Review: Andria's Steak Sauce

When I first moved to the St Louis metro area over 20 years ago, a friend introduced me to Andria's restaurant in O'Fallon, IL. They lived up to their reputation then and now by preparing one of the best steaks in the area. Their signature steaks are basted in their own sauce, and I have to tell you that the sauce is well worth adding to your backyard endeavors.

I really enjoy using this sauce as a marinade for steaks, but it goes equally well on chicken breasts and pork chops. It's unique flavor adds a bit of salt & garlic goodness to the meat whether you "brush it on" as they apparently do in the restaurant or choose to marinade as I do.

I recently grilled two whole beef tenderloins for a Christmas gathering. I marinated each of them for 4 hrs in a zip lock bag full of Andria's sauce. When I placed them on the grill, I used the leftover marinade as a basting sauce throughout the cook. I received rave reviews from the diners at our party. I've never met anyone who didn't enjoy steaks prepared in this manner.

If you're in the St. Louis area, the local grocery stores carry the product. If not, it's available online here .

Cheers,
Braddog

Beef Tenderloin - Round 2

I've had family in town for a long weekend and we've had a world class weekend running the cookers.  Today, I decided it'd be steak & potatoes in recognition of my father-in-law's birthday.

Last week I took a run at trimming a beef tenderloin and slicing it into steaks.  This week I elected to roast the tenderloin whole.  Wow!  This thing rocked.  I cooked it till it was ~155 degrees in the thickest part.  This allowed me to cut steaks of different levels of doneness to allow for personal preferences.

Here's a shot the whole tenderloin cut in half before I carved it.

Cheers,
Braddog

Trimming a Beef Tenderloin

Around my house my family only goes for one kind of steak, filet mignon.  Well that can be a pricey proposition.  In fact, the last time that I bought filets from the market they were running $23.95/lb.  Not the kind of thing I can afford to do very often.

So, I've been thinking about picking up a whole tenderloin and trimming it myself.  Today, I took the plunge and bought a small(ish) one at Sams Club.  The thing weighed in at a little over 5 lbs. and was priced at $9.98/lb.  Still expensive, but much more affordable than buying the steaks individually.

Now I'd never trimmed a tenderloin before but I figured, how hard can it be?  Well the step by step guidance was just a quick Google search away.  I should have known that I'd find all the video help I need on YouTube.  There I found two different videos and after spending less than 10 minutes in front of my iMac, I was ready.

I had the tenderloin trimmed and cut into steaks in less than 20 minutes.  I cut filets a little on the thin side since my family also thinks steaks (or any meat for that matter) should be well done and it's tough to get a really thick steak done enough for them without charring the outside too much.

After marinating for about an hour, I put the steaks and baked potatoes on the Bubba Keg.  Man, they were every bit as good as the $23.95/lb steaks that I'd gotten at the market before.  And the best part is, I've got a nice piece of the tenderloin left.  I plan to smoke it on Monday and cut it thin for sandwiches next week.  I've got a taste for a steak panini.  Stay tuned for that!

Here are  links to the 2 videos that I found on Youtube.

Cheers,
Braddog