Hanger steak, Argentina style

[Henrik]

Hi all,

thought I'd try something new. I've been reading up on grilling and different cultures, and liked what I read about how they grill meat in South Ameria. Wikipedia has a great article on the subject: Asado grilling.

To me, the essence of it is to let the meat's natural flavor come through, and that means using just one spice: salt. And PLENTY of it.

I chose a cut of meat that I've come to love from the first bite: Hanger steak, or Butcher steak as it is also known. The name (Butcher steak) aledgedly comes from the fact that the butcher kept it for him/her self. I couldn't agree more.

The butcher steak, or hanger steak:



It is two muscles, "mounted" in a v-shaped fashion, see pics. It is tender, and has lots of flavor.

The two muscles, laid out flat:



The hanger steak seen from above, here you see the tendon/membrane (the "point" of the V):



In South America they do a lot of direct grilling, but from what I gather they're using the 2 zone concept to the point.

I have a Big Green Egg, which has a horizontal heat deflector 3 or so inches beneath the grate, but I didn't want to use it this time, as I figured it would take too long to switch from indirect heat to direct heat. Instead I put an old brick in the bottom. I got the idea from other smart forum members here. Thanks!

The egg with a brick:



Anyhow, I applied a dry brine two days before, and right before cooking I unloaded a jar of flaked sea salt on the steak. Both inside and out.

The steak with PLENTY of salt:


I gave it 20-30 minutes on direct heat, then seared it. After removing it from the grill I wrapped it in aluminum foil for a 10 minute rest, together with a few large pieces of butter.

Sliced and served, with the mandatory Chimichurri of course. I made it the day before. Great steak sauce, I must say.

The steak, ready to serve (click here for full-size image):

[Henrik]

I dont't know what's up with vBulletin, but it keeps inserting thumbnails all the time, even though I click on "large", "fullsize" et.c. VERY frustrating. Gaaaaahhh!!!

Looking forward to the forum upgrade. In the meantime, I posted the last image on my Dropbox, and added a link instead.

[The Burn]

I have the same issue with the ever-shrinking photos. I got frustrated and followed Jon's suggestion and got a photobucket.com account and link to there

[Jerod Broussard]

Nice. Diaphragm goodies. This is Prime below. I almost tried one once. Reminded me of an up scale flank steak.

[Henrik]

An upscale flank steak is a very accurate description I would say.

[Guy]

Lot of fat scuse me Flavor.

[Guy]

I swear I can't find meat like that here in NW Florida. I am going to have to go and bribe butchers. Like MH says you have to know your butcher.

[Guy]

Henrik I gotta say I love and learn a lot from your post. Great job.

[Henrik]

Thanks Guy!

[Jerod Broussard]

Henrik I gotta say I love and learn a lot from your post. Great job.

Here ya go!! Learn some more!!!

http://www.lafrieda.com/USDA_Prime_B..._p/bfspbhs.htm

[(Otherguy)]

Dang ... dead link ... bet it was good while it was up. But let's face it - it's been nearly a year!!

[Marauderer]

Henrik, great article. I will have to try it. Looks great!!

[Huskee]

Bugger on the shrinking pictures...but nice post! That sure look slike a piece of meat I want. I seen a recipe before that called for a whole ternderloin, butterflied and stuffed with grilled onions and peppers and mozzarella cheese, tied and grilled. I'm all about eating beef with salt & pepper only, (maybe a board sauce, or some BBBR) but this looks like a great cut to try that recipe with too.

[Henrik]

Thanks! I like the simplicity of it all. Regarding the tenderloin; it is one of my top three favorite cuts, I like it "plain". However, the stuffing you suggest sounds very good. I did a variant on the board sauce by applying a few chunks of butter right before wrapping it for the 10 minute rest period. Works a charm.

[The Burn]

Okay, so did you mean you did 20-30 minutes of INdirect and then a sear? What kind of temps were you at? And when you say a jar of sea salt flakes, how much are we talking? This sounds like something I would really like.

[Henrik]

Let's see if I can clarify some details. The reason I like hanger steak so much is the 'natural' and awesome flavor it has. You don't need to do much with it for it to taste good. Also, it is very reasonably priced, which means you get very good value for your money. They vary in weight, the one I cooked here weighed about 2 lbs.

Cooking it: As stated in the link Jerod posted, you don't want to go beyond medium rare or medium. I have no idea about my grill temp, as I winged this one. I figured it would go quick, and it did. I did monitor the meat temp though, using my Thermapen. I cooked it on indirect (relatively low) heat until it reached an internal temp of 125 deg F. I then seared it until it hit 140 deg F internal temp. That's when I removed it, wrapped it with aluminum foil and butter, and let it rest 10 minutes.

I don't think my indirect heat was that low, I am guessing somewhere around 300 deg F. I will measure next time to be sure. The point of cooking indirect is to bring it up to temp slowly (of course). I think it is extra important with a cut like this.

As for the salt: I got the idea from a friend's friend's dad who is from Brazil. He covers it with a load of flake salt. He then grills the meat until done. He then grabs it by one end with a pair of grill tongs , holds it up in the air and "slaps it" to get rid of the remaining salt before serving. I thought it sounded very cool, and simple, so that's what I did.

I didn't measure the amount, but I used approx. 2-3 tablespoons. I took roughly one tablespoon of salt in my palms, rubbed them once or twice together to 'crumble' the flakes, and rubbed it in the meat. I would say I cover it with salt like I cover a pork butt with rub, if that makes sense. You don't want to crumble the flakes too much. I did apply salt before tying it up, so the salt was applied on the "inside" also. It turned out fantastic. My wife absolutely loved it, so I'll apply just as much salt the next time.

Key factors to success:
1. Dry brine (of course).
2. Stringing the two muscles together tightly, so it becomes one "unit". I use a cotton thread that is made for cooking.
3. The flake salt
4. Indirect heat, then sear.
5. The butter wrap. Love it!

What I would do different next time: wrap it in a towel also (on top of the aluminum foil) for the rest. It cooled down to quickly, even though it only rested for 10 minutes. I always wrap in a towel, don't know why I missed it this time.

Also, the brick method works, but I may tweak it slightly next time, as I'm using a kamado. It is easier in a kettle that is wider in diameter than my grill.

[(Otherguy)]

Really helpful ... thanks, Henrick

[The Burn]

Stopped by a boutique-type butcher today - the type that likes to at fancy - they had some hangar steak for $16.95/lb, in the freezer! It's local, so it hasn't crossed state lines and doesn't get USDA graded but I have to hope that it's prime level meat. Regardless, that's just nuts. But you've got me in the mood for something in this genre for dinner tonight, so I need to go find me a good chunk of meat.

[fzxdoc]

Henrik, that is one delicious-looking hanger steak. Plus I like the idea of smacking the roast to get rid of the excess salt. It will make a fine show for my guests if I try it! It would be hilarious to make a newborn baby cry right after the smack.

I posted a question over on Meathead's recipe for Gaucho Chimichurri Sauce about the possibility of botulinum toxin in oil-based fresh herb sauces. Apparently it grows quickly at room temp and the growth is slowed only somewhat by refrigeration. For years I've made my own recipe for chimichurri sauce and stored it in the fridge for a few days as the leftover steak gets eaten.

In the recipe for Adam Perry Lang's Board Sauce (thanks, Jerod for finding it for me), Meathead writes:

The only modification I have is to make the board sauce in a coffee cup about 30 minutes before the meat comes off the grill so the oil has a chance to extract more flavor from the herbs. Remember, most of the flavor in herbs is oil soluble. But you cannot make it up hours in advance because the anaerobic (oxygen free) environment in the oil is friendly to the botulism microbe. Even in the fridge.

Imagine my dismay, since making a chimichurri sauce several hours in advance helps to take out that raw garlic bite and let it mellow, IMO. Sometimes I made it up an hour or so before and left it at room temp. It's a wonder I didn't kill someone with botulism!

Have you ever heard anything about this?

Anyway, when I hear back from some of the site's gurus about that question, I'll let you know. Either that or you can click on that chimichurri sauce link above and scroll to the bottom of that page to read the discussion.

Kathryn

Oh and P.S. I'm sooooo going to try your recipe. My mouth waters every time I look at those hanger steak photos.

[Henrik]

Thanks for the info, good to know. I'll make my chimi as usual then.

[_Keith]

"It would be hilarious to make a newborn baby cry"
You monster.

[fzxdoc]

I'm refining my performance, Keith. I'll smack the hanger steak, make the "waaaaah" sound, then say "Welcome to the world, Baby Hanger Steak". OK. I'm getting silly. I've cooked for 9 hours today in preparation for Turkey Day tomorrow, so I must be punchy.

Kathryn

[Marauderer]

Kathryn, buy quality ingredients and having a clean working environment goes a long ways in preventing problems with bacteria. There are no guarantees in life. I didn't realize that some of the things I do on a regular basis is grounds for salmonella and other problems. I am now trying to decide if it is a wake up call to change my ways or to keep doing what I have been for the past 40 yrs. I do understand that we have more germs than ever before and that more and more of them are becoming medication resistant. It is something to ponder.

[fzxdoc]

Barry, I like Meathead's sensible approach to this sort of thing. He describes the risks and makes good recommendations that don't get in the way of making great food.

Kathryn

[David Parrish]

Pics are working fine for me. If you guys are still having trouble with picture uploading can you post the issue in the suggestion box? I'll have our IT guys take a look.

[Henrik]

So, Pit Boss, stupid question, perhaps, but where do I find the suggestion box? I did go through the ToC, as well as search, but didn't find anything. Let me know, and I'll add some feedback, as I would love to see this resolved. Just did some photo upload tests and took screenshots.

[Huskee]

@Henrik, it's on the main page of The Pit, where the individual channels are, toward the very bottom.

[Henrik]

Thanks, Huskee, found it! Posted my issues with screenshots.