hanger steak?

[alex]

anyone know where i could get hanger steak? (or bavette, onglet, paleron, whatever it's called....)
i had one recently in chez max and it was delicious. i found this recipe and tried it recently with sirloin. it was incredible - i would highly recommend trying the blended kimchi and ginger-scallion sauces with steak. but now i want to try it for real with a hanger steak.

so i just called FX buckleys and asked if they had one... after much shouting and laughing in the background the guy came back on the phone to ask was i calling from a radio station and was this a wind up? i gave him an explanation and the various names i'd heard for the steak, saying it was from the skirt or flank. i even told him it was sometimes called butcher's steak because it was so tasty butchers kept it for themselves. again, they thought i was taking the piss!

any suggestions?

[sean_dru]

you will have a tough time getting this i imagine, its a really special cut of meat, can taste a hint of kidneys in it due to it being beside them, it is more common in continental europe, i will ring my butchers tomorrow and ask him does he have any and if he does ill get you his number, i know they do an open day on saturdays, it is in tallaght, they are quite good with doing any cuts of beef, if you cant get that they do have something simular, they call it an oyster steak but in reality it is just a steak cut from the shoulder just of the knuckle, it is really the same as hanger apart from not having the offal taste of it, there is one trick to it you have to cut it with or against the grain ( you cut a tiny slither each side and you will know which way to slice) its beutiful rare and when carved properly is mouth watering tasty.

[unclepat]

Alex, hanger is an Amercian term and Onglet/Bavette are French so butchers here may not have heard of them. They are more likely to know it as skirt or flank steak. It should be widely available in any decent butchers...especially now!
Sean has given spot on directions for cooking-it's a very tasty cut when cooked rare and carved properly. It can have a bit of chew sometimes but give me a flavourful steak with a bit of resistance rather than a bland tender one any day.

[shortcircuit]

I saw bavette in two butchers in the English Market in Cork only last week. The guy who laughed at you should be shot.

On a (barely) related topic, can any of our Cork members recommend a quality butcher in the city or its environs. I'm talking the kind of place who knows where the meat comes from and doesn't mind doing a bit of work (cutting shanks off legs of lamb or trimming up a roast) Seems to me that a lot of places have the attitude "If it's not on display we don't have it"

[Prime Cut]

You need to find a butcher who has his own abbatoir who kills and then cuts and trims his carcasses. Any other butcher is buying in carcasses that are already cut etc. You could phone Doyles on Pearse St and ask them would they do it, they are the same family as the butcher in our village who has his own farm/cattle/abbatoir etc.

Alternatively quite a few country butchers have their own abbatoir, locally we have Nolans in Kilcullen, Doyles in Dunlavin and Greaneys in Athy. These guys would also bone out cheek etc for you if asked.

Good luck!

[alex]

so i went in to FX buckleys last night on my way home to get to the bottom of this - once i mentioned skirt steak they knew what i was on about. they said it's hard to get but would do their best to get some in for me. thanks everyone for the advice

[sean_dru]

Hey alex, skirt steak is a good alternative and is basically from the same cut but it is not hanger steak, hanger steak is cut right before the kidneys and has a very unique flavour, skirt of flank is a good alternative.

[Hanna]

Originally Posted by alex

i found this recipe and tried it recently with sirloin.

Iv'e been to Momofuku (Ssam, not Ko) a few times, (and I'll be there again in April, woo-hoo!). It has some of the best food I've ever eaten. That's fab they've a cookbook out. They do an incredible brussel sprout dish I still dream about....

[alex]

Originally Posted by Hanna

Iv'e been to Momofuku (Ssam, not Ko) a few times, (and I'll be there again in April, woo-hoo!). It has some of the best food I've ever eaten. That's fab they've a cookbook out. They do an incredible brussel sprout dish I still dream about....

wow, cool, would love to check it out. the momofuku book looks nice but it's one of those ones where all the recipes seem to be incredibly complex and tend to take days of preparation. i just marinated the steak, and made the accoutrements myself (well, i whizzed up a packet of kimchi... who needs to be fermenting cabbage in their gaff?). then it's just roasted onions, lettuce, and that ginger/scallion sauce

here's a nice vid of some "working class foodies" making the dish with pork shoulder
http://www.bukisa.com/videos/209639_...bo-ssam-recipe

[Hanna]

Originally Posted by alex

wow, cool, would love to check it out.

It's one of my favourite places ever. I eat myself stupid every time I'm there. They do these amazing sweetbreads....drool

Originally Posted by alex

who needs to be fermenting cabbage in their gaff?

Wot? You don't even ferment your own cabbage? Pah!

[alex]

by the way - FX Buckley's on moore street ordered onglets in for me and i got them last thursday. three enormous steaks set me back 35 quid. i used 2 of them to make the momofuku recipe mentioned above and it fed 6 of us. they were delicious - i will definitely be going back for more.

[DonalH]

Sorry to rain on your parade Alex but.....................

Last Monday I went in to see my local butcher (John Barrett in Kinsale) and asked him about Hanger, Onglette, Flank, Skirt, whatever it is. John recognised it to be what he called "Back Steak". He said he was butchering on Thursday and he would put a few aside. Got some last night and marinaded for 24 hours.

Before cooking tonight they looked good enough to eat raw. Cooked for a few minutes on each side and allowed to rest for about 10 minutes. Again, John said that you cannot OVER rest these. Served with spring onion and ginger dip, roasted onions and Nevan's courgette fritters with salsa. It was a triumph.

Oh, and the cost. Two back steaks - enough for three with leftovers, €4.
Read that again.

[meatmonger]

Now there's a butcher for you.

We experimented 2/3 years ago with a "flat iron" steak which is part of the blade. An American Study found this to be second most tender part of the animal after fillet but few butchers isolated it.

Have to say it was mixed success only. I'm not convinced we got it totally right!

[mreeyore]

Bloom's Brasserie have a "flat iron" steak on their menu, I've probably had 4 or 5 of them for lunches, they're great.

[fontane77]

I wanted to bring the topic of onglet back up again as I'm looking for a butcher in Dublin that can offer this cut on a regular basis.

I recently sourced skirt and Onglet through a friend, it was quite a bit of hassle in that he (as a butcher) sourced the whole skirt (he said about 5 kg) and the onglet was probably 0.5 kilo. My mate said there is really no market for these cuts in Ireland and they are either exported or sold as stewing steak. He could get it again but it'll take a couple of days to get it from his supplier. He reckoned it would sell for no more than €10 a kg - its not an expensive cut - but because its so small it's not very commercial.

Anyone have an ideas where in Dublin I could get it regularly? I'm based in Dublin 3.

[alex]

fx buckley's on moore st told me they'd have no problem getting them in again for me (provided i gave them a few days notice). not cheap though

[meatmonger]

Cattle prices down a bit from recent highs, but europe getting no prime cuts from s.America at the mo which is driving up cost of prime steaks here as more head to Italy et al.

Fore-quarter and other cuts can't be givin away, there is amazing value to be got away from prime cuts.

[burkean]

I was in Borough market on Saturday and got two skirt steaks of "wild beef" for £6 - they were monsters too. Half price as it was close to market close. Aged for four weeks. They did come vacumn back which was a bit disappointing but I took 'em out the second I got home and allowed them to drain off any fluid for 24 hours, which meant there was no excess blood etc when it came to cooking.

Seared the living daylights out of them and served with homemade bernaise as always. Manged to remember to disarm the smoke alarm this time too, so that saved panic across the rest of my building for once.

Gourgeous meat.

[Mary]

While in Arklow last weekend, I asked a butcher in Lower Main Street called Larry Byrne about skirt steak (I was really fed up of butchers in Dublin not knowing what the hell I was talking about.)

He knew exactly what it was, and proceeded to bring out the side of a cow from the store-room to show me exactly where on the animal the cut comes from! He said there's no demand for it, even though it's a great cut, and it usually goes into the mince, unfortunately.

I couldn't take it off him there and then, as I wasn't going to be at home for a couple of days, but he said that I could give him a call any time and he'd keep some skirt steaks aside for me. The next time I'm in Arklow, I'll definitely pick up a few and will let ye know how much it costs.

What great service and what a refreshing change. Just a few days before, I had asked a butcher in Dundrum if his steak was aged. He had replied: "Oh no, it's very fresh!"

[montagne]

Im not a chef, but I do eat meat and lots of it

Im surprised there is a dearth of hanger steak in Dublin. Ive been to this place in Cork many times but I have never ordered anythimg but the hanger steak. Its magnificent.