Sir of Loin

I defrosted the beast over the weekend in the refrigerator. I boasted to my friends at Atlantique that it cost US$40/lb., so they wanted to see it. So after it was defrosted, I brought it over (they didn't want to see it frozen.)

They hmmed and muttered and all were generally in agreement that it was a great-looking steak. "Are you going to put in an order for some?" I asked, but was greeted with a resounding "No."

As I was paying for some cheese, Wolfgang the register guy leaned over conspiratorially and said "You know, we have steak that's just as good. It's dry aged six weeks. It'll knock your socks off."

Well, if that wasn't a slap on the face with a wet glove, I don't know what is. Therefore, with the two remaining steaks, I will march over to Barry's house, where there is a real grill, and also purchase a couple of these fabled Atlantique thingies, and see which is the better sir of loin.

The report: I let the steak reach room temperature for about 40 minutes. I rubbed it with olive oil and coarse pepper. Applied garlic salt just before I put it in the grill pan. Did one side for five minutes, the other side for three, foiled it and let it rest for about seven minutes. Served it with a twice-baked potato (recipes and video to follow) and basmati pilaf.

The verdict: This was a very good steak. It turned out somewhere between rare and medium-rare, which is exactly the way I wanted it (there really should be 12 degrees of doneness rather than just six. Then again, there should only be six, ending at medium. Anything past that and it is no longer a steak.)

It had a robust, beefy flavor and the shallot-garlic-parsley butter topping really enhanced the whole taste experience. Tomorrow I will either make a steak salad of some sort — I'm angling towards an Asian version — or cop out and make a steak sandwich. But what a sandwich that would be! I'm already hungry again.