1st timer..gonna fry a steak.

[RWebb]

why does putting a cover on the skillet make it take longer to get up to temperature on top?

seems like it would tend to braise the thing, starting with the top, which is where the hot air & water vapor will be

also, did you wish him good eating, or tell him he should sit down & eat slowly?

[javadog]

Originally Posted by mikesride

SHE LOVED IT

And that's the important part, right there.

About the overcooking.... there would have been a lot of residual heat in the pan when it went into the oven. One thing you might try next time is to sear the first side, flip it, and then put it straight into the oven. It will continue to sear the second side in the oven.

Originally Posted by jyl

How about using the broiler to do the searing?

As long as the heat's high enough and the steak is close enough, it should brown nicely. Two downsides, which is why I don't do it... Lots of smoke, nowhere near the vent hood... No fond in the pan, so a pan sauce is less viable.

Plus, my wife gets mad when I trash the oven...

JR

[javadog]

Originally Posted by RWebb

why does putting a cover on the skillet make it take longer to get up to temperature on top?

The lid slows down the transfer of heat. The air in the oven first has to heat the lid, which then has to heat the air under the lid, then the steak. I'm not at all interested in the steak heating the air under the lid. Think of it like a physics problem.

Originally Posted by RWebb

also, did you wish him good eating, or tell him he should sit down & eat slowly?

JR

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by RWebb

why does putting a cover on the skillet make it take longer to get up to temperature on top?

I think that is the friction point. javadog is talking in the oven. Gretch is thinking on top of stove.

[mikesride]

[QUOTE=javadog;7799843]

About the overcooking.... there would have been a lot of residual heat in the pan when it went into the oven. One thing you might try next time is to sear the first side, flip it, and then put it straight into the oven. It will continue to sear the second side in the oven

* yes this seem like the logical thing to do next time....Thanks this was a great alternative to grilling!!!!

[RWebb]

yes, I thought it was stovetop also

I agree if it is in the oven.

[Bob Kontak]

javadog -

While waiting for steak to reach room temp - zzzzzzzzzz - at 64 degrees now.......

Have you been to the Mahogany Prime Steakhouse on South Yale? I have been there twice on bidness. Thank God for Big Oil is all I can say. Yummy - but at a steep price.

Bell's $4 dinner sounds a little less exotic but very repeatable.

[javadog]

I've been there several times. With decent wine, it's easy to leave there $400 poorer. Good food... But a lot of money.

I'm sure I'd blow more than four bucks on a steak but somewhere in the middle is a happy medium.

Fire up the stove. You don't want to be eating at midnight...

JR

[javadog]

yes, I thought it was stovetop also



I agree if it is in the oven.

Sorry if I got us confused... I was talking about the oven.

I still don't cover anything I am trying to brown on the stove. And, I not trying to finish the cooking on the stove. Once I have enough color on the meat for flavor, I want to slow the heat transfer way down. 250 degree air transfers less heat than 250 degree metal, in the same amount of time.

JR

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by javadog

Fire up the stove. You don't want to be eating at midnight...

Done - time to chow. Will report in morning.

[James Brown]

another tip from a prime chop house in chicago, microwave the steak (yes microwave) to 100˚f on the inside (it's quicker and safer than waiting for the steak to warm up on the counter and less chance to introduce pathogens) The pan is just for browning the outside, that way you never over cook it, perfect every time. Medium rare of course. Salt and pepper only, what ever sauce you want after cooking is fine. Sirloin is the cut of choice for this masterpiece.

[1990C4S]

Originally Posted by javadog

Oregon bird biologists will be pleased to know that this also reduces carcinogens.
JR

[matt711]

I dont recall where I read it but a good way to determine how the steak is cooked it to press on it with your finger. If it feels the same as pushing on your hand at the meaty part just below your thumb (palm side) then it's medium rare. The center of your palm is medium. Seems to work pretty well. I guess the less done the steak is the less firm it will be.

I like medium rare but my wife like medium well. I pre-heat the oven to 400 and put all the steaks on the grill. Flip after 4 minutes, transfer her steak to the oven after wrapping in foil. I wrap mine and let it rest. 10 minutes later hers is done. I pour the juice from her steak over both of ours and serve.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

Done - time to chow. Will report in morning.

(Used javadog's method)

Cooked too long. It was medium. Oh, it's gone and it was good - and that's without any sauce, mushrooms, etc. Just salt and pepper.

I liked the look of the outside of the steak seared at just over 300.

I underestimated how quickly the oven can heat the meat even when only at 250.

[greglepore]

You get a better crust on the outside if you dust with cornstarch (mix with spices if you want, I actually lie a little coffee grounds as well). The cornstarch itself adds no flavor but dries the surface and you get a beautiful sear.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by greglepore

The cornstarch itself adds no flavor but dries the surface and you get a beautiful sear.

Thanks.

Just drying off the surface with paper towels made a huge difference in the appearance. I mean that thing looked divine.

I just need practice.

The meat thermo is pretty trick. I screwed up on javadog's method and did not let the steak cool before putting it in the oven. It was 96 inside when it went in the oven, so still not the reason for overcooking. Just assumptions on impact using lower oven heat.

[javadog]

It's not absolutely necessary to cool the steak before putting it into the oven. It's a bit of a feel thing and it has to do with how much and how fast you seared it. Thickness of the steak is a factor, the temperature of the pan it's in is a factor.

Probably, it was just in the oven too long. It's easy to overcook one. It's got to be pulled short of the desired temperature. How short depends on how it was seared.

Practice, and changing only one variable at a time, will help. The good news is that you get to eat the practice...

JR

[RWebb]

My preferred carcinogen source is bacon, but a nice crusty, yet bloody, steak is 2nd place.

[jyl]

Let me ask this, of JR and other steakmeisters.

Everyone says, bring meat to room temperature.

I think I get better results with cold meat .

I started doing this when I was into Chinese stir frying. You have little 1/4" thick strips of meat that have been marinated so they are wet, you want them browned but not cooked to leather, and you have just a crappy home stove not a professional wok range. So I learned to refrigerate the meat - it was being refrigerated in the marinade anyway - pat it dry, then stir fry in small batches while still cold. The cold meat didn't overcook in the time needed to get brown.

I now do this with steaks too. I salt them, refrigerate, heat cast iron pan to smoking, and sear one side, the other, the edges, then remove to a cold plate. Finish in oven or a skillet on low-medium. My theory is, the cold interior resists overcooking so the gray zone of meat inside the crusty brown outside is as thin as possible.

Tell me what you think. Is this all wrong?

(I should confess I like my steak r-a-r-e.)

[sand_man]

Originally Posted by javadog

Some good advice, some not so good.

You want to sear the steak and that takes 300 degrees, or more, at the surface. So the pan has to be hot, but not super hot. That temperature renders the use of special olive oil irrelevant, as the extra virign oil can't take that much heat. So, use whatever oil you want. Do not use butter. It will burn. So will garlic, so leave that off.

Definitely bring the steak to room temperature and dry it thoroughly. This rules out marinades for me. Do not cover the pan, you want any moisture released to escape. Make sure the pan is a little larger than the steak; don't crowd it.

Season it aggressively with salt. Heat the pan, then add the oil (not a bunch of it) and heat it, too. Add the steak and cook for 15-30 seconds. Flip it and cook another 15-30 seconds. Repeat until nicely browned, but not crusty. Remove it from the pan and rest it. Feel free to brush butter or other fat (beef fat, if you have it) on both sides and add whatever freshly ground pepper you want.

After the steak has cooled, place the steak in a warm, lightly buttered skillet and stick in in a 250 degree oven until done. Done means well short of medium rare, as it will continue to cook a little. 135 degrees used to be "medium rare" but I think that's over-cooked. 125 is happier. So, pull it between 115 and 120. This means you need a decent instant read thermometer that you have checked for accuracy. Rest the steak under foil for 10 minutes, then eat it.

JR

I wished I had taken pictures, but this will be my preferred method going forward. I will have it dialed in on the next attempt, tonight was more on the rare side (fine by me and my daughter, but my son could have taken a bit more fire). This was likely due to these being very thick fillets and needing just a touch more oven time...I started to get nervous and pulled them. Plus, my oven probably isn't very accurate at lower temps. At any rate, I guess I usually went with a higher oven temp (375) because I felt that it was needed for the roasting process. However, this method brings the internal meat temp up slower and the meat seemed to be a touch more juicy and tender. I also cut back on the pan searing time, and although my kids like a crust on their meat, they indicated that the color was fine.