Any Paleron is a Pal of Mine

We’ve written about paleron, a.k.a. blade steak, before. Peter has a great recipe here (http://www.sanagansmeatlocker.com/blog/paleron-steak-in-red-wine) for braised Paleron in what is essentially a beef bourguignon. In that article he says that “Paleron is not the best grilling steak. Sure it will do in a pinch when you want to save a few bucks and you don’t mind eating around the tough bits.” At $9.99 a pound for paleron, I don’t mind eating around the tough bits at all. I find a well-chosen paleron, if you know what to do with it, can rival strip loin for mouth-watering tenderness and juicy delectability for around $5 a steak. The paleron is essentially an untrimmed piece of flat iron. If you look at the raw photo below you can clearly see the fascia (fancy word for gristle) that runs through the middle of the cut. That’s the main “tough bit” Peter’s talking about. Don’t eat that. What you can also see is fine-grained, nicely marbled beef. Eat that. The other great thing about paleron is that — unlike a flat iron, where the grain runs lengthwise, similar to a flank steak — the grain in the paleron runs up and down like a rib-eye, strip loin or tenderloin. That means, once you avoid the gristle, you’ve got a Lexus steak at Hyundai pricing. The cooked piece in the photo below was cut to 1 ½ inch thick and was sautéed/oven-finished to a very juicy medium/medium rare. This was achieved very simply: Remove steak from the refrigerator ½ hour before cooking. Fry in a hot oven-proof pan for four minutes. Transfer pan to 350F. oven for eight minutes. Rest steak on warm plate for 4 minutes. Then start enjoying that tender, juicy, full-flavoured paleron. And if you get some gristle caught between your teeth, use that $10 bill you saved as dental floss.