I recently took a trip to one of Kansas City's iconic meat markets. If you enjoy cooking you get a real rush walking through the doors of this place. It is like taking a trip back in time, before there were large displays stocked with pre -packaged meats, a single butcher that was a stock boy 2 months earlier and looks lost if you ask for a specialty cut of meat. Here you see six or more butchers dressed in their whites behind a seemingly endless meat counter waiting to take your order. When I put in my order I asked if he could cut me three Porterhouse, two about 1 3/4 " thick and one about 3" thick. The butchers eyes got a little big as he asked back, 3 inches? I confirmed and he stepped into the cooler and returned with a short loin and headed to the band saw. He cut one of the 1 3/4 " Porterhouses and held it up to show me what a 2 lb Porterhouse looked like while asking again, you want one 3 inches thick? I confirmed again, as a customer approached from my right and asked me, what was that and where is it in the case? I pointed to the smaller Porterhouses in the meat case and said that is the Porterhouse but these are being cut thicker. He replied, man I wish you hadn't ordered that because now I've got to have one! As the butcher put the 3" Porterhouse on the scales it came in at 4 lbs and I was already looking forward to cooking it. When the butcher was wrapping my steaks the customer that approached me earlier was was asking the butcher to cut one of those 1 3/4" steaks for him. It's contagious.
I trace my infatuation with the butcher shop to my early years. My father did the bulk of our grocery shopping on Saturday mornings. Going grocery shopping with my father was a real treat, for many reasons. We shopped at a country grocery store/meat market/feed store/gas station named Funderburg and Waddle. My dads brother was the Waddle and my dads cousin was the Funderburg. If you've ever seen the country markets from the 30's, 40,'s, 50's, 60's and 70's you've seen a very similar market. It is dressed in white lapboard and adorned with some signage, gas pumps are out front and there is a large barn at the back of the parking lot. Upon entering you encounter old wood floors that squeak when you walk, lots of chatter between the proprietors and customers, a line of customers in front of the butchers counter and small narrow isles offering one brand of each item. This store was run by men, all men and it was like going to the barber shop. There was a lot of joking, innuendo, political commentary and stereotyping that went on in there. I always grabbed a ice cold Coca Cola from the drink box and headed to the back to watch the butchers cut meat. Several of the men that worked there were accomplished butchers including my Uncle Sanner. It was always fun to watch our steaks, pork chops, roasts and ham slices be cut from the sides of beef and pork and then wrapped so elegantly in the tidy white butcher paper. Here is my Uncle Sanner with an apron on pumping some gasoline when it was still leaded!
This interest of mine in the meat markets only grew when my first High School job came at another country grocery in my hometown, Harden's Grocery. Working there for several years afforded me the opportunity to spend a lot of time in the meat market and gather a lot of knowledge about different cuts of beef and pork, grades of meat and breeds of beef and pork. All of these memories I have of the old butcher shops really makes it nostalgic when I venture into a place like Bichelmeyer Meats which has been in business for 66 years.
I've always enjoyed a good steak but had gotten semi bored with the same old routine. That coupled with the fact that I was running into a roadblock from the boss, lead me to look at things from a different angle. I've preached for years that you cannot get the same flavor or texture from a 3/4 " steak as you do from a 1 3/4" to 2 1/2" steak. I rarely eat more than half of a thick cut rib eye or strip but my wife being the good wife that she is, tells me I've got to cut back, get thinner cut steaks and quit eating so much red meat. My compromise was to cook large steaks and carve them to feed multiple people. This is my first attempt at a family style Porterhouse. This is Angus Beef, Choice Grade, it weighs around 66 ozs. and has very nice marbling throughout.
It is a beautiful late September day and I've invited our son for dinner. My wife has been hungry for a baked potato stuffed with broccoli and cheese so this will make for rather simple sides from the cooks perspective. The first thing I do when planning a meal is determine how much prep work I can get done, so my time is not dominated by cooking when guests are present. This steak will take quite a bit of grill time so I've planned an appetizer to eat while we are waiting for the main course. With it being my wife, my son and I, we will go informal tonight and enjoy good food in our most relaxed mode.
I have several things that I can get done before my sons arrival to maximize our visiting time. I will prepare my crab boil for some Alaskan King Crab Claws for our appetizer. I can get the potatoes ready to go in the oven and I can wash the broccoli and have it ready to steam.
We love seafood and years ago we found that making our own boil ingredients or enhancing a store purchased product with additional spices really kicked it up to our level on the spice scale. We have always used Zatarains Boil Bags or Liquid Concentrate, Kosher Salt and Lemon Quarters as our base. From there, I add Red Pepper Flakes, Cayenne Pepper, Peppercorns, Whole Cloves, Allspice and Bay Leaves. Adding a couple of tbs. of White Vinegar makes the crabs easier to pick. One nice claw each is the perfect size appetizer to compliment the steak dinner. We will eat these in the sun room and have a glass of a nice white wine while the steak is on the grill.
I've got my water boiling for my crab claws and I'm preparing my potatoes to have them ready to pop in the oven. This is my favorite way to prepare a baked potato and it is simple as can be. Rub on a thin coat of Olive Oil and give it a light dusting of Kosher Salt. The salt will help draw moisture out and result in a light, fluffy potato with a perfect skin. I bake them at 400 on a foil covered cookie sheet. Usually 50 minutes to an hour will be more than sufficient for mid size to large russets.
With my prep work done and my son having arrived I'm heading outside to fire up the grill. There are many different ways to cook a steak and none are wrong as long as your steak comes out the way you like it! I like my steaks on the rare side of medium rare with a crusty, slightly charred exterior. Cooking thicker steaks helps me to achieve that by allowing me to sear the steak at a very high temperature while still allowing me to have a nice pink to red center. In this particular case with it being a steak for three, I will cook it more to my wife's liking which is closer to the medium side of medium rare.
The finest steak houses sear steaks at temperatures ranging from 700 degrees all the way up to 1800 degrees. These temperatures are not possible on the cooking equipment that most of us have at home. Some specialized home equipment, grills with infrared searing elements and ceramic grills are now available to allow high heat searing. Don't fret, great steaks can be cooked on the cheapest grills available, just practice with it and find your sweet spot. I will run my ceramic grill up between 650-700 degrees for searing this steak. Ceramic grills are known for their ability to hold heat and can easily approach 1000 degrees. Normally when cooking steaks on this grill I cook the steak at lower temperature to begin and then raise the heat at the end to sear it. In this instance I am searing the steak on the Ceramic grill and then moving it to a Weber Kettle that is set up to with 2 cooking zones at much lower temperatures to finish the steak.
It is getting there! Meanwhile the steak has been seasoned and is resting and coming up towards room temperature. I prefer a good cut of beef to be seasoned very simply. This is a light coating of Grape Seed Oil (to assist in searing), Montreal Steak Grinder, some additional Cracked Black Pepper and Sea Salt.
When boiling any seafood I like to season my water and bring the water to a boil for a good 10 minutes or so to let the spices and flavors distribute into my boil. I boiled these crab claws for 5 minutes and removed them from the heat to soak in the water for 30 minutes. I will then place them in ice as we like our crab cold and served with warm lemon butter.
While the steak is doing it's thing it is appetizer time. Seafood at home is a fun appetizer that sets the tone for a relaxing meal. You are eating with your fingers and in this case digging with tools to get every last bite!!
The appetizer hit the spot! One of the great things about steak dinners is the ease of timing the meal. The steak is ready to come off the grill and rest for 5 to 10 minutes giving us plenty of time to dress our potatoes and prepare our plates. In the last minute of cooking time I used an old school browning sauce Kitchen Bouquet, giving each side a light brushing. Over the last 25 years I cannot count the number of people that had a steak with Kitchen Bouquet on it at our house and now use it regularly at their house.
I let the steak rest for approximately 10 minutes before carving it. The great thing about the Porterhouse is, the steak lover gets to enjoy two cuts of steak at the same time. You get the heavier texture and full beef flavor of the strip and the melt in your mouth more subtle flavor of the fillet, with both being enhanced by being cooked bone in. It is a little closer to medium than I prefer but it is perfect for Peggy's preference. When the steak is tender and flavorful I can always enjoy it cooked warmer than I prefer.
Hardwood Grilled Porterhouse Steak served with a Loaded Baked Potato and Broccoli with Cheese Sauce, paired with Novelty Hill Cabernet Sauvignon.
Once again I truly enjoyed a beautiful day outside while preparing a nice meal for my family. This meal fulfilled so many things close to my heart. I paid a visit to a meat market that brought back the many great memories I have of my uncles grocery/market and shopping with my pops on Saturday mornings. I flashed back to my days of working in the meat market at Hardens Grocery with my second parents Vernon and Bobbye Harden. I spent an afternoon/evening with my son and my beautiful wife while doing something I am so passionate about, cooking for the ones I love. Until I see you again, take the time to sit with someone you love and enjoy a beverage, a desert or a meal. Every day spent with loved ones is a true blessing.
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