Steak and dry aging Flashcards

1
Q

What does dry aging meat mean?

A

Dry-aging beef means that once the animal is slaughtered and butchered, portions of the carcass are allowed to rest in very carefully controlled conditions (cool temperatures, with relatively high humidity) for a period of time—often several weeks, and sometimes up to a couple of months.

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2
Q

Why enzymes are so important in dry aging?

A

Enzymes are molecules that exist in foods-and in microbes intimately involved with food-that can transform those basic, bland building blocks. They’re nanocooks-the true molecular cooks. Dry-aging, ripening, and fermentation are all processes that take advantage of enzymes to make foods delicious before cooking.

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3
Q

What do these enzymes do?

A

During dry aging, Enzymes in the meat’s muscle cells begin to break down the meat’s proteins, fats, and glycogen—a carbohydrate—into amino acids, fatty acids, and sugars.

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4
Q

What is glutamate?

A

it is one amino acid generated by dry-aging—the most important and flavorful one, in fact—is glutamate, which is part of MSG.

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5
Q

What MSG stand for?

A

Monosodium glutamate.

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6
Q

What is MSG?

A

A popular seasoning and flavor enhancer, MSG, or monosodium glutamate, is the purest form of umami, the fifth taste. MSG (monosodium glutamate) is widely used to intensify and enhance umami flavors in sauces, broths, soups and many more foods. It can also be used as a partial replacement for salt, containing just one-third the sodium.

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7
Q

What are the other consequences of dry aging meat?

A

Dry-aging beef also causes it to lose some of its moisture. Meat begins at about 75 percent water; after dry-aging, it may go down to somewhere around 70 percent. The flavors become more concentrated.

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8
Q

What are the two ways of aging beef?

A

Dry Aging and wet aging

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9
Q

What is wet aging?

A
  • Aged in a vacuum-sealed bag to retain its moisture
  • Dominant method of aging beef in the U.S
  • Little product loss
  • No trim loss
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10
Q

What is dry aging?

A

Placed on racks or hung on hooks to dry.
- Concentration and saturation of the natural flavor
- Oldest method of aging
- Large percent of weight loss
- High trim loss

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11
Q

How long is the dry aging process?

A

▪First 14 days most aggressive days for tenderness
▪14 –35 days has the great effect on effecting tender
▪After 45 days no effect upon tenderness
▪After 45 days the juiciness of the steak decreases
▪Dry aged can be cro vac, 9 days until negative effect

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12
Q

What is beef?

A

Beef is the culinary name for meat from Bovines, especially cattle

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13
Q

How is it called an adult female that has had a calf or two?

A

Cow

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14
Q

How is it called an uncastrated male?

A

Bull

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15
Q

How is it called a young female before giving birth?

A

Heifer

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16
Q

How long is the gestation in a cow?

A

Gestation period for cows is 9 months

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17
Q

How many hours a cattle sleep per day?

A

The average sleep time for domestic cattle is about 4 hrs per day

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18
Q

How much is the wieght for a cattle?

A

Adult cattle can weigh from 600lb (272 kg) in smaller breeds to 3300lb (1500kg) in larger breeds.

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19
Q

What is a full blood animal?

A

A full blood animal has pure genetics on both sides of its lineage meaning only two full bloods can produce a full blood

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20
Q

What is a pure breed animal?

A

A pure bred is an animal that has been bred up using full blood animals and cross breeds to make a pure bred as close to a full blood as possible.

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21
Q

What is veal?

A

Veal is meat from either sex of young cattle ranging from a few days old to 24 weeks old, although most veal comes from male bulls.

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22
Q

How many muscles are in beef carcass?

A

There are over 100 muscles on a beef carcass.

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23
Q

What is Wagyu?

A

Wagyu literally translates as Japanese beef

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24
Q

How many breeds of wagyu exist?

A

4: Black, brown (sometimes called red), polled, or shorthorn.
Japanese Black makes up 90% of fattened beef in Japan

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25
Q

Why wagyu is so special?

A

Wagyu are predisposed to being more marbled than most breeds but still require special diets to get them to A5 level marbling.

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26
Q

How is Japanese beef graded?

A

Japanese beef is graded by an internal grading system developed by the Japanese government.

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27
Q

On what type of parameters are based the price and the grade of Japanese beef?

A

The price and grade of Japanese beef is based on genetics and lineage of the animal
Knowing who its ancestors are is very important in determining the price the beef will obtain.

28
Q

What is Kobe beef?

A

Kobe beef is beef from the Hyogo prefecture. It is very rare and difficult to attain.

29
Q

Where kebe beef take its name from?

A

The name and now legend came from the fact that the port city of Hyogo was at one time the only city open to Westerners in Japan
The sailors ate Wagyu while in port and called it the beef from Kobe and the legend was born.

30
Q

What is Canadian wagyu?

A

Canadian Wagyu is beef raised in Canada from certified Wagyu cattle. Same goes for the American or Australian Wagyu.

31
Q

When the first black bulls were imported to the USA?

A

By most accounts, it is said that the first black bulls were imported to the USA in 1976.

32
Q

When Japan stopped exporting wagyu?

A

Japan declared Wagyu to be a national treasure in 1988 and stopped exporting all animals.

33
Q

What is prime?

A

Prime beef accounts for only 1-3% of all beef produced in the world
1 animal out of a hundred will be prime.

34
Q

How is the meat inspected in Canada?

A

In Canada, meat is inspected by the Canadian beef-grading agency (CBGA), which is accredited by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

35
Q

What does it mean Chicago style steak?

A

Chicago is black on the outside and cooked to a desired doneness on the inside

36
Q

What does it mean a Pittsburgh style steak?

A

Pittsburgh is black on the outside and blue on the inside. A Pittsburgh rare steak is one that has been heated to a very high temperature very quickly, so it is charred on the outside but still rare or raw on the inside. The degree of rareness and the amount of charring on the outside may vary according to taste.

37
Q

What is the Montague?

A

It is the brand name of our char-broiler. A top down gas broiler that reaches 1800f or 1000c.

38
Q

Are Wagyu cuts dry aged?

A

No. They are raised in such a way that you want to taste the subtle nuances in the meat and dry aging them would impart such a flavour that it would mask these flavours.

39
Q

Are tenderloins dry aged?

A

Tenderloins are not dry aged
They are already incredibly tender
Aging them further would create a crust on the outside that would have to be cut away and you would be left with practically nothing.

40
Q

What is Halal meat?

A

Halal is an Arabic word that means permissible
Muslim people follow certain dietary guidelines set out in the Quran
It generally refers to food, and in our case meat

41
Q

How is the Halal meat treated?

A

Halal meat is slaughtered with the animals head facing mecca and accredited swordsmen using sharp knives and praying
They slice the animal’s throat making sure to sever all the arteries and nerves hence killing it.

42
Q

How is Halal meat certified?

A

Certified halal meat will come with a certificate of authenticity set out by Muslim Food Council

43
Q

What does it mean Kosher meat?

A

Kosher is a Hebrew word meaning “fit” or “proper”. In terms of kosher food, it is following religious guidelines set out in Jewish law (halakha).

44
Q

How is the Kosher meat treated?

A

The guidelines for kosher meat are similar to halal meat in that a sharp knife must be used and prayer recited and it being blessed by a rabbi.

45
Q

How are cattle raised?

A

All cattle are grass fed
Cattle are raised naturally on farms where they eat grass in the pasture
If the pasture is not available due to snow or mud or flood, the cattle will be fed grass silage.

46
Q

What happened to cattle’s nutrition months before they get slaughtered?

A

Before they are old enough to be slaughtered, they will be fed a diet rich in grain to help fatten them and increase the richness in the meat.

47
Q

When cattle are generally ready to be slaughtered?

A

Cattle are generally slaughtered when they are around 30 months but can range greatly depending on its raising.

48
Q

What are the guidelines for cattle to be slaughtered?

A

Each farmer has a basic guideline as to what they will feed the cattle but they also have a diet or recipe that they developed and follow therefore each farm has a slightly different feed they use.

49
Q

How the way cattle are fed can change the way they are graded?

A

The way cattle are raised and what they eat and drink will have a direct impact on how they grade and therefore how they taste.

50
Q

How is wagyu Sekai finished?

A

Wagyu sekai will use molasses as a dietary supplement to increase B vitamins in the cattle and therefore help relax them which in turn increases their appetite which in the end makes for a fatter healthier animal

51
Q

What Van Groningen Farms use at the end for their cattle?

A

Farms like Van Groningen will use fermented potatoes to make the cattle “drunk” and therefore increase their appetite, which makes for healthier animals.

52
Q

Which Farms in our menu are completely grass feed?

A

La Morocha from San Louis Argentina and Pinnacle Farm, Queensland, Australia.

53
Q

RIbeye characteristics

A

From the rib portion of the cow, its primary muscle composition is longissimus dorsi, spinalis dorsi, longissimus costarum, complexus, mulifidi dorsi, internal and external intercostals, and bones from the 6th to the 12th rib (7 bones).

54
Q

Ribeye characteristics

A

The ribeye has a high degree of marbling which gives more juiciness to the steak. A ribeye will also be more enjoyable when cooked at least to medium rare, to allow some of the fat to melt into the steak

55
Q

Shortloin characteristics

A

The shortloin includes the loin and sirloin sections of the cow. Its primary muscle composition includes all of the ones listed in the loin section, as well as bicep femoris, gluteus accesorius, fluteus profundus, and tensor fasciae latae.

56
Q

Which curs are we getting from the shortloin?

A

The cuts we get from the shortloin include the Porterhouse, the T Bone and the Bone In Striploin. The tenderloin tapers away the farther you get from the sirloin section of the cow, resulting in the three different bone in cuts you get from the shortloin: the Bone In Striploin, T Bone and the Porterhouse

57
Q

T-Bone

A

The T Bone may include the gluteus medius (sirloin) but has no requirements as to their size. The thickness of the T Bone is arbitrary as well, but for the look and thickness, we cut ours to 25oz.

58
Q

Tenderloin

A

From the loin portion of the cow, as the name suggests. Its primary muscle composition is psoas major, psoas minor, lliacus.

59
Q

Other name for Tenderloin

A

Other names include chateaubriand, fillet mignon, fillet steak, tournedos, or just beef tenderloin.

60
Q

Tenderloin size

A

This steak is very versatile and can be cut into any size you would like. We often do 6, 8 or 10 oz.

61
Q

Tenderloin characteristics

A

The tenderloin is known for its tenderness and its leanness. Some would argue that it also has less flavour, although our cooking technique gives ample flavour to the steak.

62
Q

Striploin

A

From the loin portion of the cow, its primary muscle composition includes longissiumus dorsi, multifidi dorsi, gluteus medius, longissimus costarum, intercostales externus and internus. A portion of the striploin is attached to rib bones in the cow (1 or 2), but for uniformity, they are removed.

63
Q

Striploin common names

A

Common names for the striploin are New York steak, or Kansas City Strip. The ribeye and striploin are very close to each other, so a lot of the information described in the ribeye section applies here as well.

64
Q

Striploin size

A

The eye of the strip can vary greatly as well, so that often dictates what size you can cut a decent steak. That is why we cut them at 16 oz.

65
Q

California Cut Striploin

A

We are able to cut an 8 oz striploin by doing what is called a California Cut Striploin, meaning we still cut it thick enough to be decent by cutting across achieving a thick cut 8 oz strip.