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

wrote:

> In article >,
> says...
>
>>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 have no first-hand knowledge of any of the establishments you mention,
> but it is a safe bet that they all use good meat. Prime beef, properly
> aged and freshly cut. I'd be surprised if any of them rubs the steak
> with butter before cooking (a burnt butter taste is very nasty), but
> putting a few dabs of herbed butter on the steak immediately after
> grilling is common in restaurants that serve good beef, and probably not
> even worthy of mention on the menu.
>
> Bob

They personally pick their beef and stamp it with their seal.

However, I've heard of a place in Brooklyn, that's as good as PL.

PL is sort of crowded though.

Rich

--
"Dum Spiro, Spero."

As long as I breath, I hope.

Cicero

wrote:

> In article >,
> says...
>
>>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 have no first-hand knowledge of any of the establishments you mention,
> but it is a safe bet that they all use good meat. Prime beef, properly
> aged and freshly cut. I'd be surprised if any of them rubs the steak
> with butter before cooking (a burnt butter taste is very nasty), but
> putting a few dabs of herbed butter on the steak immediately after
> grilling is common in restaurants that serve good beef, and probably not
> even worthy of mention on the menu.
>
> Bob

They personally pick their beef and stamp it with their seal.

However, I've heard of a place in Brooklyn, that's as good as PL.

PL is sort of crowded though.

Rich

--
"Dum Spiro, Spero."

As long as I breath, I hope.

Cicero

In article >,
says...
> 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 have no first-hand knowledge of any of the establishments you mention,
but it is a safe bet that they all use good meat. Prime beef, properly
aged and freshly cut. I'd be surprised if any of them rubs the steak
with butter before cooking (a burnt butter taste is very nasty), but
putting a few dabs of herbed butter on the steak immediately after
grilling is common in restaurants that serve good beef, and probably not
even worthy of mention on the menu.

Bob

In article >,
says...
> 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 have no first-hand knowledge of any of the establishments you mention,
but it is a safe bet that they all use good meat. Prime beef, properly
aged and freshly cut. I'd be surprised if any of them rubs the steak
with butter before cooking (a burnt butter taste is very nasty), but
putting a few dabs of herbed butter on the steak immediately after
grilling is common in restaurants that serve good beef, and probably not
even worthy of mention on the menu.

Bob

(alsilvers) wrote in
om:

> 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 seriously
doubt that any good steakhouse uses a marinade, much less a tenderizer,
on prime meat.

--
Wayne in Phoenix

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

(alsilvers) wrote in
om:

> 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 seriously
doubt that any good steakhouse uses a marinade, much less a tenderizer,
on prime meat.

--
Wayne in Phoenix

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

"Nancy Young" wrote in message ...
> Naomi Darvell wrote:
> >
> > I haven't been to Peter Luger's but I have been other restaurants where
they
> > appear to have poured butter onto the steak-- quite likely after
cooking.
>
> Anyone is free to call me a liar, but for some reason I seem to
> remember people calling that Philadelphia style or Pittsburgh style.
> They'd do the same thing with hamburgers.

Well, I'm not going to call anyone a liar, but I thought that Pittsburgh
style was charred on the outside and still slightly cool in the center.

-Mike

"Nancy Young" wrote in message ...
> Naomi Darvell wrote:
> >
> > I haven't been to Peter Luger's but I have been other restaurants where
they
> > appear to have poured butter onto the steak-- quite likely after
cooking.
>
> Anyone is free to call me a liar, but for some reason I seem to
> remember people calling that Philadelphia style or Pittsburgh style.
> They'd do the same thing with hamburgers.

Well, I'm not going to call anyone a liar, but I thought that Pittsburgh
style was charred on the outside and still slightly cool in the center.

-Mike

On Tue, 10 Aug 2004 02:07:45 -0000, Dog3 <dognospam@adjfkdla;not>
wrote:


>
>I just joined egullet the end of July. Thanks for the link. Have you ever
>taken any of their classes?
>
>Michael <- needs all the help he can get

I have read them through, at least some of them, and I would say they
are excellent. I haven't actually done some of the things. But I
highly recommend the one on cookware.

They are set up so that anyone can take them at any time, and they are
totally free.

I have become totally addicted to egullet. Have you read the
foodblogs? They started last year, with people blogging for a week at
a time. Now, it has become a permanent feature. You can learn a lot
from those as well.

You can find them here (as well as the rules of the road). To find
the beginning of them scroll down to the bottom.

http://forums.egullet.com/index.php?showtopic=42329

Another long running thread, now going for over 2 years, is the one
about Dinner.

http://forums.egullet.com/index.php?showtopic=5867

Hope to see you around on eGullet!

Christine

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

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

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

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

(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.

"alsilvers" > wrote in message
om...
> 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?
>

Haven't been to Peter Luger's in many years, but from what I remember of
them, I believe they coat the steak in oil first (to prevent sticking on the
the grill) and then grilling at a high temp on one grill and moving it to
another, lower temp grill to finish it up. The butter is added after the
steak comes off the heat, partly for flavor and partly for
presentation-makes it glisten.

"alsilvers" > wrote in message
om...
> 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?
>

Haven't been to Peter Luger's in many years, but from what I remember of
them, I believe they coat the steak in oil first (to prevent sticking on the
the grill) and then grilling at a high temp on one grill and moving it to
another, lower temp grill to finish it up. The butter is added after the
steak comes off the heat, partly for flavor and partly for
presentation-makes it glisten.