Post: #1

Alright, I was considering posting this in the "Culinary Game" thread but I figured, fuckit, this is something you make for yourself, not some ho. I know Gmanifesto threw down a data sheet on cooking a steak, but here's a professional's method. (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)

Step 1: Preheat your pan. It should be heavy as shit. I recommend a Lodge cast-iron. Generously season your steak with salt and freshly cracked pepper. If you're a fancy fuck like me, use gray salt from Geurande and Tellicherry peppercorns in your pepper mill.



Step 2: Add your cooking fat, and don't be stingy. You want a solid layer of oil on the bottom of the pan. I use rice bran oil, but coconut and peanut oil work well with high temperature cooking as well. Olive oil does not. Once the oil start to smoke lightly, get the bitch in.



Step 3: Start flipping. Ignore that bullshit about "only flip once". Think about a rotisserie. You have a heat source and you want to expose all the surfaces of the meat as many times as possible to ensure even cooking. Moving the meat around will not "lose more juices" as conventional wives tales will tell you. I flip about once per minute. If your heat is high enough and you've got enough fat, you'll start to get good browning (also known as Maillard reactions)



Step 4:

That's right, butter. Rather than get in some limp-wristed argument about adding excess saturated fat to an already fatty cut of meat, I'm just going to state that basting with butter produces incomparable results and flavor due to the browning milk solids that cling to the meat. It's a rich, nutty flavor that I wouldn't want to go without. Cut saturated fat out of your diet elsewhere, but not here. Get a couple tablespoons of butter in the pan, a smashed clove of garlic, and a sprig of thyme (I didn't have any tonight but normally I would) Baste the steak with the browning butter. You'll notice it foaming up; this is normal and what you want. Total cooking time at this point is between 6-8 minutes.



Step 5: Rest. I don't tent with foil or any of that other fanciness. If you're serving other side dishes and worried about timing, I'd simply leave the steak in a super low oven, just make sure it's around 100 degrees and no more. Usually when I make a steak I eat it by itself though. I feel the steak regularly and when I know it's the right temperature, that is, warm but not too hot, I know it's ready to eat or slice for presentation. Notice the deep color and crust. This is not to "seal in the juices" which is another antiquated notion, it's all for flavor baby, there's nothing better tasting than a dark, deep sear or grill on a steak.



Step 6: eat, or slice and present. Here I've added a swirl of 25 year old balsamic. Shit ain't cheap, about $150 for a 100ml bottle, but I got the hookups yo. Don't bother with anything cheaper, don't bother with "balsamic reduction" whatever the fuck that is. If you don't have this stuff, just eat your steak plain or with some bearnaise or a good red wine sauce. If you can't make a 5-star sauce though, don't bother. If it's a good cut of meat you don't need sauce. I'm a fan of the aged balsamic with a few shavings of parmigiano reggiano and a few arugula leaves, but again not everyone has that kind of access. Everyone has different ideas of what medium rare is: in these photos I'm slightly on the rare side of medium-rare; a true medium rare shouldn't have quite so much red in the middle but for a well marbled steak this is exactly how i like it. I just got done eating it and let me tell you I barely had to chew the goddamn meat and the flavor was top-notch. This meat is from Creekstone Farms (not prime, but this stuff has great flavor). Oh yeah make sure to slice it with a badass old Sabatier like the one in the pic, shit makes you look like a kitchen pirate.



Enjoy. Cooking and eating a steak, by itself, is one of a guy's greatest pleasures. Drink with the most expensive Bordeaux or Barolo you can afford. Skip the california reds, shit is way too fruity to pair with red meat.

Post: #2

beautiful

Post: #3

Looks fucking tasty!

I just cooked a steak yesterday that I bought from the store that was alerady pre rubbed with some good seasonings. This was my first time buying one that had already been pre rubbed and I will definately be doing it again.

I also baked some nice little baby potatoes. If you haven't tried before I love soaking the shit out of my potatoes with blue cheese!

Post: #4

(11-11-2012 02:02 AM)murrb Wrote:  Looks fucking tasty!

I just cooked a steak yesterday that I bought from the store that was alerady pre rubbed with some good seasonings. This was my first time buying one that had already been pre rubbed and I will definately be doing it again.

I also baked some nice little baby potatoes. If you haven't tried before I love soaking the shit out of my potatoes with blue cheese!

There's a rub that I like to make using dried porcini powder, salt, chili flakes, and brown sugar. You have to be careful not to burn the rub but I highly recommend using porcini powder in any variation you like. It adds a very deep, earthy savory flavor to the meat.

Post: #5

so the total cooking time is about8-10 minutes?

Post: #6

(11-11-2012 02:54 AM)sucio44 Wrote:  so the total cooking time is about8-10 minutes?

Sounds about right, that's including a few minutes to rest. It'll vary depending on the thickness of the steak and the temperature of the steak going in (i.e. if you let the meat sit at room temp for an hour, which some people recommend, or if it goes in straight from the fridge. I like to let it sit out for about 15-20 minutes). After cooking 100 or so steaks you'll start to get a 6th sense of doneness. The best way if you're starting out is with a meat thermometer. You want to stop cooking when the center reaches 110 degrees F, because it'll carry over another 10 degrees. Then you can move onto judging doneness by touch. When you poke the meat and squeeze it in various parts it'll give more resistance. After a while you can tell when it's medium rare just by looking at it. It'll shrink a certain amount and the surface will achieve a certain appearance, you just "know".

Post: #7

What if, like me, you like it closer to the medium-well side?

Interestingly, I bought a steak today, not knowing this thread was coming. I do a much less sophisticated version of this already in my cast iron, but I plan on making some of your adjustments. I usually sear a salted-and-peppered steak on the flame, and then throw the cast-iron (covered) into a 450-475 degree oven. I use an electronic thermometer--with a probe--to prevent over-cooking.

Post: #8

Nice, but that's way too pink for me. What do you suggest for us guys that like it well-done?

Post: #9

You got my loins yearning for your meat.

Post: #10

That looks fucking perfect, nicely done. Some pretty non-traditional advice there, but I suspect it could be game changing.

Usually when I cook steak, I quite like either rubbing with chilli, black pepper, salt and garlic, or marinating in a barbecue, sweet chilli, soy and worcestershire sauce mix for a while when I cook steak. I'm interested in trying some other marinades, though, do you have any solid recommendations?

Someone recommended basting with butter at the end a while back, but I forgot about it and never tried it, but I'll definitely have to give it a go some time - though I do usually cook using butter in place of oil. (Always felt that it doesn't hold up at higher temperatures though, so I might have to look into investing in some quality oils - how much does a decent oil set you back?)

Never tried the rotissary style of cooking before either, so I'll give it a go next time I'm making myself a steak. Hopefully it turns out as nice as yours looks.

Just as a matter of interest, when you go to a butcher, which cut do you usually spring for?

Post: #11

saturated fat is bad why? animal fat is bad why? (processed) vegetable oils are healthy because advertisement says so? drown the steak in butter, but dont feel guilty about it. eating saturated animal fat is more natural than using any agricultured, pressed and bottled oil ever. (at least when the cattle was fed its natural diet)

Post: #12

I think that thedude should nuance his recommendation about using lots of oil. Use too much and you're basically deep frying the surface which is a sin with a steak as this. I know some people like a charred surface however, but that is better achieved with less - not more oil.

(11-11-2012 08:39 AM)void Wrote:  saturated fat is bad why? animal fat is bad why? (processed) vegetable oils are healthy because advertisement says so? drown the steak in butter, but dont feel guilty about it. eating saturated animal fat is more natural than using any agricultured, pressed and bottled oil ever. (at least when the cattle was fed its natural diet)

That's a pretty bold claim. Got anything to back this up?

Just because something is natural it doesn't mean it's healthier by default. 90% of all the available butter on the market isn't worth the name but has added colour, glycerol and what not. Just like there's perfectly "natural" olive or peanut oil available.

Post: #13

I am also pretty interested in what kind of oil you use to cook the steak. Have had issues finding coconut oil but if peanut oil works I might have to give that a shot on my next steak.

Post: #14

I use grapeseed oil, is it fine?

Post: #15

Very nice! A couple guys said they like it more well done. All I can say is make a steak just like this and try it. I used to prefer well done until I had a few rare steaks and found they are much juicier and very tasty.

Post: #16

Post: #17

(11-11-2012 11:22 AM)Cr33pin Wrote:  

I dont know why but I'm totally aganst steak sauce. I just love making my steaks juicy and tasty enough where I dont even want steak sauce. I feel like it ruins it for me.

Now if someone cooks my steak for me and it is some well done piece of junk then maybe I will soak it with a little sauce.

Post: #18

Yea its either a love it or hate thing. I have only had a few steaks in my life that were so good I didnt want A1 sauce.

Post: #19

Men on a diet might be interested in a non fat version. I put a rib eye or other high quality cut in a George Foreman Grill for a most 4 minutes and don’t cook it more than medium. I lightly spray the grill with PAM cooking spray or not at all. I sauté peppers, onions, and mushrooms in a separate pan and add them on top. If I want a sauce, I use Dona Maria Mexican mole sauce. For French fries, I slice up a potato and bake the fries in an oven for about 25 minutes at 450 F. They are delicious and taste better than the ones fried in oil.

Post: #20

(11-11-2012 03:19 AM)speakeasy Wrote:  Nice, but that's way too pink for me. What do you suggest for us guys that like it well-done?

My suggestion - learn to appreciate a properly cooked steak.

(11-11-2012 09:58 AM)Vicious Wrote:  I think that thedude should nuance his recommendation about using lots of oil. Use too much and you're basically deep frying the surface which is a sin with a steak as this. I know some people like a charred surface however, but that is better achieved with less - not more oil.

(11-11-2012 08:39 AM)void Wrote:  saturated fat is bad why? animal fat is bad why? (processed) vegetable oils are healthy because advertisement says so? drown the steak in butter, but dont feel guilty about it. eating saturated animal fat is more natural than using any agricultured, pressed and bottled oil ever. (at least when the cattle was fed its natural diet)

That's a pretty bold claim. Got anything to back this up?

Just because something is natural it doesn't mean it's healthier by default. 90% of all the available butter on the market isn't worth the name but has added colour, glycerol and what not. Just like there's perfectly "natural" olive or peanut oil available.

Recently I've been reading about the benefits of saturated fats, especially in butter. Grass-fed butter, specifically.

That's for another thread.

thechef, nice work. and nice pirate knife.

Post: #21

Quote:What if, like me, you like it closer to the medium-well side?

Even at the restaurant, unless the guest orders it well-done as Speakeasy prefers, we cook entirely in the pan. No oven. Instead of using super high heat the whole time, I'd lower it a bit and simply keep it in the pan longer. I'd say an extra 6 minutes will get you medium well, but only experimentation will tell. Keep flipping though. The point is you want to take the color of the meat as far as you can without burning it. Most of the time I'm served a steak or burger in a restaurant, it's not nearly dark enough, and this is because they wind up throwing it in the oven and sacrificing a huge amount of flavor. For well done the oven is fine. But without getting too preachy about it, I'd never suggest cooking a steak like this well done. If you want well done meat I'd considering going with braised shortribs or some smoked brisket (whole other thread but I can open some data there too).

Quote:Usually when I cook steak, I quite like either rubbing with chilli, black pepper, salt and garlic, or marinating in a barbecue, sweet chilli, soy and worcestershire sauce mix for a while when I cook steak. I'm interested in trying some other marinades, though, do you have any solid recommendations?

These days I'm a man of simplicity. If I get a ribeye or stripsteak like the one above, I give it a salt+pepper treatment and that's it. If I want to marinate meat or make some carne asada, I'll buy either skirt steak, flatiron steak, or hangar steak. Ask your local butcher for any of these. In those cases I'll play with a variety of marinades. Remember what I said about balsamic? Cheap balsamic works very well for a marinade. Take about a half cup, put it in a blender with 2 garlic cloves and the leaves from 2 sprigs of rosemary, a half cup of olive oil and blend the shit out of it. Marinade your steak in this overnight and grill the next day.

Quote:Just as a matter of interest, when you go to a butcher, which cut do you usually spring for?

I have the benefit of ganking shit from the restaurant, but if I WERE to go to a butcher, it all depends what I'm feeling that day. I'm a huge carnivore. For a plain steak, I'm into bone-in ribeye or flatiron. For marinated steak to grill outside, I love skirt steak. I love braised shortribs, oxtail, grilled calves liver, pork chops, smoked brisket, burgers...all depends on my mood.

Quote:Always felt that it doesn't hold up at higher temperatures though, so I might have to look into investing in some quality oils - how much does a decent oil set you back?

All cooking fats have their unique smoke point. For high temperature cooking (as in searing a steak) you want a high smoke point. Olive oil smokes at low temperatures and has particulate matter that burns, producing off-flavors and is pretty unhealthy. Rice bran, coconut, and peanut oil all have high smoke points. Grapeseed oil has a high smoke point but there are concerns about the polyunsaturated fat content and health effects. A big jug of rice bran oil goes for 20-25 bucks on amazon. My little bottle at home cost me like 6 bucks I think, which I bought at an asian grocery store.

Quote:saturated fat is bad why? animal fat is bad why? (processed) vegetable oils are healthy because advertisement says so? drown the steak in butter, but dont feel guilty about it. eating saturated animal fat is more natural than using any agricultured, pressed and bottled oil ever. (at least when the cattle was fed its natural diet)

After doing a LOT of reading on the subject and taking a class on nutrition, I'm inclined to agree. I'm completely anti-Canola oil and entirely pro-butter. However it's a somewhat controversial subject with new data coming out every year so I don't want to speak with any tone of authority here. To each their own.

Quote:I think that thedude should nuance his recommendation about using lots of oil. Use too much and you're basically deep frying the surface which is a sin with a steak as this. I know some people like a charred surface however, but that is better achieved with less - not more oil.

True that you don't want too much oil, but I notice when most people cook they don't use enough, hence my recommendation. You want just enough to completely coat the bottom of the pan but it shouldn't come up in a thick layer.

As for A1 or steak sauce, they're fine as an ingredient for barbecue sauce or other culinary applications, but I would never in a million years use it for a high quality steak that I made above. At the restaurant we charge 38 bucks for that steak...you want to taste the meat, believe me, not a bunch of vinegar and molasses or whatever else is in A1

Quote:Men on a diet might be interested in a non fat version

One of my favorite things to eat is grassfed beef. It's tougher, chewier, but has a really unique flavor and is much better for you than conventional grain-fed beef. Any guys with dietary concerns should pursue it. I'm not a huge fan of the foreman grill from a flavor perspective; it doesn't get any char and essentially steams the meat, although I appreciate its convenience and ease-of-use. Grilling over hardwood or coal, if done correctly, is a much healthier alternative to pan roasting in butter.

Post: #22

I like my steaks burnt to a fucking crisp.

Post: #23

(11-11-2012 05:46 PM)_GQ_ Wrote:  I like my steaks burnt to a fucking crisp.

You sure you're not brutish? I have yet to get a medium rare steak in the UK which I actually ordered medium rare.

Post: #24

As a man who enjoys big dinners at Lugers, has eaten at Sparks, Del Monico's, Smith & Woll's, Uncle Jack's etc. I can say this is some top notice advice.

Top steakhouses generally oven at 850-1000 F and pan sear for 30 secs each side. Dude's techniques to cook the steak replicate that as close to possible using conventional kitchen items. Follow his advice. He cooks a better steak than you do.

This is a brilliant "man" thread.

Post: #25

Paying for a top cut of meat is the best short-term investment a Man can make. Some clowns will tell you paying top dollar for a high-end hooker once in your life is ideal... fuck that. The pleasure I get on my tongue from a medium rare rib eye with a red-wine sauce is easily probably as satisfying to my brain as a orgasm.

This thread nearly brought me to tears. as this is a pure carnal pleasures that all Men must enjoy from time to time. I don't care how poor you are, work those extra hours however you can to be able to throwdown a legit steak meal once in a while. Threads like this help to make sure you do it right the first time (I had to learn from trail and error and ruined a few top-end steaks in the process... lessons learned) I make on once a month, but whatever your budget and desires warrant.