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How are steaks prepared at the like of Peter Luger, Palm?
at Tue, 10 Aug 2004 01:48:00 GMT in >,
(Wayne) wrote :
(alsilvers) wrote in
. com:
>
>> Do famous steak places like Peter Luger's, the
>> Palm, and others use marinades or tenderizers or BUTTER in
>> preparing there steaks, or do they simply take the raw meat straight
>> from the cow, age it, and stick it under the broiler?
>>
>> I've always been somewhat curious if when you are ordering a steak,
>> whether any ingredients have been added during the preparation. For
>> example, I seem to recall reading that Peter Luger, in preparing the
>> meat before broiling, actually rubs its Porterhouse with butter before
>> broiling.
>>
>> IS this true, and is this common, or perhaps even done as a rule? Or
>> is the meat normally just taken in pure, "unadulterated" form right to
>> the oven?
>>
>> Al
>
>I can't speak for Peter Luger's or The Palm, but I do know that Smith &
>Wollensky's and Ruth's Chris both use butter. I was told by a server at
>S&W that their finished steaks are dipped in a vat of melted butter, then
>put back on the grill for a few seconds per side before plating. Ruth's
>Chris brushes melted butter on the finished steaks before plating. I
>suspect this is commonplace among many good steakhouses.
I'm not a big fan of buttered steaks. What need is there of any adornment
on an excellent steak? If the meat is good enough it speaks for itself.
Anything else is distracting. Indeed, I find adding butter makes the
experience greasy and unappealing. As you might imagine, I'm not fond of
Ruth's Chris as a result. The Metropolitan Grill here in Seattle (of like
caliber to the places mentioned - a cut above Ruth's Chris, for example,
more like in Luger territory) doesn't butter their steaks.
Ruth's Chris, as well as several other steakhouses, seems to believe "if it
moves, douse it in butter". At one steakhouse I won't mention, I received a
side of mushrooms that were literally swimming in a pool of butter. This is
excessive and heavy-handed IMHO. A similar attitude occurs at certain
Italian places, where everything comes swimming in olive oil.
Each steakhouse I've been to seems to have their own preparation style.
Some rub with pepper, others add butter, others herbs, others make it
plain. I'm a big fan of the plain school: just give me a great steak,
preferably individually hand-selected by the chef from the butcher, and I'm
happy.
--
Alex Rast
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