Cooking A Good Steak - Page 4 - Other Topics Forum - Discuss Pop Culture, Arts and Entertainment

flashlight7878 · 07-25-2010, 03:09 AM

I think I probably looked like someone emptying a beer into their stomach in a very efficient manner

Benny Foldem · 07-25-2010, 04:22 AM

I recommend using a infrared heated grill. they are the tits. cook at 1200 degrees. you can have a thick steak medium rare in like 5-6 minutes. It totally sears all the juices inside the meats.

I was totally a charcoal guy till I got one, they rock. still love charcoal, great stuff, but I'm biased to my grill I guess. The very best way is to sear a steak on the infrared, then throw it on the weber for the charcoal goodness.

Mine is a Solaire. I got the small one which was only $325. They make really nice expensive ones too.

scotchnrocks · 07-25-2010, 07:36 AM

I think a coat of olive oil before it goes in the pan works better than butter, but I may just be bad at cooking. It usually gets charred up a bit thick in some spots when I use butter.

SneakyFerret · 07-25-2010, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zinn0

I use kosher salt but I put it on right before I throw the steaks on the grill, that way the salt doesn't dry the meat out.

fwiw, the main point of the salt in this application is to suck the water out of the steak before grilling... which is a good thing. It doesn't take the moisture out of the steak when you remove the water... rather, it prevents the steak from steaming while cooking, so you end up with a nice sear and a moist steak where all the moisture is delicious fat.

otnemem · 07-25-2010, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SneakyFerret

fwiw, the main point of the salt in this application is to suck the water out of the steak before grilling... which is a good thing.

According to Harold McGee, this is incorrect:

"He explained that while a high concentration of salt has a desiccating effect, which is helpful for curing meat, the small amount of salt used to season food has a hydrating effect: Salt helps the cells hold on to water."

otnemem · 07-25-2010, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scotchnrocks

I think a coat of olive oil before it goes in the pan works better than butter, but I may just be bad at cooking. It usually gets charred up a bit thick in some spots when I use butter.

I think the best fat would be clarified butter or vegetable oil (high smoke point), but from everything I've always read, you should use butter/fat very sparingly for a steak.

Predator314 · 07-25-2010, 10:56 AM

I like Ribeyes. I use the Alton Brown method mentioned above.

- Turn on fans, open a window or door, take batteries out of smoke detector(s)
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees
- Get blazing hot cast iron skillet...seriously let this thing set on high until it turns white hot before even putting the steak on it.
- While waiting on things to get hot, drizzle a little canola oil on one side, salt liberally (use kosher salt), pepper to taste (I use lots), flip steak over and repeat. The combination of the salt/pepper/oil will form a crust when searing the steak.
- Now toss the steak in the cast iron skillet to sear the steak (about 1 minute per side)
- take cast iron skillet off the stove top and throw it in the 500 degree oven. Oven time will depend on how you like your steak cooked and how thick the steak is. I like mine medium. Most steaks I leave in the oven 2-3 minutes per side.
- *** I think this part is most important **** Let the meat rest for about 15 minutes before cutting. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the steak. I take a bowl and place it upside down in a plate. Sit the stake on top of the bowl, so the excess juices drip down into the plate. This prevents the crust we formed in the searing process from getting soggy. Put a piece of foil over the steak so it doesn't get cold while it rests.
- Grab your favorite steak sauce. Throw it in the garbage. You won't need this crap anymore. Best steak ever!

**citanul** · 07-25-2010, 12:10 PM

Obviously 2 seconds of googling or reading any random thread about cooking will yield you the "let steak come to room temp, salt well, sear, cook over gentler heat to cook through, rest" method (though I think Alton Brown might actually recommend doing low heat then high?). The method I'm most excited about, but haven't had a chance to try out is the French (European?) method of low heat, longer cook time, stove top cooking, with butter.

A great thread about the process is here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?...a-thick-steak/

Where the author follows (mostly) the recipe published by Alain Ducasse in the NYTimes.

Personally I think that unless you're going to get all super-dorked out and home-dry age steaks or whatever, the biggest thing to do is get a great cut of meat, and the second biggest thing is to not kill the steak by doing something stupid during the cooking process.

DCJ311 · 07-25-2010, 12:29 PM

Rub massive amounts of salt (I use pink himalayan > kosher imo) on both sides of the steak. Let it sit for half hour or so, then soak the steak in a bowl of highly alkaline (10 PH+) water for 15 minutes. This may not be easy to find but it makes a difference.

Prepare marinade. I use cabernet, olive oil, raw apple cider vinegar, garlic, mushrooms, onions, lime, cilantro, and parsley. Season with S&P, italian seasoning, paprika, and cumin. Ideally this should be marinated with the steak overnight, but 1-2 hours should work okay.

Then I just broil on both sides for 10-15 min, usually turns out well. Cilantro adds surprising flavor.

UMTerp · 07-25-2010, 12:35 PM

I tried the sear/oven method (I'd usually grilled in the past) for the first time a few months ago, and it turned out great. Here is a post from another board with the method I used as a general guide, followed by my response for more of the details if you've never done it before. It wasn't difficult, and I can find my way around the kitchen, but I'm no master chef or anything:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wuffey

To answer this I need to know how you like your steak cooked. I have a regular cast iron skillet and a cast iron grill pan. I prefer the skillet but it doesn't have the same surface area and won't give you "grill marks". You can't make the sauce mentioned below with the grill pan.

Steps:

1. Dry rub on steaks (kosher salt,black pepper, brown sugar)
2. cover and set them out to bring them to room temp
3. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees
4. Get the pan smoking hot on the stove top, turn on vent fan.
5. Pour some neutral flavor oil in the pan (canola). Be careful.
6. Sear steaks on both sides. 2-3 minutes per side.
7. place pan in hot oven and finish to your liking.
8. Remove steaks and cover in tin foil to rest.
9. Pan back on stove and throw some onions in.
10. Add red wine to deglaze pan and make sauce.
11. Add some butter to reduced wine and onions to finish sauce.
12. pour sauce over steak.
13. Profit

Quote:

Originally Posted by UMTerp

FYI,

I tried this (more or less) last night, and it turned out great. I'd typically grilled steaks before, but this was just as good, if not better. To answer a few questions about time / quantities folks might have if they've never done this before, here's what I did differently than the above (and I'm not saying it's better or worse, it's just what I did):

- Just salt and pepper, and a little bit of olive oil on on the steaks, no brown sugar.
- Oven to 450.
- No oil in the cast iron.

I had two steaks, both New York Strips, prime, about 16 ounces apiece. A little over an inch thick. My wife likes hers somewhere between medium rare and medium, I like mine probably a tiny bit redder than medium rare.

I seared hers for 2:15 on each side, and put it in the oven for 6:30.

I seared mine for 2:00 on each side, and put it in the oven for 5:00.

Just stuck the whole cast iron pan in the oven for that part of it. I was guessing with the times, but they both turned out very close to how we liked them. I don't think I'd change the times much. I also added a pat of butter on each before I stuck them in the oven. Rested both for 5-10 minutes in foil before serving.

To deglaze the pan, I added a little less than a quarter of a yellow onion (diced) and a clove of garlic (minced), and let it sweat for about 30 seconds. Then I added about 3/4 cup of beef stock (didn't want to open a new bottle of wine, but the stock worked fine), a tablespoon of butter, and reduced the sauce. The sauce was great (I don't think I'd ever deglazed a pan before), but I'd use a little less onion if I did it again - it was a little bit overpowering.

I'll definitely be making steaks like this again though.

Oh, and it does get smoky - make sure you have a vent on and windows open.

supafrey · 07-25-2010, 12:46 PM

My favourite part about cooking steak threads is how identical almost all posts are.

Tony_P · 07-25-2010, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benny Foldem

It totally sears all the juices inside the meats.

QUICK EVERYONE PILE ON THIS GUY NOW

supafrey · 07-25-2010, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony_P

QUICK EVERYONE PILE ON THIS GUY NOW

HAY DID YOU KNOW YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO PRESS HAMBURGERS ON TO THE GRILL?!?

Autocratic · 07-25-2010, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benny Foldem

I recommend using a infrared heated grill. they are the tits. cook at 1200 degrees. you can have a thick steak medium rare in like 5-6 minutes. It totally sears all the juices inside the meats.

Totes

TheRempel · 07-25-2010, 02:49 PM

Kosher salt is used because not only because it's easier to pinch, but because the crystals are larger and mostly flat, making it much easier for the salt to stick to meat.