Chipped steak
This post is about chipped meats. This includes beef, venison, pork, elk, moose, it doesn’t matter. As long as it’s that thin slice of meat that cooks up in a minute’s time.
Connecting with people over food these last few decades has brought me to the startling realization that the culinary application of chipped steak has become overwhelmingly, depressingly singular: cheesesteaks. Okay, don’t get me wrong, I love cheesesteak and agree and appreciate that cheesesteak is a powerful expression of chipped steak. I’ve been living in the NYC/Philly area for my entire life and have come to accept the cheesesteak as a regional, cultural food of my people. The goal of this post is not to challenge the relationship between chipped steak and cheesesteak, it is to challenge you, the reader, to open your mind to the other powerful expressions of this cut of meat and support you along your culinary journey with it.
What’s so attractive about chipped steak? It cooks up quickly, provides ample surface area for seasoning, and defrosts quickly for those times when you forget to pull bigger cuts of meat out of the freezer for dinner. With these qualities you can see why it is easily incorporated into kitchens all across the spectrum. Speaking of which, did I mention that it is one of the cheapest cuts of meat both at the supermarket and at the butcher shops that process personal harvests? The value is only matched by ground meat, which will get its own post soon enough. In the meantime let’s take this opportunity to give a shout out to the sustainability and convenience and nutrition of chipped cuts of meat.
Now that we can start to understand the core benefits of chipped steak, how do we apply it to our meals? The simplest answer to this question is to just start cooking it and adding it to dishes. Depending on how it’s packaged you may need to separate the slices which can be frustrating but the general cooking method doesn’t change no matter what:
Heat a skillet to medium/medium-high heat.
As the pan is heating, oil the pan with a thin coating of high heat cooking oil like EVOO, Grapeseed, or Peanut oil.
Once the oil starts smoking carefully add a layer of chipped steak to the pan. If the slices are stuck together, gently separate them in the pan using a utensil.
Season generously.
After about 1-2 minutes of cooking flip or stir the meat until desired doneness/color is achieved and remove from the pan.
Excellent, now we have cooked delicious, flavorful, tender chipped steak. From here we can add it to dishes like ramen soup bowls, breakfast platters, tacos, mac n’ cheese, rice bowls, sauces, stir fries, or of course… blanket the meat in cheese and enjoy yourself a cheesesteak. No matter how you choose to prepare your next chipped steak meal remember that the most important factor to consider is that you make it so you’ll eat it.
Chipped Elk, Swiss Chard, Tomatoes, and Poblano Peppers on a fresh Tortilla