Friday, March 29, 2024 Mar 29, 2024
62° F Dallas, TX
Advertisement
Business

Prime Time

Richard Chamberlain knows steaks; and the best butchers in town.
By D Magazine |
photography by Barry Wong

Richard Chamberlain knows great steak. In addition to his local meat-friendly restaurant offerings—Chamberlain’s Steak and Chop House and Chamberlain’s Fish Market Grill in Addison—he’s written a book on the subject (The Healthy Beef Cookbook) and is a chef consultant for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. We asked Chef Chamberlain for tips on how to make a perfect steak right at home:

Preparing: “You have to buy a good steak to have a good steak. Look for marbling in the beef. Go for a Black Angus choice—the highest end of choice—or a prime steak. For preparation, use either a kosher or sea salt, which gives a lot more flavor than iodized salt, and coarse, fresh-ground pepper.”

Cooking: “One of the big mistakes in cooking steak is that people don’t allow it to brown well enough. There’s a lot of flavor development in the browning of the protein. Heat a cast-iron skillet on medium-high heat so it’s smoking slightly, then put your steak in the pan with a tiny bit of oil. Don’t turn the steak too quickly, and only turn it once. It’s okay to peek—lift the corner an inch or two to see how the browning is coming along—but if you turn it too much, the pan cools down and the browning process won’t complete. Rather than a using a fork to flip, which penetrates the meat and causes you to lose some of the juices, always use tongs. If the steak is extremely thick, finish it in the oven at 375 degrees. Then to really enhance the taste, sprinkle on a finishing salt from a specialty store.”

Serving: “When steak is cooked at a high temperature, all the juices run to the center. If you allow the meat to rest three to six minutes before serving, the juices can work their way back into the outer parts of the steak. Then when you slice it, you won’t lose all the moisture. How you slice a steak is important, too. If you cut with the grain, it’s going to be very chewy. If you cut against the grain, it will be nice and tender.”

A CUT ABOVE: Local butchers have the best meat around.

LOCATION

HISTORY

SPECIALTY

Central Market5750 E. Lovers Ln.,
214-234-7000
(Multiple locations) 
Founded in 1994; first Dallas-area 
location opened in 2004 
Dry-Aged Rib Eye ($34.99/lb).
When it comes to cooking steak,
the more marbling (small bits of fat
scattered throughout), the better.
David’s Meat
Market
4010 N. Jupiter Rd.,
972-495-8315
Open since 1982Choice and Prime corn-fed Iowa
beef. Most popular is choice Rib
Eye ($13.69/lb).
Rudolph’s Market
and Sausage Factory
2924 Elm St.,
214-741-1874
Open since 1985 Rudolph’s offers heavy-aged choice
beef but is also famous for a variety
of other meats including European-
style sausages.
Vongeerstem Butcher
Shoppe
3527 Oak Lawn Ave.,
214-219-3700
Opened July 2006Head butcher and co-owner Greg
Geerts (along with equal owner and
fiancee Cathy Tamez) sells only
Certified Angus Beef.
Vin Classic Wines5717 Legacy, Ste. 120,
Plano, 469-241-8800
Opened end of November 2006Allen Brothers, beef supplier to the
great steakhouses across the
country, sells a selection of the
finest filets, strips, and bone-in
ribeyes at Vin. It’s the first
physical retail outlet in the U.S. for
the renowned steak company.

Related Articles

Image
Arts & Entertainment

Here’s Who Is Coming to Dallas This Weekend: March 28-31

It's going to be a gorgeous weekend. Pencil in some live music in between those egg hunts and brunches.
Image
Arts & Entertainment

Arlington Museum of Art Debuts Two Must-See Nature-Inspired Additions

The chill of the Arctic Circle and a futuristic digital archive mark the grand opening of the Arlington Museum of Art’s new location.
By Brett Grega
Image
Arts & Entertainment

An Award-Winning SXSW Short Gave a Dallas Filmmaker an Outlet for Her Grief

Sara Nimeh balances humor and poignancy in a coming-of-age drama inspired by her childhood memories.
By Todd Jorgenson
Advertisement