An Essential Guide to Artisan Meat with Recipes for Every Cut
by Lynne Curry
Many people are rediscovering beef, drawn in by the nutritional benefits of grassfed beef. And thanks to rising demands for better beef, there are more options on the market than ever before. Consumers can choose from natural, organic, and grassfed beef, in addition to the standard commodity beef that’s always been available. But all these choices raise more questions than ever: What type to eat? Where should it be bought? How should it be cooked? How much to eat?
After spending years seeking answers to these questions and more, James Beard Journalism Award nominee Lynne Curry has put all of her knowledge into PURE BEEF. A complete guide to artisan beef, it offers readers a leisurely, informative, and delicious ranch-to-table experience, with 140 recipes highlighting an entirely new approach to cooking and eating meat.
Photography © 2012 by David L. Reamer.
Recipes reprinted with permission from Pure Beef © 2012 by Lynne Curry, Running Press, a member of the Perseus Book Group.
Ingredients
- 2 top-blade steaks (about 1½ pounds), 1 to 1¼-inches thick Kosher salt
- 2 thick slices artisan bread, crusts removed and torn into ragged 1½-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon sherry or red wine vinegar
- 5 ounces baby arugula (about 6 cups)
- 1 cup lightly packed fresh herb leaves, such as basil, parsley, dill, chives, chervil, tarragon, mint, or a combination
- Finishing salt, such as coarse sea salt or flake salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Pat the steaks dry with a paper towel and season liberally with the kosher salt. Toss the bread with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and set it aside.
Set the EGG for direct cooking at 425° to 475°F/218° to 246°C, scrape the grid clean, and oil it lightly. Cook the steaks on the hottest part of the grill until seared, 3 to 3½ minutes. Use tongs to flip them and sear the second side for another 3 to 3½ minutes for medium rare. (To cook the steaks medium or beyond, slide them over to the coolest part of the EGG and close the cover, then cook for 1 to 4 minutes more.)
Grill the reserved bread croutons while the steaks rest, turning them 2 to 3 times, until they are tinged with brown.
Transfer the steaks to a cutting board. While they rest, make the salad dressing by whisking the vinegar with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small bowl. Put the arugula and herbs in a salad bowl and toss with the dressing. Slice the steak against the grain into ½-inch-thick slices and put 4 to 5 slices on each plate. Pile a portion of the salad on top of each serving and balance a few croutons on top. Drizzle any meat juices from the cutting board over it all and sprinkle to taste with the finishing salt and black pepper.
Makes 4 servings