April 18th, 2011: Round Eye Chuck Steaks

This was a very random dinner. I had no intentions of really making anything elaborate that night, but I saw the steaks in the freezer and went "YEASH!" The fact is, I'm not a big steak eater, there's something odd about eating just a chunk of animal with some sauce. Although, man do I loves me some Filet Mignon wrapped in bacon, then again, I can't really afford that. So, I've been trying out some different cuts of meat to see if I can find one that I like and can afford. I decided I'd make kind of an "American" meal with this.

My first step was to marinate the steak, which I started by sweating some onions. Not a lot, just until they release their oniony goodness. After that I concocted a marinade of water, salt, paprika, ancho, chipotle, beer, mustard and black pepper. I marinated and then then seared the steaks. After searing them I placed them in the oven at 200 degrees for a few hours (I absolutely love slow cooking and am afraid I'll ruin the meat if I don't slow cook).

Sides? Assessing the situation I could see that I had red potatoes from the ribs, mayo, pickles and some frozen celery. I boiled up some potatoes and whipped together a simple and basic potato salad and then garnish the steak with some Sweet Baby Ray's Vidalia Onion BBQ Sauce and a Claussen Kosher Dill (the best pickle EVER). The meal turned out pretty good. The meat was a little dry, because I wanted to make sure it cooked through. I really should invest in a meat thermometer, then I wouldn't have to worry about not finishing food. Before calling it a night, I jacked up the salt content of my marinade, filled the pot and began brining my whole chicken for the next day. Blair was absolutely appalled at the fact that a pot filled with raw chicken juices was sitting next to her orange juice in the fridge. But, she sure appreciated the chicken the next day.