The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science

(Nandana) #1

center.
Cut the steak in half along that sinew to separate it into
two individual steaks, then trim each one, and you’re ready
to cook.


Cooking: There are a several ways to cook hanger, both
indoors and out, but no matter where you cook it, you want
to make sure that you cook it to medium-rare or medium, no
more, no less. Unlike, say, a rib-eye steak, which will still be
pretty tender and juicy at medium and beyond, a hanger
steak has a very coarse texture with a distinct grain running
through it. Anywhere beyond medium, and it gets too
rubbery to chew.
Undercook it, on the other hand, and you get meat that is
mushy and slippery. Rare hanger steak is simply not the
same as rare tenderloin, rib-eye, or strip steak. Use a
thermometer, and cook it to the sweet spot between 125°
and 130°F (this gives it some leeway to rise in temperature
as it rests).
Very high heat is essential. Hanger steaks are relatively
thin, and you want to give them a nice char before they get
a chance to start overcooking. On the grill, I’ll pile up a full

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