Strictly Steak

For those who think a meal without meat is just a collection of side dishes, this opinionated guide to cooking steak will prove a boon companion. Livingston (Sausage, Cast-Iron Cooking, etc.), who admits he'd rather not sit down with anyone eating a steak cooked well-done, evinces traditional tastes (he firmly believes the best accompaniment to meat is potato), and his gruff manner and primal recipes will prove a challenge for readers with more delicate palates. How to keep Ground Elkburger Steaks moist? Fold a few small oysters into the patties. What's a speedy way to cook a campfire rib eye? Set a log on some hot coals, then set it fiery-side up and throw the meat right on top; turn the meat every 30 seconds for two minutes, brush off the ash, and it's done. The text is about as organized as a bachelor's closet, but there is plenty of useful information and creative cooking for those willing to sort through the chapters. Cuts of all sorts--pork, lamb, venison and emu, to name a few--get chopped, creamed and battered into dishes such as Mafia Steak Florentine with Mushrooms, which uses cognac, chives and garlic ""sliced thinly with a single-edged razor blade,"" and Flamed Pepper Steak, which gets torched in brandy. There's ample discussion on the art of grilling, cast-iron skillets, open fires, branding irons and, of all things, the George Foreman Grilling Machine. Also amid the flames are a list of sauces (which includes some strange selections, e.g., Wyoming Catsup made from the pulp of the wild buffalo berry), a chart and glossaries of useful beef terminology, as well as a nod to salads, sides and desserts, elements deemed necessary only if there's room left on the plate after the T-bone touches down. (June)