Mirinade

I've been trying to change up the usual marinades that I use for steak and it hasn't been easy. I always push myself towards Asian so I thought I would put together an Asian marinade that's not like the pre-bottled hoisin/sesame/teriyaki/molasses baths you see in stores.
The marinade that I came up with is as follows (roughly):
1/2 c Mirin
1/4 c Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 c Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1/4 c Canola Oil
2 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
2 Tbsp Sambal
2 tsp Grated Ginger
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp Freshly Ground, Coarse Black Pepper

Again, that's just a rough guess at the eyeballing I did but I was trying to go heavier on acidity because mirin is sweeter.

The meat in question is flank. I cut a few today and decided to try a new method I learned from a meat cutting book I have. The flank is tenderized and is rolled with a small thin "stick" of suet that you can shape with your fingers (at around room temperature). The rolled flank is then tied and cut into filets.
I am marinating four filets and using two tonight and two tomorrow. This way I can see how the flavor develops and find out if it needs a long sit or if a short one is sufficient. I will report the results of both. Once the steaks are marinated, they'll be seared in a cast iron on high heat for 2 minutes per side and finish them in a preheated 330 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. After they're done cooking, they'll rest on a cutting board for 5 minutes. Sometimes I like to get fancy and leave a sliver of compound butter on resting steaks just to keep them juicy and add a light flavor to the final product. I anticipate that this marinade will not come through too strong (and especially with only 2-3 hours to sit) so I figured a compound butter would be good here but I decided against a traditional garlic/herb/citrus butter. To retain continuity, I decided to take some of the ingredients from the marinade and make a ginger chile butter. You can really just eyeball and taste this one as you go for your measurements.

Butter, 1 stick
Sambal
Grated Ginger
Soy Sauce
Toasted Sesame Oil (just a little bit. 1/4 tsp at most)

I am currently in the butter softening stage of this recipe execution so that's it for now. The results are forthcoming. I've got a good feeling about this one but I also have that feeling that if its not good, it will be pretty strange and maybe unpleasant.

The accompanying music for tonight comes from California:
Polarity by Decrepit Birth

Results:

2.5 Hour Marinade:

Perfection.

There's good news and better news. The good news? This marinade and compound butter combo are pretty incredible. The better news? I've got 2 more of these guys marinating for tomorrow night. 

Awesome flavor, good balance of savory and sweet with just enough heat. 

Sirloin Tips: An Education

Don't bother unless they're at least this marbled.

Bottom Sirloin Butt Flap Meat. Not the most appetizing name, I know. However, most folks out there would know this cut as the "Sirloin Tip." It's not your standard gourmet cut, that is unless Longhorn and Chile's are gourmet in your neck of the woods. Traditionally, the Sirloin Tip is a marinate and grill steak (and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that) but, I think that this cut (or any tender steak cut) is best seared on a grill pan/cast iron skillet/flat-top grill and finished in the oven. But before you start fiddling around with your stove, your first step of the cooking process is marinating. You MUST marinate Tips. They suck up flavor like a sponge, helps tenderize the meat and it also prevents it from burning. Something simple, don't bother with any sort of pre-bottled marinade/glaze. A simple marinade of an acid like wine or vinegar, oil, garlic, fresh herbs and salt & pepper is all you will need. Red wine marinades work phenomenally with these steaks. Marinate them for 4-6 hours. As for heating, grills are not forgiving and Sirloin Tips can go from butter tender to leather very quickly. If you do choose to grill, be careful, use a combination of direct heat to make your crust on both side and indirect heat to finish the job. I don't have a grill and I like eating these year round, so...

--Preheat oven to (approx.) 330 degrees--

1. For the last 30 minutes of marinating, remove the steak/marinade mixture from the fridge and let it come to room temperature. Gently dry the steaks and remove any solids from the marinade like garlic, rosemary, etc... Do NOT skip this step! Searing a marinade drenched steak will change the flavor ("it tastes like burning" -- Ralph Wiggum) and set off every smoke alarm in the neighborhood. 

2. Get a grill pan/cast-iron skillet screaming hot.

3. Transfer the steaks to your dangerously hot pan and sear for one and a half minutes per side. Also, sear these steaks on the sides where you can see the marble, not the grain. You can do two minutes if you like your crust to be more... crusty.

4. Move the pan to your preheated oven and let the steaks finish for anywhere from 10-12 minutes (Note: I don't cook steaks higher than medium rare. Add on minutes accordingly for higher degrees of over-cookedness.)

5. Remove the steaks from the oven/pan and let rest on a board for about 5 minutes. 

6. Serve and enjoy.

Your final product should look like this:

2011: The Boring Year Of Post-Metal

In recent years, the trend of "post" has infected all sorts of different styles of music and thus creating more soothing boredom for hipsters worldwide to use as their apathetic soundtrack to the consumption of vegan nachos and Pabst Blue Ribbon. Well this tour bus of bullshit has finally pulled up to it's latest stop, Metal. That's right-- the hallowed ground that is Metal is now being popularized by these sweater wearing part-time baristas. While this exposure for our precious genre has brought some good things like a general sense of respect from older generations that once scoffed at it, the post/hipster agenda has also taken a lot of the metal out of metal. If you look at any year end best metal album tally from this year, you will find a list laden with post-metal (The Atlas Moth), contemporary American black metal (Krallice) and a lot of drone (Yob, Indian). Even the few thrash and death outfits that come up on these lists are about as underground as you can get. While I am glad that the genre is being expanded upon and gaining the respect it deserves, its a year like this that can change things for a long time and not for the best. With the rise of an art-rock movement in metal and the fall of bands like Opeth and Mastodon, the attention will now be paid to every boring flea market chic three piece that gets themselves a write-up on Pitchfork. Hopefully, I am wrong. With any luck, 2012 will feature the triumphant return of Meshuggah and the return of real metal.

Tonight's Endeavor: Monkfish Parm

It's been at least 10 years since I had this dish at a little Italian restaurant named Enzo's in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and I say that its been about 9 years and 11 months too long. 

The marinara is in the slow cooker for 6-8 hours. It smells fantastic in here.

Usually when I do a dish like this where I don't have my own personal recipe or are following something I found in a book or magazine, I look online for a base but unfortunately I haven't been able to find any Monkfish Parm recipes. I suppose that's a good thing. More freedom for me.  

Today's kitchen soundtrack:

"Falling Apart" by Woods Of Ypres

(Iron) Maiden Voyage

After extensive consideration, I have decided to start a blog. I've written on and off for a couple of others but this is my first venture running the show. The content of this blog will cover a range of topics but have a focus on food, butchery, music and art. 

Enjoy.