started with a manager’s special.
$15.78 marked down to $7.89 at the butcher shop. two inches thick, top round, ugly in the way london broil is always ugly — a thick slab of muscle that wants to fight back. the rolling pin in the photo is unrelated. or maybe it isn’t. depends on the day.
“manager’s special” is the four most beautiful words in english.
asked claude what to do with it.
soy, balsamic, dijon, worcestershire, honey, garlic, rosemary, olive oil, pepper, red pepper flakes. into a ziploc. ziploc into a stainless bowl in case the seal failed (it didn’t). into the fridge for four hours.
the bag does the work. the cook just provides the time.
four hours is a window.
so the living room got it.
phase one: take everything apart. assume there are cheerios under there. there were cheerios under there.
phase two: move what you didn’t think could move. that’s where the real archaeology is.
cable archaeology, specifically. behind the desk was a nest of charging cables, ethernet runs, and at least one power strip i don’t remember buying. pulled them all, untangled, rewound, returned only what was actually plugged into something on the other end.
every cable you don’t pull will outlive you. they multiply when you sleep.
the room came back.
the dog approves. the dog always approves.
then the cook.
claude’s call was reverse sear — 275°F oven until the internal hit 130°F, then a hard sear in the dutch oven, then rest. (we’ll do a separate post on the technique. short version: low oven first, hot pan last.) the sear set off the smoke detector, which is how you know it was hot enough.
cut against the grain, thin, on a bias. medium edge to edge — no gray band, no chew.
the half on the right is what reverse sear gets you. the half on the left is what against-the-grain gets you. both rules, one steak.
plated for the concert.
mashed potatoes. baked beans. steamed broccoli for the boy. blistered green beans for the girl — her favorite. the steak in the middle, sliced. pan juices reduced into a quick sauce while the meat rested.
the steak is the headline. the sides are why anybody shows up.
she had her orchestra concert tonight.
we ate first. she played second. that’s the order it should go in.
more cooking with claude to come. file under: the cheap cut is the right cut, if you give it time.