Sorry I haven't done the second half of the year yet. I'll try to work em out tonight. I was playin poker the last few days.

Speaking of which, I went to Carnevino after a session at the venetian the other night. I sat at the bar, got a way overpriced steak and asked if the chef could come and answer a few questions. She was really nice. This is what I learned:

All their steaks are aged 120 days except for the riserva which is at least 9 months. Jesus tapdancing christ.

They have a dedicated warehouse offsite that's the largest dry aging facility in the country, likely the world. She showed me pictures, they were pretty awesome looking.

All their steaks are cooked in a 1900 degree ceramic broiler. Purely in that, she said. The gray ring was probably evidence of that. They probably only have to put it in that thing for a minute or two. Seems impossible to **** up getting a nice crust.

For the record, a 16 ounce bone in new york strip was $61 pre tax pre tip. I'm really hoping to get at least 20 lbs of usable meat from my two primals which would be approximately 20 big steaks. At my cost that'd only be $18/lb but I think I might get more than 20 lbs. Markup is pretty insane.

gobbo,

So that's about 30% food cost based on your $18 price. Totally standard/reasonable markup.

Prices here at the butcher for 21/30/45/100-day aged ribeyes are something like $16/20/25/45 per pound. That $61/lb 120-day strip served at a restaurant seems like a bargain by comparison.

It didn't really seem like a 16 ounce steak. Would've taken pictures but my phone was out of battery.

Was it good?

It was fine. I really only went there because I haven't been there in a while and I wanted to ask questions. Could've gotten a burger or something but I had a **** session and wasn't thinking too closely about it.

that markup is without factoring in the overhead of aging the steak.. rent, power, labour.

Should see if you can get raw products from them.

pokerplease,

WTF are you talking about? That's exactly what markup is.

no, i meant gobbos price is only raw materials. there should be more padded to it for his time, power, rent, etc. the true cost is higher before you can do a markup calc. i don't think it's that fair a comparison vs say an $18/lb fish which they'd buy fresh and serve that night.

OTOH high ticket items should probably be marked up less than less expensive dishes.

Food cost in restaurants is typically ~1/3 of the actual menu cost, though some places get away with much higher food cost when they do high volume of alcohol sales.

Doing 6 steaks tonight. Combo of ribeye and strip. Starting in oven.

Thinking of finishing on grill since there are 6 of them?

As someone who is "forced" to cook 4+ at a time, oven is absolutely best start. But for the finishing, I used to do 2 or 3 pans, but realized its much easier to go one at a time, then tent each one in foil. Since the sear/crust stage is only about 2 minutes each, it's not that bad. Just remember to let the pan get re-hotted, and feel free to re-butter/fat/herb each time too.

I'm sure a grill would be fine, if you know how. I don't, so I do it that way.

Dudes,

I'm cooking a couple of 1.5-2 inch thick filets for NYE. What would optimal cooking method be? Reverse sear w/ oven, just reverse sear? TIA

I'd put them in a 200 degree oven, pull them at 118, let em rest for 15 minutes then sear in butter at medium high heat.

For reverse sear a grill is ok but really only if you can build a raging charcoal fire. Gas grills can make some great crosshatch marks depending on the grates but won't create the crust this thread is looking for without some serious grey banding, if you have already cooked the steak elsewhere.

Def didn't get much crust using the grill. Turned out ok-ish overall.

CQ,

Try hitting them.

Thanks sk, turned out great

Haven't used the new sous vide setup but trying it on a cheap tbone from the grocery store. Yes it's early in the morning. Shut up.

Today's was more successful.

Jab: Very nice improvement, looks delicious!

All: Followup to this steak. So, I ended up with a big piece of leftover steak. I thought about making sandwiches the next day like I do with leftover prime rib, but then decided to try reheating in a low oven (200, did it til about 100 degrees) and re-searing (about a minute each side in butter). Success!

Before:
After:

Inside looked identical to prior steak pics with the gray band just a little darker. The crust was extra-crunchy (I guess this is similar to 99's double-sear technique).

Currently preparing the New Year's Day roast!

I somehow forgot I had 6 dry aged ribeyes in my fridge. They're already cut into 2" steaks but they've been sitting wrapped in butcher's paper for 10 days.

Can I still cook them or should they be tossed?

I think you should have your ass beat badly for committing such a crime, then figure out what to do with them. Probably tossed, sadly.