It was 104 on Friday and by the time the g/f got home it was after 10, so I tried the cast iron thing too.
2 - 10 oz New York steaks, about 1 inch thick.
2 - 12" Lodge cast iron skillets; one for each steak so there's lots of room.
Let the steak come to room temp for 45 min.
Salt and pepper both sides.
Preheat skillets to about medium over a gas cooktop.
Lay steaks in skillets and sear until solid brown. Flip to a new part of the skillet and repeat.
At this point, I start poking it with my finger to estimate doneness. She likes hers medium rare (aka bloody), I go for a strong medium. Dark pink but only in the middle third.
End result is I did not care for the flavor. I'm certain if I add spices and herbs to it, the pan steak can taste very good. The meat was tender and delicious, but not that bitchin', melt in your mouth taste I get from a Weber charcoal session. No more pan steak for me. $10.50 a pound NY Steaks only go on the grill.
Alton Brown method:
When determining the doneness of a steak, the feel of it is actually more important than the look.
Instead of inserting a thermometer or, worse, cutting into a steak (causing valuable juices to flow out), many good cooks rely on mere touch.
You'll need two hands to do it -- your own. That's because certain areas of your palm have the same softness or firmness as steak cooked to a particular degree of doneness.
Try this:
1. Hold your palm up, hand muscles relaxed. With your other hand, poke at the fleshy mound at the base of your thumb. Soft like a down pillow, right? It's the same softness as a raw piece of meat. When you get your meat home, give it a push and see.
2. To test for a rare steak, lightly touch your thumb to your index finger on the hand which is palm up. Now use your other hand's index finger to touch that same fleshy mound. That's how the steak should feel when you prod it with a set of tongs -- never a fork!
3. For medium-rare, touch your thumb to your middle finger and feel the pillow area with your other hand's index finger. That's how your steak should feel when you press on it.
4. For medium, match your thumb to your ring finger.
5. For medium-well, thumb to pinkie.
Be conservative and figure that less well-done is better than more well-done because you can always throw it back on the grill. Remember that meat continues to cook after you pull it off the grill -- and a 10-minute rest is good for re-absorbing the flowing juices.