Carefree Cooking

Steak Wrap

I separate the beef that I buy into two categories: steak-able, and stew-able. The steak-able meats are the ones that I would cook for a short period of time and would require a lot of dry seasoning. T-bone, and prime rib are examples of steak-able cuts of beef that I would cook with a little oil and a lot of spices. Stew-able meats are the ones that require long period of cooking in order for the meat to become tender. Shanks and Ox tail are examples of stew-able cuts of beef that I would either braise or stew for more than one hour. My preference is to buy stew-able cuts of beef since they are usually cheaper and they taste much better. But since we need variety in life, I try to mix what I buy.

When I was a the grocery the other day, Sirloin was on sale. I've never really bought Sirloin before since I usually go for the fattier type of steak such as Prime Rib and T-bone. Sirloins are pretty lean and the only hint of fat is on the edge. With less fat, the meat would typically be more tough to eat compared to a prime rib. This is why I got the idea of making some steak wraps. Preparing the sirloin is simple. Just add salt and pepper, or your favourite steak spice. I personally use the Montreal steak spice, but any one would do. Don't be why on your seasoning as the more taste the meat gets, the better it will be. You don't have to worry about the meat being too salty since only a few slices needs to be added in the wrap. The sirloins that I got were around half an inch thick. I cooked each side for 4 minutes and that seems to work. I wouldn't recommend cooking these past medium-rare otherwise they will get hard when you reheat them the next day (assuming you have some leftovers). After cooking the steaks, make sure you rest the meat. I waited for around 10 minutes just to be sure. If you start cutting the meat after you cook it, all the juice will flow out and you will be left with a dry meat. Trust me, the extra patience will be rewarding.

Every time I cook steaks, I always cook onions. To me, steak and onions are the perfect combination. After cooking the steaks, there are some residue left on the pan that has a lot of flavour. Professional chefs would "deglaze" the pan by pouring red wine to extract the flavour bits and create a sauce out of it. Since I am alergic to alcohol, I do not keep a stash of red wine. So I use onions instead to pick up the steak flavours from the pan. Just put a little bit of oil, then put the thinly sliced onion in the pan and cooked until the onions are soft. You can add water or broth to help loosen the flavour bits that are stuck on the pan.

After waiting for 10 minutes for the meat to rest, slice the meat thinly. Here's the tricky part. There is only one rigtht way to slice the meat. If you do not slice it correctly, the meat will be tough and chewy. As Alton Brown will tell you, this is not "Good Eats" (See FoodTV.ca). You need to cut across the fibers of the meat. If you are not sure where this is, try cutting a thin slice from two sides (90 degrees from each other) to see which slice is easier to eat. Once you find which side to cut from, look at how the fibers of the meat are oriented so that you will know how to cut them next time.

I used a flour tortilla to make my wrap. You can also use pita pockets if you prefer that. Even sliced bread will do (but that gets you a steak sandwich instead). Combine the onions, various organic vegetables (same as the ones used for the House Salad), and thin slices of steak. Add your favourite salad dressing to give more flavour to the wrap. After assembling the wrap, I like to pop it in the microwave for 10-20 seconds just to make the wrap warm. I tried toasting the wrap but that just made it hard and chewy.

What do you eat the wrap with? Normally you don't need anything else. But when you go to restaurants to have a wrap, there is usually a side dish. So I baked some curly fries to go with the wrap. Here is one good trick for making crispy fries in the oven. After the fries are completely cooked, leave outside for a few minutes (do not leave in the oven). I think the cooler air makes the outside of the fries extra crispy.

My sister also made some yummy chocolate cake. This would be a perfect dessert for a delicious dinner. Don't worry, the cake was very simple to make. Just buy the cake mix from Duncan Hines and half an hour later, you will have some tasty treat.

Note: I know that presentation is not really good. I still need a lot of work on this department. Perhaps when I start taking some cooking lessons, I can learn more about this art.

posted by carefreecooking @ 10:06 PM