What I Ate For Dinner

One silver lining of the recession is that it offers a veritable open-mic night to less lovely, but altogether edible, foodstuffs. Instead of the old standards fillet and strip, for example, broke beef eaters remember during tough times that cows have more than those two muscles. True story. Other cuts are cheaper and oftentimes as (or even more) flavorful than the primetime playboys. Some of the best known of these "other red meats" are bavette (aka flank), hanger and tri tip, all of which happily occupy a sinewy ghetto on the belly of the beast. Fillet and strip would consider this fibrous neighborhood the wrong side of the bovine's anatomical tracks. If you're low on cash, though, such opinions of the effete bourgeoisie of beef might become a bit less persuasive, especially with these more economical nuggets vying for your attention. So don't get nervous about the raw characteristics of less "prestigious" cuts like tri tip or hanger steak: I'll describe an acidic marinade that can tenderize 'em, and how a slow grill over moderate heat can bring out the best of these "J.V." slivers. Compared to their more expensive neighbors, cheaper cuts like these are more interesting to cook, and therefore more rewarding, too. Keep in mind, though, that you don't want to cook them past medium-rare, or they'll toughen up something awful. (In my opinion, that's true for all cuts of beef, and especially for these.)

Tonight we're doing tri tip, which is the triangular hunk leanin' off the sirloin. Start with a marinade. Mix roughly one part soy sauce, one part vinegar (balsamic or white wine), one part oil (something cheap is good, like peanut oil), and a half part water. Season with fresh cracked black pepper, and whisk it up until the liquids emulsify. Then, place a ziploc bag inside a ceramic vessel (or something else that's leakproof), slip your beautiful tri tip wedge into the bag, and add the marinade. Seal the bag almost all the way, but leave an opening through which to squeeze out as much air from the bag as possible. This is basically home-style vacuum sealing, and it ensures maximum contact between the marinade and all surfaces of the beef but requires only the minimum amount of marinade for the purpose. I've marinated tri tip like this for anywhere between one and thirty six hours. Probably don't want to go less than one hour; no need to go thirty-six, though. Your call.

We've done grilling here before. For tri tip, be sure to bank the coals to one side in order to create a range of heat intensity. Lean the thickest end of the tri tip toward the center of the coals (where it's hottest), and let the thinner tail portion stretch into a cooler region. For a two pound slice, the grilling should take about 20-25 minutes.

Mashed potatoes are easy, but the method in Bourdain's cookbook improved my ole standard considerably, so I'll pass it on here. The key: boil the milk and butter first, then whip them in with skinned, fork-tender potatoes you've boiled in advance with a whisk, and season. I think boiling the dairy stuff first yields a more fluffy, creamy product. Be sure not to overwork them though, or you'll lose those assets. And take care not to splatter the boiling butter/milk--that's one of the nastier burns.

Leaner, tougher cuts like tri tip need sauce more than most. Here's an easy one: sauté shallots in butter until blonde, whisk in a judicious handful of flour to form a roux, and kill the heat. Deglaze with a healthy glug of red wine--get a solid half-inch or so pool on the bottom of your pan. Then, throw in some demi (bless you for making demi) or some beef stock (respectable substitute), and reduce by half. I guess the ratio of wine to demi/stock would be about 2:1. Season with salt, and balance with lime juice (if too sweet) or brown sugar (if too sour).

I serve it up with a simple arugula salad, dressed lightly with sesame oil, salt and a bit of lime juice.