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Sunday, December 2, 2018

THE HANGER STEAK

On this blog post, nearly a week after Thanksgiving. I will share with you some interesting beef steak information. We'll get to know the hanger steak. Some people are inquisitive, "What's a hanger steak?" Lately we've seen this cut of tender beef being promoted everywhere, blogs, videos, food mags, shows. Well, before we get to where this thing comes from, let's talk a little bit about where we get our beef.

Where? More than likely you purchase your steaks from your local supermarket. Or you'll go to a butcher shop, or a meat specialty shop that may serve gourmet cuts like prime, or Wagyu. Wagyu is that Japanese bred beef that is very tender, and expensive. It has generous amounts of marbling, making Wagyu beef very tasty. 

A piece of Wagyu beef steak can run anywhere from $40-$60, some stores will sell a piece of rib roast for over $100 per pound. As my dad always said, "If you want the best quality, you will have to pay the price." And dad knew reality. I remember when I was in a hasty state of mind as a kid, I wanted a bike from the five and dime. Instead, dad told me to wait, save the money and go the the real bike shop that specializes in bikes. My 10 speed was the best it lasted me a long time. You get what you pay for.

If you haven't seared a Wagyu steak, I swear all you'll need is to season that steak, and use a stainless steel pan without any cooking fats. That steak will release all that juicy marbled goodness, the golden renderings. Pan sauces comes easily via a prime cut of Wagyu. Epic.

So now let's talk about the good old hanger steak. Once it was called butcher's steak because the butcher's knew how tender this cut is. And it is no larger than two pounds on average. So it is highly unlikely you will see your meat department with dozens of hangers in prewrapped packaging. Not like having that family pack of strip steaks. That's why it was tagged butcher's steak. It is called the hanger steak because when it is being butchered it hangs from the diaphram. Hence hanger steak. It comes from the plate section of the steer (castrated bull), or heifer (female cow) that hasn't given birth to any offspring. 

As you can see, the plate is the lower belly of the steer or heifer. If you look at the diagram, the flank is behind it. The hanger steak resembles the flank. The hanger steak is the legs of the diaphram, it is V shaped. The outer portion of the hanger is the less tender skirt steak.
This is a marinated hanger steak.
Look at the deep grain that this cut has. Searing this on a pan or over hot coals, cooked medium, sliced across the grain, and you'll have a very delicious meal.

Here's a video from experts on butchering. Let's learn something.


Video is from Youtube.


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