The Patina Restaurant Group (Sea Grill, Rock Center Cafe, Brasserie, to name a few) invited me to The Art of Steak Cooking at Nick & Stef’s a few weeks back. I don’t jump at these offers very often, but when I read steak, it was all I needed to get on board.
The event promised “steak connoisseurs” lessons in choosing the “right steak,” tips to cook like a pro in a home kitchen, simple sauces to accompany steaks, as well as tastings of various cuts of beef. While I am still unsure if I am a steak connoisseur, or what that entails, I know I like beef– I was psyched and salivating for the event and couldn’t wait to get my hands bloody.
We were told by the amiable Executive Chef, Steven Stamm, that an actual hands-on class would be pointless– he has a pro kitchen with infra-red burners and we have wussy home stove tops. Learning to cook a steak like a pro on his stove top wouldn’t do us much good, nor would it be safe with so many bodies in the kitchen. We gathered around his prep station, an enormous (for New York City standards) stainless steel platform and fought against a camera crew for viewing space filming future online segments.
The class was all demonstration. Beyond a crab stuffed shrimp with a citrus sauce, the 2 sauces featured in the press release were the menu we would learn for the day. A more appropriate name would have been Steak Sauce Demos & A Side.
Despite this, everyone present had a good time and was able to take something away– even the overly enthusiastic “know-it-all” who fought Chef for talk-time– I have come to understand there is at least one of these people in every cooking class.
Chef Stamm took us through various cuts of beef. Fresh from the meat purveyor, he showed us the pre and post-fat trimming versions of the cuts. Next, a short session in dry aging and a discussion of “controlled rot” brought questions of ability to age at home. Don’t– You need controlled temperature, humidity and clean facilities– would a wine humidity controlled unit take care of this? Hmmmm….
The meats were set aside and we delved into sauces. The highlights…
Roasted Wild Mushroom with Port Reduction was first– just stick some port on the stove, reduce by 90%, roast some mushrooms in the oven for 10 minutes. Done and simple, just give the reduction a few hours. Totally seductive, lucious and seemingly difficult. Sublime on meat.
The side, Jumbo Shrimp Stuffed with Crab was the next big hitter. A few days later I made the recipe provided for the crab stuffing, coated it with bread crumbs and fried them up. Much love was vocalized over this one by all who tried it.
Most importantlly, at the end of the class we all ate. We compared the different cuts of meat. I thought the dry-aged had the most complexity that one is not always aware of when eating it alone. In direct comparison to the other cuts, the dry-aged had more intense earthy qualities. We also had the opportunity to sample all the sauces and sides prepped throughout the day.
Chef Stamm provided some pointers: beef is best enjoyed medium rare. All those “I see blood” folks are missing the ballgame– It ain’t blood, it’s juice. Suck it up (literally) and you’ll never go back to your overdone, tough slabs again.
Beef likes it hot and dry. Make sure your pan is super hot before beginning to really sear and carmelize the sugars and place your meat on the pan dry (a light coating of olive oil on the meat is the only optional liquid). Once the steak hits the hit do NOT touch it. Let it sear until it can be moved on its own (shake the pan to test this), this means the outter layer is carmelized, now flip.
You don’t need more than salt and pepper to season a piece of meat. Or, if you were lucky enough to attend the event you got to take home Chef Stamm’s secret spice rub. A mix of 7 or 8 spices: pepper, sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder to name a few. Experiment to make your own mix or use salt/ pepper– Just make sure it goes on right before you cook or else salt will absorb the moisture out of the meat.
Your next step is to enjoy your steak or you can sign up for one of the Patina classes and learn to do it all yourself. The next round of classes are yet to be announced by previous classes have included:
Restaurant Quality Brunch at Brasserie. Guests will learn how to whip up a variety of delicious omelets, eggs benedict homemade breakfast health bars and a host of creative cocktails.
Spring Dishes at Café Centro. Guests will learn how to cook a white asparagus casserole with pancetta, poached egg and a toasted sesame hollandaise sauce as well as green asparagus and goat cheese terrine with young garlic vinaigrette, arugola and cerignola olive toast and more…
Cocktail Class. Looking to host a fancy cocktail party but not quite sure what to serve or where to start? Executive Chef Franklin Becker and Beverage/Restaurant Manager Tim Halbert will teach you everything you need to know from amazing hors d’oeuvres to delicious drinks.