Sooo, steak?

Alright, I'm in an apartment so no grill for me, but here's how I've been doing steaks.

Pull steak out of fridge a half hour early, lightly pat with a paper towel to get extra juices up.
Sprinkle each side with some kosher salt and some fresh ground pepper.
Wait half hour
While waiting, prepare finishing butter - 1tbs butter, pinches of kosher salt, garlic powder, rosemary, and parsley. Mix that all up and let it sit.
Heat up cast iron skillet on the stove (electric) to about 5..
Cook steak by feel (medium rare), flipping every couple of minutes. It's taken some practice, but I can judge doneness properly by prodding with tongs on 1" ribeyes and strips which is what we pretty much always have.
After steak feels done, set on a plate to rest, spread finishing butter over it.
Wait 5 minutes
Serve, and enjoy!


So that's how I do it, and the finishing butter made a HUGE difference when I started using it. I would like to get an idea of other ways to prepare steaks though, namely any other good sauces or prep techniques that give a stellar steak. I feel I've got the hard part down with nailing the doneness, but some variety would be cool. SWMBO and I will get the value pack from Wegmans which is always a nice price, and then split a steak for dinner about once a week. While steak is delicious, I could go for some variety!

So, how do you steak?

You could branch out into meals based on steaks. Fajitas are delicious when made at home. Just get a skirt steak and prepare it similarly to what you normally do but season it with Mexican spices. While it's resting cook your peppers and onions. Serve with taco condiments.

Barring that I would look at getting a stovetop grill pan. Not as good as charcoal but it gets closer.

Add your salt right as you put them in the pan adding it before dries it out. When I cook mine I use my cast iron skillet, turn it on high. Sear each side of the steak 20-30 secs and finish in the over at 500 for roughly 3 mins each side for a 1.5" strip. Let rest for 5 mins and devour....

kaconga said:

You could branch out into meals based on steaks. Fajitas are delicious when made at home. Just get a skirt steak and prepare it similarly to what you normally do but season it with Mexican spices. While it's resting cook your peppers and onions. Serve with taco condiments.

Barring that I would look at getting a stovetop grill pan. Not as good as charcoal but it gets closer.

Click to expand...

Good call on fajitas, SWMBO is on low carb but these would certainly be delicious without the tortilla. I've got a grill pan, but on an electric stove it just takes too long without enough radiant heat.


And Puckhead - as I understand it, the salt draws out some of the moisture which helps concentrate the flavor. By no means are the steaks dry when I cook them though. I'll give it a try with salt in the pan next go around and see how that comes out. I'll skip the oven though since I've got the cooking technique down for doneness already, and I'd hate to puncture the steak with a probe thermometer.

We do a steak salad with a couple of variations, one has Brined Greek Olives with Feta, and another has Blue Cheese and string beans I think, I'd have to check the recipe box, but they're both pretty tasty.

Fusorfodder said:

Alright, I'm in an apartment so no grill for me, but here's how I've been doing steaks.

Pull steak out of fridge a half hour early, lightly pat with a paper towel to get extra juices up.
Sprinkle each side with some kosher salt and some fresh ground pepper.
Wait half hour
While waiting, prepare finishing butter - 1tbs butter, pinches of kosher salt, garlic powder, rosemary, and parsley. Mix that all up and let it sit.
Heat up cast iron skillet on the stove (electric) to about 5..
Cook steak by feel (medium rare), flipping every couple of minutes. It's taken some practice, but I can judge doneness properly by prodding with tongs on 1" ribeyes and strips which is what we pretty much always have.
After steak feels done, set on a plate to rest, spread finishing butter over it.
Wait 5 minutes
Serve, and enjoy!


So that's how I do it, and the finishing butter made a HUGE difference when I started using it. I would like to get an idea of other ways to prepare steaks though, namely any other good sauces or prep techniques that give a stellar steak. I feel I've got the hard part down with nailing the doneness, but some variety would be cool. SWMBO and I will get the value pack from Wegmans which is always a nice price, and then split a steak for dinner about once a week. While steak is delicious, I could go for some variety!

So, how do you steak?

Click to expand...

When I lived in an apt I still grilled, just in the parking lot. Some had a little hibachi they used on the balcony, but I had a bigger grill, so it was the parking lot for me. Nobody ever complained.

You might try adding a touch of amber LME to your finishing butter, it adds a nice bit of malt flavour to the meat. I also like to brush the meat with EVO or dark sesame oil during the last minute or 2 on the grill.
Regards, GF.

Fusorfodder said:

Alright, I'm in an apartment so no grill for me, but here's how I've been doing steaks.

Pull steak out of fridge a half hour early, lightly pat with a paper towel to get extra juices up.
Sprinkle each side with some kosher salt and some fresh ground pepper.
Wait half hour
While waiting, prepare finishing butter - 1tbs butter, pinches of kosher salt, garlic powder, rosemary, and parsley. Mix that all up and let it sit.
Heat up cast iron skillet on the stove (electric) to about 5..
Cook steak by feel (medium rare), flipping every couple of minutes. It's taken some practice, but I can judge doneness properly by prodding with tongs on 1" ribeyes and strips which is what we pretty much always have.
After steak feels done, set on a plate to rest, spread finishing butter over it.
Wait 5 minutes
Serve, and enjoy!


So that's how I do it, and the finishing butter made a HUGE difference when I started using it. I would like to get an idea of other ways to prepare steaks though, namely any other good sauces or prep techniques that give a stellar steak. I feel I've got the hard part down with nailing the doneness, but some variety would be cool. SWMBO and I will get the value pack from Wegmans which is always a nice price, and then split a steak for dinner about once a week. While steak is delicious, I could go for some variety!

So, how do you steak?

Click to expand...

A little trick for ya to figure meat temp.


Take your left hand and locate the abductor pollicis brevis (APB muscle)

#1 on the lower image in this link

http://sparkcharts.sparknotes.com/health/generalanatomy/section15.php

1) Touch the tip of your pinky to your thumb (on the same hand same hand for this and all below) , press on the APB muscle, this is what well done should feel like

2) Touch the tip of your thumb to your ring finger, press on APB muscle, this is what medium well should feel like

3) Touch the tip of your thumb to your bird (middle) finger, Press on the APB muscle, this is what medium should feel like

4) Touch the tiop of your thumb to your index finger, press on APB muscle, this os what Medium rare should feel like

5) Leave your thumb slack, press on APB muscle, this is what rare should feel like....

Hope this helps


BTW, I do something similar if I am cooking inside (rarely), though I do leave the meat out longer (a couple of hours), and season just before hitting the heat. No oil on the steaks, just S&P. A nice compound butter with truffle OR smoked sea salt, fresh minced garlic is just fine.

Usually I do steaks outside on the Cargriller, but with a similar seasoning profile...

man im in the same boat condos suck..... i hate even doing burgers inside cuz it smokes the hell out of my place ......

My favorite thing to do with pork chops which I'll bet would work for steak as well, either on the grill or on the cast iron inside, is to take them out of the fridge and throw some adobo (popular hispanic spice, found everywhere) on them and let it soak in while they come to room temp. It's easy and gives a great flavor...sometimes I'll grill up some long hot peppers and scallions to go with it, I'd imagine you could just throw them in the pan while the meat rests...

wolfstar said:

A little trick for ya to figure meat temp.


Take your left hand and locate the abductor pollicis brevis (APB muscle)

#1 on the lower image in this link

http://sparkcharts.sparknotes.com/health/generalanatomy/section15.php

1) Touch the tip of your pinky to your thumb (on the same hand same hand for this and all below) , press on the APB muscle, this is what well done should feel like

2) Touch the tip of your thumb to your ring finger, press on APB muscle, this is what medium well should feel like

3) Touch the tip of your thumb to your bird (middle) finger, Press on the APB muscle, this is what medium should feel like

4) Touch the tiop of your thumb to your index finger, press on APB muscle, this os what Medium rare should feel like

5) Leave your thumb slack, press on APB muscle, this is what rare should feel like....

Hope this helps


BTW, I do something similar if I am cooking inside (rarely), though I do leave the meat out longer (a couple of hours), and season just before hitting the heat. No oil on the steaks, just S&P. A nice compound butter with truffle OR smoked sea salt, fresh minced garlic is just fine.

Usually I do steaks outside on the Cargriller, but with a similar seasoning profile...

Click to expand...

Wolfstar where did you learn that? Does it really work? Going to try in an hour or so.

If this trick works, Greatest post ever!

Fusorfodder said:

Alright, I'm in an apartment so no grill for me, but here's how I've been doing steaks.

Pull steak out of fridge a half hour early, lightly pat with a paper towel to get extra juices up.
Sprinkle each side with some kosher salt and some fresh ground pepper.
Wait half hour
While waiting, prepare finishing butter - 1tbs butter, pinches of kosher salt, garlic powder, rosemary, and parsley. Mix that all up and let it sit.
Heat up cast iron skillet on the stove (electric) to about 5..
Cook steak by feel (medium rare), flipping every couple of minutes. It's taken some practice, but I can judge doneness properly by prodding with tongs on 1" ribeyes and strips which is what we pretty much always have.
After steak feels done, set on a plate to rest, spread finishing butter over it.
Wait 5 minutes
Serve, and enjoy!


So that's how I do it, and the finishing butter made a HUGE difference when I started using it. I would like to get an idea of other ways to prepare steaks though, namely any other good sauces or prep techniques that give a stellar steak. I feel I've got the hard part down with nailing the doneness, but some variety would be cool. SWMBO and I will get the value pack from Wegmans which is always a nice price, and then split a steak for dinner about once a week. While steak is delicious, I could go for some variety!

So, how do you steak?

Click to expand...

Try adding the salt and pepper once it comes off the heat. It's not that the salt will dry out the meat, but rather that it pulls the moisture to the surface which makes a good sear harder. By salting after cooking, you get a better sear.

Dan said:

Wolfstar where did you learn that? Does it really work? Going to try in an hour or so.

If this trick works, Greatest post ever!

Click to expand...

It works alright, it's pretty standard, the guide in the following link is possibly a little better, but the results will be the same, there are a few variations on this, all based on the tension in muscles.

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/the_finger_test_to_check_the_doneness_of_meat/

Dan said:

Wolfstar where did you learn that? Does it really work? Going to try in an hour or so.

If this trick works, Greatest post ever!

Click to expand...

I used to work in a steakhouse

Dan said:

Wolfstar where did you learn that? Does it really work? Going to try in an hour or so.

If this trick works, Greatest post ever!

Click to expand...

it works I never did the pinch my fingers part, but I only do med rare, so I just used the muscle in a open hand

look into pan sauces, such as de-glazing with a liquid and finishing with butter, or just a reduction of the liquid. for example, sear a steak, while it is resting saute mushrooms, garlic, shallot in the same pan, de-glaze with madeira, reduce a touch, finish with room temp butter, a little s&p. i always love a good de-glazed pan sauce. other liquids to consider, stocks, broths, red wines, white wines, ciders (pork).

b

I will pass on some chef wisdom.

So you want a tender, flavorful, charred, juicy steak and you want to do this indoors? First, you want to get a well-marbled, bone-in Ribeye, Porterhouse, NY Strip, or T-Bone that is at least 1-inch thick, preferably 2. Next, you'll want to concentrate the flavor of said steak while retaining it's moisture. Lastly, when it comes time to cooking, you'll want to have a piping hot ridged cast iron grill pan, straddling two burners.

Concentrating Flavor:

If you have time, remove the steaks from the package immediately after purchasing. Set the steaks on a sheet tray topped with wire rack in the refrigerator. Let them sit, uncovered, for 1-3 days. The goal is to concentrate the natural beef flavor by letting evaporation and aeration do its job. Afterward, let the steak come to room temp. for about an hour, brush both sides with a high smoke point oil, and liberally season each side with kosher salt immediately prior to searing. Fresh cracked black pepper is added mid-way.

If you don't have time, implement a 1 hour kosher salt dry-cure by setting the steaks on a flat plate or tray, sprinkling 1 tablespoon of kosher salt on the steak "per side", and letting it sit at room temperature. The surface should look quite salty... too salty to seem edible. Don't worry! You won't be eating all of that salt. The salt will initially draw out the moisture from the center of the steak and put it on the plate. Shortly afterward, through reverse osmosis, some of that salt and all of the liquid will be drawn back up into the center of the steak, rendering it perfectly seasoned throughout and very, very moist. The steak will also become relaxed and be tenderized by the salt cure. After 1 hour, you're going to do something that might seem sacriligious, but it's the only way to ensure you're not eating all of that salt, and it does not affect the quality or flavor of the steak. You're going to briefly RINSE it under cold water. Trust me on this. No additional salt will be needed ever again - You will have a perfectly salted steak.

The Cooking:

Whichever method you choose, pat the room temperature steak's surface completely dry, brush lightly with a high smoke point oil like canola oil, then place on the piping hot grill pan. Remove the battery from your smoke detector, open all the windows, and wait until the steak has a nice char on the first side. Move it 90 degrees from the original location to create a criss-cross... testing with your finger for doneness all the while. When the steak is not yet medium-rare, flip it. Repeating the same process. Add black pepper at this point to the top of the steak, which prevents it from burning and giving a bitter flavor. No more salt is needed ever!

When medium-rare, let the steak rest on the counter for 5-10 minutes with a loose foil cover. Top with compound butter and enjoy!

*You can also follow this method for thick-cut chicken and pork. And while the salt cure is working, you could add crushed garlic, chopped rosemary, olive oil, etc. to infuse flavor other than salt into the center of the meat.*

Here's another, similar approach on video. He doesn't mention the quick salt cure because that's a little trick I learned as a chef if I want to skip the aging process and still achieve similar results:

wolfstar said:

A little trick for ya to figure meat temp.


Take your left hand and locate the abductor pollicis brevis (APB muscle)

#1 on the lower image in this link

http://sparkcharts.sparknotes.com/health/generalanatomy/section15.php

1) Touch the tip of your pinky to your thumb (on the same hand same hand for this and all below) , press on the APB muscle, this is what well done should feel like

2) Touch the tip of your thumb to your ring finger, press on APB muscle, this is what medium well should feel like

3) Touch the tip of your thumb to your bird (middle) finger, Press on the APB muscle, this is what medium should feel like

4) Touch the tiop of your thumb to your index finger, press on APB muscle, this os what Medium rare should feel like

5) Leave your thumb slack, press on APB muscle, this is what rare should feel like....

Hope this helps


BTW, I do something similar if I am cooking inside (rarely), though I do leave the meat out longer (a couple of hours), and season just before hitting the heat. No oil on the steaks, just S&P. A nice compound butter with truffle OR smoked sea salt, fresh minced garlic is just fine.

Usually I do steaks outside on the Cargriller, but with a similar seasoning profile...

Click to expand...

I've always heard this as(testing in the same spot)
1) hand relaxed---rare
2) hand flattened but flexed---medium
3) hand in a fist---ruined