Delmonico Over Cabernet Stave - Need Sauce Suggestion ?

[mclifford973]

Hello from Michigan,

Saw a beautiful Delmonico at the market today, so I will grill that for dinner. Remembered I also have the Steven Raichelen (sp?) cabernet soaked wine barrel staves which I love. I just recently got a new batch. I was thinking a peppercorn sauce too..but am not sure.

Suggestions for tonight? Staves, yes or no. Sauce, yes or no. If yes to sauce, what would you suggest?

Thanks!
Melissa

[Breadhead]

Bernaise sauce is nice...

[ecowper]

I am not a big fan of sauce on steak, except sometimes filets. Most beef really stands on its own. But if you want a "sauce", my recommendation is Maitre D' butter. 1 stick of good butter, softened at room temp. 1 tbsp each of parsley and basil, 4 cloves garlic minced finely, 1 tsp lemon juice. Cream it all into the butter with a spoon or small whisk until thoroughly incorporated. Wrap in parchment paper so it looks like a little log. Twist the ends to keep the parchment from unrolling. Then chill for at least 30 minutes.

Cut off a 1/4" (or so) of the butter and place on top of the steak while it is resting after it comes off the grill.

In fact, that is what I will be doing with my ribeye tonight. :-)

A lovely 1.5" thick ribeye steak ... It is dry marinading right now. Will use Meathead's reverse sear method and take off the grill at medium rare and throw a bit of Maitre D' butter on it. Serve with a green salad and a glass of wine.

[smarkley]

Melissa We need pics!

I am not sure what a Delmonico is... there are a few definitions. I would like to see what you are calling it, just for my education. Thanks!

[Mosca]

Around here a Delmonico is a boneless ribeye.

[mclifford973]

oops. I ate without a pic. I'm sorry. My store has Ribeye, has Delmonico and has Rib Steak (has bone) the other two in my store do not have bones. I will get a pic soon, lots of grilling to be done!

[Huskee]

I find, in my neck of the woods (MI too), Delmonicos seen th be chuck eyes, or chuckeyes. Essentially a boneless ribeye from further up the steer, slightly smaller than the classic ribeye. When they're labeled Demonico they're expensive. When labeled chuck eye, they're very affordable.

[mclifford973]

I haven't seen a chuckeye. When I think of Chuck...I think Chuck Roast which needs a longer slow cook and the meat when finished is more like thready. Strings. Good for shreddding. Is that what you are thinking?

[Huskee]

mclifford973 Don't let the word chuck confuse you. Chuck *roasts* are excellent for shredding/pulling just like pork butts. But a chuck eye steak is very very similar to a ribeye, just way cheaper and slightly smaller. "Delmonico" is less a cut and more a preparation, similar to the term "London Broil". Delmonicos can be different cuts depending where you shop and what they butcher there wants to call it, but they also could be one specific cut in a certain area of the country. If you ever run across a pack of chuck eye steaks (different still from "chuck steak") snag them up. Lemme know what you think!

[mclifford973]

Thanks! I'll keep my eye out!

[Huskee]

mclifford973 Juts realized I never actually helped answer your original question (sorry). I enjoy Meathead's Rich Red Wine Sauce. However, I personally think it's best on pork since it has (to me) a good presence of rosemary. My tongue thinks rosemary belongs on pork, but my wife and other dinner guests loved it on beef. You just may too. Otherwise a good chimichurri or a board sauce like Adam Perry Lang's Brilliant Board Sauce here on AmazingRibs is excellent on beef too.

[Breadhead]

Everything you ever need to know about a Delmonico steak.

http://www.steakperfection.com/delmonico/Steak.html

[Huskee]

Yup, seen that a while back. #1 seems to be the case near me, also #4 & #5.

[ecowper]

At my favorite steakhouse, they define a Delmonico as a bone-in New York. The Metropolitan Grill: http://www.themetropolitangrill.com. It is definitely the best steakhouse in Seattle and stacks up against anything else I've ever been to.

Anyhow, last night I cooked that ribeye .... outstanding :-)

[Breadhead]

ecowper. I agree that The Metropolitan Grill is one of the finest Steakhouses in the country. I dine there when I come up to watch Seahawks games with my Son, even though I'm an Arizona Cardinals fan.

[ecowper]

My wife and I love The Met .... we go there for special occasions .... anniversary, birthday, that sort of thing. A lot of times we will just sit in the bar and have dinner. Rob (head bartender) is a great guy who has been there for 20 years.

[smarkley]

well ecowper and others just proved you can't believe everything you read!

It remains a mystery to me. I guess it is a local thing... whatever your local butchers think a Delmonico is, then that's what it is. yes?

[Breadhead]

smarkley. Correct that's what it has turned into. If you read the article in the link I posted the 2 Chef's that originated that name used Sirloin steak and used a Bordelaise sauce on it. If you ask me my hunch is they were trying to market a cheaper cut of meat at high prices and got away with it. They also pounded that meat down to tenderize it some.

[smarkley]

yeah I read the article... amazing. The history of this thing is fun. I will start asking my local butchers what they think it is now hahahaha.

Not big on using sauces on steak, but I did try Meathead's chimichurri sauce once - it was good. My thought generally is if you try to use sauce on steak you must be covering something up

[Breadhead]

I agree on sauces. Good quality meat needs no sauce, except beef tenderloin. BT has so little fat it's hard to get much flavor out of it. I've tried most of Meathead's sauces. I like the Rich Red Wine sauce the best.

The thing that surprises me about Meathead's list of sauces is that he didn't include a Bernaise sauce. I think ALL high end Steakhouse's offer a Bernaise sauce. I'll bet it's the most popular sauce available for a Filet.