The trick is to bring it up to temp slowly, then sear it to crust the outside and give it color.
I had actually forgotten but I tried such a technique the last time I cooked a steak at home, the reverse of what I wrote earlier: instead of sear then finish in the oven I started in the oven at a relatively low temp (~200 I believe) until internal temp hit about 130-135, then remove it from the oven and sear it in a cast iron pan pre-heated to "as hot as I could get it" on the stove top.
Worked very well.
"In the vast library of socialist books, there’s not a single volume on how to create wealth, only how to take and “redistribute” it.” - David Horowitz
For steaks, there is no guessing if you're experienced. I used to cook steaks at a steak house on a large griddle that I brushed butter on and learned (and still use) the touch method to determine how well a steak is cooked. BTW, a hot griddle or fire if you're grilling for searing is great for Rare, MR and M steaks. MW to Well should go to a cooler side of however you're cooking it for a slower cooking process...which is not recommended by me because MW to W is just blasphemy...lol.
Outdoor grill (over charcoal/wood), indoor electric grill (Farberware used to sell a great one), and the last option being a George Foreman Grill. Any of these are far superior to a skillet.
NoNo No and thrice Noooo, never a George Foreman grill, it's the spawn of the devil and designed to extract all the juices from your meat, my brother had one and after he died I threw it in the trash, it was only a few months old too.
my normal cooking instrument for steak is a gas grill, but it all depends on what I'm trying to achieve.
I have different frying pans with different heating properties, some are slow transfer of heat and some are fast, cooking a piece of salmon the fast transfer pan is great if I use it dry, crisping the skin first and cooking it about 3/4 the way through lowering the heat and cooking it on the other side until it has a hint of rareness left in it Mmmmmm
Chlanna nan con thigibh a so's gheibh sibh feoil Sons of the hound come here and get flesh Clan Cameron
As others have said, the trick is to run a slow temp for actually doing the meat, and then a very high temp for searing the outside which creates the taste. The gas grill I was shown had a slow, topped section, and an extra-hot ceramic plate for the crust.
Also mentioned at that workshop: Charcoal is barely hot enough. And electric would be right out.
Joined: Apr 2001 Posts: 121,473PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
King Crimson - SimHQ's Top Poster
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,473
Miami, FL USA
Originally Posted by wheelsup_cavu
Originally Posted by PanzerMeyer
I don't even boil water so if I want a steak I have to go out to a restaurant. As a general rule I like my steaks medium or medium rare. It depends on what the cut of meat is.
So the wife isn't able to cook either?
Wheels
She's a pharmacist at a hospital. That kind of work schedule is not conducive to cooking. Especially steaks.
Last edited by PanzerMeyer; 03/12/1810:39 AM.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
She's a pharmacist at a hospital. That kind of work schedule is not conducive to cooking. Especially steaks.
My niece is also a pharmacist at a research hospital, she was here on Saturday and it was lamb that I served up for us But yes, she does not have a lot of time either and what time she does have she dedicates to Doctors Without Borders (Medicine sans Frontiers)
Mine should eventually be able to heal, and walk away.
-Skater
"As Iron Sharpens Iron, so does a friend sharpen a friend." Proverbs 27:17 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28 Never, ever, underestimate the ability of people to discount Occam's Razor. - Dart "I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub." - Grover Norquist
Look for me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or Tic Toc...or anywhere you may frequent, besides SimHq, on the Global Scam Net. Aka, the internet. I am not there, never have been or ever will be, but the fruitless search may be more gratifying then the "content" you might otherwise be exposed to.
"There's a sucker born every minute." Phineas Taylor Barnum
Pan seared is better because the whole steak comes into contact with the hot surface. Unless you are doing it right over a hot bed of coals, this is preferred. Why settle for "grill lines" when you can get the Millaird process on the WHOLE cut of meat?
Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 24,712Dart
Measured in Llamathrusts
Dart
Measured in Llamathrusts
Lifer
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 24,712
Alabaster, AL USA
Originally Posted by Master
well done
Yep, NW Alabama.
Wife refers to it as "cooked," and one of the many things we both had to adjust to.
Cooking a well done steak is actually difficult to do correctly; it's easy to over cook it and have the meat come out dry and leathery. The secret is to pull it off the heat and let it continue to cook the rest of the way through on a plate.
The opinions of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events.
Joined: Apr 2001 Posts: 121,473PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
King Crimson - SimHQ's Top Poster
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,473
Miami, FL USA
I'm seriously jonesing for a nice chateau briand right now from either Shula's or Ruth Chris.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#4410342 - 03/13/1812:03 PMRe: How Do You Like Your Steak?
[Re: Dart]
The secret is to pull it off the heat and let it continue to cook the rest of the way through on a plate.
Yep, that is also true of any level of doneness you want. If you leave it on the heat until you get to a "2" it maybe be closer to "3" by the time you sink a fork in it.
"In the vast library of socialist books, there’s not a single volume on how to create wealth, only how to take and “redistribute” it.” - David Horowitz
Oven cooking and then searing is just a shortcut that restaurants use so that the chef/cook doesn't have to focus on your steak, but can multitask doing other things as well. It is not the ideal way to cook a steak. The real secret is turning the steak over often before the juices start to come out on the top side, thus keeping the hot juices inside. My technique is to caramelize first, reduce temperature, and turn over often. Juicy steak every time ;-) Of course, nothing beats a charcoal grilled steak, but I don't mind using a cast iron skillet indoors. Just my 2 cents...
Celebrating 35+ years in the field of avionics....my how time flies!
The problem if you do it all on the same temp is that the amount of heat needed to get a proper crust will seep into the meat and turn the edges into well done even if you want raw in the middle.
The hotter you sear, for the shortest amount of time, the more volume you preserve as raw.
So yes, if you reduce temp you get a similar bonus than doing it on the oven and on the hot skillet.
Joined: Apr 2001 Posts: 121,473PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
King Crimson - SimHQ's Top Poster
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,473
Miami, FL USA
Why do I feel like I'm watching an episode of "Iron Chef"?
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
With a Reverse Sear, you don't lose any juice, as the temp comes up too slow to force it out. But the real joy is the Maillard Reaction when the outside temp of the meat exceeds 300F and the meat browns, and all the yummy chemical reactions happen to the sugars and amino acids. To best get this, it needs to be over a serious flame, or laying flat on a hot griddle. "Grill lines" are not enough. Why settle for a line when you can do the whole thing.
Someone previous mentioned that charcoal doesn't get hot enough. I can easily get my Kingsford Professional charcoal in the Weber north of 700F at the grate. Which is silly. Ha.
Joined: Apr 2008 Posts: 19,581Raw Kryptonite
Beat the Kobayashi Maru
Raw Kryptonite
Beat the Kobayashi Maru
Veteran
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 19,581
MS
Cast Iron, medium rare. I know about the sou vide method, reverse sear with the oven etc. I’ll just stick to keeping it simple. I also prefer my skillet to the grill. Grill lines are more cosmetic than anything to me, I like a full even sear.
"In the vast library of socialist books, there’s not a single volume on how to create wealth, only how to take and “redistribute” it.” - David Horowitz
F4U, I did that for Wifey on Valentines Day. Basically made "Prime Rib" out of the Ribeye steak using that method. It was very good, and we enjoyed it. HOWEVER it is not the same in flavor had it been on the Charcoal grill. And even the gas grill gives it a different taste that I prefer. But for a kitchen cooked steak it is a great recipe!