Raising the stakes on steaks

It’s been said that I have an eating disorder. My mom once bribed me to gain weight and there was a time I could only shop in the children’s department because I was so small. I had a very fortunate metabolism then.

I was so happy and carefree with my twig of a body that I didn’t care about those rumors. I remember a friend once saying that the moment you hit 25, your body just gives up on you. Judging from many fat pictures it seems it may be a case of wide-angle lenses or my body giving up on me. However, truth be told, I no longer shop in Gap Kids, and now am a healthy size four or six from being a negative two just last year! I feel like I’m experiencing my second growth spurt, only now it’s horizontally. True, in the past I would rape wood-fired pizzas by scraping off the toppings from the crust during those manic Atkins days. However, now that I’m now all filled out (I guess puberty hit me really late), I see no point in this folly of dieting.

I’ve always believed that steak should be an essential part of one’s diet, at least in my immediate family, anyway. The three most reliable men in my life thought so: my lolo, my dad, and my sweetie Marcel. I couldn’t date someone who hated steak. It would be like hating puppies: an unfortunate deal breaker.

My mom, ever the deft housewife, only knew how to cook one thing – you guessed it, steak. I don’t care what those men in lab coats say. Steak is good for the soul (if you are a vegetarian, please turn the page because this article is an homage to this accessible gourmet treat), and it’s basically what characterizes our family. We know the best steak places in every country and it’s not Ruth’s Chris, please. It need not be a $300 thing. A good steak is never insanely expensive (Strip House steak in New York, which kicks Peter Luger and Wolfgang’s ass, is $45 for a rib-eye), but it’s also pricey enough to have it as a treat.

Aside from traffic, my other woe of living here was not being able to find a place with real wood-fired steak. Yes, my mom would console me with her panfried steak bought from Costco. When we travel to the Manila Haptons (San Francisco), she brings home a balikbayan box of flash-frozen steak. It makes her look like Jeffrey Dahmer on vacation, but, as I said, we are serious about our meat. When Prince Albert closed that prime rib trolley up for good, a little part inside of me died.

Then, I had insistent friends who ordered well-done steaks and, much to my chagrin, made fun of me when mine was gushing with blood. Tell that to any French chef, their sorry little tongues will be gushing with blood.

Then there was The Fireplace Grill Room and Wine Bar, and the world was right again: caterpillars turned into butterflies, men stopped having manicures, and I got a fat juicy steak.

Jo Ong, Fireplace chef de cuisine, is my kind of girl. You ask her for a horrid well-done steak with A-1 sauce, and she’ll give you a tender piece that is a little pink in the center served with the five house sauces of Fireplace. Fireplace, located at the Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila near Roxas Blvd. (the one with the casino if you’re confused), is my new haven. Serving steak the way mother nature intended it to be: with potato gratin, creamed spinach, sautéed mushrooms, and roasted peppers. Nothing fancy or prissy, just good bleeding steak.

Ong gave us the lowdown on great steaks, and why I will be eternally thankful that she put on that apron.

Philippine STAR: How did you get your start?

Jo Ong: I got my diploma in Culinary Arts and Technology Management at Center for Culinary Arts, Manila, and worked at Tivoli Grill at the Manila Mandarin for four years under chef Norbert Gandler and chef Humphrey Navarro.

I studied food and wine pairing at the Culinary Institute of America at Napa Valley, California. I worked as sous chef with Colin McKay at Sala Restaurant in Malate, Manila before becoming a sous chef at Parallel 45 Restaurant in Mandaluyong.

At P45, I was the wingman, so to speak, of chef de cuisine Humphrey Navarro. Through his mentoring and guidance, I honed my skill in running a restaurant smoothly.

Sometime in February 2006, Hyatt’s executive chef Hubertus Cramer dined at P45, had my trio of tartare, and offered me a job right away. He commented that you can judge a good chef by the way they make tartare. After two months, I was finally convinced that I wanted to be part of Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila, and the rest is history.

What makes a good steak?

First, the quality and cut of the steak. The meat should be fresh (look for meat that has bright lively color). Its marbling should be smooth and fine; the more marbling, the more flavorful, tender and juicy the steak will be. If you can, do get prime-grade chilled steak, which is the top grade quality of steak we currently serve at The Fireplace.

Second, a good steak should be seared well and cooked a little past rare with the surrounding soft fat crisped on the outside.

Some classic mistakes people make when cooking steak:

• People tend to overcook their steaks. This usually happens when they start cooking with a cold grill, thereby causing most of the juice to come out and giving the meat a very light color. When this occurs people tend to leave the steak longer than necessary on the grill;

•Forgetting to season the steak before cooking, or seasoning it after it has been cooked. The seasonings added after cooking will not penetrate the meat anymore;

• Cutting the steak right off the grill. It is very important to let the steak rest for a bit before cutting, so it does not lose its juicy flavor and tenderness.

Are you pro- or anti-sauce? Why?

I prefer to have my steak as is, without any sauce, provided it is a good quality steak, is seasoned properly, and is cooked correctly. However, a well-prepared sauce (one that has been made from scratch) can very much enhance the flavor of the steak.

What are the best accompaniments of steak?

I like mashed, baked, or roasted marble potatoes, or potato gratin with my steak. I also love oven-dried tomatoes, since they have a slight acidic flavor to cut the richness of the steak.

The best wine to have with steak? (Personally, for me, it’s root beer or orange soda.)

Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Bordeaux blends, Barolo, and Barbaresco go so well with steaks because the taste of red meat lowers the perceived level of tannins in the wine. Tenderloin and roast beef go well with a fine Burgundy or Pinot Noir or even a first-rate, well-aged Rioja or a good Merlot. For strongly flavored meat, like game and venison, good wines to pair with it are Australian Cabernets or Shiraz.

Can you achieve the Fireplace steak taste at home? Any tips or tricks on how to cook steak well?

Well, technically, yes and no, because at The Fireplace we use a 10-foot wood-fired oven made of bricks with the grill built inside it. The heat is so intense that it gives The Fireplace steak a very nice flavor and unique character. However, the closest you can come to achieving the Fireplace steak at home is to do the following:

• Add water-soaked wood chips to your grill to give your steak a similar smoky flavor;

• Preheat your grill. If it’s a charcoal grill, preheat for 30 minutes and if it’s a gas grill, preheat for 20. Make sure your grill is free from debris;

• Season before cooking. You can rub it with cracked black pepper, sea salt, crushed mustard seeds and garlic powder;

• Sear your meat well on both sides using the hottest part of the grill then move it to the side to continue cooking the inside and to prevent the outside from burning;

• Rest your meat after cooking for about five minutes before slicing it.

What’s the oddest request you ever had as a chef?

A very well-done steak that was charred beyond recognition.

(Author’s note: Told you.)

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The Fireplace is at the third floor of the Hyatt Hotel & Casino Manila, 1588 Pedro Gil corner M.H. del Pilar Sts., Malate, Manila.

For inquiries and reservations, call 245-1234 local 7265, or fax 247-8625.