Thedude cooks a steak

Trying it out tonight thedude, going to try it down to the T, including the fancy salt and pepper you mention. Whole Foods here I come.

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Nice. What is the heat setting you're using here?

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(11-12-2012 09:29 PM)Parlay44 Wrote:  Baked salmon
Mashed potatoes(something more than plain)

I second these requests. Would love to make some good baked salmon. I can make good mashed potatoes but new ideas are always welcome.

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A tasty butter fried steak! Looks yummi can I get some sauce bearnaise with that?

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This might be in the 4 hour chef book





tim ferris looks like he's cleanin house

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So a few nights ago I got a private one one one lesson from thedude himself. Shows up with all items and equipment ready to roll. All I can say the dude knows what he is doing (yes cheezy pun intended).

Start off with the steaks seasoned with the salt and pepper. Not sure what kind of salt and pepper but it was the fancy shit he rolls with. Look at that marbling on the ribeye:




Supposedly slutty roommate comes in and not so subtly hints she wants some. Tell her there are only two steaks and she finally leaves. Anyway, after doing some flips he gets the butter in there to brown/foam and starts spooning it up on the steak. Had some garlic cloves in there with I believe thyme.






Taking the steaks off the heat, they sit there while we drink some bourbon and red wine and chat about the annoyances of gaming in LA.




The finished dish, perfect medium rare, some arugula, a mushroom assortment, fancy parmesan and that aged balsamic he talked about (pretty damn amazing really, never had that type of aged balsamic). Fucking delicious end result.




A great night "off" from gaming enjoying nice drinks and an awesome steak with a fellow RVFer. Nice to see a skill put in use in front of you and working out like you imagine. +1.

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made steak first time by your way f**** AWESOME ! I still need to work on medium rare cause my heat was a bit to much at least i think so cause it was just a bit pink inside but overall taste and everything 11/10 !

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I've always have and still prefer an open grill, but I tried this approach and was very impressed. I prefer my steaks rare, but I like the a crispy-colored seared exterior.

I adapted the dude's methods as follows:

• I aged my ribeye four days in the fridge .
• To achieve rare, I cooked for a total time of four minutes turning every twenty seconds or so.
• I noticed it was hard for the butter to melt on top of the steak even it's hot. So I had to turn the steak over on top of the butter to achieve the same effect.
• The searing of the exterior made it hard to taste the salt or pepper.
• I used peanut oil, and it smokes heavily after a certain amount of time, fumigating my entire place with a heavy steak stench.
• Not sure if the crushed garlic is useful, because it gets easily burnt.
  

I'll probably still grill my steaks over untreated, but this is a great backup option in case the grill doesn't work or wood is unavailable.

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(11-24-2012 05:58 PM)scorpio Wrote:  I've always have and still prefer an open grill, but I tried this approach and was very impressed. I prefer my steaks rare, but I like the a crispy-colored seared exterior.

I adapted the dude's methods as follows:

• I aged my ribeye four days in the fridge .
• To achieve rare, I cooked for a total time of four minutes turning every twenty seconds or so.
• I noticed it was hard for the butter to melt on top of the steak even it's hot. So I had to turn the steak over on top of the butter to achieve the same effect.
• The searing of the exterior made it hard to taste the salt or pepper.
• I used peanut oil, and it smokes heavily after a certain amount of time, fumigating my entire place with a heavy steak stench.
• Not sure if the crushed garlic is useful, because it gets easily burnt.
  

I'll probably still grill my steaks over untreated, but this is a great backup option in case the grill doesn't work or wood is unavailable.

-the idea is to put the butter directly in the pan so that it browns and foams up. You then baste the steak with this foamy butter with a clove of crushed garlic and a sprig of thyme in the pan
-I typically adjust the seasoning throughout cooking. As I'm flipping, I press on the steak and taste my fingertips. If I sense the steak needs more seasoning, I'll add more during or after cooking.
-Based on your comment about smoke and burning garlic, it sounds like you need to adjust your heat throughout cooking. At the beginning, the cooking fat should lightly smoke as you get the initial sear on your steak. Once the butter goes in the pan, you'll need to lower the heat somewhat, but not so low as to steam the meat. Either way, you'll need a strong vent or fan to get rid of the smoke.

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Dude -

This was a great post brother. I've been adding the butter and garlic (from my parents garden -strong) and it is awesome! Cooked it up for one of my girls the other night, she was impressed.

When you get a chance post up another recipe for us!

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Good stuff, actually about to cook some nice steak for lunch today.

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Busy with NYE nonsense at work...once the holidays are over I'll post up a solid salmon sheet.

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Awesome thread. Been working out with weights a lot lately and just been wanting steak, well that and having steak at Maestros this week. But I can't be eating at Maestros every day. Thanks so much thedude3737.

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dude(or anyone really), what do you think of omaha steaks?

http://www.omahasteaks.com/servlet/Onlin...&IID=49631

I have a coupon that lets me buy this and get 6 free omaha steak burgers in addition to the above feast so they seem to have some nice deals, tho I guess 5 ounce steaks are pretty small(even for fillet mignon). What do you think of the quality of their meats? Can you recommend some butcher shops in the los angeles area that have a good bang for the buck? This chain has a location on 11021 west pico.

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(02-21-2014 02:30 PM)eradicator Wrote:  dude(or anyone really), what do you think of omaha steaks?

http://www.omahasteaks.com/servlet/Onlin...&IID=49631

I have a coupon that lets me buy this and get 6 free omaha steak burgers in addition to the above feast so they seem to have some nice deals, tho I guess 5 ounce steaks are pretty small(even for fillet mignon). What do you think of the quality of their meats? Can you recommend some butcher shops in the los angeles area that have a good bang for the buck? This chain has a location on 11021 west pico.

I tried Omaha steaks once, but was not impressed. I've had better luck with some nice cuts from the local grocery store with a butcher department. This was all in Kansas, so their meat is pretty good. Make sure you pick pieces with good marbling. Ribeye is the cut you want. At least 1" thick, preferably with the bone aka the cowboy ribeye. Without the bone it's called Delmonico. Costco sells prime grade beef, which is like top 3% of all beef in US and the kind of stuff they sell at Ruth's Chris for $75 a piece.

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I do not recommend Omaha steaks at all. I would not buy nor serve those steaks.

For all around, you can't beat Costco. If you're willing to spend the money, the dry-aged steaks at Whole Foods are actually top notch.

In L.A. you've got Marconda http://www.marcondas.com/ and Huntington Meats http://www.huntingtonmeats.com/ in the Grove/Farmer's Market. I've had nothing but good experiences with both, and huntington makes awesome homemade sausages.

There's also this guy:



He's about as red pill and old-school butcher as they come. His name is Harvey Gus. http://www.harveysgussmeat.com/home.html

He's not cheap either. Best way to get meat from him is through fax. He can fax you a full product list of what he carries. Otherwise just call him and tell him what you're looking for. I get all my meat through work but if I had to buy it from anyone, it would be him.

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Edit: that sounds stupid..."Best way to get meat from him is through fax." What I meant was, the best way to get his product list and prices is through fax. Then you call in the order 24 hours in advance and pick it up between 7am-noon. It's a bit of a process but it's rare that the general public has access to a meat wholesaler like this.

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Does freezing steak make it lose its taste? It's kind of a hassle for me to buy so I'm thinking of buying a load for storage.

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(02-22-2014 12:08 AM)dreambig Wrote:  Does freezing steak make it lose its taste? It's kind of a hassle for me to buy so I'm thinking of buying a load for storage.

It's not so much the taste as the texture. If you're out in the boonies it's understandable to buy in bulk and freeze. I'd say go for it.

What happens when you freeze the meat is the water content in the meat turns to ice. Think of the ice as tiny little razor blades that cut through the fibers of the meat. So when you cook it it can get a little bit of a mushy texture.

When freezing, it's best to freeze something as quickly as possible (commercial facilities use blast chillers). The faster something freezes, the smaller ice crystals that develop, the less it will negatively impact the texture of the meat when you cook it.

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Nice, don't forget to let it come up to room temperature, never cook it straight from the refrigerator. My favorite is to sauté mushrooms, garlic, and onion in all the leftover fat with a splash of wine while the steak rests... Or make ah Poivre sauce in all the beef drippings! Damn good post now I'm hungry

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(02-21-2014 05:40 PM)thedude3737 Wrote:  I do not recommend Omaha steaks at all. I would not buy nor serve those steaks.

For all around, you can't beat Costco. If you're willing to spend the money, the dry-aged steaks at Whole Foods are actually top notch.

In L.A. you've got Marconda http://www.marcondas.com/ and Huntington Meats http://www.huntingtonmeats.com/ in the Grove/Farmer's Market. I've had nothing but good experiences with both, and huntington makes awesome homemade sausages.

There's also this guy:



He's about as red pill and old-school butcher as they come. His name is Harvey Gus. http://www.harveysgussmeat.com/home.html

He's not cheap either. Best way to get meat from him is through fax. He can fax you a full product list of what he carries. Otherwise just call him and tell him what you're looking for. I get all my meat through work but if I had to buy it from anyone, it would be him.

I will keep those in mind for a special occasion. Have you tried bristol farms or gelsons? They are pretty high end grocers, but pretty expensive.

The reason I mentioned omaha was because of their doorbuster deals and sales. But if it is not so good quality because it is frozen, I hear you.

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(11-11-2012 01:03 AM)thedude3737 Wrote:  (Disclaimer: given a choice, I would cook a steak over hardwood in a weber. Not charcoal, but actual untreated firewood from a lumber yard. Given that I don't have one at home or at work, I pan roast)

What do you suggest doing for propane grills? I've used butter pieces directly on the steak to get the flames to kiss the meat but this uses up a lot of butter, steaks still not as good as stovetop or charcoal.

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(02-22-2014 04:47 AM)PoosyWrecker Wrote:  

(11-11-2012 01:03 AM)thedude3737 Wrote:  (Disclaimer: given a choice, I would cook a steak over hardwood in a weber. Not charcoal, but actual untreated firewood from a lumber yard. Given that I don't have one at home or at work, I pan roast)

What do you suggest doing for propane grills? I've used butter pieces directly on the steak to get the flames to kiss the meat but this uses up a lot of butter, steaks still not as good as stovetop or charcoal.

To update my cooking method of choice, I've moved on from metal charcoal grills like Webers and discovered ceramic grills

Butter not necessary.

Gas grills are fine and you definitely get the grill flavor. That typical "grill flavor" comes from the fat and juices from the meat/chicken/whatever dripping down and combusting on something really hot beneath the food. It could be lava rocks, the metal panelling covering the burners, or hot coals. When those fats and juices come into contact with that superhot surface, they combust into a very fine, very flavorful vapor that rises and clings to the meat. It's not the metal grill itself; that's why indoor cast iron grills don't impart any grill flavor and just give the appearance of grilling.

By adding butter you're just burning milk solids and while you might like the taste of that, it's not something I would personally go for.

Using charcoal is only one part of the equation. Charcoal doesn't impart any better flavor than gas simply because it's charcoal. And contrary to grill bro-science, charcoal does not burn hotter than most gas burners. So why use it? Because you're not really concerned with the BTUs or output of your heat source as much as you think you are.

You are concerned with the intensity of the radiated heat that is cooking your food. What does that mean? Well, on a gas grill, the food isn't cooked directly from the gas burners. They're cooked by the lava rocks or metal plates that are above the burner. So it's idiotic to measure the heat output of the burners when there is a fixed heat constant that a specific material is able to radiate. So the real comparison isn't between gas and charcoal, it's between the metal plate or lava rocks HEATED by the gas, and charcoal. And in that comparison, charcoal wins by a landslide.

So why the high heat? For maillard reaction. Any flavors you get from charcoal or hardwood are long gone by the time it's hot enough to grill meat. Any "smoky" flavor is a work of the imagination.

When you combine the high radiative heat of charcoal with a large ceramic grill with high air flow like what I've got a home, a Kamodo grill, the results are pretty incredible, but it takes practice. This is what I've got:


The large air pathways create a convection current of air that wicks away moisture from whatever you're grilling incredibly quickly, and I can get this thing up to 700F degrees. On top of that, the ceramic conducts and radiates the heat further instead of deflecting radiating heat like metal Webers do. What that means is when I'm cooking a steak, I get an intense, amazing sear. When I grill chicken, I get a crispy skin like I've never had before. I can do a beer can chicken that will knock your socks off. These really are the ultimate grilling devices but like I said, it's like learning how to cook all over with them and takes a few tries before getting good results. The big green egg is another good example and for anyone serious about grilling I can't recommend ceramic grills enough.

Edit: just reread the post above. You don't need flames to kiss the meat to get the grill flavor. See my comment about vaporizing compounds. However, you may not be getting enough heat to generate those compounds, and in that case, nothing you can do will help it along except getting more heat.

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(02-22-2014 04:28 AM)eradicator Wrote:  

(02-21-2014 05:40 PM)thedude3737 Wrote:  I do not recommend Omaha steaks at all. I would not buy nor serve those steaks.

For all around, you can't beat Costco. If you're willing to spend the money, the dry-aged steaks at Whole Foods are actually top notch.

In L.A. you've got Marconda http://www.marcondas.com/ and Huntington Meats http://www.huntingtonmeats.com/ in the Grove/Farmer's Market. I've had nothing but good experiences with both, and huntington makes awesome homemade sausages.

There's also this guy:



He's about as red pill and old-school butcher as they come. His name is Harvey Gus. http://www.harveysgussmeat.com/home.html

He's not cheap either. Best way to get meat from him is through fax. He can fax you a full product list of what he carries. Otherwise just call him and tell him what you're looking for. I get all my meat through work but if I had to buy it from anyone, it would be him.

I will keep those in mind for a special occasion. Have you tried bristol farms or gelsons? They are pretty high end grocers, but pretty expensive.

The reason I mentioned omaha was because of their doorbuster deals and sales. But if it is not so good quality because it is frozen, I hear you.

Not a fan of either of those stores as I don't feel their high prices justify the products they serve. If you're going to spend that much just go to Whole Foods

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These instructions are almost the same as the ones that thedude posted: How to cook the perfect steak for your Valentine. Trigger warning: Meat porn.

Flipping the steak every 2 minutes and basting with butter and thyme is also what I am doing with my own steaks. The leftover meat juice and butter in the skillet also makes a nice sauce that the ladies love - at least the ones I invite for a medium-rare steak.

When cooking lower-grade meat, I like to marinade it in whiskey and balsamic vinegar 1:1 for around an hour before grilling.

Image source: buzzfeed

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