Beef buying basics: The T-bone

I haven’t done a beef buying basics post in a while and, since it happens to be one of my favorite subjects, I knew it was time. I decided I’d pick a specific cut and focus on it — what it is, how to cook it, anything else you should know. If you like this type of post, be sure to let me know and I’ll write more like it… featuring different cuts, of course.

Tonight, I feature the T-bone, a delicious cut that just happened to be on sale at my favorite local beef source this evening.

Here’s what a T-bone looks like, pre-grilling, seasoned with only coarse sea salt and coarse pepper. (See all that marbling? Yum!)

As you can see, the T-bone is actually made up of 2 separate cuts of beef. The longer, more narrow piece of meat is the strip steak (also known as New York strip, top loin, Kansas City steak or club streak), while the round piece is the tenderloin (also known as the filet or filet mignon).  Both of these cuts meet the government’s guidelines for lean, so when you purchase a T-bone, you’re actually getting 2 great lean steaks in 1!

Now, you might be thinking, That looks a lot like a Porterhouse. Well, you’re right! They do look similar, because they are. The Porterhouse is also made up of the strip steak and tenderloin. The only difference is the Porterhouse has a larger tenderloin. To be exact, according to beefitswhatsfordinner.com,  the tenderloin on a T-bone is no less than ½-inch in diameter, while the tenderloin on a Porterhouse is between ½-inch and 1 ¼-inch in diameter.

I like T-bones for several reasons:

1.)    They are lean, yet tender and flavorful.

2.)    Can’t decide between a tenderloin or a strip (2 of my favorite cuts)? You get the best of both worlds with a T-bone.

3.)    There are always leftovers. I can usually get about 3 meals off of a T-bone.

4.)    They are easy to prepare. They don’t need a special marinade or rub to be tender and delicious. In fact, I just seasoned these with salt and pepper and threw them on a hot grill for about 8 minutes per side and they were perfect.

5.)    While I love a good filet, I rarely cook them because it’s just not enough meat for the Mr.’s big appetite. But if I make T-bones, I get some buttery deliciousness from the small tenderloin while he gets a big steak.

Here’s what they looked like fresh off the grill:

Did you like this post? Would you like to hear more about other great cuts of beef?

WebLove: Chef Rory Schepisi on ‘Today’

The Boot Hill Saloon and Grill in Vega, Texas, has been on my steakhouse bucket list for a while, so I was very excited to see its chef, Rory Schepisi, on Today this week. Of course, after forgetting to set the DVR (I don’t have a TV in my home office) I actually watched the segment online the next day.

She’s cooking up some strip steaks, blue cheese sliders and banana-blueberry cheesecake, so be sure to check out the clip below for some perfect-for-summer ideas! As a side note, isn’t she great? I feel like we could be friends. You know, in a completely non-creepy, you-seem-cool-from-the-Internet way.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

York Ranches Green Chile Steak

When a cattleman friend asked if I’d like one of his family’s beef recipes last week, I jumped at the opportunity. And when the message came through, I knew I was going to like it. I also knew you guys would like it because it’s easy and extremely economical!

Ingredients

1 large round steak, tenderized and cut into portions*

Flour

Fajita seasoning

Black pepper

Chili powder

Vegetable shortening

1 can diced green chiles (I used hot, but you can use mild if you prefer)

2 – 8 ounce cans tomato sauce

*You can do this yourself if you have round steak on hand, or do what I did and buy a package of cube steaks — pre-tenderized and cut round steak.

Directions

Sprinkle seasonings on both sides of each steak

Roll steaks in flour

Brown in shortening

Cover with tomato sauce and green chilies, then fill both tomato sauce cans with water and add to mixture

Simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours or until tender

If needed, add more hot water to mixture while simmering

The source recommended serving over rice. I didn’t have rice, so I served it with some cheese and jalapeno nachos and tortillas.

It looked like this:

Peppercorn steak

We love peppercorns around here, and I’m always looking for ways to use them. Recently, though, I started thinking about the yummy peppercorn steak Cattlemen’s Steakhouse in Oklahoma City, Okla., makes, which just happened to be featured on this episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. (Love that show!)

I did a little Googling and was excited to find the official recipe online here.

Tonight, I tried it out and it turned out beautifully. Of course, I had to share!

Here’s what ours looked like:

(This may be my first time to capture so much steam in a picture. Weird!)

A return to blogging, meet 'Vegas'

I’m back!

First of all, I apologize for my lack of posts over the last couple of weeks. It’s been a crazy time with 8 of the last 19 nights being spent in a hotel room. But things should be back to normal for about a month, and I am excited to get back on track with my blogging efforts!

While I hope to be bringing you a great new recipe tonight if all goes well in the kitchen, how about for now I give you a look at our newest addition?

Meet Vegas. She’ll be 12 weeks old on Thursday and has been with us since Saturday.

Here’s a couple of camera phone pics of her first few days. I hope to get the SLR out and take some good photographs of her in the next few days, and I’ll be sure to share some!