Why would anyone want to sous-vide a steak, you might ask? The short answer is flawless execution. When a steak is cooked via standard methods, even with a precise thermometer, you run a certain risk of over or under-cooking it. This risk can be minimized, but it takes practice, and skill—even the seasoned line cooks who've been turning-and-burning steaks before vegans existed will produce the occasional slightly-too-well-done porterhouse. More

[Photograph: Andrew Christopherson] Note to spice and seasoning blend executives: "dust" is not the most appetizing word. Pretty sure it shouldn't be used to describe any foodstuff, unless it comes after "fairy" (although I don't really know how edible that'd be). My friend spotted this Tone's Steak Dust at his local Sam's Club in Alaska. The blend includes salt, garlic, dehydrated onion, a few hydrolyzed and autolyzed substances, and corn syrup solids. Related Poll: Food Terms You Should Stop Using in 2010 Best rub for steak? [Talk] Marinated Ribeye Steaks... More

This week at The Food Lab, we explore the importance of resting meat. You mean I have to wait before sawing into that perfectly charred ribeye? Unfortunately, yes. Asides from over or under-cooking and seasoning issues, not resting meat is probably the carnivore's biggest blunder of all. More

[Photograph: Robyn Lee] Lauren Vernet of the University of Bristol is known for having a "perfect palate for tasting meat." In this feature at The Independent, Kate Hilpern does a steak tasting with Vernet to learn about their different flavors (mushroom, malt, sour milk, and more) while getting Vernet's insight on how maturation period, breed, sex, and feed affect the flavor of beef. What's the best kind of beef? Vernet says it's based on individual preference: "Provided it's good-quality well-reared beef, you can't (as some butchers and chefs do) say one type is categorically better than another." He does say that a good steak should give three to four chews per mouthful: "You chew beef at the back of... More

How to eat a steak if you're a cat: Get two other cats to hold the ends for you, and then munch away at the center. This method works pretty well until the other cats realize, "Wait, this blows," and try to take the steak away from you. Watch the video after the jump.... More

If I had to choose one final beefsteak dinner it would be the prime rib at Smith and Wollensky, a cut that I have been enjoying since moving to New York City in the mid 1980s. More

This past week the Boston Globe ran the obligatory "when times get tough, the tougher, cheaper cuts of meat become more popular" story. In fact, I prefer cheaper, slightly tougher cuts even when times are not tough. Which would you rather chow down on—skirt steak or filet mignon? No contest, right?... More

"Houston, there appears to be a steak-laden alien vessel in low earth orbit, and it's comin' in hot." To help train astronauts, NASA has hired a chemist, Steven Pearce, to recreate the smells of space. Astronauts interviewed after spacewalks reported smelling peculiar odors on their suits and helmets. Pearce: "For them, what comes across is a smell of fried steak, hot metal, and even welding a motorbike, one of them said." [via The Presurfer] Related: Historic Shuttle Mission Sends First Bagels into Space... More

I'm slowly realizing that meat can and should be enjoyed in small portions. Serious Eats contributor and Meat Lite co-author Joy Manning does have a point: small portions of meat can be an incredibly satisfying thing to eat. Joy inspired me a couple of nights ago when I went to a steakhouse with a group of seven serious eaters. Like many people I usually order my own steak. Sometimes it's a ten-ounce steak, sometimes it's 12 ounces, and sometimes it's even a pound. I enjoy every single bite and then, of course, I realize I feel uncomfortably full. Lots of red meat will do that to anyone. So this time I did something radical.... More

Photograph from Society In Decline on Flickr It's important for us to remember our roots, and for the Silver Butter Knife Steak, all the history goes back to Murray's in downtown Minneapolis. When the Silver Butter Knife Steak thinks to itself, "there's no place like home," Murray's is what comes to mind. Silver Butter Knife Steak refers to the restaurant's 28-ounce strip sirloin special, priced at $89.50 and meant for two diners.... More