Foodie News
Grill, baby, grill: 10 tips from Morton's on how to master your meat
Photo by Sarah Rufca
Frank Lewis, chef at Morton's downtown
Achieve the perfect steak every time.
Morton's Steakhouse downtownPhoto by Iris S.
Photo by Sarah Rufca
If you ask Morton's Downtown chef Frank Lewis the secret to a Morton's steak, he points to the state-of-the-art commercial oven that heats to 1,500 degrees and cooks the meat from above.
But with twenty years of grilling experience, Lewis knows his way around a great steak — even without all the bells and whistles at his disposal. So whether you're working with a stove, an oven or a backyard grill, here are 10 tips to make your steak the best on the block:
1. Pay attention to the meat
According to Lewis, the best cuts of meat will have some modest marbling, rather than just an overall red color. Marbling means more fat but also more flavor. A ribeye cut tends to have significant marbling, while a tenderloin will have hardly any.
2. Age ain't just a number
Morton's buys steaks that have been wet aged for 28 days, and then continues to age them for up to another week. You can replicate this process at home using a vacuum sealer and then storing the meat in the fridge for a week, where it can marinate in its own juices.
3. Temper, temper
For the best results, take the meat out of your fridge or cooler 30 to 60 minutes before you put it on the grill. Tempering helps the steak cook more evenly, leading to less char and more consistent texture.
4. Keep it quick
Lewis says the biggest mistake most people make is overcooking their steak. In an oven, steak can cook in as little as four minutes, so get everything else ready, and cook the meat last.
5. Don't play with your food
Playing with the meat too much is Lewis' grilling pet peeve. "You don't need to look at it," he says, and adds that opening the oven or grill lid changes the temperature of the food. He says the optimum way to cook a steak is to turn it four times, and that's it.
6. Know when to flip
The first time to turn a steak over is when it's a little brown on the edges, and the rest of the meat has a little color. The subsequent turns should be at the same interval.
7. Use the rule of thumb
Lewis says that if you're in doubt about whether your meat is done, you can always use "the finger test."
With your hand open, press the fleshy pad of skin an inch in from the thumb — that's the texture of rare steak. Now touch the tip of your thumb to your forefinger, and push the same area — it should now be slightly firmer, the texture of medium rare steak. The pattern continues, touching the thumb to the other fingers on the hand — the further the finger, the firmer the skin and the more well-done the steak.
8. Give the steak a little R&R
Resting a steak after it's finished is a key that's often overlooked. "If you cut into it right away, you lose the juices," says Lewis. "When you rest the steak, all that flavor expands through the steak and takes hold."
9. Break out of the red meat box
Lewis says the key to grilling fish is to pick a meaty fish like tuna, salmon, or maybe even sea bass, and to put it on the grill with the meat side facing down.
10. There's no wrong way to eat a steak
Lewis touts simplicity of seasoning to show off the flavor — just a little salt and pepper, olive oil, or maybe a béarnaise sauce on the side. But if you like a spicy rub or a garlic soy sauce marinade or even a bottle of A-1, that's up to you.
