The popular cuts of grilling steaks, such as striploins and rib eyes, are wonderful but represent a small percentage of the whole cow. The rest of the cow offers a fantastic diversity of great steaks. They sometimes mean a decrease in tenderness but often offer superior flavour to the premium. They also usually offer great value. You’re missing out on some great culinary experiences if you only stick to cuts from the short loin and the rib section. Most people understand the importance of using all parts of the animal, a philosophy often labelled ‘nose to tail’. It makes sense for environmental reasons as fewer animals need to be raised to feed the same number of people. It also shows more respect for the animal whose life has been sacrificed to feed us. When we raise fewer animals for food, it becomes more manageable to raise a higher percentage of them in higher welfare, sustainable situations. It also makes the economics of raising animals on a small farm more reasonable for the farmer. And of course, there are the aforementioned taste advantages. Short of giving up meat altogether, eating the less popular cuts is one of the best choices you can make. Often, people miss out on the great flavours available in the whole cow because they don’t understand how to cook the value cuts. You can’t just throw a chuck steak on a hot grill and expect it to taste like a t-bone. This is the first in our series of sustainable cuts, explaining what they are and how to cook them, including one of our favourite recipes for each one. What is Blade Steak? When a cow is butchered, it is first broken down into larger cuts, called primals. One of the largest primals is called the chuck. It comes from the front chest of the cow, including the shoulder and part of the neck. The chuck can be separated into two sections, the chuck roll and the chuck shoulder clod. When a butcher slices across the entire shoulder clod, the resulting steak is called a chuck steak. Often, the clod is separated into its individual muscles. There are five of them and three of those are tender enough for making into roasts and steaks. One of those three is called the top blade. The top blade is a very tender piece of meat. It is often trimmed into roasts and makes an ideal pot roast, but in today’s world we don’t often need that large a piece of meat. The whole top blade muscle can be sliced into steaks which are called blade steaks or top blade steaks. Blade steaks are flavourful and the meat is tender. The challenge in cooking them comes from a seam of tough connective tissue running through the middle. This makes the blade steak less appealing for grilling or other high temperature cooking techniques. One way to get around this is to further trim the top blade before slicing steaks. The butcher slices lengthwise above and below the connective tissue. The resulting strips are called flat irons and can trimmed into tender steaks suitable for grilling. The centre strip with the connective tissue is processed into ground chuck. Another way to deal with the connective tissue is to cook the blade steak differently. How to Cook Blade Steak? If you buy a blade steak labelled as a grilling steak, don’t believe it. The meat is fine for grilling but the connective tissue in the middle will tighten up and become extremely chewy. If you must grill a blade steak, cut slits across the centre cartilage about an inch long and an inch apart. This will keep the cartilage from curling as it tightens. Grill to no more than medium and simply eat around the cartilage as you would a bone. The meat will also benefit from a tasty marinade. You can also simply trim out the connective tissue and end up with two small flat iron steaks. The best way to get great results for blade steak is low and slow with moist heat, in other words, by braising it. The braising will break down the connective tissue and leave you with a tender delicious steak. Here are some general tips for braising
LINK TO RECIPE: PORTUGUESE INSPIRED BLADE STEAK At Two Calves Standing, we have a variety of blade steaks available. Check out the following items at our online store. Speckle Park Steak ~ Blade Organic Angus Steak ~ Blade Wagyu Steak ~ Blade For a great grilling steak cut from the blade, we have a small quantity of flat iron in stock: Speckle Park Steak ~ Flat Iron If you’d rather buy a blade roast for a pot roast, we also have those: Young Pastured Beef Roast ~ Blade Speckle Park Roast ~ Blade Wagyu Roast ~ Blade Any way you slice it, cuts from the blade are flavourful, beefy cuts that also have great texture when properly prepared. Portuguese Inspired Braised Blade Steak Recipe from Two Calves Standing:
The flavours of the Iberian Peninsula come through in this simple yet delicious braised blade steak recipe. Blade steaks from Two Calves Standing are about 600 to 700 grams and can feed a whole family, but you may want to cook two for heartier eaters or amazing leftovers…full recipe.
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