Fire Up The Grill!

Written by: Andrew Coppolino

At a time when customers look carefully for value in their dining experiences, restaurateurs can look to the tried and true of a grilled steak in order to provide it.

Steakhouses have performed strongly across North America, according to Rossana Perry, Eastern Foodservice Manager, Beef Information Centre. “More and more casual-dining restaurants are therefore putting steak on the menu because they know it’s far more profitable than most other proteins.”

Steaks drive the bottom line giving strong return on investment. The math is simple: despite a higher food cost, beef eclipses its protein partners when it comes to food margin.

In a simple food-cost analysis, for every steak dish sold, restaurants can make $2 more profit than by selling a chicken dish—primarily because of beef’s perceived greater value, indicates Perry.

Beefing up the “great steak experience,” she says, requires a multi-pronged attack: the right cut of good quality beef, perfect cooking, and an educated front-of-house staff who can in turn educate and “sell” the program to the customer with knowledge and passion.

According to Flanagan sales representative and protein specialist Graham Ashworth, who also has 30 years retail meat experience, “middle meats like T-bones, strips, rib steaks, and tenderloin are ideal for grilling. Short ribs are becoming more popular in the industry, as are cuts for pulled beef.”

If you want a less expensive middle-meat cut, top sirloin is versatile, consistent in its price, and is still great quality, according to Perry. “It’s one product that is really gaining momentum. It’s a leaner cut near the hip and a great eating experience at an attractive price point.”

Whatever the cut, selecting quality beef begins with a strong relationship with your supplier, adds Perry. “Our research shows that over 65% of restaurateurs trust their meat supplier to give them the information they need to make the right choice.”

Once you’ve decided on the cut, aging it is key and can make a significant difference in how the steak comes off the grill. Suppliers will bring in quality beef and hold it under controlled environmental conditions for approximately 21-28 days for maximum tenderness and flavour.

“Aging lets the natural enzymes in the steak do the work. In fact, we have certain brands at Flanagan that require 21 days aging before we can even release them,” Ashworth adds.

You can spend good money on terrific beef, but if it is not cooked properly—to the customers’ satisfaction—the program will underachieve. A chef’s training is vital: touching the steak, timing it on the grill, and taking its temperature can help cooks perfect their ability know the perfect degree of steak-doneness.

Finally, training your service staff on how to communicate with the guest to determine the proper degree of doneness they will be happy with is critical. Perry asks, “When customers ask for ‘medium rare,’ do they know that means 75% red in the centre?”

Call it the plot of the porterhouse: if a steak program falters it might just be in the way a restaurant educates and informs its customers about the tale of the cut, aging, and preparation of their steaks.

The value is there with steak—the story just needs to be told before the meat hits the grill.