Quick miscelllany: Costo vintage EVOO; turning meat on grill

1. The 2005 late autumn harvest is in.

I've touted for a while what seems to me one of the great Costco values, i.e. their Kirkland label extra-virgin oil in the 1 ltr. jar which is not only region specific (Toscano), but dated by year and season of harvest.
There are oils on the shelves of specialty shops all over town at 3 times the price which carry no harvest info and which I strongly suspect are often 2-3 years old and mere shadows of their former fruity selves. But Costco bottles and dates this very nice Tuscan oil for about what you'd pay for something decent but less fresh and more generic like Colavita or any of the big names that blend oil from all over. And of course, one has to read the labels on inexpensive oils very carefully, as often the Italian brand name is belied by the small print - "packed in Italy" but originating in Greece or Turkey or the Middle East. (Not that there's anything wrong with that. There's good oil from all those places -- but it's not likely to be the same stuff sold in bulk and then repackaged pretending to be Italian.)

2. I was searing a steak in my cast iron skillet, when my friend and dinner guest started getting antsy about the smoke and urged me to turn it. I replied that this was the second side and that ideally one doesn't want to flip meat back and forth, but just hit it once on each side sufficiently to be done. My friend is a fine cook, and a former food/wine professional and had never heard this bit of advice, which made wonder if it was in fact true and where I might have picked it up.

My understanding has always been that on the grill or in the skillet, you want to sear your meat well on each side once and not go back and forth because this will toughen it. Is this true, or some bit of culinary apocrypha? Any expert opinions?

I ascribe to the same philosophy of flip once, however I wonder if you don't have to flip twice or at least re-position twice to get nice criss-cross grill marks. I thought I'd heard somewhere before (had to be a TV cooking show) that you should only flip once. I'd be interested to know as well.

Thanks for the heads-up. I bought the Costco based on the thread about it last year and I agree, for the modest price it's a very nice olive oil for an everyday oil. (Be sure to look for the Toscano on the label, and it's a tall square glass bottle. Not the larger plastic bottle, though that's decent enough for what it is.)

Here's my Costco tip: $14.99 for the new Ten Commandments DVD set, which includes both the wonderfully cheesy 50s version ("Nyaah, where's your God now, Moses?") and Cecil B. DeMille's equally gargantuan silent version, whose lavish sets are being excavated in an archeological dig in California.

To get the grill marks (which you only need on one side), just turn the steak 90 degrees (put steak on grill diagonally, then turn to the other diagonal). I also flip only once -- if you minimize the turning of the steaks, you increase the chance of forming a nice crust. Also, the more you handle/turn the beef, the more juice you're going to lose and the steak will get tougher and drier and you won't be happy.

Harold McGee was discussing this issue in a radio interview. He recommends frequent flipping for best results. According to his computer model, flipping the steak every 15 seconds gives the best heat distribution so that the center is done quicker and fewer juices are lost.

I was curious as to whether you can apply this to all cuts of beef and all cooking methods. I grilled up two flank steaks the other day, one was frequently flipped and one was flipped once. The fire was very hot and both seemed to be done around the same time and both seemed to be just as juicy. It wasn't a formal test, but did teach me that for this particular cut of meat cooked in this particular way, frequent flipping does no harm.

Bill/SFNM

Bill/SFNM wrote:Harold McGee was discussing this issue in a radio interview. He recommends frequent flipping for best results. According to his computer model, flipping the steak every 15 seconds gives the best heat distribution so that the center is done quicker and fewer juices are lost.

I was curious as to whether you can apply this to all cuts of beef and all cooking methods. I grilled up two flank steaks the other day, one was frequently flipped and one was flipped once. The fire was very hot and both seemed to be done around the same time and both seemed to be just as juicy. It wasn't a formal test, but did teach me that for this particular cut of meat cooked in this particular way, frequent flipping does no harm.

Bill/SFNM

I heard his approach too, and it makes sense, but I'm assuming his approach won't result in a nice crust or the criss-cross marks for presentation. Also, seems like a bit too much work. On the other hand, there is no truth to the old belief that a good crust prevents juices from dripping out of the beef.

I've had good luck following Alton Brown's approach on steaks: For a 3/4-1" steak, two minutes on one side, rotate 90 degrees for grill marks (I like diagonal positioning, so I usually only rotate about 60 degrees), another two, flip, two minutes, rotate, two minutes, remove and tent for 5-10 unless there are hungry teenagers around..

On a burger I would never consider the multiple turns: it would fall apart or lose juciness.

Optimal grill mark pattern:
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I move the steaks around quite a bit, though I only flip once or twice. Movement is almost necessary with a very well marbled cut over a hot charcoal fire to ensure eveness of char and "doneness." I like the grill marks you get at Gene & Georgetti -- one big one entirely obscuring the steak on both sides. Of course, you must use tongs, never a fork. The constant movement method also lets you get a feel for the meat such that you learn to intuit when it has reached the desired doneness without having to resort to cutting a notch or puncturing the meat with a thermometer. Those are things you really don't want to do, at least not until the steaks have rested for a while.

The steak cooks at some very fine steakhouses move the meat a lot (Bern's in Tampa, with its oak fire, eg).

The Coscto Toscano is 10.99/liter, by the way. Which at about $10/quart unit pricing, is only a little more than the plastic-jugged plonk in the $5-7/quart range.

Also spotted at Costco (besides The Carole Lombard Glamour Collection) is something calling itself the Larousse Gastronomique Recipe Collection, four trade paperback-sized volumes of recipes allegedly from the big Larousse book for about $39... anyone have this, or think I desperately need it?

Mike G wrote:The Coscto Toscano is 10.99/liter, by the way. Which at about $10/quart unit pricing, is only a little more than the plastic-jugged plonk in the $5-7/quart range.

Also spotted at Costco (besides The Carole Lombard Glamour Collection) is something calling itself the Larousse Gastronomique Recipe Collection, four trade paperback-sized volumes of recipes allegedly from the big Larousse book for about $39... anyone have this, or think I desperately need it?

Looking @ Amazon: so, are these recipes different from the tome, or merely collated for "easy" perusal i.e. for those who have difficulty using an index. Just a few bucks more gets you the actual encyclopedia.

What an odd product.

The Costco dated Tuscan olive oil is no longer available but I noticed something that was obviously meant to be its off-season replacement-- Bellucci brand organic, 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Same square glass bottle, more or less, same $10ish price, and although it's not dated, it seems to be fresh, with a nice buttery taste and a hint of pepper at the end. You could do worse!

Some people get excited when cheap wine from Beaujolais hits the stores...

I get excited when cheap olive oil from Costco hits the stores.

The Costco Tuscan olive oil in the square glass bottle, dated October/November 2006, is in stock. As noted in the thread above, a very fresh, quite respectable everyday oil in a liter bottle for about $11.

Pick it up along with this, also in stock!

Mike G wrote:Some people get excited when cheap wine from Beaujolais hits the stores...

I get excited when cheap olive oil from Costco hits the stores.

The Costco Tuscan olive oil in the square glass bottle, dated October/November 2006, is in stock. As noted in the thread above, a very fresh, quite respectable everyday oil in a liter bottle for about $11.

Pick it up along with this, also in stock!

The October/November, 2007 harvest is now in stock at Costco for $13 and change.

Regards,

I've posted this in two other threads already, but why not here, also:

The October/November 2008 edition of this olive oil is available at Costco now. I seem to remember it being $12, but I might be making that up.

The Murnau-Borzage box set, jamon iberico and Costco EVOO! My Christmas is done!