How to cook a steak

[Vian]

I've always cooked steaks by searing them really hot on a grill or stainless steel pan until I think they're about medium-ish and then letting them rest 5-10 minutes. Sometimes they turn out great, sometimes they're over cooked, sometimes they're still raw in the middle. Tonight was my best friends birthday, so I decided to cook up a couple of my bone-in ribeyes from my grass-fed cow. Knowing that grass fed meat tends to be leaner and tougher than grain-fed meat, I went online searching for direction. At first I thought I would try marinating the steak, letting an acid break down some of the connective tissue to make the steak more tender. But a friend on Nerdfitness.com sent me to this page...http://4505meats.com/the-perfect-steak/

 

I was skeptical, don't you have to sear the meat at a high temp to "seal in the juices"? This method went against everything I'd ever been taught about cooking steaks. Another friend pointed out "So did paleo when you first came here." A valid point.

 

So I gave it a try. I thawed the meat overnight and when I got home from work, I placed it on a wire rack over a foil-lined baking sheet and liberally seasoned with salt and pepper on both sides while the oven heated to 250 degrees. I then inserted a meat thermometer into the center steak and baked it until the thermometer read 132 degrees. Then I seared the outside in a hot pan and let it rest for about 10 minutes. 

 

I can honestly say the steak I had tonight was the best steak I've ever tasted. It was tender, juicy, and perfectly and evenly medium rare all the way through, with all the amazing flavor of grass-fed beef.

[amberino21]

The best steak i cook is using the Heston Blumenthal method....it's amazing, even for cheaper cuts.

[Zoodles]

The best steak i cook is using the Heston Blumenthal method....it's amazing, even for cheaper cuts.

Is that where he keeps on flipping it like a maniac? And it works even for cheaper cuts - like what, do you mean topside/round steaks? How exciting, so sick of paying $8 for one bit of steak!

 

I thawed the meat overnight and when I got home from work, I placed it on a wire rack over a foil-lined baking sheet and liberally seasoned with salt and pepper on both sides while the oven heated to 250 degrees. I then inserted a meat thermometer into the center steak and baked it until the thermometer read 132 degrees. Then I seared the outside in a hot pan and let it rest for about 10 minutes. 

 

Yum, sounds great, I'm going to try this

[GonnaMakeIt!!]

Amberino21, I just watched a YouTube video on Blumenthol's method and am definitely going to give it a try. What oil would you recommend, especially taking into consideration the high cooking temp he calls for? Thanks!

[amberino21]

Amberino21, I just watched a YouTube video on Blumenthol's method and am definitely going to give it a try. What oil would you recommend, especially taking into consideration the high cooking temp he calls for? Thanks!

I usually use ghee, or coconut oil....or if my meat has a big strip of fat on the outside, I'll cut it off and put it in the pan to render off before adding the steak.

[amberino21]

Is that where he keeps on flipping it like a maniac? And it works even for cheaper cuts - like what, do you mean topside/round steaks? How exciting, so sick of paying $8 for one bit of steak!

Yum, sounds great, I'm going to try this

We have our steak med-rare, and it's never been tough using the Heston method. I'll be honest, I buy organic grass fed, but usually the cheapest cut (rump?)

[Zoodles]

Yep I buy that too, I was hoping you could use it for even cheaper cuts that aren't really meant to be eaten as a steak 😜

[Fenderbender]

Vian.... To give credence to your method... It is similar in function to " sous vide" where you place the steak/meat/chicken in A vacuum bag and place it in 130 degree circulating water until the internal temperature reaches that....then you remove from the bag and sear the heck out if it on cast iron....one of my favorite methods ...

Yours is I " home type" version of that, and does work very well.

[Sharon Simpson Thumann]

I know this is about steak but I didn't want to make another thread! I hate long cooking meats, it just doesn't taste good to me. I have several chuck roasts I bought from Whole Foods when they had a great deal on them. Any ideas on how to cook other than in the slow cooker. I'm a steak girl at heart, I loves me a good medium rare steak.. -drool-

 

My husband loves roasts but.. I just can't get past the flavor of long cooked meats.

[SpinSpin]

When I was growing up, my mom would do a chuck roast (7 bone) wrapped in foil with red wine and a package of Lipton onion soup mix and would cook it for about 2 hours at 350 (if I remember correctly the time--it was a recipe that she had taped up on the door of the pantry she used it that much! 

 

What about sssslowly sweating sliced onions in a bit of beef broth until they were soft, and then putting beef broth, salt/pepper/garlic/what ever other seasonings you like, sliced mushrooms--maybe sauteed with the onions-and then a cup or so of broth poured over the roast. Wrap in heavy duty foil--tented--my mom used to use two pieces of foil--one long way in a pyrex 9x13 pan and one short--put the roast in the middle, sprinkle the soup mix (or in this case top with onion/mushroom mixture) and bring up the sides of the foil and then pour the cup of broth over and fold the foil over and crinkle the upper edges together so they don't come apart. You could also sear the meat before hand, deglaze the pan with the broth that you were planning to pour over the meat, and cook for 2-2.5 hours, depending on how large a roast you had? I remember the meat being cooked thru but not dead, really succulent and have it with roast veg and what not. 

[Sharon Simpson Thumann]

Thanks Spinspin! I will try that with my next roast. It sounds like it might be delicious. All the roasts I bought are in the 3-3.5lb range.

[Letthemusicplay6]

Steak is the one thing I have always not been good at cooking.

 

I'm not sure if this just applys to Rib-Eyes in general but probably applies to any steak this thick.

 

But I found this online a couple weeks ago: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pan-seared-rib-eye-recipe/index.html

 

I somehow managed to pull it off but...I'm not sure if its because I use Coconut Oil instead of Olive. Or if it's because I use a Xtrema Ceramic Skillet instead of a cast Iron.  It fills my whole house with smoke like you wouldn't believe.

 

It was the best steak I've ever had though.  Theres a video too of the person cooking it if anyone is interested

[brscott]

this was an interesting thread.  Last couple of days I've been reading from different sites on the web about just how to cook a steak now that the temp is sooooo cold outside that we don't want to use the BBQ.  I always heard to leave the steak to cook on one side then flip, (like Gordon Ramsey), but what a mess with grease splashing everywhere on the stove.  I'm going to try these other methods next in search of the perfect steak cooked inside!