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Thursday 3 May 2018

Steak

A Steak is a slice off a larger piece of meat, often beef. The most tender cuts of the animal are usually used for steak, meaning they have a high price.

We get the word 'steak' from the Vikings. An early written usage of the word "stekys" comes from a 15th-century cookbook, and makes reference to both beef or venison steaks.

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Hamburg steak is a beefsteak that is shaped into a patty to be cooked after being minced. The delicacy was developed by Mongolian and Turkic tribes known as Tartars who would shred low-quality beef from Asian cattle to make it more edible and digestible. These Tartars introduced beefsteaks to their German trading partners from the port of Hamburg in the 13th century. The Germans flavored the meat with regional spices such as onions and either ate it raw or fried. German immigrants arriving in North America brought this steak dish with them.

Queen Elizabeth I of England's regular breakfast was a biscuit and undercooked boiled beefsteaks with a half pint of strong ale.

In 1827 a Mr. Chaubert volunteered to test a new heat-resistant material called asbestos. He carried a raw steak into a large oven in Paris and emerged 12 minutes later very hot but unharmed. The steak was very well done.

19th century cowboys liked fried fresh beef steaks, which they cooked well-done in a cast iron skillet, piled high.

Salisbury steak is a dish made from a blend of ground beef and other ingredients and usually served with gravy or brown sauce.  It was invented by James H. Salisbury, a physician who wanted to cure diseases like diarrhoea, which killed Civil War soldiers more than combat. He believed vegetables produced toxins and suggested the steak be eaten three times a day, with water to cleanse the digestive system.

One of Mark Twain's favorite meals was pan fried porterhouse steak with mushrooms and peas.

At the height of his celebrity, canine movie star Rin Tin Tin's chef prepared him a daily steak lunch. Classical musicians played to aid his digestion.

Steaks are usually grilled in an attempt to replicate the flavor of meat cooked over the glowing coals of an open fire. They are also often pan-fried or broiled.

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Steak is the second most popular foods for cooking on the grill, beaten only by burgers.

The red juice dripping off a rare steak is actually not blood - it's in fact a mixture of water and a protein called myoglobin.

Myoglobin helps muscle tissue store oxygen and just like Hemoglobin, contains iron that turns red when it binds with oxygen.

Despite what you see in movies or on television, you should never put a raw steak or other raw meat on a black eye. The bacteria on raw meat poses a high risk of infection, and this method of treating a black eye has no scientific basis. 

Source Food For Thought by Ed Pearce

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