Fred Steak?

Several years ago, I went on a trip to Vancouver Island with a bunch of friends.  One of them brought steaks with him, and he was raving about how good they were.  He went on and on and we thought he must be exaggerating a bit.  After all, it was just steak.  Then he took them out to cook them, and they were BLACK.  I've never seen a steak quite that color before, and my doubt grew even stronger.  The smell of them cooking got rid of most of my doubts, and the first bite I took got rid of the rest of them (and then some).  The steak was Fred's Steak from Schaub's Meat Fish and Poultry in Palo Alto, CA.  It's always been a fond food memory for me.

Last week, another friend sent me a link to a "reverse engineered Fred Steak" marinade.  I decided I absolutely had to try it, so I went out to buy the ingredients.  I ran into two problems.  The first one was finding Marmite.  It's not the most common ingredient, but luckily one of the fancier grocery stores around me had it.  The second problem was much harder.  Nobody in Maryland seems to know what tri-tip is.  I called 6 different places before I talked to a butcher who knew what it was, and he seemed shocked that I would want it.  When I went to pick it up (at Safeway, of all places), he brought it out to show me to make sure I understood what I was asking for.  For those who live in places where tri-tip is not commonly on display, here's what you need to ask for: "The tri-tip is cut from the bottom sirloin butt.  The BSB is typically separated into the ball tip, the tri-tip, and the flap.  For ordering purposes you can ask for NAMP/IMPS 185C (trimmed) or 185D (untrimmed)."  I was so excited that he had it that I asked him to cut me two of them. 

I cooked them two different ways after marinating both for 48 hours.  The first one was a more traditional method: throw it in the oven at 375°F for 20 minutes per pound or so, remove and enjoy.  The second one I cooked sous vide at 135°F for 48 hours.  I left the marinade in the bag and then removed the juices + marinade at the end and reduced them down to a nice thick gravy.  Both were good, but the sous vide one was simply amazing.  The meat was falling apart it was so tender, and the flavor was to die for. 

Fred(ish) Steak

Ingredients:

• 1½ cup brewed coffee
• 1 cup red wine
• ½ cup olive oil
• ½ cup molasses
• ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
• ⅓ cup Tamari sauce(gluten-free soy sauce)
• ⅓ cup Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tablespoons chili powder
• 2 Tablespoons onion powder
• 2 Tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 Tablespoon Marmite (or Vegemite, in a pinch)
• 1 tri-tip roast

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a blender until well mixed.
2. Pour over tri-tip in a Ziploc bag.  Seal and refrigerate, turning occasionally, for 3-4 days.
3. Remove meat from marinade and cook (grill, bake, or sous vide). 
4. Pour marinade into a small pot and cook over medium-high heat until reduced to a thick gravy consistency.  Add up to 1 Tablespoon flour if needed to thicken.
5. Pour sauce over meat and serve!

Notes:
While this recipe isn't quite the same as an actual Fred Steak, it's close enough for me.  It's not nearly as dark, but it's very salty and full of flavors that I never in a million years would have thought to combine.  One other note: this recipe makes almost 5 cups of marinade.  It's a good amount if you're marinating 2 tri-tips, but you might want to cut it in half if you're only making one.

Comments

[Robert Quihuis]

I used to work at SCHUBS , The marinade is a powder, that the owner mixxes up off-site. He places the meat in a vacume compressor and tumbles the meat to tenderize and with the co2 gas the marinade works it way into the tip-tip