Steak, there's nuthin' better
 

I'm gonna get in trouble with That Guy here. I just got done puncturing 3 sirloins with a fork. I have a legal excuse. I'm making Adobo Sirloin for the first time. I forked the steaks to allow the sauce in for a two hour marinade. The marinade is made with-

1 lime
1 tsp garlic minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
3 tbl chopped chipotle peppers and adobe sauce (from a can)
salt and pepper

This will make up for the vegetarian I made last night..... hmmm another food thread? That might be a tough sell at the Cellar.

uh. whats adobe sauce? the rest of the marinade sounds great.

~james

side of the Goya can- chipotle peppers, water, tomato paste. jalepeno peppers, vinegar, spices, salt, sugar, safflower oil onions, and garlic oil.

A guess at the unnamed spices based on Goya Adobo seasoning powder- garlic, salt, oregano, black pepper, and tumeric

It takes a lot to ruin a decent steak, pretty much have to throw it in a tub of gasoline to make it inedible.

You don't need to puncture steak to let it marinade. Lime juuice is very acidic and will start the protein-breaking process right away, thus getting the delicious falvors into the meat.

Pick up a copy of Kitchen Essentials (I think that's the name, but I'll check again). He explains many of these concepts in depth.

Mmmmmm... carmelized beef. God must want us to eat cows... otherwise, why the hell would He have made them out of steak?

I have SOOO got to go buy some charcoal and scrape the worst of the rust off the grill. The George Forman just does not compare. There's something about seeing the flames spurt up and apply the carcinogens directly to the meat ... ;)

Mmmm.. beefy carcinogens....

On a side note, I went to a farmer's market tonight. There was a vendor grilling and selling tri-tip sandwiches. I noticed that he had some small pieces of meat set aside. I asked him if they were samples, and he replied, "Samples? No, they're bait."

I'll be damned if he wasn't right. The meat was *wonderful* and I had an excellent sandwich.

Perforated or not that was great steak done over charcoal. The leftovers (trying to show restraint) will become some yummy fajitas. :)

Glad to hear your stuff turned out (even though you tried to ruin it :D). I'll mark the recipe.

I talked the butcher into cutting some t-bones for me the other day, as the ones pre-cut in the case looked a bit thin to my liking. He cut these from a little further up, and I'll be damned if they aren't edging on Porterhouses, and at 1-1/4" thick, they should be quite yummy for Friday steak-night.

The marinade:
pound in some garlic powder, pepper, and meat tenderizer
pour on some Lea & Perrins
refrigerate at least over night, preferably two nights
pull out of fridge at least 1 hour prior to cooking
add 1T beerverege of your choice per steak

That Guy needs to cook me some steak next time I'm in Texas. Jesus that sounds good.

Bring it on! But I also make a point to bring newbies to The Salt Lick.

(Problem being, I'm never in Texas. But I just might have to take a road trip with some friends next time I'm in Mississippi. Salivating just thinking about it. Good lord. And Salt Lick sounds good too.)

Our eating tradition is generally something like this in Jackson:

Friday morning/afternoon - I arrive, Scott picks me up at the airport and we go to this great family-owned barbeque place called The Hickory Pit. They have some great steak fries and their pulled pork sandwiches are superb. And their sweet tea... just the right sweetness. Plus they have that whole "southern hospitality" thing down. The first time I was there, I asked the girl if I could get an extra cup of ice to munch on. She said "sure" and gave me one. I said "what do I owe you?" and she says "a smile." Jesus, how could you not smile at that?

Friday night - Outback. Lots of bloomin' onion, lots of cheese fries, lots of steak. All seven of us go and it's a hell of a time. We probably waste two and a half hours just eating and shootin' the shit. I forget the name of the steak, but I usually go for the one that has the horseradish-type sauce with it. Good lord it's tasty.

Saturday morning - Eggs, bacon, sausage and biscuits. Scott and Jarod fry up a ton of 'em and the three of us eat like kings, watching TV and playing some Quake (yeah, these are my Quake buddies).

Saturday lunch - typically just some sandwiches with the three of us. Sometimes one of the others will drop by. BLT, that sort of thing. Lots of Doritos. This is our one slacker meal. :)

Saturday dinner - porkchops. Jarod makes a mean porkchop. These have been marinating a full 24 hours in whatever the hell he marinates them in. I think italian dressing (the oily clear type) is involved. I have eaten a LOT of porkchops, and these are the best I've ever had. I'd go so far as to say that they were perfect. Grilled just right. Man... this is when the Country Pleasin' Sausage comes in too. They have this place down there called Country Pleasin' Sausage and man... despite the name, it is quite tasty. :)

Sunday breakfast - same as Saturday. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. :)

Sunday lunch - okay, two slacker meals. More sandwiches. :)

Sunday dinner - something like Chili's. Chicken fingers rule.

Monday breakfast - rise early and at least five of us meet up at Chick-Fil-A for chicken sandwiches. Then they break for work, but Scott and I hit

Monday lunch - my last meal in Mississippi. We complete the circle and head back to the Hickory Pit. It's a great way to end a long weekend.

I tell you what, I don't care for many places, but I really like Jackson. I think it's 'cause I've got such great friends there, but also because the people are so much more friendly. If Jenni and I ever split, I'm packin' up and movin'.

I must admit that I have an affinity for Rudy's as well. But that's another thread at another time.

Where exactly you at in TX? I forget.

So it's called Kitchen Science, and was written by Howard Hillman (ISBN 0-395-30533-0).

From pp51:If you like to cook, I highly recommend picking up a copy of the book. I got mine at the Austin Public Library (which shuold answer your last question, Dave -- sorry I missed it before).

steak grievence
 

Pete brought home a nice little pat on the butt from her company in the form of $75 toward whatever eatery we wanted to hit. So we went to a swanky place to see how the other half eats making sure to dress below standard so everyone would know how cool we are. Anyway the steaks were just too salty.

Questions
1) Is it a trend? Last time we went out for steaks we were assaulted as well.
2) Are you sposed to remove all the chicken crap from your shoes before going into a "nice" place?

Re: steak grievence
 

On point 1, I don't recall Morton's being too salty... but I like salt. (BTW, the steakhouse is NOT related to the salt company. I don't think.)

On point 2... hey, at the prices they charge, they should clean the chicken crap off FOR you.

On point 3...Anyone know how K.C. Prime compares to Morton's?

Re: Re: steak grievence
 

How do you know where he went? :)

A lot of (especially chain) steak restaurants have traded proper aging of the beef for the cheaper method of soaking in brine with assorted secret spices. This is also typically done by those 'tender juicy chicken' people, you know, the ones that rotisserie roast their birds.

So I tried something a litte different the other night. Since we had a few ears of freshly harvested sweet corn (still in the husks), I figgered I'd whack the ol' noggin for something new.

I dashed on a little garlic powder and meat tenderizer, ground in some pepper, and sprinkled a little ground coffee (Texas Pecan Roast, I believe) over the top of two 1.5" thin NY strips. I let it sit out about 30 minutes after I poured in about 2T Lea&Perrins, covered and popped it in the fridge.

Flamed over an extremely hot grill the next night for about 4 or 5 minutes per side, they couldn't have been more pink without still wearing their horns. Perfect grill marks, perfect steak. Luckily the sweetness of the corn offset the bite of the coffee. I highly recommend it.

Poured in a shot of vodka per steak the other night, on top of the usual marinade. Letting it sit for about 20 minutes after the meat reached room temperature also helped.

The vodka really brought out the flavor of the meat, making the proteins extremely bold in my palate. Yummy!

Chestnut Inn
 

I had a great steak last night at the Chestnut Inn on Oquaga Lake. We also had a couple nice sides asparagus and seasoned small potatoes. The place was packed on a Thursday night out in the boonies, near Deposit NY, the people have spoken.

Izzat the place up on stilts that you can see from the highway??

Nah, its an older fair sized inn right down on the water not too far from rt17. Food and drink downstairs beds upstairs.

Hmmmm... I can't think of a stilt borne restraunt out there. Do you remember anything else about it?

They have a timberman festival out there each year, maybe its a related structure?

Well this was a long time ago. All I remember is that it was wooden-like, and it had a huge glass front for the patrons to look out at the scenery, and it was just over the border in NY state, and you could see it from 17.

But wait, now that I think about it, it must have been further west because we were staying in Sayre at the time...

Anyway, that was a good steak too.

I got it!
 

Obriens Inn in Waverly is set up high North of 17. They have a fantastic view of the valley into PA from there. They had been closed for a little while but I think someone said they were opening again.