BWW Cooks: To Slice or Not to Slice Steak is a Major Question

To slice or not to slice - that is the question. In earlier years, we were taught to take meat, whether roast or steak, from the oven and then to let it rest before cutting it. The meat wasn't tired, but its juices needed to redistribute, and to disturb the meat's crust and cut it early was to allow the moisture to run out of the meat and onto the platter. The meat would be dry.

That's what set the stage for our normal picture of steak as a single piece of meat, beautifully grilled, marked, and crusted, sizzling on a platter and waiting for diners to cut them.

And what's caused amazement at celebrity chefs and others, from hotel restaurants to major steakhouses, is their current habit of presenting meat already sliced, fanned out on the plate or across a base of sauce or vegetables (or their purees). Certainly you immediately know if your steak was cooked as you ordered, provided you ordered medium-rare, for those who prefer more cooked meat can find themselves laughed out of a restaurant for requesting anything as unsophisticated as medium well. (If you want well-done meat in a decent steakhouse any more without being harassed, find a kosher steakhouse. Outside of several major cities, however, ones with very large Jewish populations, you'll be hard-pressed to pay for well-cooked steak without being made to feel like you're uncouth.) On the other hand, you've lost the delicious crust and its mouth feel, and you may just have lost the meat's juices. And the meat cools much more quickly.

But... a slab of roast beast? It's certainly indelicate and hard to plate in a contemporary way. You have to dig into it at various points to find if it's actually been cooked as you like, frequently discovering it after the wait staff has left the table.

And then there's prime rib, not even sold now in some major steakhouses. It's a large cut of beef, coming from a large roast of six ribs, roasted rather than grilled, and served with or without an au jus that can be a phenomenal treat on its own. It would seem to be a cruel and unusual act to slice it into fannable bits rather than enjoy the moist, beautiful slab presented.

On the other hand, the famed Peter Luger's steakhouse in New York slices its porterhouse, but then reassembles it along the bone. It's an elegant presentation, certainly, and is definitely a restaurant touch - it's much more work than a home cook would be expected to do.

The BBC, a bastion of cooking information not only for Brits but internationally, ducks the question for a home cook or grill master, advising that a steak may be served whole or sliced diagonally and fanned out, whichever presentation you prefer.

There is a definite reason to serve some beef cuts, like London Broil, sliced. Certain cuts, especially across the belly, are especially fibrous. These cuts benefit from thin slicing at service with the carving knife, not with table knives. Flank steak, skirt steak, and hanger steak all fall under this rule. Grill at a high temperature, and slice thinly on the diagonal - always ACROSS the grain. A steak you intend to serve as part of a meal salad, like a Thai steak salad or a Pittsburgh salad (French fry garnish required), should also be sliced for serving on the salad.

Keep your prime rib intact and eat it proudly. Do what you will with the steaks off your own grill - slice as you will, or keep the juices inside the steak until sitting down to eat. Or be artistic, or cook a flat-iron steak, and slice thinly to arrange your meat display. And if you're making beef salads, slice away, as you'll need to - solid large pieces of steak on top of your salad will wilt or even cook your salad greens underneath.

A hint for those who definitely don't want their steak sliced at a restaurant: Don't be afraid to ask how the steak is served, and to say that you don't want your steak sliced prior to serving. No matter how trendy the plating is at the steakhouse you've chosen, you have a right to having your steak whole or sliced, whichever you prefer.

Additional Note:

For well-done steak fans who'd like to eat in a judgment-free atmosphere, consider kosher steakhouses Wolf and Lamb and The Prime Grill in New York, the very clever Serengeti in Baltimore, The Grill House in Miami, Chicago's Shallots Bistro, Encino's Bocca Steakhouse, and the highly-regarded Meat Point in Dallas. Sabra Grill in San Francisco and Judah's Mediterranean Grill in Philadelphia are casual and not steak-oriented, but have considerable beef menus. Check online for kosher steakhouses and restaurants in other cities, and other restaurants in these towns. Kosher cooking requires that blood be completely drained or cooked out of meat before it can be eaten, so these eateries are used to accommodating "cook it till it's dead" well-cooked orders from many patrons. You'll have to check with each restaurant regarding leaving steaks whole or slicing them before serving.

Photo credits: Freeimages, Marcela Lopez, Sue Crocker, Tondo Suzanto

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