ArcaMax

The Porterhouse Primer

As one of seven children, I didn’t eat a lot of steak as a child. There were just too many mouths to feed and we couldn’t afford it.

I do remember when most of the older kids had left home, my parents took to serving fondue on Sunday evenings. There were just two of us kids of steak-eating-age at the time, so we were allowed little bits of steak that we could cook in the boiling oil of the fondue pot. Truth be told, we had more chicken bits to put in the pot than we did beef cuts, but we were allowed a little bit. We knew it was a fancy deal.

Fast forward to my young adulthood. I went on a trip to New York City where I saw my first dry aged meats hanging in the famous Gallagher Steak House. That was about 40 years ago, but Gallagher’s still exists. In this picture you can see the dry aging room.

That evening I had my first T-Bone Steak. BIG YUM. I was hooked...

Read the full column at PlanZDiet.com

Porcini Mushroom Sauce

Related Recipes at PlanZDiet.com:

Great Steak
Caramelized Leek Mashed Potatoes

This is a ZReboot recipe.

Servings: Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup of porcini mushrooms
¼ cup of ruby port
½ cup of water
1 Tbl of olive oil
1 Tbl of butter
3 Tbl of finely diced shallots
½ cup of prepared beef or beef/veal demi-glace
Sea salt and ground black pepper (to taste)
2 Tbl of butter
Whisper of cayenne (optional)

Instructions:

First thing is to prep the mushrooms. I do this early in the day. In a small bowl, just add the mushrooms with the water and port. Let them soak. (If you can’t do this early in the day you’ll need a good 30 minutes. They need to soften)

Drain the mushrooms and coarsely chop them.

In a saute pan add the olive oil and the butter. Put in your mushrooms and your shallots. Saute on medium until the shallots are loosened and the liquid begins to dissipate from the mushrooms. Stir often. Add the prepared demi-glace and stir. (Mine comes as a gel so I scoop out what I need and just add water to the pan. Keep stirring til it melts. Sometimes it comes frozen with the water already in it and you might just have to thaw it. All brands are different. Just follow the instructions on the container.)

Season with salt and pepper. Taste to make sure the mushrooms are done to your liking. The sauce will be glossy and fairly thick. Then turn OFF the heat. Add the rest of the butter to give it even more richness. Stir to incorporate. Decide if you want to add a whisper of cayenne. I do it just to give the flavor a bit of brightness. Not spicy heat.

Serve over your protein.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola