Steaks from Gilcrest Natural Farm

These are two new recipes from Amy Foster at Gilcrest that accompanied Amy's latest e-mail Newsletter:

Garlic Herb Shoulder Tender

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

This garlic rubbed shoulder tender is coated in just a few fresh herbs to give the steak a vibrant summer flavor without weighing it down. A few of these shoulder tenders served with some salad or stir fried veggies will make the perfect dinner. 

(Gluten Free, Primal, Soy Free, Nut Free, Refined Sugar Free)

Ingredients

·         1 shoulder tender steak from Gilcrest farm of course

·         1-2 heads rosemary, chopped
·         2-4 heads thyme, chopped
·         1 teaspoon granulated garlic
·         2 teaspoons salt
·         1 teaspoon pepper
·         1-2 tablespoons butter, for cooking

Instructions

1.      Rub the chopped rosemary, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper onto the shoulder tender. Heat a pan to medium high heat and grease with 1 tablespoon of butter. Place the shoulder tender in the pan and pan fry for about 10-15 minutes, flipping occasionally as needed and adding more butter if the pan dries out. Cook to 130 for rare, 135 for medium rare, and 140 for well done. 

Yields: 4 Servings 

Cook time: 15 minutes 

Black Pepper Teres Major Steak with Bleu Cheese and Bacon Cream Sauce

 Ingredients

·         2 teres major steaks from Gilcrest Farm (approximately 0.5 lb each)

·         kosher salt 

·         cracked black pepper 

·         1 tablespoon unsalted butter 

·         1 tablespoon flour 

·         1 cup whole milk 

·         2 oz. Maytag blue cheese 

·         2 slices thick-cut bacon (cooked and crumbled)

       And what is a Teres Major Steak you might ask?

·         The teres major is a sel­dom used mus­cle in the shoul­der that is sec­ond only to the ten­der­loin filet in ten­der­ness. This mus­cle requires skilled crafts­man to extract, but yields a won­der­ful din­ing expe­ri­ence and is a new lead­er in trendy white table cloth restau­rants.

·         The teres major steak is also referred to as a shoul­der ten­der. If sliced into medal­lions, they are appro­pri­ate­ly named petite ten­der medal­lions.”

·         It is very sim­i­lar to beef ten­der­loin (or filet mignon) in that it is also lean and uber ten­der, but not quite as lean as filet or ten­der­loin and thus it has bet­ter fla­vor and is gen­er­al­ly about a full third cheap­er. There’s a rea­son filets are wrapped in bacon. The bacon gives the filet fla­vor it just doesn’t have due to a lack of fat. While the petite ten­der is not quite as ten­der as the filet, it has more fat and thus is tastier. And when I say not quite as ten­der, I’m not say­ing it’s tough. It’s just about the most ten­der steak on the cow not named ten­der­loin.

·         Don’t both­er look­ing for a huge petite ten­der or teres major . They gen­er­al­ly don’t come larg­er than about 12 ounces. 

Instructions

Season both sides of the teres major steaks liberally with Kosher salt. Refrigerate steaks for 1 hour. Remove steaks from the refrigerator and allow them to come to room temperature. Prepare grill for high-heat cooking, approximately 500°F. Season both sides of the steaks with cracked black pepper and additional salt.

1. Grill steaks for 4–5 minutes per side until they reach an internal temperature of 130°F for medium rare.

2. Remove the steaks from the grill and close the grill’s bottom vents to lower the temperature to approximately 350°F.

3. Place a small skillet on the grill and add the butter. Once the butter has melted, add the flour and stir to make a paste. Add the milk and allow it to come to a boil. Once the sauce has thickened (approximately 2–3 minutes), stir in the blue cheese and crumbled bacon then add salt and cracked black pepper to taste.