Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Beef in a Box

There’s something wonderful about driving up to your house and finding steaks waiting for you at the front door. It’s an experience I recently had for the first time and it came courtesy of the folks at Certified Angus Beef Brand. The Wooster based company, dedicated to promoting this select line of premium beef, invited me try their new online ordering and delivery service and tell them what I think. It couldn’t have been easier and I have to say I liked buying meat in my pajamas.

And not just any meat. This is the stuff served at high-end restaurants around the country.
I chose four 12 oz. strip steaks, typed and clicked my way through the purchasing process, and quickly received an email confirming my order, and then another with a tracking number. They arrived frozen three days later, each one vacuum sealed, in a cooler packed with dry ice. There was even a handy little grilling guide. Getting packages in the mail is always fun- like having an extra birthday. Getting a box of something so good to eat makes me ridiculously happy.

I was in charge of sides for dinner on Sunday. There was corn on the cob, bought the day before at the North Union Farmers Market, a salad with tomatoes from the garden, and baked beans that we had slow smoked last week. But the strip was the centerpiece of our meal. We dry rubbed with Chef Brandt Evans’ Killer Steak Crust spice blend and cooked over an open fire.
Photographer, resident flame master and husband Barney Taxel was in charge of achieving a rare interior for the beautifully marbled meat and a picture perfect sear. He did both very well.
There's plenty of grilling days left in the season . Next time, I'm going to gift myself with a rib-eye. Home shopping has never seemed quite so appealing.

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