The WaPo says:
One thing they all have in common is their tough texture. They come from well-exercised muscles of the animal, which tend to be the most flavorful. There are other cheap cuts to consider, but they suffer from a lack of beefy flavor or from lots of gristle and bones. Attentive prep work, intense marinades and closely watched grill time can do wonders for the bargain cuts we're focusing on here.
The cuts are:
Once you have your affordable steak, check out this Consumer Reports video on how to grill them.
Affordable Steaks (PDF) [WaPo via Lifehacker]
Affordable Steaks That Make the Cut [WaPo]
A few ingredients I love for the cheap steaks are: balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, horseradish, peppercorns, & oil (canola or "light" olive oil). Add the first five ingredients to a blender, then add the oil in a thin stream while blending. Figure out the ratios you like. This marinade literally gets a round of applause from family and friends. Soak that meat overnight!
]]>The eye steaks are like Rib Eyes for half the price. If they are from decent beef they don't need any prep. Just grill them like you would a T-bone or Rib Eye. I put a bit of kosher salt on them when we pull them off the grill.
]]>Marinate it overnight in A1 sauce. Then fry, broil, whatever. It's perfect. Don't need to do anything else to it at all.
]]>Google some Arrachera recipes and you'll find something tasty. Make sure there is Mexican beer in the marinade for extra flavor.
]]>developed @ my alma mater. very popular around here.
]]>Put worcestershire and salt and pepper on the top and bottom and let it marinade for around half an hour.
Preheat your grill to medium/medium high, depending on the grill.
Cook for around 14 minutes, rotating it 90 degrees after four minutes, and then flipping it at 7 minutes. Rotate again after four minutes on the second side. Pull it off, let it set for around 5 minutes and slice thin, around 1/8 to 1/4 inch. Add A1 or your favorite steak sauce if desired, put it will have the most amazing steak taste already I would avoid it.
Also, if you don't like worcestershire, just use a little olive oil and some salt and pepper, which is what I do for better cuts of meat.
]]>@Underpants Gnome: Any big hunk of meat tastes pricier when slow smoked. My menu for tomorrow:
smoked meatballs
jerked smoked pork tenderloin
home smoked salmon
keg of local pale ale
USA USA USA!
]]>@ilves: Tri-tip is called different things in different parts of the country. In the midwest you won't find cuts labeled tri-tip, you have to ask for top sirloin.
]]>I highly recommend the Steak of Life.
]]>@Trai_Dep: 24 hours is a little much, you want to taste the meat not the marinade. I love a combo of red wine, red wine vinegar, and olive oil.
You can avoid the lighter fluid after taste by letting the coals get sufficiently hotand letting the fluid burn off. Also, if you're drenching the coals in lighter fluid you're doing something wrong.
]]>It's DELICIOUS. And tender.
]]>(Sheds a tear for Brasserie Les Halles DC) [voices.washingtonpost.com]
That reminds me, I need to get some charcoal for this weekend...
]]>I've also been using Cosco's top-sirloin for AB's steak au poivre recipe and it totally works. I like to sear the steaks in the pan and then move them to the toaster oven for a little baking to get the insides nice and medium rare. Also be sure to cut off a piece of fatty meat to leave in the pan to make the fond for the sauce. Good (Cheap) Eats.
Also, I grew up eating skirt steak at my grandmas. Still one of my favorites. It's all about slicing against the grain to make it chewable. Great over a salad too.
]]>@innout3x3: Top sirloin with some spicy brown mustard, balck pepper and salt pre-grilling makes a great dinner and for some very tasty sandwiches with any leftovers the next day.
]]>http://steamykitchen.com/blog/2007/08/28/how-to-turn-cheap-choice-steaks-into-gucci-prime-steaks
]]>@chilled: That does sound good right now.
]]>hardly a cheep cut.
]]>What about the classic T-bone? Does any one still eat that anymore?
]]>Yum..
]]>The small grocery store where my parents vacation (no, not at the store, at the island where they vacation) takes flatirons and grinds them up for hamburger! No one wanted to buy them otherwise and they didn't know they were delicious as steaks.
]]>I got 4lb of sirloin for $2.99 per pound at the asian market. It was on sale, and actually pretty good quality. Yay!
]]>If you like the house special at Brazilian rodizio meatfest-style restaurants - the rump - then an equivalent cut is the tri-tip. It is not as flavorful or fatty as the cut you get in those steakhouses/or in Brazil, but at about $6.99/pound you can make a good picahna on the rotisserie. Just needs kosher salt. Thin sliced and rare! Yum. Ask the meat guy at your local supermarket and they may have them Cryo-vac'd and ready to sell. Should be 1-3 pounds each.
]]>I love flatiron steaks! Fairly inexpensive and most packs come with a piece thats enough for 2 people (one of me, though). After a major family-style holiday is when the best deals come out. For example, after New Years, grocery stores will sell the whole loin that can be cut into NY strip steaks for a couple dollars a pound. I haven't seen the deals after summer holidays, though this year might be different (less people may be having summer cookouts).
As far as AB goes, I tried his Steak au Poivre recipe. My sis sent me some Omaha Steaks for my BDay, so I tried it out. It was good. Next time, however, I might make Steak avec un petite du Poivre (Steak with a little bit of pepper). I loved the sauce, but thought all that pepper was a bit too much.
]]>Win/Win, people.
Personal tips:
* You can't underestimate the value of marinading. For at least one day. With something to work the fibers (orange juice or other citrus, beer, wine...).
* Get one of those stove-pipe funnel things to light your coals with. You throw 'em in and light the bottom part that has newspapers scrunched up into it, and you get quickly lit coals with no petrol aftertaste!
Me? I like the "expensive" stuff, which is still much cheaper than getting it (overcooked) in a restaurant. (Chicken and steak are for the home, I like to say)
]]>Tri-tip is very popular in California... great sandwich meat. I moved to the East Coast and a lot of people have never even heard of it here.
]]>With a minimal amount of knife work,you can have flatirons for the price of chuck roast. All it takes is a little cutting up in the kitchen.
]]>Search for "Tender is the Loin 1 & 2".
]]>I've been cooking with cast iron forever - I can't even imagine making a steak on a grill anymore.
]]>Skirt and Flank steaks are the same as what's used for Fajita's.
]]>I saw this article yesterday which also advises on how to marinate and cook kabobs: [www.washingtonpost.com]
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