It was all in the interest of fairness and equality. If the fairer half of London’s foodie blogosphere could hold an event all about the goodness of steak, then so could the hairier half. Blokes Eat Beef was the reactionary brainchild of uber-blogger Simon Majumdar – an evening of testosterone and barely cooked flesh with a side order of bearnaise. How could I refuse?
The evening was devastatingly simple. 25 or so blokes turned up at top London steakhouse Goodman and worked their way through 36kg of A-List beef, two sides of the world’s finest smoked salmon, a pile of very aptly named stinking bishop and even a few slices of cheesecake. In between time we were graced by the presence of some of the people who had farmed, aged, butchered and cooked our dinner. It was an honour to sit and listen to these passionate people talk as I stuffed my face with another slice of 45 day dry aged barley finished Irish Black Angus.
The menu chalked up on a board read like an Atkins dieter’s wet dream and before long the words had materialised into four enormous slabs of cow on a table in front of us. Like good cavemen, we beat our chests and let out a primal roar of approval.
Then we were told that was only half of what we had to eat. The roars died down a bit. Was it possible we had over done it? Was it possible we would all die of protein poisoning on the Victoria Line home? There was only one way to find out…
The main bit of the meal was a beefy blind tasting. We knew what the four breeds we were eating were but not which was which. Armed with some theory from Goodman’s passionate head chef John Cadieux we set about trying to identify which was which, and which we liked best.
I desperately wanted my favourite to be one of the British cows. It’s the patriot in me. I’m not sure I like the idea of souped-up American beef: bovine GIs that are over fed, over aged and over here. Who wants government-approved corn-fed Yankee steaks when we can have our own beef fed on good old fashioned Scottish or Cumbrian grass?
Well, me apparently.
Somewhat inevitably, the USDA was my favourite. Our first USDA steak was a mite overdone but was still juicy, sweet and tender; gamey even. If it was this good when medium-plus I guessed it would be superb when closer to rare and a second steak proved it. It was as close to perfect a steak as I can imagine, and the fact it stood out against such hot competition was testament to its quality. No wonder Goodman sold 12.5 tonnes of the stuff last year.
What else did I learn apart from the fact I like posh American meat?A lot. Here’s my top 10 #blokeseatbeef facts cobbled together from my notes that went downhill rather rapidly as the evening went on:
1. They corn feed cattle specifically to up the fat content in the meat. Basically if you ate nothing but corn for a month, your ribeye would have some great marbling too
2. More marbling = longer ageing potential. Hence the USDA stuff can be hung for longer than the Scottish Grass fed beef
3. Really, really long aged beef “smells like a corpse” and the Goodman chefs can’t help but gag when cutting it up. Think about that next time you order your New York strip medium-rare
4. The firmer the meat is when it is cold, the more marbling there will be because the fat hardens in the fridge – obvious really
5. Goodman get a tonne of meat delivered most weeks and can hold 2.5 tonnes in their meat store
6. I am incredibly greedy
7. Beef farming can be a bit like wine – the chap from the Lakes who supplied the wonderful belted Galloway talked about working with farmers on a long term basis to guarantee higher prices, encourage quality over quantity and ensure the final product is as good as it could be. Winemakers from Beaune to the Barossa do similar things with grape growers
8. The charming Frank Hederman makes the best smoked salmon ever – it tastes almost like lightly beech smoked sashimi. Grand Cru smoked salmon if ever there was such a thing
9. Catena Malbec is a brilliant accompaniment to steak
10. If you eat over a kilo of top class beef you will have a horrendous night’s sleep and not feel the need to eat anything else for at least 24 hours
Huge thanks to everyone who made Blokes Eat Beef happen – the team at Goodman led by GM David Strauss, Simon Majumdar, the farmers, Frank Hederman, Bibendum’s very own Valeria who popped in to talk eloquently about Catena, La Fromagerie for the cheese. It was a top night – educational, tasty and most importantly, manly. When are we doing it again?
[Edit. If you want some serious meaty photos follow Goodman's Head Chef John on Twitter]
Tags: beef, blokeseatbeef, food
very pleased you could come and enjoyed it so much
I am sure we will organise another one soon
best
s
I am hungry.
Wow, what a great evening! Let me know when you have another as I would love to join you. J.
Great post. I visited Goodman last night, and can also vouch for their burgers! Isn’t it great to find a place that is so passionate about their product, and do it so well.