Steak cooking methods

[deerefan]

My wife tells me I have become quite the "expert" at cooking a medium rare steak on our propane bbq pit. It is our Sunday dinner tradition-NY Strip Steak on the grill. I am looking to change it up a bit, seeing if I can make it even better. May go the cast iron skillet on the stove route. How do you guys do it? Would love to hear some new ideas.

 

[mjarrels]

Cast iron on the stove.

mark

 

[check]

Cast iron on the stove. mark

Nooo! Steaks should only ever be barbecued.

 

[RobS]

I'm anxious to try the "oven roast then pan sear" method...

How to Cook a Steak Perfectly Every Time: Use the Reverse Sear Hack - Great Ideas : People.com

 

[kc5dlo]

I have never tried it but I have heard of a method where you seal the steak in a plastic bag or vacuum seal it and place it in a container of hot water.

 

[LD1]

I have yet to find any method of cooking a steak on a skillet that is better than on a grill.

Only reason I do it is because steak on the skillet is still better than no steak at all when the winter months limit grilling.

But that said, I dont like propane for grilling either. Charcoal only for me. And I dont cook direct over the charcoal either. Indirect heat, with a little cherry wood or apple wood on the charcoal and all the vents closed down to give a nice smoked flavor to the steak. Cherry and apple are the best two I have found.

Once done, I'll raise the charcoal and get the grates nice and hot, and sear the steaks to give nice grill lines. I cook to medium. Nice pink but blood free.

But regardless of cooking style, quality of the meat matters more than anything. A crappy steak cooked the way I describe is still a crappy steak. And a good steak can be ruined as well with improper cooking. So make sure you start with a good cut. My favorite is probably ribeye, with porterhouse/t-bone a close second

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I let my wood stove burn down to coals, then put the seasoned steak in a basket that has a handle and hold it over the coals!

I just keep turning the basket and let the steak baste itself...

SR

 

[oldballs]

Frying Pan on the stove. It is quick and easy and I don't play with my food. It's just "eating"... and not a "dining experience".

 

[Looking4new]

Frying Pan on the stove. It is quick and easy and I don't play with my food. It's just "eating"... and not a "dining experience".

That is my method, too.

 

[gsganzer]

I still prefer a mesquite grilled steak over any other method. But I also like one cooked in a cast iron skillet from time to time.

With the skillet method, I rub the steak with salt, pepper and olive oil and let it rest for a bit.

In the meantime, melt a couple of table spoons of butter with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Add fresh rosemary, thyme and garlic and get it fragrant. Throw your steak in the pan and cook approx. 3 minutes a side, spooning the butter/rosemary/garlic/thyme mixture over the steak to baste it as it cooks. Pull the steak out of the pan and let it rest 5 minutes before cutting and devouring.

 

[AchingBack]

Someday I might try this method:

Eisenhower Steak

The American President Dwight D. Eisenhower (born 1880, died 1969, president from 1953 to 1961) had a method of cooking steak that involved throwing it directly onto coals.

"President Eisenhower's favorite "eatin' food is thick juicy steak, and next to eating it he likes best to prepare it. The Chief Executive is a skilled steak cook. Following is his favorite recipe: Sirloin tip four inches thick... Put in flat, wide bowl containing dry mixture of salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Roll and rub steak in mixture until thoroughly saturated. Several hours before cooking, build a fire on the ground with basket of charcoal. Keep fire going strong until charcoal has formed thick bed of red hot coals. Forty minutes before serving steak, throw it directly on bed of live coals. Do not use grate, grill or any other device, but put the meat squarely on live coals. Turn steak over several times, but keep it on fire around 35 minutes. Then remove, and slice slant-wise about 1/2 inch thick." -- Robert S. Allen column, carried in: Chester Times. Chester, Pennsylvania. Thursday, 26 November 1953. Page 6.

 

[LD1]

If you have never done the olive oil method, I would test on a small piece of steak first. I personally dont like the flavor of olive oil and think it leaves a bad taste in the steak. I much prefer all butter, or a combination of canola oil/butter

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I still prefer a mesquite grilled steak over any other method

. But I also like one cooked in a cast iron skillet from time to time.

With the skillet method, I rub the steak with salt, pepper and olive oil and let it rest for a bit.

In the meantime, melt a couple of table spoons of butter with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Add fresh rosemary, thyme and garlic and get it fragrant. Throw your steak in the pan and cook approx. 3 minutes a side, spooning the butter/rosemary/garlic/thyme mixture over the steak to baste it as it cooks. Pull the steak out of the pan and let it rest 5 minutes before cutting and devouring.

You and I are pretty close. I've been grilling steaks for 50 or so years, beginning when you could buy a 1# T bone for $1.25. I have pretty well settled on how I like to cook mine. I use a Weber kettle grill, and like to have a goodly amount of charcoal so I can keep the heat up to a medium high. I don't mind using brick charcoal and charcoal lighter, although a purist would use chunk charcoal and a chimney.

I like to start with a Prime cut of bone in rib eye; about a pound to a pound and a quarter; resulting in a well marbled steak about 1 and 1/8 or 1/4 thick. I like for it to sit in the frige for 4 or 5 days, but that's optional. I take it out about 3 or so hours before; I put it on a plate and season it lightly with either lemon pepper or of late, I use some Montreal steak seasoning. I cover it with a paper towel and let it sit.

I like for my charcoal to burn down to where any trace of lighter fluid is gone, and the coals are pretty much all burning. I want the heat to be a bit on the hot side; medium hot...when holding your hand about 3 inches from the grate for 2 seconds or so is long enough, it should be ready. Experience helps.

I use Mesquite smoking wood, along with some Black Jack Oak and either Pecan or Hickory. I use about 3 small pieces of each. Go easy on the Mesquite at first; if you use too much and the fire is not hot enough, it will ruin your steak. Let it burn a bit; put the lid on until any flame is out and put the steak on. I always mark the time by the clock; a bone in rib eye, 1 and 1/4 inch thick will take about 20 minutes to cook to medium. The fire is usually a bit hotter when you first put it on, so you may need to turn it in 5 to 7 minutes. It should be nice and brown on the down side. I usually put a dollup of butter on the "up" side for added flavor. The secret is being able to judge the heat, time and how well you want it cooked. It is an art, but it works for me. I have had several folks tell me these were the best steaks they have ever eaten...but they are always good when they are free.

 

[polo1665]

Google Joan of Arc steak.....very similar to the Eisenhower method above, but no way I would leave the steak on there for 35 minutes. Also google Sous Vide, it is a temperature controlled hot water bath that cooks the steak (steak is placed in sealed bag before immersion). After 10 to 12 hours at 132 F, remove steak from bath and sear quickly on grill.

 

[Gunny]

I've always preferred grilling over charcoal to any other way, just me. I've got a charcoal/LP gas combination grill, but I only use the LP part for searing. The cooking is done over charcoal chunks, briquettes if I'm out of chunks. I like the Montreal seasoning, rubbed into a room temperature steak about 2 hours before supper, then off to the grill. Wife likes hers well done (cooked to death), so hers goes on first, mine hits the grill about 3 minutes later.
I cook on the grill year round, it's only about 30 feet from the back door and I've grilled out many times while wearing winter coats, but it's worth it to me. I like all the steaks, but here lately, I've been getting some nice prime to prime+ sirloins and they're hard to beat.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I have not had good luck in the past with Sirloins, so consequently I haven't grilled one in quite a while. Any tips on grilling a Sirloin?

 

[buickanddeere]

Best steaks hat were not dried out have been fried in either our 14"dia or 20" dia cast iron frying pan.

 

[CR172]

I have been using the reverse sear method for the past several years to grill our Christmas Day Prime Rib Roast to perfection. I always use natural lump charcoal and a chimney no matter what we are grilling. I used to be a big rib eye fan, but now much prefer NY Strips. Rib eyes have just too much fat for me anymore. We have a Primo grill which is another ceramic cooker. It holds the heat very well and evenly.

 

[MMagis]

I LOVE fat, and prefer a prime ribeye steak to just about anything, but I’ve recently because a big fan of flat iron steaks. There’s almost no fat on them, but their flavor is very unique. Beware, do NOT buy them at Walmart. I don’t know where they’re cutting them from, but it’s not correct. They’re terrible. We have a local chain that cuts their own meat and we pick them up there from time to time.
For another change up, cook them over lump charcoal. Real wood is probably even better, but I’m not sure I can notice the difference.
I don’t mind a steak cooked in a pan, but it can’t compare to one cooked over charcoal/wood.

 

[Ed of all trades]

I used to go out in the afternoon and build a fire in the back yard between two cinder blocks. Used oak firewood and we would just sit around and talk and poke at the fire from time to time. After it burned down to coals I would toss a couple taters in the ashes and then after a while throw a grill across the blocks and cook the steaks. Mostly tenderloin from my own steer. Can't say I ever had a better steak and the taters are better that way too. Used to do potatoes in the wood stove the same way. takes about an hour and man are they good. Ed