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Page 4C EAT, DRINK & EXPLORE East Oregonian Mastering great steaks at home is easy By ELIZABETH KARMEL Associated Press I have a confession to make. I never order steaks in restaurants. That’s because it is so easy to make an outstanding steak at home. And it isn’t just because I am a professional. With a little knowledge, anyone can make a great steak. While there are several cooking techniques that will produce superior steaks, I am going to focus on the simplest one. Think of this as your Steak 101 tutorial. Simply put, cooking a great steak just comes down to buying the right piece of meat, seasoning it well, cooking it for about 5 minutes per side, then letting it rest. It’s that simple. Since the grilling method is so simple, it is paramount to buy the best steak you can afford. This is one of those times when the quality of the raw ingredients really makes all the difference. And for this classic method, I’m using the term “steak” to cover a variety of cuts, including rib-eye, New York strip DQG¿OHWPLJQRQ²WKHWUDGLWLRQDO boneless cuts that are typically found on a steakhouse menu and are at least 1-inch thick. It’s important to note that it is the thickness and not the overall weight of the steak that’s important. The thinner the steak, the harder it is to cook correctly. By the time you get a good sear on each side of a thin steak, it usually is cooked (or overcooked) all the way through. But on a thicker steak, the inside will remain medium to medium-rare. My preference is to buy one thick, 16-ounce steak to serve four people. I call that the party steak. You grill it, slice it up and serve it on a platter family-style. Serving one steak also allows people who like it a little more done to choose from the end pieces, while those who prefer rare can eat the center slices. Next up, the cooking. Start by removing the steak from the AP Photo/Matthew Mead The perfect steakhouse steak. STEAK BUTTER A compound butter gives your steak that steakhouse presentation and adds that little something extra to the steak. This is what changes the steak from backyard beef to a real steakhouse treat. 6WDUWWR¿QLVK 10 minutes Servings: 8 • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened • 4 teaspoons minced fresh parsley • 2 teaspoons granulated garlic • 2 teaspoons dried tarragon refrigerator, unwrapping it and patting it dry with paper towels. Do this while the grill is heating. During this time, I also like to wrap the steak in paper towels to absorb any surface moisture. A dry steak sears better than a wet one. Once the steak and the grill are ready, you brush a little olive oil on it. The olive oil keeps the juices inside the steak, promotes caramel- ization, and keeps it from sticking. Next, season it with salt and (if you In a medium bowl, mix together all ingredients. Set out a sheet of plastic wrap or waxed paper about 8-inches long. Drop the butter by the spoonful to form a log. Roll the butter in the plastic wrap and twist the ends to form a round log. Refrigerate until butter is hard and easily to cut into slices. Will keep refrigerated for one week. Nutrition information per serving: 110 calories; 100 calories from fat (91 percent of total calories); 12 g fat (7 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 30 mg cholesterol; 0 mg sodium; 1 g FDUERK\GUDWHJ¿EHUJVXJDUJSURWHLQ like) pepper. I usually pepper my steak once it comes off the grill because pepper burns quickly, but most people season with both salt and pepper at the start. To grill, place the steak across the grates so you get maximum grill marks, cover the grill and let the steak cook for 5 minutes. Then, XVLQJWRQJVÀLSWKHVWHDNWRWKH other side and place on a part of the cooking grate that wasn’t used before. This will give you the best Saturday, August 8, 2015 THE PERFECT STEAK ,OLNHWR¿QLVKP\VWHDNVZLWKDSDWRI “steak butter,” which I set on top of the steaks as soon as they come of the grill. While the steak rests, the butter melts into the meat and gives it a richness. 6WDUWWR¿QLVK 45 minutes (15 active) Servings: 4 • Two 8-ounce boneless New York strip steaks (or one 16-ounce) or other favorite VWHDNKRXVHYDULHW\VXFKDVULEH\HRU¿OHW mignon, at least 1-inch thick • Olive oil • Kosher salt, coarsely ground black pepper • Steak butter About 30 minutes before you are ready to grill, remove the steak(s) from the refriger- ator, unwrap, pat dry with paper towels, then rewrap with fresh paper towels. Set aside at room temperature. Meanwhile, heat the grill to medi- um-high. After the meat has sat at room tempera- ture for 30 minutes, unwrap it and brush all sides with olive oil. Liberally season it on all sides with salt. If you like, you can season it with pepper, or wait until after it has grilled to add the pepper. Place the steaks directly over the ÀDPHVFRYHUWKHJULOODQGFRRNIRUDERXW 3 minutes. Flip the steaks and continue cooking, covered, for about 3 more minutes for medium-rare. Remove the steaks from the grill and allow them to rest at least 5 minutes, but no longer than 10. Top each steak with 1/2 tablespoon of steak butter as soon as it comes off the grill, if desired. Nutrition information per serving: 380 calories; 280 calories from fat (74 percent of total calories); 31 g fat (14 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 120 mg cholesterol; 300 mg VRGLXPJFDUERK\GUDWHJ¿EHUJ sugar; 24 g protein. grill marks on the second side. The steak absorbs the heat from the grates and so it is best to cook each side on fresh, hot grates. After DQRWKHUPLQXWHV²GHSHQGLQJRQ how rare you like your steak and KRZWKLFNWKHVWHDNLV²UHPRYH the steak from the grill, top with butter, if using, and let rest for 3 to 5 minutes. A quick test for doneness is to WRXFKWKHVWHDNZLWK\RXU¿QJHU,I WKHVWHDNIHHOV¿UPEXWQRWKDUG it is at medium. If it feels hard, it probably is well-done. If it feels soft and jelly-like, it is not cooked enough. But however long you cook it, be sure to let it rest before slicing. This ensures a tender, juicy steak. ²²² Elizabeth Karmel is a barbecue and Southern foods expert. She is the chef and pitmaster at online retailer CarolinaCueToGo.com and author of three books, including “Taming the Flame.” A U.S.-made hard cider Washington, D.C. that’s worth drinking Don’t skip must-sees but take time to explore :$6+,1*721$3²<RXFRXOG easily spend a whole visit to Washington exploring the museums, galleries and monuments along the National Mall. But that would be wrong. You’d miss out on all the energy, nightlife, parks, culture, sports and interesting food and drink in D.C.’s thriving neighborhoods. See the must-sees like the White House and the Smithsonian. But carve out some time for the things locals love, too. By J.M. HIRSCH AP Food Editor %26721 ² 7KHUH ZDV D day not so long ago when this country had squat to offer as far as hard ciders. And for those of us who came of age on this deliciously dryly-sweet boozy beverage, it kind of sucked. Having spent my university years in Scotland, I took advan- tage of many a pint of hard cider to warm my soul during the bitter, damp seasons (11 months of the year) and make studying metaphysics more tolerable. But when I graduated and returned to the U.S., I was dismayed to discover so few choices on our shelves and in our bars. And what few there were rarely were worth drinking. That was more than a few years ago. Today, we are awash in hard cider choices, a trend that has piggybacked on the craft beer wave. Sadly, most of them still aren’t worth drinking, tending to be either stupidly sweet or breathtakingly dry. After a while, I simply shrugged and chalked it up to the U.S. not having a strong cider culture, nor much history making it (at least compared to Europe). Then I spent this summer living (and drinking) in Boston, where Downeast Cider House FLGHUV ÀRZ VRPHWKLQJ DNLQ WR ZDWHU , ¿UVW HQFRXQWHUHG the cider at a Cambridge bar, where the waitress told me it was produced in Maine. That turns out to be true mostly in spirit, despite the name. It’s a solidly Boston-based company (that started in Maine in 2012, but moved for reasons amus- ingly told via cartoons on the FRPSDQ\¶V ZHEVLWH ² KWWS downeastcider.com/history/ ). And the company produces a deliciously murky cider. Wait... Murky? Murky isn’t often a term associated with delicious. But roll with this one. The ciders I enjoyed as a too-young man were crisply, transparently amber. Downeast Cider House ciders are cloudy. I balked when P\ ¿UVW SLQW ZDV SRXUHG %XW then I tasted. Clean and crisp, a little sweet, a little dry. Which is to say, a balanced cider. The sort of drink Americans have shown themselves not particu- larly adept at producing. The company was started by Ross Brockman and Tyler 0RVKHU GXULQJ WKHLU ¿QDO \HDU AP Photo/Stephan Savoia A glass of original Downeast Cider. The company expects to produce 17,000 barrels of cider this year, more than dou- bling overall production compared to last year. ciders,” Mosher said recently of ciders that tend to be candy sweet. “On the other side were small craft producers emulating old English ciders, dry ciders. So we decided to make a hard cider that tasted like fresh apples.” — Tyler Mosher, The resulting ciders are co-founder of refreshing and lightly sweet, Downeast Cider House but not cloying. My favorite is their “original,” which accounts at Bates College in Maine. for nearly three-quarters of the Brockman’s brother, Matt, also 17,000 barrels they expect to joined the troupe. Why is their produce this year, a more than cider different? They’ll tell you doubling of overall production it’s because they do everything over last year. So it would seem from scratch. They’ll also I’m not the only one impressed mention that their ciders aren’t by their ciders. ¿OWHUHG KHQFH WKH PXUNLQHVV Distribution of Downeast They are right, of course, but Cider House ciders is mostly their motivation matters, too. at bars and by the can in New When Mosher and England, New York and New Brockman started playing Jersey. They are worth hunting around with making cider for. during college, they had a ²²² simple goal. They wanted to do J.M. Hirsch is the food editor something that stood out from for The Associated Press. He other ciders being produced. blogs at http://www.LunchBox- “There were two different Blues.com and tweets at http:// types. The melted Jolly twitter.com/JM—Hirsch . Email Ranchers, mass produced him at jhirsch(at)ap.org “... We decided to make a hard cider that tasted like fresh apples.” TIPS Avoid getting glares from locals when using Metro escalators: Stand on the right side, walk ahead on the left side. Clogging the escalators is the biggest peeve locals have with out-of- towners. Pick up the Smithsonian’s 35-page Visitor Survival Guide for a $1 dona- tion; it distills the essentials into one pamphlet. Park your car and use other ways to get around. Ride the Metro: It’s cleaner WHAT’S NEW than New York’s subway system Be forewarned: Washington is though less extensive. Rent one of the under construction. A large swath of thousands of bikes stationed around the grassy National Mall is torn up town by Capital Bikeshare. Take the between Seventh and 12th Streets for red Circulator buses that loop through a turf restoration project that won’t different sections of the city. Take a end until January 2017. The Capitol guided Segway tour, a fun way to see dome is encased in scaffolding, and classic sites while trying out a new there are renovations underway inside mode of transportation. Check out the Capitol, too. The Rotunda will be monuments from a new vantage point closed through Sept. 7. And there’s by kayaking the Potomac. Try the hop more construction near the Wash- on, hop off tour options, including Old ington Monument, where the National Town Trolley Tours, D.C. Ducks (land Museum of African American History and water) and Big Bus. Visit the monuments at night or and Culture is rising on the last avail- able spot on the mall. It’s scheduled to book an evening tour. It will be cooler and less crowded than during the day. open in 2016. Updates from the White House: Fall is a nice time to visit: the summer 7RXULVWV¿QDOO\FDQWDNHSKRWRVRQWKH heat and humidity ease, and you miss public tour, and the newly redecorated the hordes of school kids who come in Old Family Dining Room has been the spring. Washington.org, the go-to site for added to the tour route. Outside, you can gawk at the extra spikes that have tourists, has a long freebies list. It also been added to ward off White House offers sample itineraries focused on various interests. Search under “DC fence jumpers. Born to shop? Check out the Itinerary.” high-end retailers in the new CityCen- HANGING OUT terDC neighborhood. When you max out on history and A convenient new way to get around: Hop on the $1 “Circulator” bus that patriotism, ditch the Mall and explore makes a loop between Union Station some neighborhoods. Have weekend brunch on Capitol and 15 stops around the Mall. Hill at Eastern Market, the city’s oldest CLASSIC continually operated fresh food public market, or in the restaurant mecca ATTRACTIONS along Barracks Row on Eighth Street You can’t beat the free and plentiful SE. Spend Sunday afternoon at the historic sites and museums at the heart Dacha Beer Garden in the newly cool of the city. But do some homework Shaw neighborhood. Grab dinner along to zero in on what most interests you. 0DLQH$YHQXHDWWKH¿VKPDUNHWRQWKH Or, surrender to happenstance and be Southwest waterfront. (Think crabs surprised. VWHDPHG VHFRQGV DJR RQ D ÀRDWLQJ •The Smithsonian is not one building. dock on the Potomac.) Also popular It’s 19 museums, 12 public gardens, on the waterfront: Cantina Marina for nine research centers and the National cheap-ish eats and drink. Zoo. You can’t cover it all. Would you Check out special events at the rather see the giant pandas (National 1DWLRQDO %XLOGLQJ 0XVHXP ² WKH Zoo) or the Hope Diamond (Natural Great Hall has been turned into a History Museum) or the Star-Spangled “beach” made of translucent plastic Banner (American History Museum) or balls through Labor Day. Rent a kayak Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis from Fletcher’s Cove boathouse and (Air and Space Museum)? These are paddle the C&O Canal; pick pawpaw if the kinds of choices you must make. the pulp fruit’s in season. Enjoy a free Important Lesson Two: You prob- Friday night concert or other activities at ably won’t get inside the White House Yards Park in the emerging Navy Yard if you don’t plan months in advance and area. Play bocce on the outdoor plaza line up tickets through a congressional at Vinoteca in the U Street corridor. RI¿FH <RX¶UH DOVR EHWWHU RII ERRNLQJ Have some serious barbecue from the advance tickets for the Washington pitmaster at DCity Smokehouse. Monument and to tour the Capitol.
