Hanger Steak - Beauty & The Beast

I can't believe it's a month and a half since I shared Chef Dennis Johnston of fid Resto's hanger steak tutorial with a promise of my own hanger steak making experience.

So I guess my first thought to you is...it's hard to find, after all, there is only one to a cow, so make friends with a butcher. My go-to-guy is Chris de Waal of Getaway Farm and even then I had to wait all this time to finally get one. I could have ordered on line, but I see him every Saturday at the Halifax Farmers Market and just hope. Last week I was lucky.

My second piece of advice...it takes about 20 to 30 minutes (unless you're an expert chef like my friend Dennis), to actually do the butchering - removing the membrane and sinew, before marinating.

My plan was to use one of the recipes I found on line - most of which didn't seem to mention any need to marinate. And the truth is, while Chef Dennis serves a very popular 7 day marinated hanger steak at fid Resto, the kitchen crew and I wolfed down the one he made for my lesson...no marinating involved, just a little salt and pepper before pan grilling. It melted in my mouth.

Lime Curry Marinated Hanger Steak

Somehow the "rub in the marinade and cook within the hour" plan turned into leaving it in the fridge for four days before grilling. The result was spectacular. The particular curry powder I used - Madras Sambar Masala – Mangal brand, plus the lime juice infused the meat with a suprisingly mild flavour that was intriguing. So if you like more heat, use your favorite curry powder. We thought this one made a really interesting dish. The kind where everyone wonders what the ingredients are.

And if you can't find hanger steak, try it with flank steak or skirt steak.