Making my first steak

[Matthiasa]

Broiling is the way to cook a good steak. Disregard anyone that swears by cast iron; unless you are a seasoned chef, you want to broil.

Marinades are flavorings like amaretto in coffee. Unless your cuts are bad, don't flavor them; good steaks are sullied by marinades.

1. If your steaks are not of uniform thickness, hammer them down. Fat is good; do NOT cut it all off. Leave 1/2"+ and score the fat so the steaks do not curl when cooking.

2. Pull them out an hour (varies) or so before cooking, add salt and pepper, and arrange them on a riser so that they do not touch the pan itself. If you only have a pan/casserole, lay the steak on forks in the pan so it doesn't touch.

3. Raise your oven's shelves so that your steak sits no more than 3 inches from the heating element. You want it close; not in the center of your oven. Leave the oven door OPEN slightly as you broil and be ready to wave newspapers under any fire alarms nearby (or close doors/open windows).

4. Experiment. I don't know what kind of oven you have, or how hot it gets, etc. Aim for 4 minutes, then turn the steak with tongs and pull it out 3 minutes later. Cut into the thickest portion and if it looks like bloody jello then put it back in for another minute or two.

5. Enjoy

If you want a dry steak do the bolded otherwise it is highly recommended you don't.

 

[Drako]

Broiling is the way to cook a good steak. Disregard anyone that swears by cast iron; unless you are a seasoned chef, you want to broil.

You cannot be from Ohio. Broiling, really?

 

[nakedfrog]

I do support learning to cook for yourself. I'm just confuzzled why so many wait til after they leave home to do so.

Perhaps because before you leave home, generally parents provide the meals?

I know I've made a concerted effort to ensure my kids can prepare a small variety of meals and are capable of following a recipe, but the younger one is generally more interested in convenience. The older one did take an interest and was cooking various recipes from Pinterest before she moved out

 

[Fanatical Meat]

You cannot be from Ohio. Broiling, really?

While I haven't broiled in a long time the steak does come out pretty good once you learn not to burn it.

 

[Cheesemoo]

If it's a good steak, just use minimal seasonings. Salt and pepper and maybe garlic. You don't marinate a ribeye. That's for poorer cuts of meat whose flavor you want to disguise.

Let it get to room temperature and pat it dry. Cook it on a skillet, not George Foreman because he'll squeeze out all the juices. You paid a lot of money for all that fat.

But I do like Montreal steak seasoning. And I like dropping a bit of compound butter over the top after off the grill.

 

[smackababy]

While I haven't broiled in a long time the steak does come out pretty good once you learn not to burn it.

If you aren't searing it, it's garbage.

 

[William Gaatjes]

I do not marinade my steak. But i do use a little bit of garlic powder and Oregano. I bake in olive oil, using a skillet. I personally go for between medium rare and rare. No red meat for me. But i also do not like it when it is overcooked dry meat, so timing is everything.
What i do when i am not sure if it is ready or not, is to slice it partially open with a knife after a few minutes of cooking, to look. And to not use too much heat. It is blasphemy to some cooks, but it will prevent you from ruining it. Of course, i do this after the outside seems nicely baked.

And what always tastes great is to add sliced Paris mushrooms with it. The juices from the steak together with the olive oil and garlic and oregano mix and this makes the Sliced Paris mushrooms taste like the steak.

 

[Ns1]

If you aren't searing it, it's garbage.

x infinity

 

[Matthiasa]

If you aren't searing it, it's garbage.

Or one is trying to minimize the destruction of the steak which happens with searing. If only the very center was cooked properly the steak is garbage.

 

[Ns1]

Or one is trying to minimize the destruction of the steak which happens with searing. If only the very center was cooked properly the steak is garbage.

yep, that's exactly why no restaurant sears their steaks.

 

[ControlD]

Why even cook it at all? Seems like a lot of work.

 

[Skeeedunt]

If you aren't searing it, it's garbage.

You guys lost me. Are you implying that pan searing is required in advance of broiling, or that when broiling you need to leave it in long enough to crust up the outside? Seems like the broiler would be more than hot enough to sear well.

 

[Sonikku]

Holy crap I seem to have kicked off a war.

I think one of you guys needs to come over to my place and cook it for me. The "right" way. :'(

 

[smackababy]

You guys lost me. Are you implying that pan searing is required in advance of broiling, or that when broiling you need to leave it in long enough to crust up the outside? Seems like the broiler would be more than hot enough to sear well.

I'm implying some sort of sear is required. How that happens is fairly irrelevant, so long as it happens.

 

[dullard]

Holy crap I seem to have kicked off a war.

I think one of you guys needs to come over to my place and cook it for me. The "right" way. :'(

You can get quite a tasty steak with just about any random post from this thread (at least so far). They are trying to differentiate between "quite tasty" and "worthy of selling for big bucks".

For your first steak, don't worry about it so much. Just keep to two things:

1) Salt it generously (obviously don't cake it up with a thick layer of salt, but a good thick steak needs more salt than most people think when they first start cooking them).

2) Don't overcook it. Seriously, try medium-rare (or rarer) a few times with the right amount of salt. If you give it an honest try, you'll never want to go back to medium-well.

That is it. The rest is just fine details to help improve your cooking as you do it more and more.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Perhaps because before you leave home, generally parents provide the meals?

I know I've made a concerted effort to ensure my kids can prepare a small variety of meals and are capable of following a recipe, but the younger one is generally more interested in convenience. The older one did take an interest and was cooking various recipes from Pinterest before she moved out

I'm glad you're teaching your kids. Too many apparently don't understand cooking is a survival skill. My folks had a list of things all of the kids had to learn before they moved out. Cooking for yourself was at the top.

 

[blankslate]

I like how you guys have standardized cooking times regardless of temperature, thickness, or weight.

the instructions in this link does factor in the thickness of the steak you are cooking btw.

http://www.food.com/recipe/broil-a-perfect-steak-165254

ADDITIONAL ITEMS - Cast Iron Skillet, Spatula or Tongs.
Bring your 1 to 2 inch steaks to room temperature and use a clean cloth to remove excess moisture.
Move oven rack 6 inches from heating element.

Pre-heat oven and skillet by setting the oven to broiler for 15 to 20 minutes.

Rub steaks with olive oil, kosher salt and coarsely ground pepper. NOTE: Use any seasonings of your choice.

Once the skillet is pre-heated, pull out the oven rack and carefully lay steaks on the skillet. NOTE: Pan is Extermely Hot and will spit and splatter.

Close oven and sear the steaks for 3 minutes on one side, turn and sear the opposite side for 3 minutes. DO NOT USE A FORK TO TURN STEAKS!

Once seared, set the oven to 500F and cook using this Time Chart. Turn steaks half way through the remaining cooking time.

Rare (120-130F) 1" 0-1 minute, 1 1/4" 2-3 minute, 1 3/4" 4-5 minute

Medium (140-150F) 1" 2-3 minute, 1 1/4" 4-5 minute, 1 3/4" 6-7 minute

Medium Well(150-160F) 1" 4-5 minute, 1 1/4" 6-7 minute, 1 3/4" 8-9 minute

Remove steaks from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes.


Serving on warm plates is recommended to maintain meat temperature.
I can not stress this tip enough -- Keep the fork in the drawer until ready to eat. Never pierce the meat during cooking.

this is the method I use going for medium with a bit of pink in the middle and they don't come out burnt on the outside when following the instructions in my experience.

but going by the other previous posts in the thread there are several methods that will yield good results.


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[DrPizza]

Do you have a crock pot and a costco membership? Buy a couple prime ribeyes, put in crock pot on low overnight with ketchup, a bottle of Aunt Jemima syrup, and a dash of paprika. Much easier and taste just as well as the other methods mentioned here.

Without looking at your IP address, I'm going to guess you live in Alabama or Georgia. Or under a bridge.

 

[Phoenix86]

Holy crap I seem to have kicked off a war.

I think one of you guys needs to come over to my place and cook it for me. The "right" way. :'(

Basically the Alton Brown pan seared method linked above. It's simple.

Salt+pepper.

Wait AT LEAST 45 min. If you don't have at least this much time, salt immediately before cooking. Don't half ass this part or it'll end up like leather.

Heat pan in oven to 500, obviously needs to be oven safe pan, ideally but not 100% necessary cast iron (hold heat better).

Pan sear on skillet, high heat, olive oil. 30-60 seconds per side depending on cut.

Pan+steaks in oven. I usually flip once going into the oven.

Flip every 2 min. Cook until desired temp, medium rare best flavor, which is about 4 min total in oven depending on cut.

 

[Matthiasa]

yep, that's exactly why no restaurant sears their steaks.

A lot of people that get a med rare steaks like that outer 1/4-1/3 that is well done for some reason... Also that's the quickest way to make it. Restaurants don't always use the best methods if said methods take to much time.

 

[Fritzo]

the instructions in this link does factor in the thickness of the steak you are cooking btw.

http://www.food.com/recipe/broil-a-perfect-steak-165254



this is the method I use going for medium with a bit of pink in the middle and they don't come out burnt on the outside when following the instructions in my experience.

but going by the other previous posts in the thread there are several methods that will yield good results.


_______________

You know, all of you seem to be fighting over doing the same result in a different way (putting a sear on the steak). It doesn't matter how you do it, you just need high heat.

Also, I would not put olive oil on a steak and then sear it. Olive oil's smoke point is around 400F. Since you're dealing with temps over 500F, it will just burn (and burned oil is slightly carcinogenic). Always oil your surface, not the meat, and let the oil get up to temperature or you're going to boil it instead of sear it.

Good oils to use are peanut or grapeseed. You can't really burn those.

BTW- I've graduated from plain old steak and been getting into making beef Wellington lately. Here's my last two results:

 

[Matthiasa]

Minor corrections.... olive oil, peanut oil, and grape seed oil actually fall with ~20 degrees of each other for smoke point and all well bellow 500 degrees.
Additionally all meat is carcinogenic and becomes even more so when heated up enough for the Maillard reaction to occur.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

the instructions in this link does factor in the thickness of the steak you are cooking btw.

http://www.food.com/recipe/broil-a-perfect-steak-165254



this is the method I use going for medium with a bit of pink in the middle and they don't come out burnt on the outside when following the instructions in my experience.

but going by the other previous posts in the thread there are several methods that will yield good results.


_______________

If I use this method in my oven the steak gets charred, not seared. Char does not taste good. Oven temps vary though so one person may get great results while others do not. When I use the cast iron pan method I set my oven temp to 425F.

Whenever possible I like to use my gas grill. I pre-heat it to 650F - 700F, sear the steak on one side on high for 2 minutes with the lid closed, then sear the steak on the other side for 2 minutes on high with the lid closed. Then I turn the burners down to the lowest they will go and sear the final sides for a time depending on their thickness. For 1" it is 2 minutes each side. For 1.25" it is 2:30 a side. For 1.5" it is 3:00 minutes a side. For 1.75" it is 3:30 minutes...and so on. Turning down the burners to low makes for a relatively large finishing window and still produces a nice cross-hatch pattern on the steak too. Another advantage is that flare-ups are a rare occurrence.

That works for my setup. For others it will depend on their specific grill. It takes some practice.

 

[WelshBloke]

Also, I would not put olive oil on a steak and then sear it. Olive oil's smoke point is around 400F. Since you're dealing with temps over 500F, it will just burn (and burned oil is slightly carcinogenic). Always oil your surface, not the meat, and let the oil get up to temperature or you're going to boil it instead of sear it.

Good oils to use are peanut or grapeseed. You can't really burn those.

I just use some of the fatty trimmings off the steak. I trim the steak and throw those in whilst the pan is warming up, its not like you need a lot in a well seasoned pan.

BTW- I've graduated from plain old steak and been getting into making beef Wellington lately. Here's my last two results:

Ooooh! Those look awesome. :thumbsup:

 

[Fritzo]

I just use some of the fatty trimmings off the steak. I trim the steak and throw those in whilst the pan is warming up, its not like you need a lot in a well seasoned pan.

You're essentially using lard when you do that. The problem is lard's smoke point is similar to olive oil (around 400F), so it will start to burn at searing temps. The oil is actually recommended because it fries and caramelizes the fat in the steak. This gives that pleasant "crispy" texture that we like in other meats (like bacon). Also, I like to finish my steaks with burned butter. When the steak is nearly done, put a pat of butter in the pan, brown it, then spoon it over the steak. It adds a nice sheen and a great nutty flavor.

My favorite oil for beef is peanut (or groundnut, depending where you're from). Pick up a small bottle and try it out.