BBQ Steak, a Counterpoint

Time to file my report on this week's Adventures in Steakland.

Let's just dive into my impressions of this week's contender. There were a couple of factors against this week's experiment from the get-go. It seems that I spent a lot of time cutting around gristle and fat on this week's cut... nothing I can hold against the preparation of the steak, just an unfortunate circumstance that set the tone for the experience. Additionally, the steak was prepared a little more towards the "Rare" end of the scale than I'm used to; still good, mind you, just different. I'm not sure what my impressions of the beef marinade were... since there were 2 factors in this week's experiment it could have been either of them that threw me. I did note that the steak had a very 'mushy' texture this week... it didn't take a knife very well, if you know what I mean. I think there may be such a thing as too tender when it comes to steak. That could have been a consequence of the cut that I had, or properties of the marinade. The rareness should not have had as much of an effect as I observed. I frequently found myself bludgeoning the steak into bite-size pieces instead of cutting.

They produce steak knives, and not steak cudgels, for a reason.

Now, on to the flavor. I found myself seeking out the natural flavors of the steak more this week than usual, as the additives seemed to have a bit of a bitter tang to them. Again, I can't be sure as to whether it was the marinade or the BBQ sauce added after. I was not able to really catch the mesquite flavor that my culinary compatriot mentioned... I think that perhaps I've become spoiled by the integrated flavor of a dedicated marinade as opposed to brushed-on BBQ.

In summary, I think the Stubbs brand of products are astounding when put to the proper use... (their spicy BBQ slathered on grilled porkchops is something that defies explanation)... but I'm not sure that we had the right combination for steak. It wasn't bad, but it lacked a certain... flair.

Rochter Scale Rating: 5.0 - This was a decent steak, and I did enjoy it. However, it fell short of the bar I've come to expect from mesquite of any sort.