steak recipes?
March 20th, 2009
i'm a bit of a steak newbie. i've mainly just used tried and true "kosher salt and black pepper" rub and then pan grilled but was wondering what more accomplished steak chefs might recommend.
i currently have myself two of these steaks:
http://www.freshdirect.com/product.jsp?productId=bstk_eoeye&catId=bfry&t...
March 24th, 2009
#2
If they're good steaks, just leave them alone and let them come to something like room temperature before you cook them. Salt and pepper with butter to finish are all you need, in my opinion.
March 24th, 2009
#3
after years of cooking terrible steaks i have slowly been improving. one big thing that has helped is to let the steak REST for five or ten minutes after it comes off the pan. it's very tempting to try to dig in while it's still sizzling a little but all its good juice just drains out if you do.
for less than prime cuts i usually marinate it overnight or at least four hours, with garlic, fresh rosemary, some olive oil, black pepper, and a bit of orange juice.
anyway i assume you've made these already!!
March 24th, 2009
#4
haha yes -- just grilled with salt & pepper, they were quite good. i'm still trying to figure out the timing (the indoor grill appliances are so tricky because they cook both sides at once)
March 24th, 2009
#5
do you have a griddle pan? (assuming this is what a heavy set ridged pan is called in america!) this is what I use. also a gas hob is best I think as you get more heat. griddle pan is pretty versatile and I use it for lots of stuff, would recommend.
I am constantly trying to perfect steak but I think one of the most important things is to make sure the grill or whatever you are using is fucking molten hot before you put your steak near it. I mean I have been increasing the time I let it heat for over and over, it was about 10-15 mins and then I recently read some chef saying "don't put your steak on the griddle until you've heated it for 20 mins". tried this recently and it was better.
I think once you've sealed both sides for say a minute (and if you can't do this in a minute grill/pan not hot enough) then you can turn down heat a bit especially if the steak is a thick one. on that point I often beat steaks a bit to thin them.
I read this before: http://steamykitchen.com/blog/2007/08/28/how-to-turn-cheap-choice-steaks...
Have to admit I'm dubious as I tried her method and my steak was salty as the sea.
(the other thing to all this, steak varies hugely in quality imo, even if you buy at the same store every week)
March 25th, 2009
#6
i did have a griddle pan but it went missing! my mom bought me an electric grill so i've been using that instead. these are all really good tips, i have been trying to increase the amount of time i let things heat up prior to throwing the steak in either the cast iron pan or on the electric grill as well because i've had too many incidents of throwing it on and not getting any kind of sear/crust because it wasn't hot enough and the steak starts cooking too much in the middle before anything looks pretty on the outside.
and yes, i've been realizing steak is very variable. the ones i bought referenced above turned out super beefy -- they were almost gamey!
March 25th, 2009
#7
yeah I've noticed that even after getting it hot enough to sear one side, if it's not mega hot when you flip it the second side won't sear....
March 25th, 2009
#8
This works well for steak but even better for pork or lamb-chops.
Microplane or otherwise purée some garlic and rub all it over the steak with salt and pepper and leave to stand at room temperature for an our or so. All the tips above about searing hot pans are OTM but I would say that you should start with the steak at room temperature before cooking, the only exception would be if the steak is so good and so tender that you want to eat it with only a caramelised seared coating on the outside sealing in a tartare cold middle, which sometimes I do.
Thick cast iron is the only way to do steak IMO, ridges or just a skillet is up to you. Get it up to smoking heat before you start. If you are lucky enough to live in a country where they don't insist on trimming all the fat from the meat (USA you suck) then stand it up on its fat to crisp that up.
If you really want the ultimate in low heat penetration cooking for a rare steak then invest in a blow torch, and I would say a plumbers one not some namby pamby chef's one (a lot cheaper too). This will get you the crispiest fat and the best finish on the surface of the steak.
Time to write a steak sauce recipe.
March 25th, 2009
#9
Yeah I like steaks just salt+peppered and put on the grill-pan. We've got this heavy ridged grill-pan that gets very hot--I think a necessity for grilling indoors--also we have a ridiculously powerful exhaust fan which is u+k.
Tips: take the steaks out of the fridge and season them an hour before you cook, make sure the pan is really really hot, and cook the steaks for less time than you think. The only other thing I ever do to steaks is maybe put a piece of butter (or a compound butter! try mashing herbs into butter) onto the steak after I've flipped it.