'Entrecôte'; Hebrew for 'take it or leave it'

After the Shavuot dairy fest (think lasagna and chocolate Kahlua cheesecake), I feel like I need to address a meaty issue... y'know, just to get my metabolism back on an even keel.

Go into most Israeli meat restaurants looking for a steak and you are likely to find your choices a tad limited.  In fact, with the exception of bonifide steak houses, the choice will usually be between Entrecôte and... Entrecôte.  No seriously, they may give you a choice of weight (from 300 grams all the way up to a kilo!) but not of what cut of steak you get. 

But if you were brought up (like I was) hearing about Porterhouse/t-bone, Sirloin, Chateaubriand, hanger, rib-eye, skirt and fillet mignon (to name but a few)... well, the lack of choices in Israel steaks is likely to make you pine for the bistros and butcher shops of the old country.

The problem is that 'Entrecôte' is supposed to be a premium cut of meat from the rib eye... but in Israel it can be just about any medallion-type steak from anywhere in the cow.

If you go into a supermarket looking for steaks you will be met by two choices;  fresh cut Entrecôte or 'aged' Entrecôte vacuum packed in plastic.  Neither gives much clue to the meat's provenance (other than the fact that it is certified kosher) and if you don't have an eye for meat it is purely hit or miss as to what kind of cooked steak will end up on your table.

We used to go to a butcher shop in Jerusalem which had a beautiful selection of different cuts on display.  The roasts and steaks we enjoyed from that place very nearly justified the astronomical prices they charged.   But alas, a dispute between the owners and rumors of non-kosher meat closed the place down.

By sheer chance I happened to be waiting on line for chickens at the meat counter in my regular Beer Sheva supermarket last week, when I noticed an older man in the back expertly butchering a side of beef.  There was quite a line, so I was able to watch for some time as he skillfully reduced the half carcass into its logical segments and then went to work with a boning knife to remove the ribs from the roast/steaks.

When it came my turn to order, I asked the woman behind the counter if I could have a word with the old man in the back.  She shrugged and went to fetch him.

What ensued was probably a bit comical to watch since my grasp of meat terminology in English is shaky (at best), and his English was non-existent.  But since both of us were trying to discuss a topic near and dear to our hearts, cultural and linguistic bridges were built... and crossed.

At once he seemed to sense a kindred spirit and began spouting a rapid-fire stream of terms that meant exactly nothing to me.  Seeing my uncomprehending stare, he fetched a big sheet of paper and began sketching out a cow and its various segments, but even that did little to break the impasse since I had only the vaguest sense of where the various steaks come from.

Then I did some sketching of my own.  I drew a classic T-bone... some spare ribs... a rib roast.  I drew a steak marbled with fat instead of the more common (and less flavorful) lean steak with a strip of fat around the edge.  And as I drew he nodded enthusiastically and assured me that he knew what I wanted.

He went to the back and carried out a segment of short ribs on his shoulder that must have weighed roughly the same as he did.  We began discussing the various possibilities with an interested crowd gathering to listen in.  With a combination of words and gestures he demonstrated what kind of steaks were possible... and after a brief deliberation, I asked for six generously cut steaks (on the bone).

After he had wrapped my order I thanked him and went to complete my shopping.  But I was gratified to see several other people immediately start gesturing that they wanted the same kind of steaks that I had ordered.

When I got home I fired up the grill before even walking into the house.  The kids husked the corn (don't get me started about how Israeli corn doesn't measure up to its New England counterpart!) and Zahava prepared a salad.. Within minutes we had a repast fit for a king.  Even Yonah (who is a picky eater at the best of times) plowed through a nice chunk of meat without having to be asked twice!

The moral of the story is that there are some excellent steaks here in Israel for those who take the time to look for them.  Go ahead... throw off the tyranny of the poorly defined (yet ubiquitous) Israeli Entrecôte.  Dare to look for something more!

Note: Only 52 grilling days left until the beginning of 'the nine days', so what are you waiting for?! *

* The nine days are those preceding the fast of Tisha B'av, during which many Jews traditionally refrain from eating meat as a sign of mourning.