FoodBanter.com - View Single Post - How are steaks prepared at the like of Peter Luger, Palm?

(Alex Rast) wrote in
:

> 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.

I love butter and rarely do I consider it excessive no matter how good
the steak. I really like the steaks the way Smith & Wollensky does them,
dipped in butter and briefly re-grilled. I'm not as fond of any of the
steakhouses that simply melt pats of butter on the finished steak before
presentation.

I also love olive oil, but not in excess, so I'm with you on that one!

--
Wayne in Phoenix

*If there's a nit to pick, some nitwit will pick it.
*A mind is a terrible thing to lose.