Thursday, April 8, 2010

T-bones.

Ever wonder why the T-bone was named the way it was?  Me too!  The possible rationalities behind the name could come from the T shape of the bones that separate the 2 distinct cuts of meat (The strip loin and the Tenderloin), and the halved spinal bone.  Or it could come from the bone which separates the 2 cuts which is called  the "Transverse process" (which connects perpendicularly with the "Spinous process: bone to create the T shape).



No matter how it got it's name it is an excellent steak for the grill!  I recommend seasoning it with salt, pepper, and some ground or granulated garlic on both sides, then grilling it to no more than Medium (a maximum internal temperature of 150°F). Trust me overcooking anything on the grill will make your product dry and tough, if you can get past the stigma of Rare of Medium, you WILL find the tenderness and juiciness as a reward for your adventurousness.  (I should also address the liquid that comes out of a steak cooked to medium;  Although the juice is tinged with red, it is NOT blood.  This is simple the retained water in the meat fibres mixed with a minuscule amount of residual hemoglobin.)


For your reference:


With whole cuts of meat it is the external temp, not the internal temp that must exceed 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Normal cooking methods - sautéing, grilling, roasting, braising, etc.-raise surface temperatures far above 160 degrees Fahrenheit. (To get a sense of this, consider that meat only begins to brown at 230 degrees Fahrenheit.) People very rarely get sick from rare or medium rare meat. Overwhelmingly, people get sick from the way meat is handled in the home: from cross-contamination, lack of cleanliness and holding meat at dangerous temps. Internal temperature should be the least of your worries.

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