I’m bummed - I ruined a couple of good ribeyes tonight through a combination of rustiness, inattention and a new grill. They came out very tough. I think I cooked them for too long at high heat with the lid closed.
First rule of cooking a good steak is to let it come up to room temperature before grilling. Other than that the poke method should get you close to awesome. Just have the grill very hot and give them four minutes a side to start, salt and pepper beforehand.
H.
Yep - i forgot the room temp thing too.
I picked up a Sous Vide Supreme about half a year ago and use it in conjunction with my Big Green Egg to produce fantastic steaks.
I just season and sous vide the steaks to 125 degrees, then sear them at 800 degrees in the Egg for about a minute on each side. Pretty much a perfect steak every single time.
While we’re resuscitating mostly-dead equines…
I’ve tried the above. It works really well. I add a step at the very beginning though: disconnect the smoke alarm. If I’m cooking more than one I’ll just preemptively call the fire dept.
Anyone had any luck getting around this? (Yes, I’m using a high-temp oil, fans, etc…)
Install a commercial range hood is probably the only thing. I have this problem whenever I have the oven over 450 degrees, which is why I do most of my high temp cooking outside.
You can use a higher smoke point oil (safflower, peanut), but when you’re in the 500 degree range, you’re going to have problems regardless. It’s a pity, since it makes pan-searing difficult in an apartment without the option of outdoor cooking.
we basically have standing orders when doing pan-searing to:
- disable smoke detectors (they’re wiring in, so we use saran wrap.
- open all windows
- box fan in the window, pointing out
- range-hood on high
And then the smoke alarm goes off anyways. We also try very hard to minimize the sear-time, getting hot pans off as quickly as possible, etc. For obvious reasons, this also limits our ability to do this in the winter or in the high summer.
Probably discussed upthread, but with thinner cuts of meat (e.g. skirt steak), you can dispense with the oven time, and just sear both sides and tent.
After a couple of attempts at high temp searing indoors, I’ve come to the conclusion that I simply won’t do it. The smoke detectors are guaranteed to go off, and the smoke manages to travel about the house as well. There is a grill out back for that, and my neighbours can share in the generated smoke.
Alrighty. Good to know that I’m merely misguided, not incompetent.
This may seem like heresy to some - and I greatly enjoy a seared rare steak - the butter method (Ducasse method) is also fantastic. It produces a medium-rare steak and is the antithesis of searing but it’s worth a try if you like steak. Note it must be a 2"+ cut, preferably rib-eye or similar. Will also not trip smoke alarms, but that’s a minor concern in the pursuit of the perfect steak imho.
Google Ducasse Method for more examples.
Damn! That is not a recipe. It is a fucking manifesto.
I have to say, the dude writes beautifully for a chef in his second language.
But I believe there are techniques that can enhance a steak’s flavor and tenderness. Even with such a superb ingredient, I take a more culinary approach: as a chef, I intervene in the preparation, and create a complete dish that is satisfying on many levels. This attitude, the demand of my profession, pervades all my food.
So I bought an Anova sous vide cooker on Prime Day, since it was on sale for $99. I made steak with it last night.
I am never making steak any other way again. Brain dead easy and completely foolproof.
I seasoned the steak beforehand (Chicago steak seasoning) and it worked fine. Would the steak benefit from further seasoning after the bath and before the sear? Do you use butter when you sear? Do marinades work with this? Just curious what other tweaks I could use to improve.
Much sou vide discussion can be had at Tell us what you have cooked lately (that's interesting)
And welcome to the wonderful world of sous vide.
Absolute yes on the butter. It helps give that beautiful crust you see at fancy steakhouses. Great aroma and flavor too.
Absolutely. Just had a miso marinated onglet steak this evening.
You can make a great steak via sous-vide, certainly, in that it nearly eliminates the grey area of overcooked meat at the edges, so the entire interior is cooked exactly how you want it. But I don’t sous-vide steak, I primarily use it on seafood (which is much more difficult to not overcook) and to make Kenji Lopez-Alt’s amazing “BBQ” ribs.
I prefer to cook my steaks searing in a seriously hot pan and then roasting until done. This has several advantages. First, it’s much faster and easier. And second, while you do get more grey area which slightly impairs the texture, you achieve a much better crust on the exterior and that maillard crust is pure flavor. I know how to cook a steak so it isn’t overdone, so that isn’t a factor.
Marinades, cajun seasoning, hot sauce, and steak sauce all have their place-- cheap steak. A great piece of meat needs nothing more than salt and pepper.
That said sometimes you want to mix it up a little, and in those cases, and especially with cheaper non dry-aged steaks, I follow the religion of Adam Perry Lang. I scruff the surface of the steak with a very sharp knife to load on the seasoning for extra maillard surface area crispy bits, then make one of his signature board sauces after resting and slicing.
Very strongly recommend this book if you’re really into the carnivorous arts.
https://smile.amazon.com/Charred-Scruffed-Adam-Perry-Lang/dp/1579654657
So, learn from my lessons.
Don’t put butter in with any meats while in the sous vide bath. It actually takes away from the flavor.who knew?!?
Salt and pepper more generously than you would normally before bagging your steak.
Add flavors and herbs if needed, but remember they don’t all come through after the bath. I make pan sauces sometimes with the liquid.
Mentioned in the other thread, but set the cook temp at exactly what you want. The heat to sear is so minor that it really shouldn’t budge where your meat temp is. Don’t undercook just to sear harder.
Yep, watched that exact video before changing things up. And then had my mind blown.
Needs? No. But you’ll prise the bone marrow gravy and wholegrain mustard out of my cold, dead hands.