【聊天篇】周末又話牛排

這一陣子走近costco肉櫃,滿眼盡是上好的牛扒.
ribeye, porterhouse, new york strip,應有盡有.
看著大理花紋入的眼上得台麵的,盡將拿來是也.
這些prime級的牛扒,原本是不進costco的.
經濟一不好,公司家庭一抽緊,上等牛扒館子生意頓時大減.prime級別的牛扒也隻能降低身價,委身於costco,標著$8.99一磅,眼睜睜看著郊區村民們橫挑豎撿.
連牛肉都會虎落平陽,何況人?

牛排的烹調法,在下常用的有高溫煎灼後快烤法.時間充裕的話,則用低火慢烤後再煎灼.
好的牛排應該是怎個樣?
一口咬下,從外層深入內層的過程中,要感覺到有烤香味,微硬感, 帶出一個好引子;
漸進入到溫柔和肉汁豐盈的內層包圍中;尤其是三分熟的話,此時會令人感到一點原始和野性.
等雙齒閉合時,內外層不同的感覺和味道在口腔裏合而為一.
那時粗粒黑胡椒籽和海鹽滋味在嚼動中化開,渾著肉汁津液一起衝撞著舌蕾和口腔壁.
到此時,嚼動應該開始加快.否則隨著下咽的汁水,味道會減低那時就有嚼蠟的感覺.
在適當的加速咀嚼中,等汁水最大釋放時咽下--那就會經曆味覺交響樂的高潮.

盡管目標明確,至今在下尚在追求牛扒外層的完美結束.
為此翻出了著名法國大廚師 Alain Ducasse的一篇舊文.他曾經同時擁有三間米其林三星餐廳,曆史上他是頭一個擁有6顆和9顆米其林星.
好文章如同好酒,時間會為它們免費打工.
這篇短文裏麵包含精彩理念和技術.行文之間氣勢豐蘊,他的經驗理念最終歸結為對待用材的哲學.
好廚師都會選材及尊重材料("integrity of a dish"),少幹喧賓奪主的傻事;
偉大廚師更會引導和烘托,將材料優點發揮到極致.

讀了之後,令人爽氣.同時他也透露處理牛扒外層的一個技法.我試過幾次,修行還不夠.
這裏轉載著,以惠牛排愛好者.不管是業餘三段或專業七段,都應該有啟發.

February 27, 2002 NYT
Steak With Style: Easy Does It
By Alain Ducasse

THERE is no country that produces better aged beef than the United States. And I know that you often do nothing more with a good steak than a simple grilling or broiling. Because the meat is so good, you can get excellent results that way. There are plenty of people who insist that doing anything more would ruin it.

But I believe there are techniques that can enhance a steak's flavor and tenderness. Even with such a superb ingredient, I take a more culinary approach: as a chef, I intervene in the preparation, and create a complete dish that is satisfying on many levels. This attitude, the demand of my profession, pervades all my food.

I'm presenting the steak preparation in the first of my eight columns because it makes a point: I realize we're not talking about restaurant cooking. I have to take my thinking and my creativity out of my kitchen and make it relevant to you, the home cook. That's my challenge. I accept it gladly.

I believe that a good home cook is by nature no less exacting, no less rigorous than a chef when it comes to the quality of the ingredients, the aesthetics of a dish and the details of the preparation. But the home cook is less compulsive than I am about the consistency of every sprig of herb, every garlic clove, every slice of potato, every trace of sauce on the plate. At home you're not preoccupied with the notion that every dish has to be camera-ready.

But no matter how much I might obsess over minute details when I cook, my primary goal is to create a dish that respects the ingredients, offers a balance of flavor and texture and has integrity.

For my steak, I've selected well-aged beef and a cut, the rib eye, which, to me, certainly has the best flavor. I cut it thick, and I cook it on top of the stove because I have better control than if the steak were sitting on a grill or under a broiler.

Then I do something you will consider truly strange: I start by cooking the steak on its narrow side. I want to begin with the rim of fat on the edge, to render it so there is good, flavorful fat in the pan for the rest of the cooking. I'm also browning it so the finished steak will look immensely appetizing when it is served.

I continue to cook the beef on the flat sides, salting first, about 10 minutes on each side. I do not use very high heat, because you get good caramelization in that amount of time. I'm not interested in carbonizing the surface of the meat. To me that ruins the flavor. You must also take care not to pierce the meat, or it will be less juicy. Turn it with tongs or two spoons.

And now, here's where the chef really comes in. I crush a few big unpeeled cloves of garlic and put them in the pan along with a nice chunk of butter. Don't get too worked up about the butter -- it's a trick steakhouses often use -- you need fat to carry the flavor of the garlic into the meat. I salt and pepper the meat, and baste it with the garlic-butter for the last few minutes.

Now comes a crucial step. The steak has to rest for at least half as long as it took to cook. This rule applies to any kind of meat that's not cooked in liquid, by the way. The juices, which run to the surface during the cooking, must be given a chance to retreat back into the meat so it will relax, be tender and juicy, and bloom with beefy flavor. You might now be content with the meat as it is, maybe with some crispy fries alongside.

But I was also interested in creating some kind of condiment, a marmalade for the steak, that would be sexy and a little surprising. In France we have all kinds of classic sauces for steak, like béarnaise and bordelaise, but I wanted to get away from those. And about the only commercial condiment the French have is mustard.

I came up with a peppery marmalade that has freshness, richness and acidity all at once. When I can get fresh sour cherries I use those. Or cranberries, also full of acid. But dried cranberries or even French canned sour cherries, griottes, work just as well. They're combined with a fine brunoise of shallots, onions and celery. The marmalade's texture is a bit rough. Its flavor is tart and spicy, yet rounded out with a touch of sweet liqueur and beef jus, making it a perfect foil for the delectable meat.

Alongside I like Swiss chard prepared just the way I would cook spinach, sautéed with garlic and given a dusting of Parmesan cheese. Try to find baby chard. Otherwise you have to trim off the stems and par-cook them. Would you cut the stems as precisely at home as we do in the restaurant? Probably not. But they should be fairly uniform, and that's easy enough to accomplish.

Some simple fingerling potatoes, roasted in their skins and crushed with butter, are also delicious alongside.

In the restaurant we get only one portion from each of these steaks because we trim very carefully and would not put some of the smaller slices or oddly shaped pieces on the plate. We find other uses for those. But at home, once you have removed any big pockets of fat, you will serve the whole thing, and then each steak is plenty for two. There you have a perfect example of the difference in approach that I've been talking about.

The result is a beautifully tender steak with a richness that's almost sweet and intensified with salt and garlic. It's the way I love a steak.

RIB-EYE STEAKS WITH PEPPERED CRANBERRY MARMALADE AND SWISS CHARD

Time: 45 minutes

2 24-ounce boneless rib-eye steaks, each about 1 1/2 inches thick, at room temperature

Salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 large cloves garlic, unpeeled and crushed

Freshly ground black pepper

2 sprigs fresh thyme

Cranberry marmalade (see recipe)

Sautéed Swiss chard (see recipe).

1. Place a heavy sauté pan large enough to hold both steaks comfortably over medium heat. Stand steaks up in pan on fat side, and cook until fat has browned and most has been rendered into pan.

2. Use tongs to turn steaks onto a flat side, dust with salt and cook until browned on one side. Turn, and cook on second side until somewhat undercooked. Pour off all but a couple of tablespoons of fat, and add butter and crushed garlic. Baste steaks with butter and remaining fat until cooked almost to desired degree of doneness: for medium rare, it will take about 10 minutes on each side.

3. Remove pan from heat, season steaks with salt and pepper, place a sprig of thyme on each, and set pan aside on unlighted burner. Steaks must rest in warm place at least 10 to 15 minutes. They can rest longer than that if placed in a 150-degree oven after the first 10 minutes.

4. Cut steaks in thick slices, trimming away excess internal fat. Divide among four warm dinner plates, and place a generous dollop of cranberry marmalade alongside. Serve with chard and additional marmalade.

Yield: 4 servings.

PEPPERED CRANBERRY MARMALADE

Time: 20 minutes plus 40 minutes' soaking

1 cup cranberry juice

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup cherry liqueur (not kirschwasser)

6 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup minced shallots

1/2 cup minced onion

1/2 cup minced celery

1/3 cup glace de viande or concentrated beef stock

Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

1. Place cranberry juice in a saucepan, bring to a simmer, add cranberries and remove from heat. Allow to soak 40 minutes.

2. Drain cranberries, reserving juice. Place in a food processor with liqueur and 4 tablespoons vinegar, and pulse until chopped.

3. Heat oil in a 3-quart saucepan. Add shallots, onions and celery, and cook over low heat until tender but not colored.

4. Stir in 1/4 cup reserved cranberry juice and remaining vinegar, and simmer until most of liquid has evaporated. Stir in cranberry mixture, and simmer until thick, about 5 minutes. Stir in glace de viande, salt and a generous amount of pepper. Serve at once, or warm just before serving.

Yield: 2 cups.

SAUTÉED SWISS CHARD

Time: 30 minutes

2 bunches Swiss chard, one red, one white, rinsed

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

2 large cloves garlic, peeled

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

1. Trim leaves from stems of chard. Coarsely chop leaves and set aside.

2. Cut stems in pieces 1/2-inch wide and 2 inches long. Place in a saucepan with chicken stock, and simmer 10 minutes, until tender. Drain stems and set aside. (Stock can be reserved for another use.)

3. Impale garlic cloves on a large cooking fork. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add chard leaves and stems. Sauté, stirring with the fork, until leaves have wilted. Toss with cheese, add salt and pepper, and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.