The steaks came frozen (packed in dry ice).  We thought it would be best to slowly defrost them so we moved them from the freezer to the refrigerator so they could thaw out overnight.  By the next day, they were completely thawed and ready for cooking.

The goal of the SteakFest was to compare the buffalo steaks to other steaks to see if we could taste the difference.  We got some fresh boneless ribeye delmonico steaks from McKinnon's Meat Market in Davis Square.  We also got some mail-ordered steaks from Omaha Steaks.

The SteakFest Setup:

• Four 10 oz premium Buffalo ribeye steaks
• One fresh 16 oz ribeye steak from the local butcher
• Two 6 oz steaks from the Omaha Steaks
• Jumbo Shrimps...to clean the taste buds between steaks!
• Six guests/tasters to participate + RainyDayKitchen folks

The wines (Joel Gott Zinfindel 2004, Epison Shiraz 2004, Waterstone Cabernet 2003) were from the Charles River Wine Company (866) 889-2792. 

We had three rounds of cooking... each with a different cooking time.  We would have liked to put the steaks on the grill, but it was 20º out.  I think we'll have to repeat this test in the summer when it is warm enough to set up the outdoor grill :-)

We commented on the taste, texture, and flavor after each round.  However, by the time the third round came, the wine may have influenced some of the judging...or the judgement :-)  In any case, we did manage to gather enough notes to come to some conclusions.

The buffalo meat was VERY tasty when cooked properly, but it was a bit tough even if slightly overcooked.  The buffalo ribeye tasted best when it was slowly cooked to medium rare.

One parameter we did not control for was the cut's thickness.  The Omaha Steaks had a thicker cut so in general it was juicier than the others when cooked for the same amount of time.  However, it did not make all that much difference in the taste test.

In general, we all agreed that the freshly butchered ribeye was the best out of all the steaks in all three tastings.

We started drinking and taking notes on the wines early so we had more comments on the wines:-)  The general feeling about the Epsilon Shiraz was it had a strong smell of fruits and berries, but it was not overwhelming.  The taste was generally smooth with a bit of bite.  Very drinkable.  The Joel Gott Zinfandel had a spicier taste and was rich and balanced.  The 2003 Waterstone Cabernet also had a lot of fruit flavors (berries, plums, cherries) but in addition it also had hints of chocolate. These wines can be found locally (in Boston) at:

• Whole Foods, Cambridge MA (River Street)
• Leary's in Natick, MA
• Martingnetti's in Brighton, MA
• Vido Divino in Newton, MA

What would be the perfect way to wrap up a hearty meal of red meat?  After dinner drinks, of course!  We raided the liquor cabinet and brought out the 12 year old whiskies, 10 year old ports, and the tequila coffee liqueur.

It was a good thing Monday was Martin Luther King day!  We needed a day off to work through this meat hangover...

On Jan 15 RainyDayMagazine hosted the first annual RainyDayKitchen SteakFest.  The SteakFest was a crazy idea hatched by one of our RainyDayKitchen folks so we could compare the taste of the buffalo meat with that of the regular bovine variety.

The Plan:

• grill up the various steaks (steaks are numbered and given to the griller)
• taste test using some kind of double-blind setup (steaks are numbered when served)
• vote (best overall, taste, texture, juiciness, etc...)

Related Reviews:

1. The Buffalo Guys

2. SteakFest 2006

3. Other stuff (hotdogs, groundbeef)

Buffalo Rib Eye :

Initial Impression- Lean

Cooking Time- Do NOT overcook

Taste- Best when medium rare

Price- $64 for 4 10oz steaks

Wines:

1: Epsilon Shiraz 2004 - $21

2: Joel Gott Zinfandel 2004 - $17

3: Waterstone Cabernet 2003 - $20