Blade steak or cross cut blade steak.

Posted by: Sharon P
Date: April 24, 2012 04:46AM

I normally use cross cut blade steak for casseroles, but my local supermarket has regular blade steak on sale this week for a very reasonable price. I am wanting to make a Tuscan Ragu recipe by Annabelle Langbein that I found online but it specifies cross cut blade steak.

[www.annabel-langbein.com]

Instinct says it will be fine to use regular blade steak rather than cross cut.
Anyone have any opinions to offer?

Re: Blade steak or cross cut blade steak.
Posted by: cantabcook
Date: April 24, 2012 05:57PM

When we got Bosco the bull we had tonnes of blade steak and I used it for casseroles and in the crockpot. I also use the crosscut blade usually but the blade was just fine.
As always Sharon, your timing is sublime. Have been sitting here trying to find some new beef recipes to try without too many calorific ingredients and here it is. Time to brave the hairy little fish again perhaps? Let me know what you think of this dish please since I know our taste buds are finely aligned.

Re: Blade steak or cross cut blade steak.
Posted by: TPANDAV
Date: April 24, 2012 07:18PM

The only difference between blade and cross cut blade is that cross cut has more connective tissue (that band that runs across each slice) so the result after long slow cooking is more luscious. I always choose cross cut over blade, but there's not a lot of difference.

When I was younger I didn't understand about connective tissue and thought that it was fat. I used to painstakingly cut it all out of the meat before I cooked it. What a waste.

Re: Blade steak or cross cut blade steak.
Posted by: mommamurf
Date: April 25, 2012 09:44PM

I used to do exactly the same thing, TPANDAV, grumbling all the time about the amount of 'gristly fat' in this quite expensive meat. I hate to think of how much loveliness I threw away!

Re: Blade steak or cross cut blade steak.
Posted by: Sharon P
Date: April 25, 2012 10:47PM

Well, the ragu is in the crockpot, and hopefully will be ready in time for dinner as I was a bit busy and took too long getting it in the crockpot. It went in at 2pm and is on high, so should be good by 7ish. I opted to brown the meat first.... Will let you all know how I get on, and how it tastes.

Re: Blade steak or cross cut blade steak.
Posted by: Sharon P
Date: April 26, 2012 04:13AM

Well, we have just finished dinner, and it went down very well indeed. I do think that the stickiness that comes from the cross cut blade would have been nice, but the regular blade steak was perfectly fine and went beautifully tender with the long slow cooking of the crockpot.
I had been planning to make pasta to go with it, but we used all the eggs in the Austrian coffee cake for dessert, so just used dried penne pasta instead, which was fine but I think that homemade parpadelle would have been even better.

I will definitely make this one again, as it is delicious and easy.

So, another one to add to the repertoire.