How to Make a Cheap Cut of Steak Taste Like Filet Mignon.
BY HEATHER FISHEL.
Living on a budget often means compromising what you want for what you need—or at least, for what's affordable. But that doesn't necessarily mean you have to compromise on flavor, especially if you know the right tips and tricks to make something spectacular out of the ordinary.
That's exactly what salt and the right amount of time will do for your cheaper cuts of steak: turn them into buttery, juicy slabs of meat that taste more like high-priced cuts.
A note before we get down into the nitty-gritty of this (extremely easy) method: this is not salt curing, which preserves meat for long stretches of time by exposing meat to salt and nitrites over a prolonged period. What we're doing instead is tenderizing the meat by marinating the steak in salt before cooking it over heat.
How to Tenderize Your Cheap Steak with Salt.
Jack Scalfani of the YouTube Cooking with Jack Show demonstrates how any piece and cut of steak can become as high-quality as filet mignon. All you need is salt and about an hour or two, depending on the steak's thickness.
Place your (cheap) steak on a baking sheet or in a pan and coat its entire top surface with salt. Yes, you heard that right—bury the entire slab of meat in salt. Make sure you're using a coarse grain, such as coarse sea salt or kosher salt. Table salt cannot be substituted; due to its fine grain size, it dissolves and is absorbed too quickly into the meat and over-salts the steak.
Now it's time to let the meat marinate. Leave the salted steak untouched and at room temperature, basing the length of your marinade on the thickness of your cut. Each inch in thickness equates to one hour of letting it sit: if your steak is two inches thick, you'll want it to marinate for two hours, and so on.
When time is up, rinse your steak very thoroughly, washing off all of the visible salt on the surface. As the salt sloughs off, you should see and feel tenderness in the meat. Additionally, the color of the meat will be slightly darker than before—very similar to an aged cut.
After rinsing, pat your steak dry with paper towels. Don't skip this step: if the surface of the steak isn't dry, you'll be steaming your meat instead of heating the steak surface directly.
Lastly, grill or cook your steak to the doneness you desire—of course, skip the salting step you would normally incorporate in your cooking method. The resulting steak will be tender, flavorful, and oh-so-juicy.
Why Salt Works So Well on Steak.
According to this quoted explanation from On Food and Cooking, when salt is added well ahead of cooking time it dissolves the muscle fibers by forcing protein-based filaments to swell and separate. These denatured muscle fibers then trap the fat molecules and now-brined juice of the steak.
Since low-priced cuts of meat feature more tough tendons and muscle fibers than the prime, more expensive cuts, salting them in advance both tenderizes and improves its consistency and flavor.
If you'd like a more in-depth and step-by-step diagram of this chemical process, Jaden of Steamy Kitchen has an excellent and funny explanation that I recommend.
How Well Did This Trick Work for You?
Steak, especially high-quality cuts like filet mignon, are known for being both expensive and exclusively for higher budgets. But thanks to coarse salt, the cheapest of cuts can still result in a delicious and tender piece of steak. (If you're not a big salt fan, you can use kiwi, papaya, or pineapple instead of salt.)
If we had it our way, we’d be eating porterhouse and ribeye for dinner every night of the week. Then again, if we had it our way, pay day would be every day and bourbon—all of the bourbon everywhere—would be free. Unfortunately, we hardly ever get to have it our way. We pay for our bourbon, we wait patiently for Friday, and when our wallets wince at ribeye, we settle for some of the “lesser” cuts of beef: Flank, brisket, London broil, hanger, chuck eye, etc. But there’s always a way to eat it without breaking your bank or some teeth in the process.
London Broil (Top Round) with Herb Butter.
Top round, also popularly called London Broil, is one of the cheapest cuts of steak money can buy, but it’s one of our favorites because of its availability and because it’s so damn easy to prepare if you know what you’re doing. This recipe calls for a skillet, but would do just fine on a conventional grill, too. The steak gets a simple marinade of soy sauce, Worcestershire, lemon juice, olive oil, beef bouillon, salt, and pepper, and the herb butter really sets it off with chives, parsley, tarragon, and lemon juice (we like to throw in some fresh garlic, too).
When it comes to cheaper cuts, preparation and marinating is important as cooking. Do not forget to add the lemon juice and soy sauce to the marinade, make sure you’re marinating it for long as possible (up to one day), and make sure you’re cutting against the grain so it stays tender.
Slow Cooked Wine Braised Beef Brisket.
Another extraordinarily inexpensive cut, brisket is cut from the breast and lower chest of the cow. Because it is such a dense muscle that works hard, it is chock full of connective tissue and must be cooked perfectly for it to be worthwhile. That’s exactly why the low-and-slow technique of a slow cooker suits it so well.
This particular recipe calls for tomato paste, onions, carrots, Worcestershire, garlic, and a little liquid smoke and chili powder to keep things flavorful. But most importantly, it calls for red wine. The alcohol in the red wine helps soften all that connective tissue, and the slow cooking process over the span of 10-12 hours leaves this dish incredibly tender and juicy, as well as exceptionally flavorful.
Texas-Style Smoked Brisket.
We’re giving brisket two spots on the list not because it’s a great of a cut, but because we’d be remiss not to include a smoked brisket recipe here. Another low and slow process of cooking—but one that yields an entirely different kind of meal—this Texas-style barbecue recipe is superb. It’ll take you a little longer to set up, and you may need to get creative if you don’t have a dedicated smoker, but in the end, it’s totally worth it. The best part is prepping the meat takes almost nothing, save for a little salt and pepper. Why? Because like most smoked barbecue, your brisket will pick up the majority of its flavor from the hickory/oak/apple wood chunks you’ll be using. Trust us when we tell you that if done properly, this is probably some of the best meat you’ll ever have in your life, let alone best brisket.
No-Nonsense Chuck Eye Steak.
Chuck steak covers a lot of area on a cow, and you’ll find everything from shoulder meat right on through to the ribs. The “chuck eye” cut isn’t a very common cut, but when you can find it, it’s an incredible piece of meat that comes at a low cost. While ribeye is cut from ribs 6-12 on a cow, the chuck eye steak is cut from the fifth. It’s a little smaller and admittedly not as tender or flavorful as the rib eye, but it’s called “The Poor Man’s Rib Eye” for a reason. For a fraction of what you’d get a normal rib eye, you can have a wonderfully tender everyday steak to rival it.
Like other steaks, we prefer this in red-hot cast-iron skillet, liberally seasoned with kosher salt, black pepper, and rubbed down with olive oil. We also advocate some healthy butter basting, with some thyme, rosemary, and a clove or two of garlic for good measure.
Pan Seared Flat Iron (Top Blade) Steak With Peppercorns and Blue Cheese Butter.
Of all the steaks on this list, the flat iron probably has the most interesting story. It was developed by a team of researchers at the University of Nebraska and University of Florida who were tasked with figuring out what to do with an otherwise unusable cut of beef from the cow shoulder. The cut showed good marbling and proved tender, but was marred by a massive piece of tough connective tissue that ran directly through the middle of the cut. The research team found a way to cut the tissue out, and so was born the Flat Iron (also known as the Top Blade).
It looks a lot like top round and can be prepared and cooked as such, but this recipe for peppercorn-crusted flat iron steak slathered in blue cheese butter is absolutely delicious. This cut of steak is incredibly tender, and cooked medium rare, delivers some of the most enjoyable steak experiences you’ll ever have—on a budget or not.
Classic Braised Beef Short Rib.
Beef short rib can come in a couple different cuts; smaller cubes, longer strips, bone-in, and boneless. What we love most about this inexpensive cut is that for all intents and purposes, it doesn’t matter how you buy it because no matter what you do with it, it’s sure to be delicious. While you can definitely season and grill beef short ribs like any other cut of beef, we’re big fans of braised short rib because it’s easy to do and yields melt-in-your-mouth tender steak.
If you’re looking for a more no-fuss recipe, there are plenty of slow cooker braised short rib recipes out there, but we love this recipe because try as we might, we can’t find a single thing wrong with it. Your base is a mix of onion, garlic, beef broth and a little Worcestershire sauce, and even though it takes about 3 hours to cook, it’ll quickly make its way to the top of your favorite steak dishes list.
Grilled Mojo-Marinated Skirt Steak.
Another very cheap cut of steak, most people complain that skirt steak is just too tough for anything other than use in a fajita or some kind of steak taco. And hey, we love steak tacos as much as the next hombres, but this is still incorrect. When it comes to skirt steak, it’s really all about how you marinade the cut, how you cook the cut, and how you slice the cut.
This recipe calls for a mix of homemade mojo with olive oil, minced garlic, ground cumin, salt, chopped cilantro, and a mix of both lime and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Keep in mind that citrus is super important, because it’ll soften up all that rough connective tissue. Let it marinate overnight, and grill it accordingly—high heat, flipping occasionally. The recipe also involves creating a pan sauce with the leftover marinade, which we aren’t opposed to.
Barbecued Tri-Tip.
Tri-tip is another particularly low cost cut of beef that we pick up any time we see it. The only issue is that it may be incredibly difficult to find for you non-West Coasters out there. But, if you can find it, this will quickly become your favorite cut because it’s very thick, very well-marbled, and offers up exactly the kind of flavor you think of when you dream about a fresh grilled steak. It’s cut from the bottom sirloin part of the cow, and is famous for being incredibly versatile and tender. In the Santa Maria valley of Southern California where this steak became famous, it is usually smoked with red oak, but this classic rub of salt, pepper, garlic, cumin, and a hint of coriander would also do well on the grill. All you need to do is liberally rub the seasoning over the steak, and cook it your preferred way.
A baker bakes breads, pastries, pies, cakes, cookies, tarts, and other baked goods by combining raw ingredients according to recipes. Though the traditional idea of a baker is somebody who works in his own bakery and caters to a local market, nowadays, bakers may also work in specialty shops or restaurants where they produce smaller quantities for consumption at the location itself, or in manufacturing positions where they oversee the production of large quantities of goods for distribution. Becoming a baker involves enrolling in a training program at a supermarket, or apprenticing with a craft baker to gain practical experience. If you want to know how to become a baker, see Step 1 to get started.
Part 1 Getting the Training.
1. Have a high school diploma. Though it’s not mandatory for you to get a high school diploma to become a baker, having one can help you become a more desirable candidate. For one thing, high school will help you learn basic math, as well as other concepts that can help you in your profession. Additionally, you may choose to go to culinary school to get a leg up in your field, and you’ll need a high school diploma to do that. Though it may not be worth it for you to go back to high school to become a baker, if you’re still in high school, you should finish the course.
While you’re in high school, you should take home economics, cooking, or other baking-related elective courses to help you get a head start on your passion and career.
2. Attend a technical or culinary school. A technical or culinary school can help you improve your craft, learn more techniques, and to find your niche as a baker. These programs typically last from 1 to 2 years and they will give you an education in nutrition, health, and mathematics, among other relevant subjects. If this sounds like the best path for you, look into programs in your area that offer a reasonable financial package and take your studies seriously.
You shouldn’t look at this experience as slowing you down from being a real baker. You can even begin working as an apprentice or trainee in your area while being in school, if you can make the time commitment for both.
If you want to be a high end pastry chef, for example, then you should get trained at the best program you can afford. This kind of work is highly specialized and extra training will give you the edge you need to get noticed and hired.
3. Apply to be an apprentice or trainee in your area. You can be a trainee at a local store or supermarket, where you’ll learn more basic cooking skills, like how to bake a variety of cookies, or you can become an apprentice at an artisan bakery, where you’ll learn more complicated skills, like how to bake cakes. This training typically takes 1-3 years, and you may be able to find an apprenticeship for aspiring bakers at a bakery in your area. Of course, it always helps to have some connections, or to have worked at a bakery or local store in some capacity so you have a leg up when looking for work as a baker.
It’s common for bakers to start out as an apprentice or a trainee in a bakery or grocery store, working on learning the basics of baking, icing, and decorating.
As you work as an apprentice or trainee, you’ll also learn topics such as basic sanitation procedures and nutrition.
If you begin your training or apprenticeship in a manufacturing facility, then you will also learn how to operate industrial-sized blending and mixing machines for producing baked goods.
You can also look into becoming a baker’s assistant if you have the experience and determination to do so.
4. Choose a specialty. Though you don’t need to make this decision as soon as you begin your training or apprenticeship, it helps to have an idea of the type of baking you’re most interested in. You can be an in-store, plant, or craft baker. Being a craft baker requires the most skill, and you can also work your way up to becoming successful in this field by starting off at a store or a plant. Here’s what else you should know about choosing what type of baker you want to be.
Plant or commercial bakers most often work in manufacturing facilities that make baked goods at high speeds. If you choose this route, you’ll need to learn to use high-volume industrial machines, ovens, and conveyors, and you must carefully follow instructions and schedules. There’s definitely less room for creativity in commercial baking than in craft baking.
In store or retail bakers most commonly work in specialty shops, bakeries, or grocery stores. They produce a smaller volume of baked goods for people to buy or to eat directly in the store. They may even take orders from customer, prepare special-order goods, and, depending on where they work, they may even serve the customers themselves.
Some retail bakers even own their own shops. In this case, they’ll need to not only make a variety of breads, pastries, pies, and cupcakes, but they’ll also have to hire, train, and supervise staff, as well as budget their supplies, set their prices, and manage daily production.
5. Consider getting certified. Though you don’t have to get certified to become a true baker, certification can help show that you have the knowledge and skills to work at a retail baking establishment. It can help you catch the attention of bakeries where you want to work, and it can help you stand out from the rest of the candidates. There are different areas of specialization that you can get certified in, which include management, retail sales, baking sanitation, and staff training. To become certified, you must meet a series of requirements, which are based on both your experience and your education, before taking an exam to prove your competence.
There are different levels of certification based on your level of experience. For example, to be a certified journey baker, you don’t need any formal education, but you do need 1 year of work experience. To be a certified baker, you need to have 4 years of work experience, and to call yourself a certified master baker, you’ll need 8 years of work experience, along with 30 hours of professional development training and 30 hours of sanitation coursework.
Part 2 Possessing the Qualities.
1. Be detail-oriented. Being detail-oriented is an incredibly important part of the job, even if you’re working as a commercial baker. You’ll need to closely monitor your baked goods to make sure that they don’t burn while being cooked to perfection. If you bake cupcakes or cakes, then you’ll need to have an eye for detail in order to decorate those cakes and cupcakes to perfection. You’ll also need an eye for detail in order to follow recipes and cooking instructions to perfection, or to tweak those recipes thoughtfully if you’re trying out something slightly different.
You’ll also need an eye for detail if you’re taking orders from customers so you know exactly what they want.
2. Be creative. Though you may think that creativity may be the last skill you need when it comes to being a baker, in fact, you may need to use your creative faculties to succeed in your career. If you work as a craft baker and create your own recipes, you may need your creativity to try something different, so you can keep your customers interested in your goods. You may also need your creativity if you’re missing a certain ingredient or two while still needing to cook a certain baked good or pastry, or if you want to fix a recipe where something has already gone wrong. Sometimes, the most important part of your job will lie in improvising, and you’ll need your creativity to make things work.
Of course, if you don’t work for yourself, you shouldn’t spend all day experimenting, or you’ll have an unhappy boss and many confused customers. However, if you have the means and the green light, then being creative can lead to some of your best discoveries.
3. Have strong people skills. You may think that bakers work in isolation, perfecting their craft as they make delicious treats. However, people skills are actually vital for most bakers. If you work in a retail store where you have to interact with customers, then you’ll need to have people skills in order to talk to customers, take their orders, and keep them happy with your store and your products. As you move further along in your career, you may have people working under you or you may even own your own bakery. If that’s the case, then you’ll definitely need those people skills in order to train, or even to supervise or hire your employees.
Even if you don’t have anyone working under you, it’s likely that you’ll be baking along with several other bakers. Being able to get along with your coworkers will make for a more pleasant work environment, and will make your work easier and more enjoyable.
4. Have strong basic math skills. Having a strong grasp of basic math is essential to being a great baker because you’ll need to understand math, especially fractions, in order to mix recipes, weigh your ingredients, or adjust your recipes to fit a given quantity. If you didn’t get formal math training in a high school or certification program, then it’s important to brush up on basic math on your own. Having these skills can make or break a recipe, and you don’t want to end up ruining a batch of croissants because you didn’t know how to multiply fractions.
If you were never an ace at math, don’t worry about it. You don’t need to learn calculus or trigonometry to make delicious baked goods. You should, however, learn how to add, subtract, or multiply numbers with ease.
Part 3 Going on the Job.
1. Wake up early. Though many bakers typically work a 40-hour workweek, they don’t normally work the 9-5 shift. In fact, many of them get up as early as two o’clock in the morning in order to prepare their baked goods for the morning shift. They’ll need to be morning people in order to get the job done, and sleeping in or getting tired in the morning is not an option, because this will be the most important time of your day. If you want to be a baker, then you have to be prepared to get up early to start preparing your recipes, mixing your ingredients, and making sure that your baked goods are cooked to perfection.
The good news is, since your working day will start early, it will tend to wrap up earlier than the evening. Some bakers are done working by the early or late afternoon.
2. Complete your daily tasks. Being a baker is about more than just cooking. When you go on the job, you will be required to complete a number of tasks, which will vary a bit depending on the type of baker you are and your place of employment. However, many aspects of the job are true for any baker. Here are some of the things you’ll be expected to do.
Prepare your equipment for baking
Weigh and measure ingredients for cooking
Combine the ingredients in mixers or blenders
Knead, roll, cut, and shape your dough
Place the shaped dough on sheets, molds, or pans
Set the oven temperature
Place your items in grills or ovens
Observe your goods as they cook
Apply toppings, icing, or glaze when your goods have cooked
3. Perform well under pressure. Baking is very time-sensitive, both in managing the time it takes to make each baked good, and in delivering your products to customers in a timely manner. Many bakers are often under pressure to create delicious goods while also producing them rapidly, especially when they have a large customer base. In order to succeed as a baker, you’ll have to be able to perform well in a time crunch.
One way to make it easier for yourself to perform well in a time crunch is to make sure that your work station and recipe information are organized. That way, you won’t waste time looking for something you misplaced.
Bakers have a higher rate of injuries than people in other professions because of the heavy and often hot equipment that they work with. You’ll need to wear protective clothing and keep your cool while being on the job in order to stay safe. You can let a time crunch affect your safety.
4. Stay physically fit. In order to be a baker, you must have both physical strength and stamina. You’ll need strength in order to carry the ingredients and equipment you’ll be using, such as heavy bags of flour, large baking equipment, and cooked baked goods. You’ll also need to have physical stamina because most bakers rarely sit down. You’ll spend most of the day on your feet while you prepare recipes, package your goods, check on your goods while they’re baking, or when you monitor your employees or chat with customers.
Being physically fit is an important part of the job. It’s important that you get your exercise and eat well to stay prepared for the daily rigors of the job.
5. Be prepared for a unique schedule. In addition to waking up early, many bakers have a work schedule that is far from typical. Because baked goods are high in demand during holidays, many bakers will be expected to work on Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, or other holidays when people typically order more baked goods. They may also be required to work more on weekends, since bakeries are often at their most busy during these times. If they work at a commercial bakery that bakes continuously, then they may be subjected or required to work late in the evenings and on weekends.
This doesn’t mean that bakers work more than the average employee, but it does mean that they work different hours. In fact, 1 in 3 bakers worked part-time in 2012.
