Sorry but one last precook pic, as the salt seems to have brought out the marbling


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These are going in the cast iron tonight. Ribeye filets. Poorly butchered, but I have a feeling we'll get over it.

Skillet on stovetop and oven.

Boneless ribeye

Patted it dry and let it get to room temp then before putting it on skillet I rubbed it with olive oil and covered it with s&p

Interesting the interior of your steak and lack of greyband is great. I always make a point of leaving it in the fridge prior to cooking so you can get more pan time before it gets to temp. Also avoid olive oil as it has a low burn temp.

Resting...
...while I light the next chimney


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Post sear(s)

Mid slices, plating, etc.

Solid start to the contest - looks great

AA,

Nice. What was that, about 2.5lb?

Those look great Sean. That's what's up for grabs boys.

Bra ****ing vo AA

Thanks! 2.27.


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AA really sets a nice bar to kick things off.


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Not a submission, but these are pretty close to what you can expect for the prize. Salted early, then added espresso brava salt and seared in cast iron before finishing in oven:

Very nice interior, Sean! Looks like the searing process could've used a little more heat or maybe succumbed to some excess moisture. Did you pat dry before searing? What fat did you use?

Sean's got some game, wp

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Sean,

Butchery question. Would you consider the amount of exterior fat left on the top steak to be within normal ranges or excessive?

I think the one closer to the top of the photo frame is a bit excessive. Can't think of a culinary reason to leave it like that. Doesn't hurt it, obviously, but I would be very concerned about it if paying by the pound.

Our primary butcher who cuts steaks for our online sales is named Tonya, and she will occasionally leave more fat than not because we aren't selling by the pound/ounce online and only have minimum weights with corresponding prices for the steaks.

Wow this thread just got amazing-er

Mostly lurk but will try to contribute this weekend as well

Thank you. I always do a thin salting at least 45 minutes before cooking my steaks - per Kenji Lopez-Alt, my hero. I find it penetrates better, keeps the steak juicier when cooking and dries it out to help with searing (when opening the cook with a sear). So my issue is lower heat than ideal. I use avocado oil because it has a higher smoke temp, but I still keep the heat lower than optimum to make sure I don't upset my girlfriend and the dog with extra smoke from a properly heated pan. I know it adds a little cooking time and a slight gray band, but I honestly can't tell the difference in taste. I also enjoy a straight sear at lower temperatures sometimes so I can heavily baste with brown butter and herbs throughout the cook.

Kenji posted here a while back for a brief flash. Definitely highlight of the thread.

What happens if Sean wins? This looks excellent but probably too much gray and for most folks in here.

Nit,

Not a good enough crust to win, but that inside looks outstanding to me.

There's no way someone could distinguish that grey band in a blind taste test. I agree the sear is a bit spotty but that still looks incredible. Nice one Sean.

I have problems with smoke too - I take the batteries out of my smoke detector and open my windows but my apartment still gets pretty smoky. Fiancé always gets steak though so she doesn't mind.

Pssh, pictures.

Probably wouldn't notice the amount of greyband we nitpick here on but you can definitely taste greyband if there's more than what we typically see in posts here.