Best steak cooking technique?

[GLOCKENNBOOMER]

I'll admit, I haven't done it in awhile. The last good steaks I cooked were sirloin. I had doused both sides with worchestire sauce and rubbed em down with the KC masterpiece steak rub and some garlic salt and let them sit in the fridge for a day or so in the pan. Then got my fire going good and hot with mesquite wood. Put them on just long enough to get a little of the charred searing done. Best steaks I think I've ever had. Any other good steak techniques you got? I wanna see them.

[Shovel66]

One thing to remember when cooking steaks is to make sure they are dry before cooking. Pat them down with some paper towel or something that will absorb all the moisture. Some just lift their steaks right out of the marinade and toss them on the grill. The liquid will heat up and "steam the steaks" instead of flame cooking them. Cooking them dry is so much better for searing in the juices and you end up with a juicier, more tender piece of meat. :treerat: (can I say Piece of Meat over here?)
Enjoy your meal.
Shovel

[Steel Talon]

One thing to remember when cooking steaks is to make sure they are dry before cooking. Pat them down with some paper towel or something that will absorb all the moisture.Shovel


Shovel is most correct!!!

When I grill I make sure that I get that nice crosshatched pattern on both sides of the steak. Presentation of a good looking tender steak makes it a better eatin' experience....

Peace
Steel Talon:coolgleamA:

[GLOCKENNBOOMER]

One thing to remember when cooking steaks is to make sure they are dry before cooking. Pat them down with some paper towel or something that will absorb all the moisture. Some just lift their steaks right out of the marinade and toss them on the grill..............
I have never heard of that before, thanks I'll have to try that. Proof that you learn something new everyday.

[Pitmaster]

Quality beef, preferably prime but a quality choice with lots of marbling will work. Ribeye's are the best overall cut. Dry and let your steak come to room temperature. I prefer to season after cooking. But I only use salt and pepper. Toss on a hot fire. As hot as you can get it. Preferably one of oak or mesquite coals, but lump charcoal will do. Briquettes are ok in a pinch. Sear that sucker on both sides and turn occasionally till cooked to your liking. Or sear and move to a cooler part of the fire to finish cooking. I prefer medium rare. My wife is a philistine when it comes to steak and wants hers well done. So if mine is done hers may get tossed in the microwave to "get the red out".

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c400/bdcbbq/RS-4Winds008.jpg

[pesticidal]

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c400/bdcbbq/RS-4Winds008.jpg



:thumbsup: Perfect!

[Pitmaster]

:thumbsup: Perfect!

That was a 30 day dry aged prime ribeye too. An outstanding piece of beef.

[Oreo]

BLASPHAMY!!!!!!! What kind of real man actually cooks his beef?! I like mine right off the cow. If it's not still mooing it's over-done.

On a slightly more serious note... I was at a really fancy restaurant once & ordered the "Raw filet salad"... It was litterally, thin sliced raw filet minon with some spinach leaves on top with a light oil & vinegar dressing. That was the absolute best beef I've ever had. In fact, it was so good I can't imagine beef could possibly taste any better then that -ever.

[webyourbusiness]

cooking meat to 2 different degrees is a PITR - my wife used to like hers well done before we got married, but she has moved more towards the pink side ever since - I can push it too far though. What I generally find works for me is to have our two steaks the same thickness (7/8 - 1inch rib-eyes are these timings) - cook hers for 2 minutes a side then put mine in - flipping both steaks over for 6 minutes a side and we're good to go.

The biggest thing I've found for consistent eating quality is the quality of the meat. If you buy cheap steaks at the supermarket, they're going to be inconsistent - you MIGHT get a good one, but you can almost never get another one the same quality next time. Our township (10k people and they like township rather than city for some reason) - only has one small family owned grocery store and the butcher department is pretty good - the meat is cheaper than the big boxes in the city we work in, and the quality is considerably better. There is nothing consistent about their quality - I am sure that half the stuff markets as choice grade in the big boxes is no such thing - either that or they have some idiots killing these animals who stress the heck out of them (a scared animal ALWAYS puts out a tough meat).

I recommend where ever you shop, get to know someone in the butchers department and tell them exactly what you like - they'll steer you right (go with the guy whose been doing this at least 20 years, not the pimply faced kid out of corporate brainwashing school).


I also like to find an old fashioned family owned butchers or producer who supplies direct. We have a customer who raises lamb for the table - her lamb is the same price or less than the boxes, and the quality is WAY better. I can order exactly what I want, when I want and how I want. I can also get the heart and liver from her - not possible from the boxes. Old fashioned butchers also will cut things exactly how you want them - (so will the big boxes if you ask).

Look out for the family pack and bulk specials - when they run a prime rib special, get them to cut that sucker up into steaks for you - you will save TONS of money per pound and vacuum seal them up for consumption in the next 3 months from the freezer.

As pitmaster suggested - dry aged is great - try getting that from the big boxes - most of the butchers department staff (except those 20 yr old veterans) will probably look at you like you're a martian - what's dat mean? Your small local butch will know EXACTLY what you mean - but expect to pay a high $ per pound for it... and if you're squeamish -don't ask what it means... you probably don't want to know too much about the process!! ;)

Local producers are the way to go if you want consistent quality - my daughter works with a lady who produces chickens - they're $4 each and I keep 2 in the freezer at all times - they're juicey and plump - not pumped full of any junk and they are anti-biotic and hormone free - raised free-range and taste 10 times better than any store bought bird.

This year I'm looking for someone else to go halves with me on a full steer - I've found a place that will finish the animal the way I want him -meaning that his last 60 days he'll be fed what I want him to be fed. I've heard good things about this method. The same place then oversees the slaughtering, butchering and packaging completely - delivering freezer ready. It's pricey - but I've got to try it at least once!

I don't know about you guys, but I got my love of steaks and good meats from my dad - he got it from his dad - and my father's side of the family were country folk - my paternal grandfather used to fell trees and haul lumber with steam tractors - lived miles from "town" and you learn a lot when you don't just pick it up in a styrofoam pack for every meal. My brother was in farming for many years - dairy specifically, but many farms in the UK do both meat and dairy. He was herd manager for one of Prince Charle's farms in Somerset- the Prince of Wales even came to stay at that farm while my brother worked there - most of the meat consumed by the royal family is raised on their own estates, so what he could get, was good enough to served at some pretty high end dinner tables... THAT is some good meat! The sad thing is that it's getting tough for local quality farmers, they have a LOT of competition from the big boxes and the population generally doesn't insist on the quality as much as it does the price... traditional meat rearing techniques are being outplaced by factory farming - and the quality is NOT the same.... it's harder and harder to find the very best and you better be prepared to pay for it when you do find it...

wow - rant off! ;)

[BigSlick]

Thought we might wanna revive this thread so everyone can benefit from the info ;)

[MONTEGOD7SS]

Just fixed a good one last night, same prep as always. Bout an hour before eatin time the steaks get salt and pepper and sit out on the counter to warm up and bring the proteins to the surface. With the grille as hot as it'll possibly get (600 degrees maybe?) they get 1min rotated 90 degrees then another 1min repeated on the other side for a regular 3/4ish" sirloin or New York strip, or 2min each for a big fat ribeye. I always pair them with olive oil and salted baked potatos that get crusted up nice in the oven.

[Blackdog]

Local producers are the way to go if you want consistent quality - my daughter works with a lady who produces chickens - they're $4 each and I keep 2 in the freezer at all times - they're juicey and plump - not pumped full of any junk and they are anti-biotic and hormone free - raised free-range and taste 10 times better than any store bought bird.


I have a local source for the same. The difference is amazing over the typical factory farm raised chicken. Even more so when you can take one fresh (never been frozen) to the grill.

[Pitmaster]

I tried a technique this week that worked great.

First, turn off you smoke alarms.

Toss a little less than 2 tablespoons of kosher salt in a cast iron skillet.

Heat on high till the salt turns brown.

Toss on your steak, the steak will stick so hit the spot you want to cook at.

In a couple minutes the steak will release. When it does flip it and cook till it releases again.

Remove to a platter, let rest 5 minutes and tear into like a lion into fresh kill.

I've cooked a rib eye and strip steak using this method. Turned out perfect both times.

Don't pre-salt the meat.

[BigSlick]

I guess you could always use the jet burner outside to cook on too if ya can't turn off the smoke alarms.

I like the idea of this, I'm gonna do it soon as I get home again an see how I do.

How thick a steak you workin with PM ?

[Pitmaster]

A little over an inch on these 2. They cooked a tad more than I prefer. Next time I'll go for a thicker steak. You may need to play with a couple of steaks to get your preference.

Here's the technique described by the guy who posted it on the BBQ list. He's from East Texas.

The Salt Method.

Put a good coating of salt in your CI skillet. Kind like the pic but a little more is OK. Put it on a XTREMRLY hot fire, [maybe best done outside or disable smoke alarms] and heat skillet till it is smoldering hot and the salt has turned brown. Place steak[s] in hot pan but be sure to put them where you want them cause they gonna stick like glue when they hit the hot pan. Cook on this ''high heat till the steak releases it self and then flip it over. It will stick again. Leave it alone till it turns loose on its own. Remove from fire and let it rest. Cooking times may vary and YMMV depending on desired doneness and steak thickness. Season steak's as you would normally do. Properly done,........you will never taste the salt in the pan. Cook it to cold and you will.......


http://groups.google.com/group/smokeringbbq/attach/3b992917ef04310d/Salt.JPG?part=4&thumb=1

[BigSlick]

I love cookin in cast iron, just about everything else just can't handle the heat and usually has much less heat transfer