Bought 2 full ribeye roast fm a local butcher. Both usda, and looked good. Plenty of fat and marbling. Fat looked like grass fed. Tuff and stringy. Cut into 1" steaks, 35lbs Tasted good but like chewing bubblegum. Grilled nonedible, Tried water bath 4hrs 140* still tuff, Another try… water bath 135* 10hrs, still tuff and not mushy. I like medium rare and this a lot of meat. Need help Please advise… Thanks
Welcome Joe, you actually saw the USDA ink on the fat cap. - correct?
Usually it’s trimmed off. Otherwise, it’s just words.
And the rodeo hasn’t been in town lately, has it?
Any aging on the meat? If not, or not much, that would explain the tough and stringy.
My crystal ball says it sees some Chili and Shepherds Pie in your future.
Don’t grill any more, that meat needs your tender loving care, - not an assault.
Medium-Rare is not 140F/60C, here we use 131F/55C and generally get satisfying results. Let’s get drastic to start. Vacuum pack one or 2 test steaks and SV cook them at 131F x 24 hours. Trust me, they won’t fall apart.
Then decant, pat dry, rub with a little vegetable oil, season with Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, plus any other seasoning you generally apply. Get your cast iron skillet up to medium-high for 5 to 7 minutes, and give the steak(s) a quick sear, flipping every 30 seconds. Four flips and done, out onto a warmed plate.
Try that and please report back right away. I’ll be watching.
Meanwhile, if the uncut roast is not Croyo-Vac sealed you’ll have to steak them pretty soon. I’d go 1 1/2-inch to 2-inches thick, but they are your steaks. Vacuum pack and freeze the remaining steaks until we resolve your challenge. Croyo-Vaced meat keeps good refrigerated for several weeks. It’s called wet-aging.
You can also generously Kosher salt a few of the cut steaks and keep them at the bottom of your refrigerator uncovered, or just barely covered, on a wire rack set in a rimmed pan. That’s dry-brining, and steaks like it. It’s better with thicker steaks than your guys.
Wow that is so much great info. The roasts were crovaced, and stamped usda. I fabricated to 1" steaks and vac pac froze in 2’s. We enjoyed horse during my time in France (not bad) so i think I’m ok. Now you sound like my wife, " time to grind into hamburgers" is what she said, and she makes great shepherd pie! Report after 10hrs 135*, the meat was great and very favorable… It was the connective tissue that made it very chewy . Will do a pack of 2 in the water for 24hrs at 131* tomorrow. So happy for your help. Will give you a back brief.
Thanks… Joe
In an after thought, these cuts remined me of a center chuck roll cut, (cowboy steaks) great taste but massif connective tissue…
Hi Joe, good to know my info was useful.
Thank you.
If you can handle Chevaline you are a certified carnivore. It’s available locally at specialty Northern European-style butchers.
That Chuck Roll cut is the continuation of the rib-eye muscle, only increasingly supported by connective tissue going forward. It’s my preferred cut for SV.
I rarely eat steak in its usual format. That way i don’t have to deal with that nasty band of grizzle. My guests are most likely to be served Steak Bites, cubes cut from SV cooked steak/roast, lightly oiled or mayo’d, and dredged in flaked salt, pepper, and minced fresh rosemary. Sometimes just in Montreal Steak too. I roll the cubes across a hot griddle and serve on a baby spinach covered platter and pass at the table along with a Wasabi Aioli, or something else interesting. That way guests who find a slab of meat unappealing aren’t confronted with its associated potential waste. And those that want a lot, can take a lot.
Keep well.
Thank you for the support. I am a certified carnivore. That’s why i was born with eye teeth… To rip flesh😉 Your approach sounds wonderful… . Made me hungry. Dropped two more steaks in the water this morning 131* and will pull in 24hrs. I will post back on the results. USDA on the label, not the fat cap. In the mean time i plan to check the Anova for temp accuracy. Well, I traveled the world in the military for 25yrs and am a certified MS.EE. That means I’m an anal Engineer🤗. My location now is Lawton OK… No Europa butchers within a 150 miles. I have made, smoked, cured, and processed home meats for 60+ years. First in the east coast with my family and than in Europa for 8 years, 4ys in the orient and 4ys in middle east. Again i appreciate your time and knowledge… Thanks, Joe
Which USDA grade was it?
