Quote:
Originally Posted by joegrundman
it is not that common for restaurants to do very good steaks. you should aim higher!
most important thing: get good quality meat from the best cows and pieces should be fatty and well aged. **
sirloin tastes better than fillet, but fillet is nicer textured.
salt generously just before cooking
cook on high heat, 60 seconds per side if you like it rare like i do. longer for less rare
cooking on a grill is good, but the very high heats can mean it cooks through quickly. not a problem though. it's so quick it doesn't dry out.
rest for 5 mins.
nice with twice-fried chips and rocket salad.
** if you happen on Kobe or Wagyu beef, this is extremely well marbled with fat and very expensive. It does not make good steaks. It is too rich and fatty for this purpose. It's really intended for slicing very thinly and cooking in hot broth for the dish shabu-shabu. better you should aim for high quality beef that is marbled but not so much as the Japanese sort. British is best i think, but not necessarily easy to get and costs a lot. South American beef not so good, but pretty good for the price
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I have a very, very precise way of doing steaks. I've gotten rave reviews from everyone I've ever made a steak for, and I think if you try it my way, you'll be happy with the results. It requires an oven, a rimmed baking sheet, a cast iron pan, and since we're being precise here, a probe thermometer. A rack that fits inside the baking sheet is a nice thing to have, but optional.
joegrundman has good advice. The best steaks are going to start with a nice, well-marbled piece of meat. You want a good amount of fat marbled in with your meat, but not something too fatty, or else it's going to be greasy. I like my steaks to be at least an inch thick.
Now, once you've got your steak of choice (I prefer the New York Strip steak as I think Ribeyes tend to be a little too fatty for my taste), the next question is how to season it. Again, this is going to be your choice. I prefer to keep it simple, as if you've got good meat, you want the taste of it to speak for itself and not cover it up with a bunch of seasoning. Your seasoning choice is up to you, so long as it's dry. Wet marinades are completely out of the question. They're going to give you a mushy and gray steak. I go with a simple seasoning of equal parts salt, pepper and garlic powder. Season both sides of your steak liberally.
When you're ready to cook, take your meat out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. Let it sit out for about an hour. Next, set your oven to 275 degrees (that's 135 C for our non-American friends). Line your baking sheet with foil to make cleanup easier, and then set your steak on it, or on the rack if you're using it. Throw it in the oven.
Now it should take about 20 minutes or so for your steak to get up to temp. What temp? Well it depends on how you like your steak. This is where the probe thermometer comes in. If you don't have one, you can fudge it a bit, but I strive for precision.
I like my steaks on the rare side of medium rare, so I cook mine to an internal temp of 88-90 degrees (31-32 C). This usually takes about 20-25 minutes. If you like it medium to medium rare, cook it to around 95 degrees (35 C). Usually takes about 25 minutes to 30 minutes. If you like it done more than that, go eat some jerky instead.
Wait a minute, I hear you saying.
Medium rare means an internal temp of 130-140 degrees F. Yeah yeah, I know, but I'm not done yet!
Now once your steak is almost to temp, put your cast iron skillet over high heat. As hot of a heat as your stove's burner will allow. Get it screaming hot. Add about a teaspoon of oil to the pan, and it's going to start smoking. (This is a good recipe to do with the doors and windows open unless you like hearing your smoke detector go off). Once you pull your steak out of the oven, slap it in that pan and DON'T TOUCH IT. Don't move it, don't fiddle with it, don't lift it up, don't anything. Let it sit for 2 minutes. Then flip. Do the other side for about a minute and a half.
Now it's time to eat!
I LIED! NO, IT IS NOT TIME TO EAT! You must let a steak rest before cutting into it. If you don't let it rest, you're going to end up with a flood of juices on your plate when you cut into the steak, and juice on your plate means that juice isn't in your meat, which means you've got a dry steak. Let the steak rest for 10 minutes, tented loosely with foil (I usually just use the foil I used to line the baking sheet with). This is necessary to let the steak reabsorb all that internal moisture.
After you've let your steak rest, dig in. I guarantee if you do a steak this way, it will rival anything that you can get in any steakhouse anywhere.