I don't have a BBQ so I just cook it low and slow on a frying pan. I like it medium rare. Usually get a Porterhouse or Bone-In Ribeye. The key is to let it sit @ room temp for 15-20 mins before putting it on heat.

The 1800 degree thing that RC and others claim is a bit of a gimmick. That's the temperature at the burners--the steaks are exposed to far lower temperatures at the grate.

RC doesn't even cook the steaks that close to the burners as you can see in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i-IoqGP8RU#t=1m50s

Steakhouses like the famous Peter Luger's in NYC char their steaks far more than RC does.

JasonInDallas really knows what hes talking about, except when it comes to steak, or steakhouses, or cooking, or poker, or real estate law, or ketchup, but yeah other than that he knows what hes talking about.

I for one am surprised at the challenges ITT that cooking at room temp is not necessary/good etc, after googling and reading some articles that supports it, I will have to try some experiments soon

Best steak I ever cooked was over a huge campfire that had died down, on a grill that was about 4-5 inches over the red hot coals. Outside was done perfectly with about 1 minute on each side and inside was a (perfect) blue rare/rare. Haven't been able to replicate this anywhere else, though I came close with a ton of charcoal in my smoker and putting the grill right above the coals.

Have never been able to get propane to anywhere near hot enough.

Buy an extra pan. You can get a very nice cast iron pan for like $25. Lodge is a good brand, and they have pre-seasoned ones. I have three cast iron pans that pretty much only get used for cooking steaks.

this is what i have, its great, fits over 2 burners, cast iron and enamal, and has a raised lip unlikc a lot of the grills so you can toss some mushrooms, wine etc in after steaks have been removed

For you guys trying the presalt/wash/dry method, you REALLY have to get the steaks dry afterwards or else it won't sear. No sear = no good.

i tried that method yesterday and didn't get a good sear so i either didn't dry the steak enough or didn't have the pan hot enough.

will try again today. and tomorrow. and the day after.

Sears just fine on a ripping hot grill, even if you don't dry it.

I think that has to do with the fact that when cooking in a pan the steak is cooking in its own rendered fat(which imo is why its a better method), when compared to the grill all of the rendered fat just goes through the grates. The grill is a very dry cooking method so the searing is going to occur easier as there is less moisture involved which inhibits crusting.

well i just put an insane amount of salt on my steak. gonna throw it in a pan in about 45 minutes.

i'll rise and dry before i throw it in the pan but if it doesn't taste like a block of salt i'll be shocked.

well that steak was absolutely awful. it was a sirloin tip steak which should have had potential. i'm calling BS on this "load the salt on and tenderize the steak though osmosis" nonsense.

What kind of salt did you use? Table salt will seep into the steak far more than kosher.

i used regular old table salt and i used an obscene amount of it.

edit: and i should have known it was BS. there is no way salt is gonna absorb moisture from the steak, seep back into the steak, and break down any tough fibers enough to make any sort of difference all in the span of an hour.

in order for this to work you'd have to let the steak absorb the salt for much longer than that but then the steak would taste disgusting.

imo best way to cook a steak at home totally depends on what the steak is:

a thin kobe ribeye is ideal just superseared like a minute each side at most on a crazy hot cast iron pan

an inexpensive supermarket steak maybe 3/4'' thick will benefit from a slower cooking cycle and some sort of marinade or preparatrion beforehand, sear it then slowly roast until cooked internally to desired doneness

a usda prime thick steak imo is best seared then cooked slowly for uniform doneness throughout, so you don't end up with a thin band of pink goodness inside surrounded by grey medium well meat. this is even more important with a fillet which has little flavor to begin with. cast iron searing hot pan to sear then into the oven to finish is probably the best route if you don't have high dollar grilling equipment. personally i can't see putting anything other than salt and pepper on an expensive steak but to each his own.

haven't tried the kosher salt method but i'm dubious, maybe on a cheap supermarket steak

don't bother. it sucks.

"sear" != "char"

char = carbon (burnt outside)
sear = maillard reaction

both are good but different

anyhow, i'd still be interested to learn of other steakhouses that equal or exceed the temperature that RC uses for broiling (measured at the grate or at teh meat or w/e). char grilling doesn't really count as grilling != broiling (heat from below vs heat from above)

nate,

in what way was it terrible? you haven't even said.

maybe, but you used table salt which is pretty different than kosher and not just to jews

table salt is way smaller and absorbs into the food more readily

blue rare

lol nate, you ******, people specifically said over and over again in this thread to use a coarse-grain salt, and you used table salt. So clearly the method that several people in this thread have used repeatedly (not to mention several chefs!) is bunk because you're too dumb to do it properly.

Depends on thickness of steak imo.

Up to 1.5 inches or so, the way you are doing it is good. Thicker than that, you should sear couple minutes directly over the burners on each side and then move over indirect heat until doneness is correct.

Helps a lot to have well-marbled steak with the bone in. I definitely prefer prime rib-eye about 1.5 inches thick with bone in. NY Strip is much leaner, and you will need to be a little more precise.

Also helps if your propane grill has 3 burners. Turn all three all the way up and let preheat for 15 minutes or so before putting the steak on. Then - after the searing time you can just turn off the center burner and turn down the top and bottom burners.

Make sure the grill is not flaring up - this will ruin the flavor. Keep an eye on it.

May want to add a little more in your rub. I like some garlic, onion, and chili powder in mine.

Lastly - charcoal is really the way to go if you want the very best steak, but that's not practical for many. I do em with charcoal on the weekend, but propane during the week.

I have not been as successful with pan in the oven as I have on the grill.

Someone used table salt to season steak? Please do not disrespect the beef.

tried that salting method using porter house. Rinsed the hell out of it and still came out massively over salted and one of the least appetizing steaks I've made in a long while.

Sticking to Chicago Steak Seasoning and Olive Oi.