Delmonico Steaks

[LeeBo]

My understanding of a Delmonico steak is that it is any steak (normally rib eye) that is cooked with butter over an open flame. Furthermore, although it *can* be a ribeye, it can also be another cut such as a New York strip, so long as it was cooked with butter over an open flame.

I've had several people correct me and say that a Delmonico and a rib eye are the same "cut" and it doesn't matter how you cook it (claiming that all rib eyes are Delmonicos, even when fried in a skillet).

Google yields all of the following: "ribeye cooked in olive oil" and "bone-in cut ribeye" and "buttered over an live fire."

What do you guys think?

 

[queball]

Dont know. But I want one now.

 

[thirdeye]

In the west, a Delmonico steak is a rib steak. Don't know about cooking them with butter, but the steak houses serve them with a pat of seasoned or herb butter on top.

The ask-a-meatman site sez.....In my area, Southeast Missouri, a Delmonico steak is a Boneless Top Sirloin beef steak.

In other parts of the country, a Delmonico is a Bone-In Top Loin Steak (cut from the short loin), or a Rib-Eye Steak (cut from the rib).

So, unless you know if the Delmonico steak you have had before was cut from: the Short Loin, Sirloin, or Rib, it's hard to tell exactly what you have eaten before as a Delmonico steak.
You could possible look at the above three choices labeled as such in the grocery's meat case, and see if one of those "looked" like what you had before. If so, then go with that one.
I know this wasn't a quick easy answer, but there really isn't one. But I hope this sets you out on the right path.

 

[LeeBo]

Actually, the best steak I have ever eaten IN MY LIFE was at the state lodge in Altus, OK. I went back at closing time and the chef told me it was a delmonico and described the long process they go into marinating it, etc. but said the key was melted butter and cooked over hickory coals.

At the time I checked out the Internet which seemed to agree with him. But now I see delmonico steaks at the grocery store which are ribeyes and (obviously) uncooked; therefore, how can they have butter over an open flame?

I'm not big on doctoring steaks but have since followed his advice. I don't make the elaborate marinade that he described but I do use a compound butter of butter and chipotle peppers.

However, when I've ordered delmonicos in restaurants they are sometimes cooked over a flame with butter, sometimes with a pat of butter, and sometimes just a plain ol' ribeye.

 

[BobberQer]

http://bbq.about.com/cs/steaks/a/aa100601a.htm

 

[grillnputt]

I often think about putting butter on the steak. Do you melt the butter first then pour over steak? or do you put butter directly on the steak and when?

 

[LeeBo]

I often think about putting butter on the steak. Do you melt the butter first then pour over steak? or do you put butter directly on the steak and when?

I get a stick of butter and half a can of chipotle peppers packed in adobo sauce. I melt the butter in the microwave and then blend it up with the peppers and store it in the freezer.

When it's steak night I cut off about a table spoon or two of the compound butter and nuke it. Then I baste it on the steak before and while cooking.

If you're new to chipotle packed in adobo sauce start light. Some people find it a little warm. Goes GREAT with butter on a steak. Lights out great in fact.

 

[Rockaway BeachBQ]

To make a compound butter you should not be cooking your butter first. Just warm it on the counter and mash the flavor mix in with your fingers (gloved maybe) or a fork.

In a restaraunt if your steak is grilled then no butter is applied before cooking. It may possibly be pan-seared in clarified butter but doubtfuly.

In any case a disc or dab of butter is applied when the steak is fully rested and plated for service.

 

[Wayne]

When I was a kid our butcher told me that a Delmonico steak was the same as a KC Strip steak. I have also seen rib-eyes and sirloins cut and labeled Delmonico. In the Army Quartermaster Food Service school they told us that the Delmonico could come from a variety of locations. A restaurant would put Delmonico Steak on the menu and then use the best cut of meat they could buy when they made it. When they ran out of one cut they would simply use the next best cut they still had in the cooler. I suppose it could be the way it was fixed and not the specific cut of meat. I think the name came from Delmonico's in New Your City. Phil might be able to inquire around and get the true skinny on the original cut.

 

[MilitantSquatter]

Here is a real good article about the history of the Delmonico steak...

http://www.steakperfection.com/delmonico/Steak.html

Here's the article's conclusion....read the article for the full details... It's quite long.

Conclusion

The long journey to trace the identify of the original, authentic Delmonico Steak has concluded. The solution of the original mystery created another mystery, but all now is clear.
The original, authentic Delmonico Steak is not a bone-in steak. It is not a chuck-eye steak, a rib-eye steak, a porterhouse steak, or a sirloin steak. And it is not any boneless top loin. These are great steaks, but none is the Delmonico Steak.
The historical fact is that the original, authentic Delmonico Steak is, in modern terms, the first boneless top loin steak cut from the front of (anterior to) the short loin.

 

[Wayne]

Good article. A real treat for a history buff like me.