Strip Loin Steak - Dinner

For my Theory of Food II class we had to go to our local supermarket or butcher and purchase some meat.  I went to a Fortinos near my house and checked out what meat was available to buy. 

Meat counter at Fortinos

As you can tell from the picture, there was a large variety of meat available to purchase.  I do not do the shopping in my family so I was somewhat surprised at how expensive meat was.  After looking at what meat was available, I decided on making a strip loin steak dinner.  When I decided on the strip loin steak, price did not factor into my choice.  I chose the strip loin steak solely because I love steak and I thought it was a great cut of meat.  Obviously this is not a purchase that a family does on a regular basis (or at least my family) but for this assignment I decided to splurge and get the strip loin steaks.

The meat at Fortinos is certified angus beef and graded Canada AAA.  Strip loin is cut from the strip loin part of the sirloin, the strip steak consists of a muscle that does little work and is tender.  If the meat is still attached to the bone, the strip steak becomes a T-bone steak or a Porterhouse steak.  Strip steak is known for its outstanding flavour and the meat has good marbling.  While it is not as tender as rib eye, strip steak is leaner and offers a beefier flavour.  Strip steak is also known by the names Kansas City Steak, Manhattan Steak, and New York Strip.  Strip steak is good for grilling and sautéing.  

The sirloin steaks were $41.86/kg or $18.99/lb.  I bought three sirloin steaks which cost a total of $44.57.  The best way to utilize strip loin steak is to grill the steaks and add sides that compliment the steak well.  For example, mashed potatoes and vegetables.  With the added mashed potatoes and a side vegetable, I would have to add an extra $6.00 per person.  So the price per steak that I paid was $14.86 plus $6.00 for the sides, the meal came out to be $20.86.  At the Keg, a strip loin steak dinner costs $45.00.  The Keg is a steakhouse and in my opinion is quite expensive.  My cost for the strip loin steak dinner was $20.86 and in a restaurant I could charge a customer $30.00 and make a decent profit, without over charging them.

There are various ways to cook strip loin steak.  You can barbecue it, grill it on top of the stove, and even saute it.  Strip loin steaks are great for grilling because it is best suited for the fast, high heat of the grill.  

Grilled Strip Loin Steak

Beef Strip loin Steak (9 oz), vegetable oil (10 ml), thyme, bruised (2 g), rosemary, bruised (2 g), garlic, crushed (2 g), salt and black pepper (to taste)

The way I cooked my strip loin steaks is that I grilled them on the cast iron pan.  I first marinated the steaks with vegetable oil, thyme, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper.  I let it marinade for 1 hour.  Once it had marinaded for 1 hour, I placed them in the cast iron pan.  I cooked the meat until it was 155°F and then removed it from the grill and finished it off in the oven.  The sides I made for the strip loin dinner was mashed potatoes and I added a pink peppercorn and tarragon compound butter on top of the steak. 

Pink Peppercorn and Tarragon Compound Butter

Unsalted butter (110 g), shallots, finely chopped (30 g), garlic, minced (4 g), pink peppercorn (5 g), tarragon leaves, finely chopped (2 g), lemon, juiced (1/4 piece), olive oil (10 ml), salt and black pepper (to taste)

To make the compound butter, you will need to heat up the olive oil in a pan, then add the shallots, garlic and tarragon and sweat them until translucent and soft.  Add the lemon juice, stir together and remove from heat and let cool.  Place all the remaining ingredients in a bowl with the softened butter.  Add salt and butter to taste.  Roll the butter into plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to firm up.

Grilled Strip Loin Steak with Mashed Potatoes and Pink Peppercorn and Tarragon Compound Butter