Choosing the Perfect Steak — Where AAA beats an A+

Rich, tender, juicy, perfectly seasoned… This is what a dream steak tastes like. It might be a New York striploin, ribeye, or even a porterhouse — the cut you like is largely up to personal preference. But the most important thing to a steak’s quality, and what many of us don’t consider when we’re looking at a menu or standing at the deli counter, is what grade of beef we’re looking at.

Grading is the process of sorting meat based on its quality and characteristics, including texture, colour. One of the most important metrics is the marbling, fine white flecks of fat throughout a steak that melt and provide extra flavour and juiciness. Grading is overseen nationwide by the independent Canadian Beef Grading Agency (CBGA) and in the US by the Department of Agriculture to ensure that standards are the same across North America.

A piece of AAA short loin ready for cutting.

AAA beef (or “Choice” in the US) is considered the standard for quality, above both A and AA. But even among these grades, some pieces are better than others, and for an Alberta-born steak lover like Executive Chef Ryan Hayter of Glo Restaurant & Lounge, only the best will do it. “When I was designing our Chophouse menu, I wanted to make sure we were getting the best of the triple-A grade,” he says. “That’s why we went with Sterling Silver.”

AAA Canadian NY strip steaks

You may have seen the Sterling Silver label before; it’s a premium brand of fresh, never-frozen meat that accepts only the top 12% of all Canadian beef. “It’s the highest triple-A beef product in the marketplace,” says Joe Clare, a 22-year veteran of local Sterling Silver distributor B&C Foods. “It’s been selected from youthful cattle, the colour, the texture and the marble scores the highest of the AAA. It’s fantastic. I’ve worked in Europe, the US, and in my estimation it’s the best I’ve ever tasted.”

Once you’ve got a great piece of steak from the highest end of AAA, there’s still more to do before it hits the grill. “Aging is another key factor in tenderness,” says Joe. “It breaks down the tissue naturally, so it’ll be more tender and flavourful.” Letting the meat rest at carefully controlled temperatures allows its natural enzymes to break down connective tissue, and the longer a piece is aged the further this process goes. Sterling Silver beef is all aged a minimum of 21 days, but some restaurants, including Glo, buy only 28-day aged beef, considered the magic number for maximum tenderness.

Chef Ryan slices a short loin into NY strip steaks.

Time to get cooking. Even with our mild BC winters, cooking at home this time of year lends itself to pan-seared steaks. “The key is a smoking hot pan that’s been seasoned well, and a really dry steak,” says Chef Ryan. “If it’s wet it’ll stick and it’ll steam, giving you that grey unseared flavour.” Once you’ve got a nice sear on the outside, you can put cast-iron pans directly into the oven at about 400º Fahrenheit and use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. “If you’re doing a pan sear I’d always baste it with garlic butter and thyme at the end,” adds Ryan. “After it comes out of the oven hit it with the thyme, let the butter brown and then baste the steak with the browned butter.”

Glo’s herb-marinated AAA NY Striploin with Café de Paris compound butter

If it’s a grilled steak you’re craving, Glo offers 6, 8 and 12oz cuts of their AAA Sterling Silver with a range of delicious finishes, from a peppercorn cream sauce kicked up with brandy and Dijon, to a black and blue featuring Cajun spice, Roquefort blue cheese and clarified butter. For the adventurous, there’s also a herb-marinated steak with Ryan’s signature Café de Paris-style compound butter. All these are served after 5pm with fresh daily vegetables and your choice of garlic mash, fingerling confit potatoes or warm potato and bacon salad.