Mmm, shit in the meat.
IME, to get a good well done steak, you have to get a pretty thin one without a bone. A good trick to do is, when you get a steak at a butcher shop or a supermarket, have the butcher cut it in half. This usually gives you the proper thinness for the well-done effect.
Otherwise, I concur wholeheartedly with what Desslock has said. And a T-Bone is the best. steak. evar. (medium to medium well, with a good rub).
The perfect turkey?
Troy[/quote]
Deep Fried and injected, of course! :)
A hell of a mess to clean up (and unless you’re doing more than one, you’ll never get to use that 3.5 gallons of oil again), but well worth it.
Sorry, Brandon, but there is absolutely no such thing as a good well-done steak. It’s a complete oxymoron. Any steak cooked past medium is a travesty.
We should all be so lucky! sigh
Anyone have any suggestions for grinding your own? I have a kitchenaid with a grinder attachment I’ve never used. I’m somewhat afraid trying to grind enough meat for burgers that way might be too tedious for words, but I’m willing to give it a try.
For that matter, anyone have any good sausage recipes/pointers?
That’s bone-in ribeye, for the best flavor.[/quote]
Drool.
Was your great grandmom Clara Peller by any chance?
IEEEE!
UNCLEAN!
That’s bone-in ribeye, for the best flavor.
[/quote]
I know it’s not as flavorful, but man I loves the filet–a good one that is, that just melts in your mouth.
The only thing better than a steak? A steak wrapped in bacon of course…
I am no believer in Atkins, but I sure love steak.
Steak, bacon, eggs, seafood, rice, that’s basically all I eat.
I like my steaks bloody inside and crispy outside. Sorry I am imprecise with measurements but I learned to cook with my mother - We never owned a measuring cup, kitchen timer, etc. My mother just “knows” something is done. Most food changes in color as well. It’s more difficult when you do dishes like steamed fish where one minute too long results in overcooked fish.
My seasonings for 1-2 steaks:
Light soy sauce (none of this metallic-tasting stuff, I get the stuff made in Hong Kong or Japan).
Sugar, about 1 tablespoon.
Garlic
No salt needed, since soy sauce is salty enough.
a bit of cornstarch.
For korean-style my aunt does:
1/3rd sesame oil
1/3rd soy
1/3rd garlic, sliced/crushed.
add black pepper to taste. have to be more careful with the sesame because it will burn at the high temperatures I prefer.
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Add a bit of oil, about 2 spoons per steak. Turn stove, heat it up nice and hot. The thicker/heavier the pan the longer it takes. Heat it up a minute or two.
Once it’s hot enough place the steak in. Chinese (cantonese) cooking needs a strong flame, the searing and initial heat are important. If I add the steak too quickly then I end up with “mushy” steak.
Do not flip the steak. Move it a bit, if you have lots of garlic you probably want to remove it now so it doesn’t carbonize. Not tasty.
Once it’s almost done, flip steak. I picture it being cooked 2/3rds through (if you cut it open the middle should be pink by now). Flip it, leave it one more minute to crispy it up a bit. Take it out, EAT!!
BTW, here’s the perfect side dish to that perfect steak. This is mine own recipe:
- chop up 1 Vidalia onion and 20-30 good size mushrooms
- heat saute pan, melting 2 tbsp butter
- add 2 tbsp chopped garlic
- throw in mushrooms, saute on med heat
- when mushrooms begin to soften, throw in onion
- add 6 dashes Worchester sauce, Louisiana Hot Sauce and salt/pepper to taste
- saute mushroom and onions until desired texture is reached, stirring often ( I usually get 'em soft, but not mushy)
Drain and serve beside steak. Keep defibrillator nearby.
Lol.
I have my own upscale style steakhouse in the DC suburbs, and can pretty much eat steak whenever the hell I want. Some tips from our head chef:
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Start with the meat. Want a perfect steak? Buy only the best: Certified Angus Beef (CAB). Only a small percentage of USDA Prime beef is good enough to be labeled CAB. With CAB, there’s no reason to worry how rare you cook. That meat is pampered.
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Then, as Desslock suggests, attend your fire. There is nothing on god’s green earth better than a steak grilled over open fire, and I say that having been the Head Waiter at Dierdorf & Hart’s in St. Louis, where they “broil from above”. Nowhere near as good as over a fire. At my place, we use mesquite wood, mainly because of the major firewood groups, it burns at the highest temperature. You want an unbelievably hot fire for this.
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My chef strongly differs though when it comes to cook times, especially for well-done meat. When we get a well-done filet or KC Strip that the guest doesn’t want butterflied, we start it on the hottest part of the grill at first, but then move it to a cooler spot. If you keep a 1.5" thick steak over the hottest part of a fire to the point where it will get the pink out of the middle of the cut, you’re going to scorch and char the outside of the steak. With a cooler fire, it’ll preserve the outside of the meat better while the inside cooks. For a well-done or midwell steak, you do want to keep it “at temperature” (in a heat window, or if at home, in your warm oven) for about three or four minutes, too. As someone suggested, the fats and proteins inside the steak will continue to “cook” if the steak is held at temp for a bit, and “brown” the inside a bit more.
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If you cook a steak more done than medium, there’s no reason to invest in good meat. The more pink you cook out, the more you destroy the nuances and flavors in the meat. If well-done is your thing, buy Prime. No reason to waste money on choice or CAB.
I thought Prime was a higher grade than choice??
Well, I’m not ready to give up my steak, but that was a very nicely done Flash Animation.
It is.
If you like well-done, I’d suggest USDA Utility grade. (That’s real.)
Bunch of us were out to dinner at a fancy steak place in Seattle and Johnny Wilson ordered a well-done steak. When they brought everyone’s meal, Johnny’s plate had a beautiful set of side veggies and a charred, black block. When he went to cut into it, it actually WAS a charred black block. They keep irregular blocks of wood around, toss them in the coals, and serve them to people so gauche as to order well-done steaks. After everyone stopped laughing, they removed the plate-o-block and delivered his real well-done steak.
It is.
If you like well-done, I’d suggest USDA Utility grade. (That’s real.)
Bunch of us were out to dinner at a fancy steak place in Seattle and Johnny Wilson ordered a well-done steak. When they brought everyone’s meal, Johnny’s plate had a beautiful set of side veggies and a charred, black block. When he went to cut into it, it actually WAS a charred black block. They keep irregular blocks of wood around, toss them in the coals, and serve them to people so gauche as to order well-done steaks. After everyone stopped laughing, they removed the plate-o-block and delivered his real well-done steak.[/quote]
No, I like medium rare, my father who was in the restaurant business would be rolling over in his grave if I ever ordered a steak well done.
That’s why I did not understand the recomendation above to use Prime for well done because choice was a high grade…
I don’t care what everyone says. I like well-done steak, and it tastes better if it’s higher grade, presumably because the fat prevents the interior from getting too tough.
Actually, I really prefer medium-well, but when I order it, I frequently seem to wind up with something more like medium-rare. I don’t like medium-rare, and it’s annoying to send it back, so I usually just settle for ordering steak well-done, which for some reason they seem to comprehend better at a typical restaurant.
From the USDA:
"Inspection is mandatory; grading is voluntary, and a plant pays to have its meat graded. USDA-graded beef sold at the retail level is Prime, Choice, and Select. Lower grades (Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter, and Canner) are mainly ground or used in processed meat products. Retail stores may use other terms which must be different from USDA grades.
USDA Prime beef (about two percent of graded beef) has more fat marbling, so it is the most tender and flavorful. However, it is higher in fat content. Most of the graded beef sold in supermarkets is USDA Choice or USDA Select. The protein, vitamin, and mineral content of beef are similar regardless of the grade."
Ugh. Right. Meant to say prime. Ugh.
Rough week at work, sorry!
I browsed this thread cuz I wanted to make steaks in a cast-iron frying pan, and, seeing no advice, I tried this:
and it was awesome!
p.s. holy lolz, this thread is from 2003
Cooking steak in a pan is pretty easy. Personally I basically sear the shit out of the outside, while the inside is basically rare. Get the pan HOT - do not be shy about the heat; you’re not going to burn it.