Cooking steaks - What are your best methods?

[thedoc46]

I love steak, i make my steaks as good as a top steak restaurant.

First buy decent thick ribeyes or new york strips. spend as much as you can afford. Around 1 & 1/2 inch. Take them out the fridge, season with montreal steak seasoning. NOTHING ELSE. Go easy on the seasoning. too much and it'll ruin the steak.. You're better off with too little and adding salt at the table, than going overboard.

Get a decent 22 1/2 inch outdoor grill, a couple of chimney starters (given you're doing 8 steaks) load up the coals into the chimney rapid starter, stuff a couple of newspaper sheets underneath.. Start, let the chimneys go for 15-20mins until the coals are RED HOT !!

unload the chimney's into the bbq grill. even out the coals. remove food grate, Spray the actual food grate with oil spray away from coals and replace (so the steaks don't stick)

Now, the key here will be timing...

5mins each side for medium rare. Get a timer

Loads those steaks... angle them so that you get the grill lines. Put the cover on. Move them 90degrees after two & 1/2 mins. PUT the cover of the BBQ back on

At the 5 mins mark, flip and repeat for the grill marks

after 10 mins, remove and let sit for 2 mins.

For added hickory flavor, get some wood chips let them soak in water for 30mins prior, drain and throw on the fire at the 5min mark. They'll smoke the bbq out like crazy.

You'll get a nicely seared medium rare, thick juicy tender steak, that'll be as nice as you could ever buy... and you'll make all the neighbors hungry too with the smell of cooked steak..

 

[pingwing]

Get griddle pan as hot as possible, put steak on griddle pan, leave for about 2 mins, flip, leave for 2 mins, watch onions/tomatoes go nuts as they griddle near by, prod steak to see how well done it is, give another min or two if a thick one.

Leave to rest (check its bleeding the right amount).

Eat.

 

[godinman]

Griddle pan, rapeseed oil, cook on side, cook the other side, eat.

 

[Kezmo]

Steaks at room temp, serioisly hot pan , flip only once and rest for 5 mins wrapped in foil, poor juices nack over what ever your having with steaks, oh and lightly salt after tjere cooked

 

[Yaayuh!]

Steak at room temp
Score and rub in seasoning (to whoevers preference)
Flash fry on very hot pan for 2 minutes each side
Turn heat down and cook for a further 2-3 minutes each side.

 

[Rotty]

Steak at room temp
Score and rub in seasoning (to whoevers preference)
Flash fry on very hot pan for 2 minutes each side
Turn heat down and cook for a further 2-3 minutes each side.

sounds like quite a lot of cooking, 8-10 mins total

 

[pimper]

Pretty simple really

Steak at room temp
Salt and Pepper to season
Very hot pan with a small amount of light n mild olive oil
flip once after 30 odd seconds depending on steak size
leave again for 30 seconds then rest
add knob of butter to pan and melt
pour over steak..... done

 

[jimmy321]

Guys seriously you need to drop the griddle pan it heats your steak unevenly the gaps in the griddle are cooked less resulting in an uneven crust, looks good but does not give the same results as a flat cast iron pan. If you are using enough oil to cover the griddle then it's less of a problem but with cast iron you don't need as much to begin with.

 

[Stan_Lite]

I have also experimented with the flip every frequently vs flip once method and time and time again amongst friends and family as well as myself, the flp once method is best.

Note, this is combined with 1-2 minutes in a hot oven at the end which helps cook the inside of the steak. This is the typically method used by steak restaurants in the US.

This is pretty much what I've settled on after years of experimentation. For a 1" ribeye, I'll season with sea salt and black pepper, fry both sides in an insanely hot cast iron pan for 1 1/2 minutes each and then bung in an oven at 200c for 2 minutes before removing and resting for a minimum of 5 minutes (10 is better).

 

[Angst]

Pretty simple really

Steak at room temp
Salt and Pepper to season
Very hot pan with a small amount of light n mild olive oil
flip once after 30 odd seconds depending on steak size
leave again for 30 seconds then rest
add knob of butter to pan and melt
pour over steak..... done

Sounds about right.

 

[ots3go]

Pretty simple really

Steak at room temp
Salt and Pepper to season
Very hot pan with a small amount of light n mild olive oil
flip once after 30 odd seconds depending on steak size
leave again for 30 seconds then rest
add knob of butter to pan and melt
pour over steak..... done

This, really.

Use the touch method to find out if it's done to your liking or not and don't season with pepper until after it's been griddled.

 

[DiCe!]

Question, this touch methord, how should it be for each? I like a real medium rare, when it actually has some blood, not a medium rare where it is just pink! I ALWAYS overcook for fear of under cooking

 

[pitchfork]

Get a quality cut
Take out of the refrigerator, coat in groundnut oil and kosher salt and leave for 3-4 hours to get up to room temp.
Put a cast iron griddle on your hob, full whack and let it heat up for 10-15 minutes to get it as hot as possible.
It depends on thickness for the next part but as a rule of thumb
Sear for 20 seconds on each side
Put on a warmed plate and in a low oven for 2-3 minutes, so as to warm the steak but not cook it. Remove, leave to rest for 1 minute and then serve.

Too many variables to give you accurate timings, if you are unsure about your hob/ oven you can use a quality electronic meat thermometer to test the doneness.

Use the resting juices to make a sauce if you want.

You can't undercook steak really, provided you sear the outside you're ok realistically. Bacteria does not penetrate the meat.

 

[glitch]

Question, this touch methord, how should it be for each?

It's an unreliable method to rely on completely, but as a rule of thumb (boom, 'tish) it's mostly effective.

Relax your hand and touch your little finger to your thumb. Keep your hand relaxed and press with the index finger of your dominant hand on the fleshy area between the base of the thumb and the palm of your hand.

That should feel the same as as well-done steak, in theory at least.

Ring finger works out as medium, middle finger is medium-rare and index finger is rare. But be sure to keep your hand relaxed during the process otherwise it's pointless.

But, to be totally sure, invest in a digital instant-read temperature probe. It's the only way you'll know for definite.

Or just poke at the steak with a knife and fork to see what the colour is inside. You won't lose much, if any of the precious juices inside your steak.

I like a real medium rare, when it actually has some blood, not a medium rare where it is just pink! I ALWAYS overcook for fear of under cooking

There's no such thing as a 'real' medium rare and another medium-rare. It's a measure of the internal temperature of the meat, so medium-rare is always 55° (or thereabouts) regardless of the cut of meat.

And there's no blood coming out of your steak - that's just myoglobin/oxymyoglobin leaking out of the muscle fibres as you've not bothered to rest your steak for a sufficient amount of time.

 

[glitch]

It depends on thickness for the next part but as a rule of thumb
Sear for 20 seconds on each side
Put on a warmed plate and in a low oven for 2-3 minutes, so as to warm the steak but not cook it. Remove, leave to rest for 1 minute and then serve.

I really don't see the point in this method, despite its many advocates.

Surely, if logic is brought into play, the steak should be brought up to the correct temperature in the oven first and then seared in the pan to get a nice crust?

Doesn't popping the steak on a warming plate in the oven lose that texture completely?

 

[smelly_legend]

If the sirloin is thin (or I beat the meat down) I tend to find a heated medium pan is better if I want to have a blue steak (the way i like it) and flip it once.

If it is thicker I'll have the pan on a higher heat.

I don't even bother with salt and pepper, the full flavor of a steak is enough on it's own for me, personally.

edit: I also like to turn it on it's side and crisp the fat up too. I love the fat.

 

[vcl_X1]

Rib eye, nice and thickly cut. Take out of fridge, pop in a vacuum bag, add a little salt, some black pepper and seal. Cook sous vide for 45 minutes at 57.5 degrees..pat dry and sear for 30-40 seconds on each side on a smoking griddle pan...no resting...The perfect (for me) Steak ready to eat

 

[MrMarvelous]

Post some pictures up someone, i'm craving a steak right now but it's half 12 at night!

 

[Stan_Lite]

I really don't see the point in this method, despite its many advocates.

I've been cooking steak for over 30 years and tried many methods, this is the best method I've found so far.

Surely, if logic is brought into play, the steak should be brought up to the correct temperature in the oven first and then seared in the pan to get a nice crust?

Never tried it that way before. Might give it a bash. Oven on at 50c and bung steak in for an hour or so and then fry (sort of like sous vide without the water bath.

Doesn't popping the steak on a warming plate in the oven lose that texture completely?

Nope

 

[BrianB]

Steak is something I don't enjoy cooking, it's expensive and if overcooked is slightly disappointing. Saying that though steak is steak to me, I like mine cooked medium rare. I think well done is a waste of a steak and is meant to be less healthy.

I recommend something with a higher burning point than olive oil, grapeseed or peanut have quite high burning point. I'm using duck fat at the moment (from duck confit) because it tastes absolutely amazing and it's quite difficult to burn it.

I season mine with a bit of salt before cooking, but am not bothered if it's at room temperature. I used to cook 20 or so steaks a night at work, always cooked perfectly and only turned them once straight out of a draw in the fridge.

I want to try marinating steaks, never really bothered to try it before. Does it work well? Maybe some salt, thyme and garlic for some hours in the fridge?

The oven method sounds good, I would think searing it first is to seal it for the oven so you don't lose juices, and then finish in the pan. But can't see it being much better than just straight up frying it.

Recently had some 8oz venison steaks, though they were frozen from the butcher and not fresh they were still excellent.