Who doesn’t love a good ribeye? If you’re a steak person and you value both flavor and tenderness, it’s a difficult one to beat. More than once, I’ve bought a value pack when it’s on sale, and as it turns out, the butcher at one of my favorite markets thinks you should do the same.
Why Butchers Recommend Buying Ribeye When It’s on Sale
When I spoke with Laurelhurst Market butcher Miranda Gray, I asked which cut she would stock up on if it were on sale. Without hesitation, she said ribeye—more specifically, a boneless ribeye from the shoulder end. As she says, it’s “super tender, and pretty tried and true.”
One thing Gray says to keep in mind: Larger grocery stores often put specific cuts on sale to move product off shelves before it spoils. As such, it might not be the freshest meat in the case. You’ll definitely want to look for indications of freshness before you buy it in bulk.
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It’s fine to buy a lot of steak at a time as long as you have room to store it in your freezer. Gray says that the butchers at Laurelhurst freeze “a ton of meat” with butcher paper. Just wrap the steaks individually, so you can easily thaw as much as you need at a time. “If someone has a vacuum sealer, though, that’s going to give you the best quality.” Plastic freezer bags, with as much air removed as possible, are another great option.
However you decide to store it, Gray says to defrost and cook your steak within two to three months. “You do run the risk of freezer burn after that,” she says. I find that vacuum sealing and storing in the coldest part of the freezer can buy me another couple of months, so that appliance has turned out to be a great investment for my household.
Gray recommends either thawing your steak in the refrigerator overnight, or if you’re short on time, placing it in a bowl of cold water in the sink (still in its plastic bag) “with cold water running over it.” If you let the sink run in a small, steady stream, it reduces the thawing time considerably.
When I’ve priced ribeye steaks around town here in Portland, Oregon, I’ve seen them go for anywhere from $16.99 to more than $30 per pound. Around here, anything under $18 a pound is a good deal. Another way I’ve gotten ribeye on a budget is when Costco has a sale on a boneless prime rib roast. It takes a lot of work to trim, slice, and vacuum pack the steaks, but it’s worth it!
Once you get your steak home, Gray says her favorite way to cook it is slow-roasting, then quickly searing it in a skillet on the stove. “It was the best steak I ever cooked,” she said of the two-inch thick boneless ribeye she prepped during the holidays last year. The next time I get my hands on a ribeye steak that thick, I’m going to give her method a try.
Read the original article on Simply Recipes