Robert St. John Likes 44 Prime...

[johnson86-1]

Ribeye produces more fat flavor, strip has more of the actual beef flavor, if you cook it properly, you can get the leaner strip just as tender. I prefer strip steaks, especially when dry aged. If you want a juicy strip, get a wagyu gold grade from Snake River Farms.

I think that's part of the problem, and the other part of the problem is getting a good cut. The Ribeye is going to be more forgiving on the cooking and also going to let you get away with a lesser quality cut of meat. I like filet's and ribeyes and strips, but strips seem to be way more inconsistent, whether at a restaurant or cooking myself, than filet's and ribeyes.

 

[dorndawg]

I almost always cook steaks inside on cast iron, and have learned that T bones/ porterhouses just dont lie level in the pan, leaving some spots just gray instead of a nice Mallaird crust. If I happen to snag a porterhouse, I like to cut the strip and filet off the bone. It's not as cool looking but the cooking results are better in my experience.

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

I have gone deeper down the rabbit hole than is probably healthy, but beyond prime, I want to know... Prime what? Angus, Hereford, Holstein, Akaushi?

When I lived in TX, I decided everyone I know wanted to be a brisket expert, so I decided to become the steak guy. I bought a steak broiler. I almost bought my own dry ager from Kingsford. I went to a steak 101 class at a butcher shop called the Local Yocal. It was about 3 hours long and covered a lot of info, but we tasted about 15 different types of steak at the end, all cooked the same way, by the same guy.

Grass fed is rich and lean, a little tough. Wagyu is the exact opposite, super tender with little fat explosions and the beef flavor gets lost. Prime 100% Angus is hard to beat in flavor and marbling... But it can be.

I'm now a giant fanboy of Snake River Farms. Headquartered in Boise, but the main ranch is in Washington. These guys basically brought Wagyu to the US. Watch the clip below, but effectively half Angus for the flavor and half Japanese Wagyu breeds for the marbling. They also offer traditional American beef breeds under the Double R label. Both are readily available at Albertsons for me at what I was paying for Nolan Ryan beef in Texas... You can mail order SRF, but it's expensive.

 

[FreeDawg]

Damn you have gone down the beef rabbit hole. I’m 100% with you on grass fed. I know it’s supposedly healthier but it sucks. It doesn’t have near the flavor profile of corn fed beef.

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

I went to the farmers market this weekend and talked to a couple of the ranchers. It will probably be early October before they have them butchered again, but I am going to try some yak steaks. I will post once I get them.

 

[msudawg12]

100% agree on the Wagyu/Prime comparison. I have had every grade of Wagyu both at home and at various cities around the country. Once you're at the extreme fat content level, its just not for me. In particular if you're doing a whole steak. Now, the little cut strips of A5 at a high end Japanese restaurant that you can cook over a hot coal are still good and a few bites is plenty.

I am a HUGE proponent of Snake River Farms For a filet, that Gold Grade Filet..... drooooool. But the best steak I've purchased from them and cooked was the gold grade cowboy ribeye reverse seared with a coffee rub.

If you havent had SRF, order it. You will not regret it. Even those hot dogs are great

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

Not going to argue with anything you're saying. Different strokes. Keep your eyes open and you can find a nicely marbled strip and it would go over a lot better.

I think region has a lot to do with it too. When I was in Texas, every cow I saw was anorexic. Up here in the mountains they are fat as hell to get through the winter I guess.

 

[aTotal360]

I don't look at briskets like I look at steaks. One is being cooked for 10 minutes, the other for 16 hours. Personally, I think Costco Choice briskets are the absolute best bang for your buck. I've ordered a brisket from Grand Western and wasn't that impressed considering the price. All the intramuscular fat renders out before the collagen breaks down. I think getting a high end brisket is a bit of a waste.

My local Publix sells whole top sirloin caps (picanha) and that's my go-to steak now. I can cut thin ones for the kids and wife and a thicc boi for myself. And it's cheap.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

I've not seen so much ruckus about Angus since a certain SNL sketch. **

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

I agree on brisket. Different animal. The fat cap does plenty, no need for the intramuscular. I can't afford it up here anyway. Last one I saw was a choice at Albertson's. 15 lbs for $112. No thanks. After trimming and rendering, that sucker is 8-9 lbs.

I do want to find some picanha. Hdogg had my mouth watering a couple of weeks ago in the the cooking thread with the picanha he cooked. I want to get the rotisserie for my kamado and cook one Brazilian style one day.

 

[dorndawg]

I don't look at briskets like I look at steaks. One is being cooked for 10 minutes, the other for 16 hours. Personally, I think Costco Choice briskets are the absolute best bang for your buck. I've ordered a brisket from Grand Western and wasn't that impressed considering the price. All the intramuscular fat renders out before the collagen breaks down. I think getting a high end brisket is a bit of a waste.

My local Publix sells whole top sirloin caps (picanha) and that's my go-to steak now. I can cut thin ones for the kids and wife and a thicc boi for myself. And it's cheap.

Quit telling everybody about sirloin cap!

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

Agree. I cut the bone off nearly every steak.

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

Picked these up a couple of weekends ago. SRF wagyu tri tip steaks $21.99 per pound at the grocery. Served it alongside lobster tail and bacon wrapped grouse. It was excellent. I could only get the steak size portions of trip tip to fit on my steak broiler. I just got my Kamado Joe out of storage yesterday so now I am hopefully going to reverse sear the whole wagyu tri tip in a couple of weeks. Pay attention to Seinfelds grilling thread for the A&M game to see the results.

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[BigDawg@HillsofMS14]

I met him once in Hattiesburg and he couldn’t have been a nicer guy. I will definitely check this place out next time I’m in Starkville. I also find it funny that he couldn’t get a table anywhere. Guaranteed if he would’ve called and asked, “Do you have a table for Robert St John?”, the answer would’ve been yes.

I married his niece and am around him a good bit. He is one of the most good hearted people you will ever meet. The kind of person that cares about you and really means it when he asks how you are doing. Love that guy.

 

[Uncle Ruckus]

I have never been on SNL you lying son of a *****

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Hah! I halfway thought about capitalizing the R just for you.

Perhaps I should have. **

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

Maybe it's because I don't care for strips over other cuts (there is not such thing as a bad steak if cooked right), but I have never had a t-bone or porterhouse that I loved, or even really liked. I don't know what it is and I've bought what looked like some really good cuts, but I honestly would rather have a thick, bone-in porkchop. Maybe it is the fat in the ribeye, but I also love filet's so I do like some lean cuts. Since the surge in beef prices, I have been buy prime sirloin's from Sams on the cheap and if cooked properly, the way I cook a filet, they are excellent. To me, a bone-in ribeye (or tomahawk) that is at least 1.5" thick is unbeatable as long as its not select grade. Having a thick cut, I season with Kosher salt, course pepper, and cook it indirect on a Weber Kettle with some cherry wood, then when it hits around 115-120, I will sear to 125 over direct heat. Once it's done, I top it with some compound butter I keep in the freezer that I have let come to room temp - stick of unsalted butter, roasted garlic, fresh parsley, fresh thyme, a little bit of fine salt and pepper - then loosely cover in foil. After 5-10 minutes the internal temp gets anywhere from 130-135 and you have the most absolute perfect steak. I do the same for filets except I finish in a cast iron pan on a gas grill instead of over direct coals to get a better crust.

This sounds excellent! I prefer sirloins, strips, and filets nowadays. I just don't care for the fat because most places don't cook it well and just don't care for fat anymore. You can get prime sirloin the wife and I would rather share two cooked medium rare and sliced after it has fully rested. Gordon says that if you cook it for X number of minutes you let it rest the same amount.

I've done the compound butter thing myself and it is worth it. I'm looking for a Komado Joe style of 13 inch mini egg. My SIL got one and it perfect for smoking pork butts and indirect searing steaks. I can't decide which one I want to buy. If you have a recommendation let me know.

 

[msudawg12]

Man, all the SRF talk and I had to run home and pull my last two Gold filets out of the freezer for the weekend.

Gotta make another order....

 

[HD6]

Picanha is an outstanding cut. Can't recommend enough.

 

[Uncle Ruckus]

So you do it like the Brazilian steak houses or indirect smoked? Malcolm Reed did one indirect and had his greatest reaction ever.

 

[trob115]

My buddy works for JBS in upper management. He got me 120 pounds of prime USDA Angus brisket for less than $4 a pound. I've got 4 or 5 left in my freezer.


My go to lately has been tri tip. So many ways to prepare and it's delicious.

I too want that rotisserie setup for my Joe

 

[aTotal360]

A little SPG then hot and fast. If you cook steaks (and burgers) a lot, I HIGHLY recommend getting a set Grill Grates. They are game changing for getting good seared crust (maillard reaction FTW). It is a redder piece of meat than most primals so let it rest for 8-10 minutes. Add a pat of butter. Enjoy.

 

[aTotal360]

Costco Choice brisket is usually $4.99/lb. It's hard to beat for easily accessible meat.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

Top 10 restaurants in the MS and top 3 steakhouses? Wow. That’s pretty impressive. I wonder what he’d consider the other two. Does and something around Jackson?

Havent been. Heard good things. Starkville needed a good steakhouse. Glad to have it.

Rumor is that group has another concept on the drawing board.

Been to Does in Greenville probably a half dozen times, just never been impressed. Shapleys may be one of the three, but I haven't been there since the original owners took back control. Gibbs in Learned is good.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

Maybe it's because I don't care for strips over other cuts (there is not such thing as a bad steak if cooked right), but I have never had a t-bone or porterhouse that I loved, or even really liked. I don't know what it is and I've bought what looked like some really good cuts, but I honestly would rather have a thick, bone-in porkchop. Maybe it is the fat in the ribeye, but I also love filet's so I do like some lean cuts. Since the surge in beef prices, I have been buy prime sirloin's from Sams on the cheap and if cooked properly, the way I cook a filet, they are excellent. To me, a bone-in ribeye (or tomahawk) that is at least 1.5" thick is unbeatable as long as its not select grade. Having a thick cut, I season with Kosher salt, course pepper, and cook it indirect on a Weber Kettle with some cherry wood, then when it hits around 115-120, I will sear to 125 over direct heat. Once it's done, I top it with some compound butter I keep in the freezer that I have let come to room temp - stick of unsalted butter, roasted garlic, fresh parsley, fresh thyme, a little bit of fine salt and pepper - then loosely cover in foil. After 5-10 minutes the internal temp gets anywhere from 130-135 and you have the most absolute perfect steak. I do the same for filets except I finish in a cast iron pan on a gas grill instead of over direct coals to get a better crust.

I've found prime sirloins from Costco and Krogers to be good as well.

 

[sayit]

My buddy works for JBS in upper management. He got me 120 pounds of prime USDA Angus brisket for less than $4 a pound. I've got 4 or 5 left in my freezer.

Cool story.