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How hot are you getting the pan before you put the steak on it? It has to be freaking hot. Basically if once you put the steak on the pan, you don't need to open a window/door to let the smoke out, it ain't hot enough.
if you have a vent fan and still need to do this you are burning your oil and bittering and increasing carcinogenicity of your meat.
the oil should come close to its smoking point. thats it. past that the oil will be rancid after smoking for a bit.
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Don't use oil in the pan or the steak will end up "boiling" in it and won't get a good sear. I rub a super small amount on the steaks beforehand when i'm marinating them with salt + pepper and then put them in an empty pan.
i prefer putting oil on the steak too, if i dont use the beefs own fat to cook in, but the idea that putting oil in the pan causes the steak to boil isnt true. the steak boils because of excess moisture, and it boils for too long if there is too much moisture or the pan isnt hot enough to evaporate it away quickly. the oil being on or off the steak at the point of cooking doesn't change this. if the oil is in the pan though, you may need to maneuver the oil under the steak, and this maneuvering could cool down the pan causing the steak to not crust properly, however.
if you're really concerned about boiling, and drying the meat off/hot enough pan is not enough, then you can sprinkle a little flour evenly over the steaks. this can help thicken a pan sauce too for afterwards.
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Also make sure the steak is at room temperature before you start cooking it. Take it out of the fridge at least an hour beforehand.
i really dont get this. i often leave my steak in the fridge if it isnt a thick cut because its much less forgiving in terms of overcooking if you cant get the perfect sear in time. particularly if im presearing steaks its better they come out of the fridge so i dont damage the inside meat which i plan on cooking later. in the steak house i worked in, the meat was always in the fridge before cooking, or at least not left out for long.
Last edited by Zygote; 09-15-2010 at 10:14 AM.