Thanks for the hanger steak!

To the nice lady who took the wrong cart in Whole Foods:

I wasn't really paying attention when you approached me in the supermarket the other day. In fact, I had my head halfway inside the dairy case, looking for a good deal on yogurt. But I do recall you mentioned that you had accidentally taken someone else's cart, you thought it might have been mine, and you were wondering whether I now had yours. I also recall looking inside my cart, recognizing the contents, and saying I couldn't help you. Then another shopper mentioned he had heard something about a missing cart on the other side of the store, and you went off to investigate. I thought that was the end of the story.

It was two days later when I decided to grill the salmon burgers I had purchased. I pulled the package, wrapped in brown butcher paper, out of the fridge and was starting to tear it open when I noticed something odd on the label. Something about a hanger. Certainly nothing about salmon. Upon closer inspection, what I had was nearly one pound of hanger steak. I guess you had placed something in my cart after all, because I have never bought hanger steak in my life.

With the grill already heating and no backup plan for dinner, I decided to cook the steak. Although I have plenty of experience grilling steak and other foods, I was a little nervous, because I had heard that hanger steak can be chewy if not prepared properly. I've mostly had it as fajitas or in high-end restaurants, where it benefited from marination and the high heat of a professional kitchen. This being a last-minute dinner, I had no time to marinate, and my gas grill gets hot, but not that hot.

A few minutes of Internet research suggested that as long as I used the highest heat I could and cooked the meat to medium rare -- no more and no less -- all would be well. I also found some helpful instructions for removing the gristle that ran the length of the steak: simply cut the steak into two smaller ones.

So I preheated the grill and rubbed the meat with olive oil, salt, pepper and dried oregano. I threw the meat on the grill and left all three burners on high. After about five minutes, I turned the meat, turned the center burner off, and after a few minutes more, started checking with a meat thermometer. I was looking for a temperature of around 130 degrees, but after getting readings anywhere from 125 to over 140 in different areas, I pulled it off the grill rather than risk overcooking. I let it rest for about five minutes and then, following another online tip to promote tenderness, sliced it thinly against the grain.

Once I started slicing, I could see that I should have left it on the heat a few minutes longer. The thinnest parts were rare to medium rare, and the thickest parts were very rare. It was easy to salvage the situation by not leaving the thickest part unsliced and throwing it back on the grill for about three more minutes.

Success! The meat wasn't tough, it was very juicy, and the flavor was intense and delicious. I think I'll start buying this cut sometimes.

So thanks for the hanger steak. And I hope you like salmon burgers!