging but isn’t as productive.

  Natural and ASH-free – The USDA requires only that a “natural” product be minimally processed, contain no artificial ingredients and no preservatives. Self-regulated programs also require that natural beef come from cattle raised outside of confinements and without antibiotics, synthetic growth promotants, synthetic hormones or ionophores. “ASH-free” (for Antibiotics, Steroids and Hormones) is the popular distinction for this.

  Certified organic – USDA certified organic beef aegis includes all “natural” requirements plus 1.) no feed from non-organic sources such as fertilized pastures; 2.) inspections; 3) all food handlers and processors were certified organic.

  Certified humane – “Certified humane” status is a voluntary program requiring good husbandry of livestock including access to clean food and water, protection from harsh weather and sufficient space to move naturally.

  100 % grass-fed (pasture-raised) and grass-finished – “Grass fed” cattle have more healthy omega-3 fatty acids plus considerably more vitamin E and CLA, a nutrient associated with lower cancer risk. However, those acids give it harsher flavor.

  Most United States cattle are fed grains for fast growth, superior marbling and consistency. “Grass-finished” beef is fed grains until mature, then switched to a grass diet. All grass-fed beef generally has fewer saturated fats, slightly more omega-3 fatty acids and considerably more conjugated linoleic acid, vitamin A and vitamin E.

  Angus – The most popular breed of cattle in the USA , Angus mature quickly and have good mothering instincts. The “certified Angus brand” requires at least 51% a Angus pedigree.

  Chianina – The gourmet cattle of the Roman Empire and the largest breed in the world, Chianina are popular for crossbreeding because of their size and resistance to diseases.

  Wagyu – Wagyu refers to several breeds of cattle unique to Japan. The USDA permits Wagyu half breeds to be marketed as Wagyu in America. All Wagyu meat is well-marbled and high in good cholesterol.

  Kobe beef – Kobe beef comes only from the black

  Tajima-ushi breed of Wagyu cattle raised according to strict traditions in Hyogo Prefecture of Japan. In America, “Kobe-style“ refers to beef from any breed with at least 50% Wagyu blood.

  　

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