The Recipe Book · Guga, Distilled

Method

1. Butcher: trim silver skin, stop at the third vein. Cut 1–1.5" steaks with the grain.
2. 24h ahead: salt every side and edge. Uncovered on a rack in the fridge. (Add the MSG/umami pinch with the salt.)
3. Cook day: straight from the fridge, pepper + garlic powder. Two-zone lump-charcoal fire.
4. Indirect at ~250°F to internal 115–118°F (wireless probe, never a fork).
5. Dust both faces with milk powder, then sear over the coals 60–90s/side, flipping every 30s. It browns fast; keep it moving.
6. Pull at ~128–130°F; carryover lands 135°F medium-rare.
7. Rest ≤10 min. Brown the butter with garlic and thyme; spoon 1 tsp per steak on top.
8. Smoked flaky salt, mixed-peppercorn grind, slice against the grain.

Method

1. Dry brine 24h as in the House Steak. Bag with dry aromatics only: garlic powder, dried thyme, dehydrated onion. Never butter or oil in the bag.
2. Cook per table. Pat completely dry after.
3. Sear ≤1 min/side: charcoal chimney, Searzall, or ripping cast iron. Never a bare small torch, never the oven broiler.
4. Finish like the House Steak (1 tsp brown butter, smoked salt).

Service mode: cook ahead → ice bath → fridge up to 6 days → reheat 135°F/30 min → sear at the pass. Tested indistinguishable-or-better vs fresh ▶ Up5ObT. This is how a restaurant runs it.

Method

1. Butterfly a deep pocket — do not cut through.
2. Stuff with mozzarella + crisped beef bacon. Tie or skewer shut.
3. Season outside with the beef-bacon salt.
4. Reverse sear: 250°F indirect with a probe to ~120°F, then hard sear all faces.
5. Rest 10 min so the cheese sets gooey, slice across.

Method

1. Roast the brined marrow bones ~450°F/15 min; scoop.
2. Fold everything into the soft butter. Roll into a log in plastic; chill ≥1h.
3. Coin onto any hot rested steak.

Bench of proven alternates: gochujang-parmesan, kimchi, hondashi, miso, anchovy-sriracha. Rule: strong flavors ride in butter, never raw on the meat.

Method

1. Dehydrate everything ~20h until snap-dry.
2. Grind with the kombu to a fine powder. Jar it.
3. Use anywhere MSG would go: in the dry brine, dusted over the finished steak, or 50/50 with salt as the house finishing salt (that mix won the seasoned-salt battle ▶ jzAEp6).

Method

1. Smoke the fat low at ~165°F for 8 hours, collecting the rendered tallow.
2. Strain, jar, refrigerate.
3. Melt a spoonful over any pan-cooked steak at the sear, or use as the searing fat. Bonus: baste a fresh steak with rendered dry-aged tallow and it reads as dry-aged ▶ 7MTaKK.

Method

1. Stir everything; rest 30 min.
2. Serve on the side. Never cook a steak in sauce — that lost every test it entered.

Method

1. Blend the marinade; vacuum-seal with the beef 24h.
2. Grill hot over charcoal, fast — the sugars want to char, not burn.
3. Serve as lettuce wraps with rice and ssamjang.

Method

1. Coat in pineapple slurry 45 min max. Rinse three times, pat dry. (Past an hour it turns to mush.)
2. One light Jaccard/fork pass per direction, then mallet flat.
3. Buttermilk dip → seasoned dredge → rest 10 min → dredge again.
4. Fry at 375°F until deep golden. Gravy from the drippings if you want the full diner build.

Method

1. Bed of cure, nest the yolks, cover with cure moistened with Worcestershire. 5–7 days in the fridge.
2. Rinse, dry in a low oven ~1–2h until firm.
3. Grate over finished steaks like parmesan.

Levels

1. Classic: UMAi bag, fridge, 35 days. Salt and pepper only at the end.
2. Signature coats (each beat plain dry-age on camera): anchovy paste · sumac paste · fresh wasabi · parmesan wrap · maple syrup · lime-zest butter.
3. The 48h shortcut: press dry koji rice onto the steak, rack it 2–3 days, brush off, cook. Beat a real dry-age in a blind test with an NFL judge ▶ rb3SHg.