This dish goes by many names: Kansas City Steak if you are from the Midwest. Ambassador Steak if you are feeling metropolitan. Shell Steak if you have never seen a seashell in your life. But strictly speaking, strip steak beef cuts is the most accurate name for it.
This is a cut of beef that is known for being tender, while still affordable. If you want to please a bunch of hungry mouths that prefer lean meat, but do not want to spend big on a sirloin cut of beef for each of them, then strip steak beef cuts are exactly what you are looking for.
Preparing your Strip Steak Beef Cuts
Start by getting a cast iron skillet. Like most tender meat, strip steak beef cuts are known for being best enjoyed off the grill. But ya know what? Not everyone has a grill, or the time to set one up.
In addition to the cast iron skillet, you need a mixing bowl, butter, a clove of garlic, and a root of ginger. None of these have to be in precise amounts, though you will probably need more than one tablespoon of butter. Start by washing the meat in the mixing bowl, and then rub in the garlic.
You will want to grind the garlic into the raw meat, mixing it all together with your hands to ensure that it works deep into the tissue of the meat. Then, do the same with the ginger. Leave the butter out for now. You can actually add any spices you want at this point as well.
How to Cook Strip Steak Beef Cuts
Next, put the meat on your cast iron skillet and set it over a medium flame. Keep the meat moving as much as you can. It will turn greyish brown at first, but what you are really looking for is for it to turn darker than that. With meat this thin it will happen fast. Cook it for three minutes per side.
Once the meat is a darker brown, turn the flame down low. Move the meat from the center of the pan to the sides. With the meat pushed up to the side it will be in contact with much less heat, keeping it warm but not cooking it.
This is when you add the butter to the middle of the skillet. Be careful, as butter can contain a lot of heat (which is why you are using it). As the butter heats, you can grind more garlic and ginger into it if you would like to ensure a good flavor for your meat.
Next, use a spoon to pour the butter onto the meat. You will notice some of the butter sizzle and settle into the meat, while some will be too hot to bond with the meat and will falls off. This is expected. Just keep spooning it up, dribbling it onto the meat, and letting it fall off.
How to Serve Strip Steak Beef Cuts
It is hard to be certain of the temperature with meat this small, but if you want to you can use a thermometer to make sure that the internal temperature of one or two cuts is above 130 degrees Fahrenheit. If one or two of them are above that threshold, then the others probably are too.
To serve the strip steak beef cuts you are going to want to do one of two things: Either serve them with some sort of grainy carbohydrates to balance them out, or with something fatty like cheese.
The carbohydrate will usually be rice, which can be seasoned if you want a lot of flavors in your dish, but you can also serve it plain white. Plain white rice is good for mellowing out the flavor of the meat if you put a lot of spices onto it in the initial stages of cooking it.
Cheese is losing its popularity as a component of any meat besides cheeseburgers, but it is particularly good with lean meats like this. Lean meats lack the fat reserves that usually help thicker cuts of meat retain flavor. Cheese can contain the garlic and ginger flavors for the meat.
There is an alternative of serving your strip steak beef cuts on a salad as well. This is less common, but if you have the right vegetables, it can create an exciting flavor. These usually include bell peppers and onions, though you can include jalapenos if you want some spice.
Ideally, if you want vegetables with this cut of meat you would add it at the same time as the butter. That means adding it in when you turn the heat down to low. This will also help the butter melt the flavor of the vegetables into the meat.
