Burnt at the steak
Spud Larkin
People are forever asking me, how to cook the perfect steak, steaks
are real easy, as you don’t touch them as the cooking, if you start
messing about, they will become tough, and chewy, just put them in the
pan and leave them.
How do you grill steaks so they are pink but not chewy? The best way
to cook a steak at home is to add some fat to it. I recommend cooking
them in butter in a sauté pan, spooning the butter over it every few
minutes. Also I suggest spending the extra money to purchase better-
quality meats.
1. Prepare the steaks
Before cooking remove the defrosted meat from its vacuum packaging and
pat dry with kitchen paper. Spread the steaks out on a board in a
single layer. Allow the meat to 'bloom' and come to room temperature
for about 20 minutes before cooking.
2. Preheat your pan
Make sure that your griddle or frying pan is preheated to the highest
temperature before you cook your steaks. When you place the meat into
the pan you should hear a sizzle. Using a pan which is not hot enough
can cause toughness. Add a little olive oil to the pan, or brush the
oil directly onto the steaks to avoid using too much.
3. Cook to your liking
Cook the meat for the recommended time (see table below) on one side
without touching, then turn very gently and cook on the other side for
the remaining time. Don't turn your steaks more than necessary - every
turn lets precious juices escape and dries out the meat. Be careful
not to overcook, as this will make the meat dry and tough. You can
test for doneness by pressing your steak gently with the tip of your
finger.
4. Rest your steaks
Once the steaks are cooked to your liking they must be rested. During
resting, the temperatures within the meat fuse, the juices in the
middle move to the outside and it becomes warm, moist and tender all
the way through. To rest your steaks, place them on a rack so they
don't lie in their own juices. Cover with foil and leave in a warm
place for up to 10 minutes. Remember, it is always better to over-rest
your steaks than to under-rest them.
5. Use a good steak knife
Finally, use the right knife to cut your steak. A serrated edge
encourages diners to 'saw', which gives the impression of toughness on
even the tenderest meat. A sharp un-serrated blade slices cleanly
through the steak and enhances the whole eating experience for you and
your guests.
Steak Cooking Time Guide
The times given here are a guide only and refer to a steak that is
approximately 2½cm or 1" thick. Thicker steaks may require a longer
cooking time, and vice versa for thinner steaks.
Cooking Time(per side) Resting Time Total CookingTime
Rare 1 - 2 minutes 6 - 8 minutes 10 minutes
Medium 3 minutes 4 minutes 10 minutes
Well Done 4½ minutes 1 minute 10 minutes
Val
"Spud Larkin" <ke...@angelwingnursery.com> wrote in message
news:dbbf0d33-9ba8-4cc6...@b64g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...
>People are forever asking me, how to cook the perfect steak
Why.
Spud Larkin
mainly because they dont know how to cook rare and medium steaks so
they get well done all the time ( as they tend to over cook them), or
they keep turning them in the pan and this makes them tough. maybe I
cook them too often for my friends and family...... Maybe not so
much why but How....
Gary
>
> People are forever asking me, how to cook the perfect steak,
> Add a little olive oil to the pan, or brush the
> oil directly onto the steaks to avoid using too much.
Each to their own tastes but using olive oil on steaks is my only problem
with what you wrote. ARRGHH! I love olive oil with certain things but I
don't want even a hint of that taste on my steak....or in scrambled eggs as
someone mentioned here years ago.
When I pan-fry steaks, I let them get to room temperature and coat them with
coarse ground black pepper and a little garlic powder. Sometimes add a
little basil too. I also coat both sides with worchestershire sauce to
marinate as they are warming up.
Ribeye steaks are my favorite but I normally buy the very cheap roasts on
sale, then cut them into 1" or so steaks. They can be a little extra chewy
sometimes but the good steak flavor is still there.
Gary
Jan :)
Otherwise its on the grill outside.
I would never use olive oil, just because it is not to my taste. I first
sprinkle them on each side with garlic and onion powder and black pepper
that has been patted in and let sit for 15 minutes. Then I heat the griddle
and coat it with a bit of Crisco. I like my steak Med Rare, so I place the
steaks on the griddle and leave on one side for approx. 7 minutes, then turn
and let cook for approx 7 minutes, then check the middle using a small
incision to make sure it is done to my liking. Some of my friends prefer it
a bit more done, so I leave is for 7 minutes on one side and 10 on the
other. For well done, I let them cook their own. :-)
Jan :)
"Gary" <g.ma...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:482DF60D...@worldnet.att.net...
Steve Calvin
Here, steaks are done on the grill as hot as I can get that sucker.
Bring to room temp, sea or Kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and on
the grill: turning once until desired degree of doneness. We like 'em
medium rare but some friends like it more medium well. No skin off my
butt, I ain't eatin' it that way so I don't really care. :D
OO, garlic powder <shudder>, other stuff? We'll pass.
--
Steve
Spud Larkin
Can I just butt in to say I am english, so we have different ways, I
know what crisco is, but we cannot buy it over here,
thought thats whats the board is for discussions..... keep them
coming...
Gary
Just for the record, I never would have thought of garlic powder (and basil)
myself. My daughter dated a local semi-famous chef for years and that's what
he did at his restaurant. Once she made this for me at home, I've never
looked back. You might want to try it sometime, just to see what you think.
Anyway....my steak recipe now is:
- bring to almost room temp
- then coat both sides with worchestershire sauce
- then coat both sides with coarse ground black pepper, a nip of
garlic powder and some dried basil. Press spices into the steak
then let it sit until it reaches room temp. I like my steaks heavily
salted too but I add that to the plate, not in the cooking phase.
- pan-fry or grill until medium rare
- if pan-frying, once the steak is done...deglazed the pan with a little
bit of water, then fry some sliced onions and mushrooms in that.
One of my all-time favorite dinners is:
- steak, as cooked above
- mushrooms and onions put on top of the steak
- fresh sweet corn just heated to hot with a little butter
- a nice pile of oil-fried french fries, heavily coated with
salt and pepper
- two pieces of buttered bread (using real butter)
- tall glass of very cold milk
Might not be so healthy but your taste-buds will be doing back-flips of joy
on this meal. I'm a firm believer in (unless you have a health issue), eat
anything you want to...just don't eat it all the time.
Gary
Val
"Steve Calvin" <cal...@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:482e0095$0$15194$607e...@cv.net...
Here, here Steve!! I cook steaks using the KISS method. Let the steak sit on
the counter for 30 minutes, Kosher salt generously sprinkled on both sides,
crush a handful of black peppercorns on the counter using the bottom of a
sauce pan and 'crust' both sides of the steak. If it doesn't go on the
balcony grill the cast iron grill pan is preheated to "HOT" and slap that
puppy on. I don't use any kind of oil or grease, the meat is perfectly
marbled, doesn't need it. My steaks are a good 1 1/2 inches thick, I have a
very powerful vent fan, 5 minutes or a little less on each side. I like my
steak so a good vet could it up and walking again but I happily cook guest's
anyway they want them without mumbling or comment.
I am *SO* lucky, I have a good friend who raises his own Black Angus, grass
grazed and certified organic. He 'gifts' me with a 50+ pound box of assorted
prime cuts twice a year when he comes into town.
Val
Val
> Can I just butt in to say I am english, so we have different ways,
I've been to London twice and Rugby once. I was taken to some very good
restaurants and enjoyed the food BUT, steaks are not the strong suit of
English cooking IMO. The best meals I remember were in Thai and Pakistani
restaurants. But that's just my American palate speaking ;)
Val
Jan :)
"Spud Larkin" <ke...@angelwingnursery.com> wrote in message
news:83bfec4b-3341-49b1...@26g2000hsk.googlegroups.com...
That is what the board is for, keep them coming. While we may not like some
things from other areas, we do enjoy knowing how others do things. Makes it
very interesting. :-)
Jan :)
Edwin Pawlowski
"Jan :)" <ab...@localhost.com> wrote in message
news:fWmXj.1230$dh.710@trnddc05...
>I never fry steak in a pan, only on a griddle when cooked in the house.
A griddle is just a pan with no sides. Either will work as well as the
other given the proper materials
Jan :)
"Edwin Pawlowski" <e...@snet.net> wrote in message
news:%DrXj.1346$qH4...@nlpi061.nbdc.sbc.com...
To a degree. They do both work well, but, for me, the griddle does work
best.
I also often marinate the steaks in a red wine marinade, the pan/skillet
tends to allow the juice to gather and then burn, where as on the griddle
the juice does not gather, but, sears quickly. Same heat level, same
conditions. Perhaps because the griddle is more open and does not hold the
heat in as much as a pan/skillet. I dunno, I just know the do cook
differently, tfor me anyway.
Jan :)
Phisherman
broiled. Either way, well-done. My favorite is porter-house. To me
well-done is just to the point where the center pink is gone. I
season mine with salt and a small amount of pepper--anything else
ruins it. You mize-well eat shoe leather than an overcooked
dried-out steak.
Steve Calvin
> On 16 May, 22:45, Steve Calvin <calv...@optonline.net> wrote:
>> As others have said, OO? Nope.
>>
>> Here, steaks are done on the grill as hot as I can get that sucker.
>>
>> Bring to room temp, sea or Kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and on
>> the grill: turning once until desired degree of doneness. We like 'em
>> medium rare but some friends like it more medium well. No skin off my
>> butt, I ain't eatin' it that way so I don't really care. :D
>>
>> OO, garlic powder <shudder>, other stuff? We'll pass.
>>
>> --
>> Steve
>
> Can I just butt in to say I am english,
ok, I'm 'Merkin.... so?
so we have different ways, I
> know what crisco is, but we cannot buy it over here,
not quite sure where the crisco came from but I wouldn't use that either
(except in my swiss steak)
> thought thats whats the board is for discussions.....
Isn't that what we're doing? The fact that I don't happen to agree with
your position does not make it a fight or argument. If everyone had the
same opinions, the world would be an awfully boring place.
--
Steve
Steve Calvin
> Steve Calvin wrote:
>> As others have said, OO? Nope.
>>
>> Here, steaks are done on the grill as hot as I can get that sucker.
>>
>> Bring to room temp, sea or Kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and on
>> the grill: turning once until desired degree of doneness. We like 'em
>> medium rare but some friends like it more medium well. No skin off my
>> butt, I ain't eatin' it that way so I don't really care. :D
>>
>> OO, garlic powder <shudder>, other stuff? We'll pass.
>
> Just for the record, I never would have thought of garlic powder (and basil)
> myself. My daughter dated a local semi-famous chef for years and that's what
> he did at his restaurant. Once she made this for me at home, I've never
> looked back. You might want to try it sometime, just to see what you think.
Alright, ya talked me into it. I swear, next time we have steaks I'll
give it a shot. One never knows, do one? ;-)
--
Steve
Gary
Just so you so don't get too mad at me if you don't like it, try just one
steak that way next time, not all of them. ;-D
My daughter's 29th birthday is tomorrow (Sunday) and she will be over here
for a few hours. I'll double-check that recipe with her tomorrow. I may have
forgotten a spice or two from the original restaurant recipe. It does seem
like there was something else besides the garlic powder and basil. (?)
I'll write back here tomorrow and either verify or change the recipe.
I also have another good steak recipe that I'll post tomorrow.
Steve Calvin
> Just so you so don't get too mad at me if you don't like it, try just one
> steak that way next time, not all of them. ;-D
>
> My daughter's 29th birthday is tomorrow (Sunday) and she will be over here
> for a few hours. I'll double-check that recipe with her tomorrow. I may have
> forgotten a spice or two from the original restaurant recipe. It does seem
> like there was something else besides the garlic powder and basil. (?)
>
> I'll write back here tomorrow and either verify or change the recipe.
> I also have another good steak recipe that I'll post tomorrow.
Nah. I don't take things too seriously in my old age... ;-)
Thanks, you may have opened new doors for us. (or not... lol)
--
Steve
Joseph Littleshoes
Lydia Bastiannicchi (sp?) makes an olive oil & basil & garlic mix to
spread over a piece of steak as soon as it comes off the grill, i
haven't done so yet myself but i have been very tempted to try it. She
claims the residual heat from the steak will cause the flavors of the
basil, garlic and olive oil to 'bloom' and the demonstration i saw was
used on a big piece of grilled chuck iirc.
My favorite though is the breaded steak, be it schnitzel or chicken
fried, i like to take a nice piece of beef shoulder about 1/2 inch
thick, beat it with the meat mallet till its about 1/8 inch thick then
flour, egg and bread crumb it and fry in canola oil till done, usually
no more than a couple of minutes per side, serve with lemon wedges.
--
JL
Spud Larkin
>
> - Show quoted text -
Steve
My mistake sorry i replied to the wrong post it should of been the one
above yours (Sue's)
sorry again
Steve Calvin
<snip>
>
> Steve
> My mistake sorry i replied to the wrong post it should of been the one
> above yours (Sue's)
> sorry again
No problem at all. I just couldn't figure out what I had said to lead us
down that path.
--
Steve
Wayne Boatwright
My favorite is a well-charred exterior, medium to medium rare inside, then
as soon as it's off the grill, rubbed liberally with softened unsalted
butter mixed with vry finely minced fresh garlic. I do not like steak
cooked in a pan or on a griddle. Open fire only, for me.
> My favorite though is the breaded steak, be it schnitzel or chicken
> fried, i like to take a nice piece of beef shoulder about 1/2 inch
> thick, beat it with the meat mallet till its about 1/8 inch thick then
> flour, egg and bread crumb it and fry in canola oil till done, usually
> no more than a couple of minutes per side, serve with lemon wedges.
> --
> JL
A totally different favorite of mine, be it beef, pork, or chicken, but
prepared as you describe. Only thing different I do is mix butter with the
canola oil. When I make this, though, I absolutely must have homemade
spaetzle with some paprikas style sour cream gravy (for the spaetzle, not
the meat).
--
Wayne Boatwright
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Jan :)
"Wayne Boatwright" <waynebo...@arizona.usa.com> wrote in message
news:Xns9AA1DDEE844E0wa...@69.28.173.184...
I agree that the taste is far better when cooked in the grill. I only
griddle cook a steak when the weather does not permit outdoor cooking, which
fortunately, does not happen often. Even when it is snowing outside, I will
still fire off the Smokey Joe and cook my steak. Since I have moved in Feb.
this year we no longer have the small covered back porch where we used to
have the gas grill, and have no place for it here, so all we have is the
Smokey Joe now, so when it is raining heavily we can't cook outdoors, but, a
light shower or snow is no deterant. :-)
Jan :)
Gary
Here you go: (good luck! heheh)
- coat both sides of steak with worchestershire sauce
- put a little butter on both sides
- coat one side with coarse ground black pepper, kosher salt, basil,
oregano and some garlic powder
- press spices into steak then repeat on other side.
- cover and let it reach room temp before cooking.
For pan-frying, sear on very high heat 1 minute on each side then turn heat
down to medium and cook until desired finish. Add sliced onions and
mushrooms while it's cooking.
If you do have baked potato or fries with the steak, deglaze pan and pour
juices over the potatoes. yum!
Gary
>
> I agree that the taste is far better when cooked in the grill. I only
> griddle cook a steak when the weather does not permit outdoor cooking, which
> fortunately, does not happen often. Even when it is snowing outside, I will
> still fire off the Smokey Joe and cook my steak. Since I have moved in Feb.
> this year we no longer have the small covered back porch where we used to
> have the gas grill, and have no place for it here, so all we have is the
> Smokey Joe now, so when it is raining heavily we can't cook outdoors, but, a
> light shower or snow is no deterant. :-)
A few years ago, the state of Virginia outlawed using grills on apartment
and condo back porches and balconies. (Just when you thought the Soviet
Union was dead, eh?) So I actually can NOT use a grill here anymore...even
out in the yard.
Some neighbors here ignore that stupid rule and grill out evening anyway.
Good for them!
Anyway, that's why I resort to pan-frying steaks now. On a grill is much
better, imo.
Jerry Avins
It took me a while to learn not to fuss at them, and I'm sure your
pointing it out could be useful to some.
Is that comma after me ("forever asking me,") a British thing? It seems
odd in the US, although I see it in the writings of people whose first
language is German (where it is called for).
Jerry
--
Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Jerry Avins
One of my griddles is flat on one side (for pancakes, etc) and ribbed on
the other, for fish, steak, etc.). It's a little thinner than I'd like,
but it straddles two burners, so the heat is even enough.