Chateau T-Bone

Publix has a sale on T-Bones.  We're having 4 guests over...Total of 7 dining with 5 eating steak..Two are women.  So, my former food cost control training starts going a mile a minute.  Do I put 5 T-Bones on the grill when I know full well the two women are not going to eat their entire steaks.  What do I do with their left overs?  Give them to my two dogs?  At $5.75 a lb..I don't think so.
 
So, I boned out 5 T-bones....I took the bones and roasted them off and trimmed the meat off them for the dogs.  I could have made a sauce with red wine, onions, the bones, carrots, etc.  Too lazy! 
 
I put one of the 5 steaks in the freezer and marinated the now boneless steaks with the small parts of the T from all 5 steaks (that wa smy ace in the hole..more than enough meat this way) in olive oil, cracked pepper, crushed garlic, fresh rosemary and basalmic vinegar.
 
I will char-broil the meat, slice it up, place it on a platter and everyone can take what they want.  And, if there are left overs, I can now eat them the following day for lunch!  
I'm just going to make mashed potatoes with butter, milk, sour cream and minced scallions.  Incidently, the meat was beautiful from Publix..

No pictures = No cook. I know you know how.

No cookie yet....2 knight I cook.....

give it to the dogs?
just call me Rover.
come on John, you know you can't download from a Kodak Instamatic camera.

Baah Ben,  I think these guys are picking on you.

Baah Ben, so you've finally crossed over to the Peter Luger style?

Arf! Arf!

Ruby..Yes..I'm a believer.  I don't think I ever objected to the slicing concept at Luger's?  I actually think it's a great plate presentation.  My debate had to do more with the cut of meat,   Top Ten ratings, etc.  I do remember a lot of people did not like their steak cut up for them.

The steak turned out fantastic.  I let them rest for 5 minutes, sliced three of them up along with the meat off the short side of the T-Bone from all five steaks. 

I came through with all being medium rare,  That's the way all 5 people liked it.  The meat was amazingly tender.  Kudos to Publix.  Each T-Bone was at least 1.25 lbs with the bone in before I removed them.  Anyway, I really would have been fine with three steaks for the five of us.  I had an entire steak left ..I never cut it.

Potatoes turned out great.  Here again, I made too many.    

baah, i've been using the approach you outline for a little while now.  I find that when steak is served sliced, rather than as a whole steak, you tend to eat less of it, and it also seems to feel more special somehow.  a 14 ounce strip can really quite easily feed two people.  however, if you put a 14 ounce strip in front of someone, they'll probably eat the whole damned thing.  

so you're saving money, fat, and calories, and, it's a nice presentation.

i'm sure we'll get the typical comments from those who for some reason insist on slicing their own steak.  this method works for me, and for Peter Luger, and for Craftsteak, and for many, many top steakhouses, so I'll take my own experiences in my home and at steakhouses over the naysayers' opinions.  perhaps they'll give it a shot and try to take something away from others' experiences.

Tommy - I was really amazed.  I agree with you totally.  Our guests probably would have felt compelled to at least try and finish their own steak; I was brought up not to waste food and most of us understand how expensive steak is.

Anyway, I will do the same thing next time.  Only I will try to get a better read on how many steaks I really need.  I always worry about not having enough despite all my training.  What can I tell you.  So today, I'll "struggle" though the one steak I never even cut up! 

3 - 1.25 lb +/- bone-in T-Bone steaks easily fed 5 adults.  We had a salad and mashed potatoes..No bread..nothing else.  The steak was $5.75 a pound so the food cost was under $25.00  $5.00 a person.  Not bad.

Well, it will be interesting to see if a lot of people disagree with this serving idea for guests in their home.  I know this sounds bad healthwise, but how about a little clarified butter on the slices of steak?  Did you ever consider that?

Baah Ben


Well, it will be interesting to see if a lot of people disagree with this serving idea for guests in their home.  I know this sounds bad healthwise, but how about a little clarified butter on the slices of steak?  Did you ever consider that?

How 'bout a little:
BLUE CHEESE BUTTER
1/4 pound crumbled firm blue cheese (1 cup)
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons Port
Gently mash together all ingredients in a bowl with a fork, leaving some texture.

It seems to Me that You would lose some of the juices by cutting it off the bone.It might be OK for some People but I want to see a slab of meat covering My Plate not some artsy presentation.Thats just my opinion.

  I'll trade my steak portion for the roasted bones!!! thems good eatin' !!!   Dawn growls/ puts paw protectivly over bone......

Jellybear - I can assure you it was not an artsy presentation.  Just slices of medium rare meat..Help yourself.  Hey, I can appreciate your point.  But, you could ask for seconds.  People literally ate less and that's not a bad thing healthwise.

AHI - yeah, my normally docile dog loses it when there is a bone.  His personality changes completely..Well, actually it reverts back to what it probably was before we domesticated these animals for our own joy.
Maybe Dawn is a big dog and can handle those bones.  But they can be very dangerous.
Food - That looks terrific!  With a filet, too.  Or, I'm thinking steak frite.. Nice.  Pour the sauce over the meat and the pomme frites....Get some French bread and you're all set!

Ben, For years I cooked steaks for 40+ people every Sunday.  I used 2'' serloin cut into strips after grilling. The trick was getting everyones cooked the way they like it. And, served hot since folks showed up at different times. It was a poker game.

I always had a big pot of mushrooms cooked in seasoned butter. Many folks would top their steak w/ that. Some just ate the shrooms by the bowl full.
Joe

I was lucky..They all wanted it medium rare.  I got them off ...Just in time!  Mushrooms would have been a excellent idea.  Totally blew that.  Easy and very good.

I just finished the last of the steak for lunch with my two pals - Redford and Lucy.  Jeez, I do love steak.  I just try not to eat it more than once or twice a month.  My favorite meat is still "the other white meat"

Mr. Baah Ben, thanks for the heads up on T-Bones at Publix. I bought (2) 2.5 pounders yesterday at Publix and they were excellent.  I do cook them bone in however.
   They are so large I cook them on all sides to seal in the juices. Most of the grill time, the steaks are "standing" up on their bone over indirect heat, with misquite chips providing a wonderful addtional flavor.
   Like you however, I slice the steak after it rests for a bit. People seem to enjoy not having to solve the challenge of eating everything on their plate.
   By the way, these two steaks fed (7) adults and there were no leftovers. And yes, I left a generous portion of meat on one bone which of course found it's way to my plate. (cooking time 45 minutes for medium rare).
   Again, thanks for the heads up!
  

I complemented the butcher at Publix today for the wonderful meat.  Both guests called the following day to thank us for the dinner.  Alrighty then....