The "New" Baja Steak

The other day the local grocery store ran an ad on the radio promoting a new steak called the “Baja Steak”. Red flags went up faster than at a Fidel Castro parade. For starters, anything that involves words like ‘baja’ or ‘malibu’ reeks of hokey marketing. Those are words used by places like TGI Friday’s and Applebee’s to promote super-salty dishes that just makes you thirsty for another giant beer.

Also, the cow has been around for awhile, making it tough to believe in newly discovered cuts that generations of impoverished people throughout the world have overlooked. The tongue-and-cheek spot said it was a new steak they found hiding out in the barn. Ha ha. The French savor animal parts like armpits and snouts so I doubt any edible cut has been undiscovered. Regardless, I was at least curious to find out from which primal cut the “baja steak” originated.

Later that day, an internets search for “baja steak” brought up countless Taco Bell related hits but that was about it. Harris Ranch’s website was no help either. By the following week I had nearly forgotten about it until I was at the aforementioned market and saw the baja steaks in the meat case. They were boneless, cylindrical and looked like a mini tenderloin roast.

“Can I help you with anything?”

I always tense up when talking to a butcher because I know I know I'll be talked down to. However, behind the meat counter, instead of the requisite pot-bellied, mustachioed butcher with a patronizing attitude, was a smooth-faced kid who I swear was flinging newspapers from his bicycle the other morning. Who am I to judge, he may know what he's talking about even if he doesn't insult me in the process.

I had to ask. “What’s the deal with the baja steak?

“People love it.” He was almost giddy. After questioning a little deeper he explained that it came from the shoulder clod, which partially explained why they renamed it a baja steak. People don’t like eating things with graphic anatomical names, especially when it’s a body part that we have ourselves, like the shoulder. Hence 'sweetbreads' instead of 'thymus gland' (or' pancreas'). The word ‘clod’ just adds to the disappeal so I guess the term baja steak isn’t such a bad idea.

He couldn’t tell me too much more but he told me more than I expected and he swore it was a big hit with customers. He said it cooked up like any steak but could not liken the taste to any other cut of meat. Each mini-roast weight about 10 ounces so I had to buy two. The wife likes good steak and if it really was good I’d feel guilty for not getting enough. At $6.99/lb. getting two was an easy call.

I planned on grilling them over a fire but the first rain of the year dictated a pan sear and hot oven finish. Cast iron got the nod for the sear and I finished them in a 400-degree oven on the same pan I had small, red potatoes roasting. Searing on all sides brought the internal temperature up to about 95 degrees, requiring about seven minutes in the oven to reach medium rare. While the finished steaks rested I made a red wine pan sauce and cooked the green beans. The green beans were boiled in salted water for two and a half minutes, drained, sautéed in a little butter for about two minutes, splashed with balsamic vinegar then sautéed for about a minute more.

The little roasts browned up nicely on the stove, smelling reminiscent of some beef dish I couldn’t put a finger on. At the table I immediately cut into the center of my mini roast and was pleased to see it was cooked perfectly to a deep pink throughout. The cross-section had the honeycombed structure of brisket. It was tender, at least as tender as a New York steak if not more so. The taste? Very good. Cuts from the chuck have a distinct taste. It wasn’t livery like hind quarter or “round” cuts often are and it didn’t taste anything like a loin cut (i.e. ribeye, New York, etc.). The pronounced flavor is good and not gamy. I must tip my hat to the youngster at the meat counter because he was correct. It’s an excellent cut of meat.

After a little more searching using the term “shoulder clod” I uncovered the story on the baja steak. It comes from the shoulder clod, which yields several cuts including the top blade (now conspicuously re-cut, re-priced and re-marketed as a flat iron steak, covered in an earlier entry). The clod section we’re concerned with is the “shoulder tender” which gets trimmed into the “shoulder petite tender roast”, aka the baja steak. It can also be cut into “shoulder petite tender medallions” but that seems like a waste to me. Better flavor and juiciness would come from the mini-roast. If you want to see where I got my info and dig deeper, start here and poke around:

http://www.beefinnovationsgroup.com/petitetender.aspx

It seems like crafty meat industry folks are carving up primal cuts in new ways and isolating pieces of meat that have been lost in the "roast" shuffle. I say “Hear! Hear!”