G’day Shirleyanne,

Thank you for your question! I have to tell you that Rib steaks are probably my favourite all time steak. They are juicy because they have some of the best marbling (fat distribution through the meat) and they are pretty much always quite tender with the perfect amount of chewing enjoyment. While I do love a good Filet Mignon, and they can be flavourful, they don’t have quite as much marbling which helps keep the meat during and after cooking nice and moist and juicy.

On the Chefs Blog that Chef Ryan and I contribute to, I created a chart with temperatures for doneness of meats. Please check it out but your pink inside generally speaking is approximately Med Rare and if you are using a thermometer it would read when inserted into the centre of the meat about 135°F or (57°C).

If you check my blog on How to know when your meat is done to your liking, you will see one of my students, Elyse Schopp, modeling in some pictures where and how to hold and touch your hand to get the feeling of how to touch your steaks and know what the approximate doneness is. It is not a fool proof method but as a chef we don’t always have time to stick a thermometer into 20 or 30 steaks at time, so it can be effective as a guide.

You can freeze steaks and they hold very well. Before cooking, the best practice is to defrost meats in the refrigerator over night. This will ensure that they retain the most amount of moisture after freezing. During the freezing process the moisture in the meat expands and splits the fibres. So when defrosting the slower in the refrigerator method is the best. You can use a microwave to defrost but I generally find that while they can be effective if you are not careful a small part of the meat can heat up and start to cook, then when you actually do cook the steak it can become over done in areas and a little dry.

Don’t cook meats from frozen, always defrost before cooking as they will become dry and overdone on the outside before they are hot and done to your liking on the inside.

I hope this helps you master the fun art of cooking steaks. Steaks are not all equal and I have made it a lifelong exercise to enjoy cooking every steak as if it is the first time and sometimes with a nice cold beer or glass of wine at my side.

Have a great time cooking.

Yours in food,
Chef James

G’day Fran,

Thanks for your question! Tomato slices on sandwiches are a little tricky especially when you are placing them on a sandwich which needs to be refrigerated.

Tomatoes, wherever possible, are best sliced and then placed on a sandwich and served. I am sure you know that after slicing and placing on a sandwich with other ingredients they do leak juice and can create a soggy sandwich. The other issue is when you place a tomato in the refrigerator either sliced or whole it becomes mealy and not as pleasant tasting. The other problem is if you keep them out on the counter they ripen very quickly in warmer weather.

I find the best way to hold fresh tomatoes is in a container covered in plastic wrap sitting on ice or in a cooler top insert. This keeps the temperature constant but they don’t reach the chilled levels that they do in a refrigerator with the cold air continuously blowing over them. This will slow down the leaching of moisture and also helps slow down the sogging process. There are also food fresh powders that you can purchase but I don’t use them generally, and don’t really recommend.

I hope this helps you and good luck.

Yours in food,
Chef James