Description:

Eisenhower Dwight

President Eisenhower Remarkable Letter Explaining How to Properly Cook Steak!

 

2pp TLS signed by 34th U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) as "D.E." at center of second page; in addition, Eisenhower has underlined 10 words in the last sentence. Written at the White House, Washington, D.C. on May 6, 1958. Cream watermarked paper with "The White House, Washington" embossed letterhead. In near fine condition, with expected paper folds. Measures 7.125" x 10.375".

 

Eisenhower thanked friend Barry T. Leithead for sending him some Chicago steaks. The President enclosed a meat thermometer, and responded to Leithead's question: "'How do you cook good meat, especially this particular type of steak, to avoid ruining it?'"

 

Eisenhower's instructions were worthy of those issued from a scientific test kitchen: carefully formulated, precise, and comprehensive.

 

"In my opinion the first requirement is a meat thermometer and the second is the avoidance of 'excessive' heat. The adjective excessive is a variable one. For some cuts and under particular conditions a very considerable heat is quite satisfactory, but by and large most people use too much.

 

As a general rule the thicker the steak, the greater the distance it should be from the broiler. In the present instance I had them bring the rack in the oven down to the point where the top surface of the steak was at least 7 inches below the broiler (I personally think it could have been 8 inches without hurting it). The broiler was turned on full, and the temperature of the oven itself should not show anything over 300 degrees.

 

The thermometer should be inserted into the steak from the heavy end, with the point of the thermometer reaching as near to the middle of the steak as you can gauge.

 

The exact temperature of the interior of the steak at the time of its removal from the oven is a matter for the individual taste. One hundred and forty degrees is normally stated as rare. I personally take off steaks or roasts as the pointer is passing the 130 mark.

 

As usual, when you take a steak off, salt and pepper it -- but I do not think with steaks of this excellence you need to put any butter over them…

 

I trust this all works for you, because I assure you that Mamie and I had the best steaks the other evening that I can remember."

 

Here, Eisenhower advocated a cooking style different from the unconventional grilling method that later bore his name. The Eisenhower Steak, also known as the Coal-Fired, Caveman, Outdoor, or Dirty Steak, was produced after casting the steak directly onto a bed of red-hot coals. Eisenhower's favorite cut of meat was strip steaks--the thicker the better--cooked medium rare. Eisenhower grilled at the White House balconies and at Camp David.

 

Eisenhower's Outdoor Steak recipe, still in the collection of the Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum, is reproduced below:

 

"Build a charcoal fire on the ground and let it burn until is a bed of red hot coals. Get a sirloin steak 2-1/2 to 3 inches thick. Roll the steak in a mixture of fine salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Throw the steak in the fire. After about 10 minutes nudge it over once and let it stay in the fire for a total of about 20 minutes. Take it out, brush it off, and slice on the diagonal."

 

The presidential couple's favorite recipes were published in contemporary newspapers. While wife Mamie specialized in desserts like key lime pie and chocolate cake, Ike mastered meat-heavy entrees. His vegetable soup and beef stew were legendary. The Eisenhowers' personal cookbook included recipes for hush puppies, ham casserole, liver dumplings, oyster gumbo, and chili con carne.

 

Eisenhower was a self-proclaimed example of "plain folks," an unassuming Midwestern with simple tastes. Ike golfed, painted, and made his own home-made meals in the third-floor White House kitchen. Eisenhower had learned to cook, along with his 5 brothers, back home in Kansas on Sundays--his mother's day off.

 

President Eisenhower's correspondent, Barry T. Leithead (1907-1974), was the chairman and C.E.O. of Cluett, Peabody and Co., an apparel manufacturer. Leithead had worked his way up the ranks from Chicago floor salesman in 1929 to New York corporate chairman in 1966. A zealous Republican, Leithead fundraised for Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956, in the latter year generating $1,000,000 as chairman of the New York State rally. Leithead was also a personal friend and an occasional golfing partner.

 


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