A couple months ago I posted a thread about 45 day aged Rib Eye steaks I'd done with a 22# rib roast. That post garnered a lot of attention and I mentioned that I was planning to do a couple of strip roasts for 60 days and cutting them into NY Strip steaks. That dinner happened yesterday and they were far and again the best steaks any of us had ever had. I've eaten in 5-star steak houses at over $200 a plate that weren't this good.
The menu was:
-Smoked salmon dip (never made it before) served with sliced smoked xtra sharp cheddar cheese and club crackers
-Broccoli and sour cream dip served in a loaf of fresh baked sourdough bread
-10) 2" thick NY strip steaks
-Mushrooms stuffed with garlic mashed potatoes roasted in butter and garlic
-More mashed potatoes for those that didn't want mushrooms
-Savory beef gravy
-Fresh baked croissants and butter
-Garden salad with all fresh veggies out of one of our guest's garden
-Homemade cheesecake for dessert (sorry, no pics) also made by one of our guests
Here are the roasts when sealed in the UMAi bags just over 2 months ago
60 days later still in the UMAi bags
Out pf the UMAi bags
Trimmed and sliced into steaks
Look at the coloring!!
Broccoli and sour cream dip
Loaf of fresh sourdough bread
Slice around the outside and remove the bread from inside. This will become the vessel for the broccoli dip and the chunks of bread to pile the dip on. One of our favorites!!
Dip loaded into the loaf and bread pieces for dipping
Homemade smoked salmon dip with smoked xtra sharp cheddar and club crackers. More to follow
Garlic mashed potatoes
A couple dozen mushrooms with stems removed and cleaned out
A baking dish with lots of melted butter and fresh garlic
Mushrooms stuffed with garlic mashed potatoes, into the baking dish, and sprinkled with fresh ground black pepper
Steaks seasoned with salt and pepper only
Everything onto the grill
Steaks after the flip. Had a little flare-up so a couple got a bit of char, but this was OK.
Mushrooms done and ready to take off the grill
The spread laid out and ready to serve...with the executive chef in the background (2 pics)
Money shot. Steaks perfectly cooked, croissants, mushrooms, salad in the bowl, and butter for the rolls.
Now to summarize a few things.First off, the meal was simply superb. As stated, the best steak I've ever had!!
STEAKS:
As good as they were, I'll won't do strip roasts again for long term aging. They are not very thick to begin with then with loss due to the aging process and having to trim the dried meat from the outside, the yield was not worth the time and effort....but they sure were good!! If you attempt long term aging I suggest not cooking the steaks beyond medium rare. You lose a lot of the aged flavor. It is most noticeable when juicy and red to pink in the center. There is a definite difference in the aged flavor going from 45 days to 60 days. I'd like to go a bit further with it but everybody else said it was perfect so I guess I found the happy spot.
SALMON DIP:
I've never smoked salmon before and never made a dip. I read a ton of recipes for both and they were all over the charts. I saw a few common denominators like dill and capers, but after that it was a crap shoot. I got tired of looking at other people's recipes and just made up my own, both for smoking the salmon and for the dip. I was very happy with the results but every single person said it was absolutely fantastic....and I'm OK with that. It has a very deep, rich succulent flavor with a nice smokiness and just a hint of spice tingle. The salmon itself is perfectly done and I made sure to have it very forward in the flavor profile. Man it was good!! If anybody would like to give it a shot, please just say so and I'll post the process and the recipes.
Next will be a bone-in Prime Rib, 60 days aged, and probably slow roasted on the BGE. I'll pick that up tomorrow on the way home from work and get it going. In the mean time...we are...
Happy in Lago,
Robert
The menu was:
-Smoked salmon dip (never made it before) served with sliced smoked xtra sharp cheddar cheese and club crackers
-Broccoli and sour cream dip served in a loaf of fresh baked sourdough bread
-10) 2" thick NY strip steaks
-Mushrooms stuffed with garlic mashed potatoes roasted in butter and garlic
-More mashed potatoes for those that didn't want mushrooms
-Savory beef gravy
-Fresh baked croissants and butter
-Garden salad with all fresh veggies out of one of our guest's garden
-Homemade cheesecake for dessert (sorry, no pics) also made by one of our guests
Here are the roasts when sealed in the UMAi bags just over 2 months ago
60 days later still in the UMAi bags
Out pf the UMAi bags
Trimmed and sliced into steaks
Look at the coloring!!
Broccoli and sour cream dip
Loaf of fresh sourdough bread
Slice around the outside and remove the bread from inside. This will become the vessel for the broccoli dip and the chunks of bread to pile the dip on. One of our favorites!!
Dip loaded into the loaf and bread pieces for dipping
Homemade smoked salmon dip with smoked xtra sharp cheddar and club crackers. More to follow
Garlic mashed potatoes
A couple dozen mushrooms with stems removed and cleaned out
A baking dish with lots of melted butter and fresh garlic
Mushrooms stuffed with garlic mashed potatoes, into the baking dish, and sprinkled with fresh ground black pepper
Steaks seasoned with salt and pepper only
Everything onto the grill
Steaks after the flip. Had a little flare-up so a couple got a bit of char, but this was OK.
Mushrooms done and ready to take off the grill
The spread laid out and ready to serve...with the executive chef in the background (2 pics)
Money shot. Steaks perfectly cooked, croissants, mushrooms, salad in the bowl, and butter for the rolls.
Now to summarize a few things.First off, the meal was simply superb. As stated, the best steak I've ever had!!
STEAKS:
As good as they were, I'll won't do strip roasts again for long term aging. They are not very thick to begin with then with loss due to the aging process and having to trim the dried meat from the outside, the yield was not worth the time and effort....but they sure were good!! If you attempt long term aging I suggest not cooking the steaks beyond medium rare. You lose a lot of the aged flavor. It is most noticeable when juicy and red to pink in the center. There is a definite difference in the aged flavor going from 45 days to 60 days. I'd like to go a bit further with it but everybody else said it was perfect so I guess I found the happy spot.
SALMON DIP:
I've never smoked salmon before and never made a dip. I read a ton of recipes for both and they were all over the charts. I saw a few common denominators like dill and capers, but after that it was a crap shoot. I got tired of looking at other people's recipes and just made up my own, both for smoking the salmon and for the dip. I was very happy with the results but every single person said it was absolutely fantastic....and I'm OK with that. It has a very deep, rich succulent flavor with a nice smokiness and just a hint of spice tingle. The salmon itself is perfectly done and I made sure to have it very forward in the flavor profile. Man it was good!! If anybody would like to give it a shot, please just say so and I'll post the process and the recipes.
Next will be a bone-in Prime Rib, 60 days aged, and probably slow roasted on the BGE. I'll pick that up tomorrow on the way home from work and get it going. In the mean time...we are...
Happy in Lago,
Robert