The perfect meal, a steak and baked potato

Well for all of you who may not eat red meat, I am sorry for your loss. To me the perfect meal is a medium rare steak and a potato. The only other items needed are marinade, sour cream, chives, and butter. I am not a nutritionist so I am not sure how this meal falls into someone else’s categories or the food pyramid; but, I do not really care about that, to me it is the perfect meal. Period. Those of you who have had a steak and potato I have prepared can comment, but I do not recall anyone I served this meal to not eating it and being happy.

So why is this the perfect meal you might be asking, duh it is a steak and potato I really should not have to say more but, I will pontificate a bit anyway because, that is the point. My favorite cut of our bovine buddies is the New York strip steak. Some feel this is an inferior cut to the T-bone or some other choice cuts. Here is why I think that view is mistaken, there are many reasons so I will limit this list to the top few.

As you know all the better cuts, including the strip steak, the porterhouse, the T-bone, the tenderloin and a few others come from what is called the “short loin”. This is an area behind the “rib” section and right in front of the “sirloin” section. This area does not have a lot of heavy use muscles that our bovine buddies use to wander around gobbling up their meals. It is also protected from being bruised by the “yuts” of the world performing the ever amusing cow tipping by the larger front shoulders or the “chuck” as our butcher’s call it and the rear shoulders or “round” as it is known. Those two reasons alone are why I feel the “short loin” is where the best cuts come from.

Now while the beef tenderloin steak is the most tender, the strip steak commonly ranks near the top of that scale. The Beef Top (Inside) Round Steak is the most lean and that actually cost’s it points in my book, no fat at all reduces the flavor of the finished product. Short loin steaks are considered by some not to need marinating due to the already flavorful cuts of meat. I diverge from the experts at this point, I have tried many marinades over the years looking for the perfect flavor.

I have experimented with homemade concoctions and about every brand available. My conclusion is Pirates Gold in either in the gold label or red (hot) label are the best and I use them exclusively, red during the cold weather seasons. I have tried the “dry” and “wet” methods and although most prefer a shorter marinade period (dry) I prefer a longer or wet marinade, about 4 hours in the bag. I find it takes a bit longer on the grill but the results are worth the wait. That entire 4 hour marinade time is spent in a 1 gallon zip lock baggy on my counter so the steaks can assume room temperature before hitting the grill. I have found that makes a difference as well but do not know why.

Well there is really not much that needs said about the Potato, it is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial solanum tuberosum that is a member of the Solanaceae family, the Russet variety from Idaho is beyond reproach. The only constant I have found in the preparation of this, the fourth largest crop on the planet, is that the innards need to reach 210 degrees before being served. Potato’s are not inherently bad for ya, it is all the goodies we place on them. I have tried many things from A-one steak sauce to Pace hot picante sauce, I like them all but a dab of butter and sour cream is still the best answer, as long as you do not overdo it.

So what are you having for dinner tonight?

Enjoy and of course to Quote Dennis Miller, “That’s just my opinion I could be wrong”