The journey of the little steak — told by the steak itself
Thirty days of rest, a band saw, a red crate, and finally the embers. What a steak goes through here before it reaches your grate — written by the boss, in the first person.
Most businesses would show you a glossy photograph of the finished plate. Our boss sent five paragraphs instead, written from the point of view of a steak that doesn't quite grasp what is happening to it — but reckons it is doing rather well.
We're passing it on as it arrived.
**1 · The lovely room**
"First I rested for 30 days in a lovely, clean room with friends, at perfect temperature and humidity."
Thirty days. That is how long the meat hangs at controlled temperature and humidity before a knife comes anywhere near it. In that time what you will later taste is made — the meat grows tender, the flavour denser. There is no shortcut. You can only wait.
In the first photograph the rib section still hangs on its hook, the tag beside it carrying the slaughter date and number. Provenance here isn't a claim. It's a slip of paper you can read.
**2 · Separated**
"After that the little steak went to be cut, and for the first time felt separated from his friends."
The band saw goes through bone and meat, and a long rib section becomes individual steaks. This is where the thickness of yours is decided — and thickness is no detail. A thin piece is cooked through long before anything forms outside that could be called a crust. That is why our steaks look the way they do.
**3 · A room called Crate**
"Again we found ourselves in a small room called Kista. We were separated, but together again. We waited for the beautifying."
*Kista* means crate. The little steak takes the red transport crate for a room — and he isn't entirely wrong. That is where they lie side by side, ribeye next to T-bone, and wait.
**4 · They dressed me**
"They tidied us up. We were beautiful. Then they dressed me — vacuum-sealed — so that I would stay this beautiful for a long time."
Trimmed, cleaned, brought into shape. Then comes the film. The steak takes it for clothing; in truth it is the reason it reaches you exactly as it left the workshop.
**5 · A warm place**
"All at once I found myself in a warm place called Roštilj. There I shone in full beauty. The juices got going and my scent was extraordinary. I do wonder what comes next."
The account stops here, and that is just as well.
What comes next is yours: the moment the fat drips onto the embers and hisses, the smell that carries across half the garden, and the ten minutes of rest afterwards that you have to take even when you don't want to.
The steak has already managed thirty days of patience. You can manage the last ten minutes.
**If you'd like to try it**
What went through that band saw is on our shelf as [steak](/p/steak.html) and as [filet](/p/filet.html). Both are sold by weight, and we get in touch personally before every order to settle the cut and the final price.
How it then reaches the grate, the boss has written down as well: [Preparing steak simply — level 1](/stories/steak-lvl1/en/).
