I’m watching the Travel Channel and there’s a feature on steak houses. Peter Luger, okay. The Hilltop Steak House in Saugus, MA is on right now and they keep showing shots of the line cooks poking the steaks with forks. NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
What the hell ! Did they learn to cook at Denny’s ? How can they feel the meat ? After working in restaurant kitchens for 20 yrs , that is a NO NO .
Feeling the meat is the most fun part!
But seriously, folks, as far as feeling the meat, I have trouble on the grill knowing when to turn. I am fairly proficient at the end of cooking on judging the cooking temp by feel, but I never know when to turn. I always get one side more done than the other.
Yep, they stuck two-pronged forks in them to turn them, not to mention poking them to see if they were done. Reminds me of this upscale supermarket where I went to buy some fish one time. They had one of those little hooks butchers used to use for liver, and the person behind the counter decided to poke my salmon fillet with it to get it out of the case. I almost screamed, “Don’t gaff my fucking fish!”
Now they’re featuring some place in Amarillo where you can order a 72-ounce Porterhouse. Jeezus . . . even Freakmount and Manlin couldn’t eat one of those together.
Come hang with Tex and me at Berserkerfest and we’ll teach you.
I’ll be on the third BBQ. Hang out with me and you won’t have to worry about unsightly hair on your arms, won’t have to pluck your eyebrows and you’ll get your bangs trimmed.
Edit - Forgot, I never, never use a fork to turn or test the meat, always tongs. It’s too hard to get a fork into charcoal.
RUN, LINDA!
You never want to pierce the meat with a fork or anything while cooking. Watch the guys when you are here. In the meantime here is a guide for you that works
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/007259the_finger_test_to_check_the_doneness_of_meat.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Bob…I was watching the same show…it seemed that the size of the meat/cut was the attraction there…and that the quality of the meat came second…that being said, I’m sure the meat was nice…but it was not prime.
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- Still…no excuse for poking a steak with a two pronged fork.
Give your meat a nice dry rub and pat it well. Go slow, be gentle.
Then give each side a nice sear.
Then lower heat, and when the juice rises, (you see it on top of the meat,) turn it to the other side.
Depending on heat, size and thickness, a normal steak I turn once to each side after searing and get medium rare. The juice rising is telling you that its reaching a nice internal temperature.
When you stop getting the juice its overdone. When you take it off the grill, let the meat rest 10 minutes so that when you cut it all the juice doesn’t come out.
When you slice a larger cut, always slice against the grain to maximize tenderness. Some cuts like tri-tip are two pieces of muscle, the muscle fiber runs two ways. I look where it changes in the middle and cut them in half before slicing each piece against the grain.
The Hill Top is a restaurant that is more known for the plastic cows out front than the real cow inside… Need I say more?
What Jud said…It’s an enormous place near us. Everyone has been who lives here (admit it). it’s average food - but you don’t really expect more than that.
Ps - they had tow locations and one closed. they auctioned off the cows and I completely wanted one for my yard (not kidding at all). Here is a pict a friend took of one of the cows in someone’s truck:
All the more reason not to use the fork.
Dear me, look what Sur la Table is selling.
i just want grill tips at berserkerfest! Watch the masters at work! 
IMNSHO, waiting this long will result in a steak (if that’s what you’re cooking) that’s woefully overdone. Works really well with frozen hamburger patties, though - and that’s from experience cooking them on a large scale for anywhere from 25-1500 people.
Frank Ostini the chef/owner of the Hitching Post taught me that technique. (Best steaks I’ve ever had.)
What do you do? Do you sear the outside first? How do you know when to turn? (I prefer medium rare generally.)
If it’s good enough for Frank it ought to be good enough for me, but I don’t do it. Julia Child used to say that when the juices surfaced after turning you had a perfectly medium-rare steak. That always worked for me, but only on thinner-cut steaks. You gotta be careful, though. You want to pull them when the very first droplets appear, which is why my initial reaction to Frank’s technique was negative.
How do I do it? Voodoo, I guess. Yes, I sear them first and move them off direct heat if they’re thick. I don’t time the things and just sort of go by gut instinct which I realize doesn’t help anyone else, but I think the last time I screwed up a steak was about 30 years ago.
My secret voodoo:
For thick steaks, as in tonight’s 20 ounce two inch Prime strip, I will cook on the Weber running full throttle for 30 seconds per pound. So 10 minutes total for this critter. Divide the time by four. Sear for 1/4 count, rotate 90 degrees for 1/4 count, flip and sear for 1/4 count, rotate 90 degrees and finish. Rest for 10 minutes. Perfect medium rare that was leaning to rare.