Like everyone, I go through extremely busy patches where time flies by and there never seems to be enough of it. I try and enjoy those seasons as I know they will come to an end, there will be some downtime and then it will all ramp up again. It’s simply called life. I’m in one of those hectic periods right now. I’m busy and so I’m not cooking as much as I’d like to and when I do cook I’m looking for the fast and easy rather than anything too involved. Being out and about also means I find myself needing to eat away from home a little bit more. I look at it as research and it never fails to inform my own ability and interest in food. I particularly love it when I make a good discovery.
Finding myself in Cork city recently, I grabbed a bite at the Cornstore, billing itself as a Steak and Seafood restaurant. They are currently doing a promotion called, ‘What’s Your Beef’, and so being a beef fan it was hard to pass up. According to the blurb it’s all about the flavour and creating the perfect steak. They boast an award winning Steak Rub which won Gold at the Blas na hEireann food awards in 2013 and in combination with the rub they experiment with dry ageing times from 32 to 50 days. Rare cuts are also offered such as Cow Boy Steak or Chateaubriand. It was a week night for me and I wanted something simple. I opted for the Rib Eye and waited.
While waiting I enjoyed the atmosphere immensely. The Cornstore has a relaxed, fun and casual vibe, yet it still holds true to all the great tenets of an excellent restaurant – great service, good table layouts and sophisticated décor. The service is extremely friendly and attentive and all in all it was shaping up nicely. Then the steak arrived with a little hill of generously portioned onion rings perched on the top and a side of chunky home cut chips. If it tasted anything as good as it looked then I was in for a treat and, yes, it was a treat and met all expectations.
It was a great meal and a great steak but it was the rub that caught my attention. It lent a great flavour to the already good quality steak and together created a taste that you just didn’t want to end. I was delighted to find out that they also sell the rub in little pots in the restaurant. Needless to remark I had one of those little jars in my possession as I drove back to Clonmel.
Marinades have been very popular for some time now but dry rubs are gaining fast and particularly with steak cuts. Rubs are a great way to add flavour to everyday meals. Put simply a rub is a mixture of spices and herbs that are applied directly to meats before cooking. What makes a rub different from a marinade is that you apply the flavouring directly to the surface of the meat itself. This gives you a different way to control the intensity and distribution of the seasonings.
There are two categories of rubs: Dry rubs, which are made with spices and seasonings only and wet rubs, which contain some moist ingredients like mustard, lemon juice perhaps or vinegar. If you are barbecuing or grilling then the dry rubs are ideal. They are also ideal for roasts or meats that require long slow cooking.
When it comes to dry steak rubs there are a few rules to observe. Rubs are generally not suited to very thin steaks as they can be easily overwhelmed by the flavours. Choose steaks that are thick. Good choices would be rib eye, t-bone or sirloin. I bought the award winning Cornstore rub created by their Head Chef Michael Ryan from Ardmore in County Waterford and it’s fantastic but there are many recipes floating around the internet for good rubs if you care to make your own. They will keep in a glass jar for two to three months and also work well in sauces or with other meats such as chicken and pork. Also don’t be afraid to use a generous amount of the rub.
The best way to apply it is to take one steak at a time and apply a generous amount of rub to one side using your hand. Rub the spices around the surface of the meat until it’s totally covered. Turn the steak over and apply the rub to the other side. Once covered in rub it’s time to rest the steaks. You can leave them to rest for as little as 10 minutes before cooking or for a better result, leave them in the fridge for a few hours. Just a word of caution when cooking rubs can burn so it is advised to cook the steaks over a lower temperature to avoid this.
Rubs are a great way of upping the flavour on any cut of meat just be sure to choose the right cut of meat for the rub and remember to think about the flavour strengths also.
If you’re not sure about the cuts of steak drop by James Whelan Butchers any time you are in the area or check out our website at www.jameswhelanbutchers.com for plenty of good information.
We hope you enjoyed reading this post by Pat Whelan of James Whelan Butchers. Pat is a 5th generation butcher, cook book author and the director of James Whelan Butchers with shops in Clonmel, the Avoca Handweavers Rathcoole and Kilmacanogue, Dunnes Stores Cornelscourt, Rathmines and Swords in Dublin. Sign up to our newsletter for more updates from James Whelan Butchers
Tags: barbecuing, dry rub, grilling, James Whelan Butchers, low cooking temperature, Pat Whelan, rib eye, roasts, rub, sirloin, steaks, t-bone, wet rub
