There’s no fine dining experience quite like the one you’ll have in a great steakhouse. In a world where most high-end restaurants tend to skew toward the precious and intricate, having a big slab of perfectly cooked beef placed before you can make for a much-appreciated change of pace. But how exactly do steakhouse chefs consistently turn out steaks that are so inexplicably tender and delicious? And why does it seem to be nearly impossible to replicate a steakhouse steak at home?
Slide 2 of 11: Infrared burner when ignited, only seeing the visible light spectrum Slide 3 of 11:It’s no secret that the best steakhouses use the best beef, but did you know that great steakhouses use meat that’s of a higher quality than 98 percent of the rest of the beef out there? It’s called USDA Prime, and to achieve that ranking it needs to have the highest level of marbling, or intramuscular fat, and also be from the youngest cows. You’re not likely to find USDA Prime beef at your local supermarket, unfortunately, though some butcher shops do carry it.
Slide 4 of 11:Some steakhouses advertise “wet-aged” beef, which is essentially steak that’s been stored in an airtight vacuum-sealed plastic bag for a few days or weeks. The majority of casual chain restaurant steaks are wet-aged, and while wet-aged beef is marginally more tender than beef that hasn’t been aged at all, it’s a lot less robustly flavored than its more upscale counterpart, dry-aged meat. When a steakhouse says its steaks are simply “aged,” they’re usually wet-aging their steaks; if a restaurant is dry-aging, it makes sure you know.
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Slide 5 of 11:Most great steakhouses dry-age their beef for anywhere from two to three weeks, and some even go longer than that. In order to dry-age beef, whole primal cuts (large pieces of meat carved out at butchering) are stored in a temperature- and humidity-controlled room and carefully watched. When ready to serve, a layer of the mold that has formed on the meat's surface is removed before it’s cut into steaks, and the end result has a more robust, earthy, funky, mineral-y flavor that steakhouse fans know and love. But don’t automatically assume that it’s better when a steakhouse dry-ages their beef on-premises; it’s very difficult to control perfect aging conditions, so there’s nothing wrong with restaurants hiring a third party to dry-age beef for them.
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Slide 6 of 11:If you were to attempt to cook a steak at home with the same amount of heat that steakhouses use, you’d end up with a very smoky kitchen and maybe even a fire on your hands. Those infrared broilers can reach temperatures of over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and can cook a two-inch-thick steak in a matter of minutes. Even the ovens that the steaks are finished in often reach temperatures of more than 500 degrees.
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You know that sizzling effect that Ruth’s Chris is famous for? That’s the result of adding a big dollop of butter to the pan right before the steak is served. Steakhouses use all sorts of techniques to make sure their steaks are juicy and flavorful (sometimes even basting them with suet, or beef kidney fat), but many steakhouses aren’t afraid to use a whole lot of butter to kick their steaks into overdrive. And if you’re prioritizing flavor over calorie content, you shouldn’t be, either.
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Slide 8 of 11:The reason why steakhouse chefs don’t use instant-read thermometers in the kitchen? They don’t need to. Just by keeping track of how long the steak has been in the broiler (or maybe by giving it a poke or two with their fingers), the grill-men at steakhouses know exactly how cooked a particular steak is. It’s a skill that can take years of practice to perfect.
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Slide 9 of 11:Steakhouses go through a lot of steaks, but there are always some that sit around for a longer period of time than others. Instead of being thrown out, however, these older steaks (which are still completely edible, just lacking some flavor) tend to be reserved for those who order their steaks well-done, because the diner really won’t be able to tell the difference in a piece of meat that thoroughly cooked.
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Slide 10 of 11:Well-marbled steaks contain a whole lot of fat, and with the addition of butter and other cooking oils the calorie count of a steak dinner could be off the charts. For example, a 14-ounce ribeye from Outback Steakhouse will set you back 762 calories and 49 grams of fat, and that’s before the mashed potatoes and mac and cheese.
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Slide 11 of 11:Without salt, steaks just don’t taste like steaks. Steakhouse cooks liberally apply salt to every square millimeter of a steak before it goes into the broiler, usually kosher salt. When it arrives at your table it doesn’t taste salty; it just tastes like a great steak.
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Slide 1 of 11:There’s no fine dining experience quite like the one you’ll have in a great steakhouse. In a world where most high-end restaurants tend to skew toward the precious and intricate, having a big slab of perfectly cooked beef placed before you can make for a much-appreciated change of pace. But how exactly do steakhouse chefs consistently turn out steaks that are so inexplicably tender and delicious? And why does it seem to be nearly impossible to replicate a steakhouse steak at home?
Next Slide 1/11 SLIDES © iStockphoto/Thinkstock 10 STEAKHOUSE SECRETS ONLY THE EXPERTS KNOW There’s no fine dining experience quite like the one you’ll have in a great steakhouse. In a world where most high-end restaurants tend to skew toward the precious and intricate, having a big slab of perfectly cooked beef placed before you can make for a much-appreciated change of pace. But how exactly do steakhouse chefs consistently turn out steaks that are so inexplicably tender and delicious? And why does it seem to be nearly impossible to replicate a steakhouse steak at home?
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