17.12.08

New Theme Idea for Schroon Lake '09

About 350 men, seated shoulder to shoulder at long tables, were devouring slices of beef tenderloin and washing them down with pitchers of beer. As waiters brought trays of meat, the guests reached over and harvested the pink slices with their bare hands, popping them down the hatch.

Each slice was perched on a round of Italian bread, but most of the men ate only the meat and stacked the bread slices in front of them, tallying their gluttony like poker players amassing chips. Laughter and uproarious conversation were in abundance; subtlety was not.

This is taken from an older New York Times article on beefsteaks; which refer to the event, not the cut of meat. Originally used as a political fundraiser in the late 19th century (who wouldn't vote for a guy who buys you all-you-can-eat steak dinners?), the tradition lives on in northern New Jersey.

I know, guys, I know. But don't let that distract you. Think about this:

He grilled tenderloins (the muscle used for filet mignon) over charcoal, sliced them, dipped the slices in melted butter, served them on slices of white sandwich bread, added French fries on the side...

Meat, butter, fries. Does it get any better than that? I'm thinking of taking it old school. Kids these days, wanting to make a good thing bad by making it all healthy:

The Nightingales have made only a few changes since the early days: They now dip the meat slices in margarine instead of butter. The sandwich bread has been replaced by Italian bread (it holds up better to the drippings, although some attendees complain that it’s harder to stack). Relish trays have been replaced with bowls of tossed salad, and the French fries, which were once cooked in rendered fat trimmings from the tenderloins, are now fried in vegetable oil.

So, the main ingredients very closely match the original Schroon meals: meat, pickles are both the same. I like the fries fried in meat fat, it's probably tastier, wastes less, and will kill off the weak faster.