Eid MOObarak from Bangladesh

Eid MOObarak

Faizul Khan Tanim writes on how steak preparation has blended in to our Eastern appetite and bringing waves of joy on our tables

Every Eid-Ul-Azha we are blessed with different types of meat cooked in variety ways to satiate our taste buds. And beef is definitely on the top of everyone's meat menu be it with bhuna khichuri, polau (rice dishes) or naan (Tandoori flat round bread). And these days, a lot of houses keep their meat to make good quality hunter beef and steaks. Steaks are very popular cuts of meat to throw on a grill or pan fry to perfection. Flavourful, tender, rich in meaty goodness, you would want to get the most out of your best beef portions.

Now, good steak can be done very easily these days, thanks to the exclusive ranges and cuts of steaks available at the departmental stores and the biggest name in town to give you the right choices of cuts is Bengal Meat, the only export oriented meat processing company in Bangladesh.

Syed Hassan Habib, sales manager at Bengal Meat said, “We have a separate shop with Dhali Super Store in Gulshan-2 market just to serve you the right pieces – tenderloin, strip-loin, rump, t-bone, rib-eye steak being the most popular ones. We have also got ranges of sausages and burger patty to bring convenience to meat lovers all over Bangladesh”.

“Our meat is 100% halal certified by Islamic Foundation, Bangladesh and we are regularly exporting to the Middle-East”, Habib added.

So as this reporter spoke to steak connoisseurs from around the city, a private sector employee and part-time chef, Mehran Kamal described his meat preferences. “Always look for steak cuts with fine texture and firm to the touch and the colour should be light cherry red. And it is best if the steak has marbling, the thin threads of fat running through the meat that make it Prime (superior quality) and gives a wonderful flavour.”

“As the thickness of steak is very important, it is wise to have the best steaks and those are usually one-inch to one-and-half-inches thick as a thinner cut is likely to get dried out”, Kamal added.

It is believed that using dry heat is the best way to cook steaks and other tender cuts of meat. Dry heat cooking causes the exterior of the meat to brown, caramelize and look devilishly delicious which gives the steaks a rich browned flavour. This is partly due to the sugars inherent in the meat going through a series of complex reactions called the 'Maillard reaction'. The moisture on the surface of the meat evaporates and the juice becomes concentrated, forming the appealing brown crust.

Home cooking recipe books recommends always let your steaks come to room temperature (70 degree Fahrenheit) before cooking or grilling. If your room's temperature differs from 70 degrees F., then just adjust your time accordingly. A cold steak will contract when it hits the heat and this will causes it to toughen. This is possibly the first biggest mistake people make.

Pat the steaks dry with a paper towel. You want to have a completely dry steak before cooking. If you steak is wet, you will essentially be steaming it.

So be it cooking on a grill or pan, the very first step would be to marinade your meat properly.

Now this is not very complex and conventionally will take two hours. Basic marination techniques suggest we use the following ingredients - quarter cup olive oil, quarter cup vinegar, quarter cup Worcestershire steak sauce, quarter cup soy sauce, two teaspoons Dijon mustard, two teaspoons minced garlic, and salt and pepper to taste.

So it starts with mixing olive oil, vinegar (balsamic preferably), Worcestershire steak sauce, soy sauce, Dijon mustard, and garlic to make the marination in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and gently stab the meat pieces with a fork so that the juice seeps in to the meat layers for maximum flavour.

Pan-Searing Steaks

In a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat, we need to warm two tablespoons olive oil.

Sear the steaks, moving them with tongs a little so they don't stick to the bottom, approximately 5 to 6 minutes per side. Using this Pan-Searing technique, proceed to cook your steak to your desired doneness – well-done, medium, medium-rare and more. It is wise to use a meat thermometer to test for doneness: Rare - 120 degrees F, Medium Rare - 125 degrees F, Medium - 130 degrees F, Well-Done – 135 to 140 degrees F.

When the steaks are crusty-charred and done to your liking, remove from the pan, cover loosely with aluminium foil or just cover with a pan lid and let the meat chunk rest five to ten minutes before serving. During this time the meat continues to cook and the juices redistribute.

We can add juices that accumulate from resting steaks to any sauce we are making and it goes brilliant with the boiled vegetables or potato mash as sides.

Grilling or Barbecuing Steaks

T-Bone or best quality Rump using dry heat from a grill is another great way to cook quality steaks. So we need to remove steaks from refrigeration at least an hour before cooking and wipe any excess marination off the steaks.

When ready to grill, we need to preheat barbecue grill and coat grill with non-stick kitchen spray before beginning to keep the steaks from sticking to the grill. After placing steaks on the hot grill, all that needs to be done is flip the steak once so that both sides cook evenly.

Grill to the desired degree of doneness, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side for medium rare. Use a meat thermometer to test for doneness and they need to be rested so that the juice seeps in just like pan-searing.

• http://www.theindependentdigital.com/index.php?opt=view&page=44&date=2011-11-04