Back to the Beef

Back to beef, back to the basics. That’s how it feels for me. I love cutting meat; that creep’s me out sometimes though my intentions are for the simple pleasures of consumption and nothing sinister but I love cutting meat. That’s how I cook. I cut, chop, Julienne, cube, dice, mince everything myself, I hate things out of packets and I despise recipes that go something like 1 can whole tomatoes, 1 pack of frozen pastry and 2 boxes Stroganoff mix… what the F is that? Thankfully I still live in a world where things are more or less done from scratch, I don’t know where to buy frozen pastry and thank God for that lest I get tempted to slacken off! I admit to be a victim of terrible time management, so I have succumbed to garlic pastes and tomato puree but that’s how far it goes, I swear! In my defence, I only use these when I make homey lunch time curries like ‘matar paneer’ and ‘rajma’. That’s the cool part about north Indian home grub, the overwhelming masala-ness pretty much covers everything else in the dish, so go ahead and squeeze in that spoon of tangy, chemical-y ginger paste, no one will know. But when I am really cooking, cooking… then I need everything fresh, juicy, plumpy and the like. I love shopping for produce as much as I love shopping for shoes. I am not averse to fancy shmancy stuff like truffles and caviar, I have bought them to eat them and not experiment with them. Honestly, I should have left the caviar for pro’s to do …I couldn’t have it as is! The truffles however went off well, I have a ‘gucchhi pulao’ recipe that really worked out for me. I need to remember to share that, but before I do I need to get all this beef out-of-the-way.

So, I had cut around 5 steaks from the rump, nice, thick ones. I kept them about an inch thick and a little smaller than a side plate. I didn’t want to use the mallet on it, I wanted to tenderize them with marinade and time and not a beating. Andy wanted a simple recipe, one where he could really taste the meat, so I kept it super simple.

4 beef/lamb steaks, each should weigh around 200-225 grams, so that roughly a kilo of meat

Lots of fresh pods of garlic, like 10-12 of them, thinly sliced. Please master this, it’s excellent to stud meats like steaks and chops with sliver of garlic, they stick on the meat when you sear it and come out amazing.

2 tsp sugar, to caramelize on the steak and give me a nice seared colour, it also brings out the other flavours; I feel.
3-4 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar, I like how the sweet cuts the tang.
3-4 tbsp of very coarse black pepper, if your mill dispenses a fine powder, then beat the peppercorns with a rolling-pin or mallet, do it in a napkin, so it won’t fly everywhere.
1-2 tsp salt, I like using sea salt.

Wash and dry the steaks, pat down with a mallet if you want, I kind of have a knack of how meat cooks vis-a-vis the pans and stove I have, so I don’t flatten them at all. Make the marinade in a bowl, taste it please… check the salt-sweet balance and pour over the steaks. Work the marinade into the meat, do this for like few minutes, you will be thankful when these suckers come out looking professional and tasting heavenly. Refrigerate for a day, do this, please, that’s the key. I use glass containers with covers for meats that need to sit in marinades, I don’t like the idea of the vinegar reacting with the plastic and I certainly don’t think zip lock bags can take the chemical balance of this marinade. Invest in some nice glassware bowls that have air tight lids, they are the best for food storage. Remember to shake this bowl a few times before cooking day arrives. On cooking day, heat a nice big skillet if you have or do my non stick pan ploy… I don’t hold back on fats, those are essential in making food taste good. I don’t like diet foods, I hate light meals (actually once in a while is ok) and I don’t believe in substituting. You want stuff to taste like the picture in your recipe book or like the steakhouse you ate at last; then slather the damn thing with fat, now! I use olive oil for this kind of naked steak, I love the way it burns off the ends, I love the way olive oil heats, you can see golden swirls forming across the surface and you know this is what your food needs. Good old olive loving! Then I pick off all the leftover garlic slivers from the marinade and stuff them into the sizzling steaks, I use tongs for this, I use tongs a lot. I actually use tongs in most places where I would otherwise use a metal/plastic spatula. Get tongs! Here too, cook one side only once; constantly turning the steaks will make them tough and overdone. These are relatively think steaks, so you need a sizzle of around 3-4 minutes per side on low fire. With a day of marination, even a total of 7 minutes on the fire are a bit much but I know very few people who like a medium rare steak, at least in India. Use the tongs to pick up the steaks and place them on plates; again don’t forget to pick up the burnt garlic bits for a final finish.

You can grill these steaks too, just keep a mix of melted butter and olive oil for brushing on when you slap it on the grill and keep some for basting too. Basting is essential for thick red meats, it keeps the steak tender and juicy.

I serve this meal with mashed potatoes, I love infusing the mash with a chiffonade of celery, really nice flavouring. I boil peas and sauté in butter for the kid and any other family member that would like to give health a chance, but husband is done with meat and potatoes …one possible carb add-on, bread. And he likes plain white commercial bread, so too bad if I made Focaccia. Or alternatively, I make a quick pasta salad, white onions, tomatoes, iceberg lettuce, bow-tie pasta, dressed with olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt, pepper and a pinch of oregano.

So this is what we had the other day and I think we need to take a break from beef. I don’t want to freeze any of the leftover meat, so I am going to marinate the chunks I cut for a coconut pepper curry I learnt from a friend’s cook, back in Manipal, this was like 15 years back but we still love this curry to bits!

Eating IN

Very soon you all are likely to realize that I am dealing with a ‘lot’ of beef these days! It’s a consignment thing, when I get beef…I get loads of it! A part of me wishes I could have access to the real thing, which is banned in India, so much for secular democracy! I want to eat a cow, now if that offends anybody then they are most welcome to not partake in the meal I prepare, they are welcome to avoid my home and kitchen and never speak my name again! All fine by me but that still doesn’t solve the problem! There are days I want just 1 kilo of real veal …the melt in the mouth stuff and then I just have to wait for my next trip abroad or pay through every orifice of my body for it in a fancy 5 star hotel! In any case India has a fixation with hotels, whatever they cook …goes! We have few and far between A- class kitchens in this country and that’s a reality people like me just have to live with. I would probably only spend in an ITC or Oberoi’s property, I know how these guys work (first hand), I know they source from the best of purveyors and I know they employ the best of talent. So that makes my meal half good already. For me the flip side is that I am also a big fan of thrift so I just don’t do value meals anymore, I just wait longer and choose better … and hope we have a good meal ahead of us! No ordering cheap grub from obscure neighbourhood joints unless you happen to live around iconic street/budget food joints. I would love to live across from Karim’s, even now, despite the price hike and the commercial flavour in the food.

So I say do better, yummier, fancier meals at home and splurge on quality meals when you eat out. One perfect way of making a budget for exotic ingredients are the above mentioned cut backs. The savings from your restriction on budget, average chow is your budget for some fine, quality foods, produce and preserves. Say you spend Rs.1000 on a meal for 4 from the average Tandoori joint next door, I say wait! Keep that 1000 for 1 kilo prime lamb ribs (just ask your butcher for single ‘chaamp’), which is …ok here’s a better break up, pricing is an average, in Rs., as of July 2010 –

Main Course:
1 kg mutton champ (14 + pcs) 250
1 kikkoman soy sauce 99
10 garlic pods 25
1 tbsp honey 10
2 tsp coarse ground black pepper 25
1 tsp salt (Kikkoman has lovely soy saltiness so be careful!) 2
250 gms breadcrumbs 20
2 eggs 10
Salt/pepper seasoning for the crumbs 5
Oil to fry 50

Essential:
1 meat mallet 199

Sides:
Bag of 4 bread rolls 30
Bag of 500 gms French fries 50
(bake ‘em, arrange them in a Pyrex dish, spray oil, use any kind of spray bottle, clean well and use for oil. Bake on 250 till done, 4-5 mins usually)

Lettuce 50

Beverage:
2 lt. Coke 60

Dessert:
1 lt vanilla ice cream 100
(Amul is usually 1+1)
2 Mangoes 20

TOTAL: 1005

(Hey you would have paid for parking, given tips, all that!!)

So there I spent your 1000 bucks, created an opportunity for you to hone your cooking skills, be thrifty, spend quality time with the family over a meal and movie Saturday night! Oh ya, I also got you a mallet to add to your kitchen tools just in case you don’t have one. Locally in Gurgaon you get them at the Lifestyle store in DT Mall, I have linked listing to an Amazon.com page, so help yourselves.

Wash the chops under running water, pat dry with a kitchen towel. Keep a few sets of budget kitchen towels and use the hell out of them. Keep the meat ones separate if you can or junk them after use if you got a good deal on them! Put each chop on a cutting board and gently beat the meaty side with the mallet. There are two sides on a mallet, one with a large surface area to beat down and the other with a smaller one. For lamb chops use the smaller spokes side. Flatten each one, not through and through, just a bit to soften and loosen up the meat. I keep two cutting boards, one for meats and one for veggies and everything else. I learnt that from my mother in laws kitchen; makes complete sense in terms of hygiene.

Marinate the chops in the soy, honey, pepper, salt and garlic. I always crush the garlic with the flat side of my knife, I got me a cool garlic press but I believe Anthony Bourdain hates them, so from a chef’s perspective, that tool is officially shunned! It makes an excellent prop when I style food, so am still happy with it! You have to peel the damn garlic either way, so crush-with-knife it is. Mix the marinade in a bowl, pour over the chops and please please use your hands to mix the meat and marinade. Seriously, the heat from your hands and the mixing motion with work the marinade in, so use those hands. Marinate in the fridge for 4-6 hours, if you can, they will cook faster.

Beat the eggs lightly; put the crumbs in a flat plate, season with salt and pepper. Best way to check the seasoning is taste the crumbs, they are cooked … you can put them in your mouth! Now dunk each chop in the egg then flatten on the crumbs and coat both sides well. Sometimes if the chops are too thick, I add 2-3 tbsp of cornflour to make the crumb coating less crumby and smoother. Cooks slower that way and when the chops are thick, they need to cook slower! Prepare all the chops before you start frying. Heat oil in a non stick pan, I don’t use non stick pans to use less oil; I just like them for the non stickiness. So I put about quarter inch of oil, enough to half cover the chop. Heat the oil well, don’t let it smoke, throw in a few crumbs to see if they sizzle, if they do, add a chop or two and if they sizzle too, then add as many as your pan can fit. Now is when you put the fries in the oven. Back to the chops, do each side of well, so you only turn the chops once, the less you turn the less chance of the crumb top falling apart. Turn the chops, lightly brown on both sides, check the fries, wash the lettuce very well and just tear it up in a pretty bowl, better still get one of the younger kids to do it….get someone else to lay the table! Heat the bread rolls before the oven cools. Serve the meal together, the chops, the rolls, the fries and drinks for everyone! For dessert I planned mangoes and ice cream because its mango season right now, so make the most of it! You however have a bit more than 100 bucks to plan your dessert (that’s Indian rupees), you can do a coffee pudding. How about I share that tomorrow?!