The most delicious steak is made from marbled beef. And everyone knows that. But here the meat of animals of which breeds has such marbling, how to achieve it and what it takes to cook a real steak, not many know. Therefore, the time has come to figure it all out.
Black Angus: breed description
Black Angus or Aberdeen Angus is an elite breed of cattle whose meat is superior in taste to beef of other varieties. It was bred back in the 19th century in the county of Angusshire in Scotland, and its breeding was done in another place - the county of Aberdeenshire. That is why the cattle breed got the name "Aberdeen Angus". Animals are red or black, which is the most common. Black angus meat is considered the best beef.
Aberdeen Angus refers to representatives of beef cattle breeds. These are large animals with a thick black withers, the distinguishing feature of which is the absence of horns. Black Angus has been programmed to build muscle since birth. Animals of this breed grow rapidly, and under certain conditions a day can gain more than 1.5 kilograms of weight. The meat yield after slaughter is up to 70% of live weight, which is much more than that of other cattle.
Marble Black Angus Meat
What is marbled beef? This is the name of the cattle black meat Angus or Aberdeen Angus. Thin fatty layers are formed in the muscle tissue of these animals, from which a marble pattern is formed. The more fatty fibers there will be on meat, the juicier and more tender it is.
The formation of interlayers inside the muscles is explained by the genetic predisposition of the Aberdeen Angus and the correct fattening of animals. 3-4 months before slaughter, when the weight of the bull is at least 350 kg, it is transferred from fresh grass to grain feed. This contributes to the formation of layers of fat inside the muscles. In
cattle of other breeds, fatty layers are not formed, and fat builds up on top of muscle tissue. Their meat will be much tougher, and the finished steak tastes like rubber.
It is thanks to fatty impregnations that the black angus beef, when cooked, acquires the desired juiciness and rich taste. Fat is melted by heating, soaking the whole piece of beef with this juice. Steak literally melts in your mouth.
How to determine the freshness of marbled beef
Black angus meat, regardless of whether it was brought from the United States or Australia, or it is grown in Russia, is sold only in vacuum packaging. Shelf life of such beef is approximately 45 days. But to make sure that the meat purchased for making black angus steak is really fresh, you need to pay attention to the following points:
- meat should have a rich red color if it was received from an adult animal and should be slightly paler if from a calf;
- when touching beef with your hand, the palm should remain dry, there should be no mucus on the surface of the meat;
- the smell of meat is pleasant, not sour;
- marbled beef has approximately the same, uniform veins across the entire width of the steak.
After opening the package, do not immediately evaluate the meat. Let him rest for half an hour, after which you can begin to prepare and cut the piece and prepare the steak.
How to cook black angus steak
For the preparation of the steak, both premium cuts and alternative ones are suitable. The ideal option is ribeye steak (thick edge) or striploin steak (thin edge). These pieces of meat from the back of the animal have the greatest marbling.
In addition to beef, you will need salt, pepper and vegetable oil to make steak. It is strongly not recommended to pickle black angus beef. First of all, it is necessary to cut the meat into pieces with a thickness of at least 2 cm. Then leave it to “rest” on the table, you can fry steaks at room temperature and in no case from the refrigerator.
After 30 minutes, you can begin to fry the meat. To do this, heat the pan, grease the steaks with vegetable oil and put pieces of beef on it. Fries for 3 minutes on each side, and then another couple of minutes to the desired degree of frying, constantly rotating the pan. Remove the steak from the stove, salt, pepper and let it reach readiness for about 5 minutes. After this, the meat needs to be transferred to a warm plate and served.