Cooking Steak with Simple Implements

[Manton]

Originally Posted by mgoose

I do this rather frequently. I like to salt my steak about an hour before I cook it.

This is actually not wise, or at least not "proper" technique. You should either salt meat immediately before it hits the pan, or else a day (or more) in advance. Otherwise you are just pulling out moisture to no good effect. If you do it a day in advance, however, the salt will get inside the meat and tenderize it. Rest the steak on paper towels; a wet steak that hits the pan will A) stick, and B) steam rather than brown.

 

[Xiaogou]

I would get the pan as hot as possible and sear both sides of the steak then finish it off in the oven.

 

[VKK3450]

Slightly tangential, a bit convoluted, and totally overanalyzing...

If one is planning on cooking a steak in cast iron by starting it on the stove then finishing it in the oven, whats the proper way to time it?

For example, do I do X minutes on side 1 then X minutes on side 2, then put it in the oven? In this case its sitting in the oven on side 2 which I assume being direct heat is going to cook that side much quicker than the exposed side (giving uneven cooking).

I'm thinking maybe X on side 1 then 1/2 X on side 2. That way the shorter time on the direct flame on side 2 sort of equalizes the fact that it spends more time in the pan on that side....

I am a dork, but someone chime in pls.

K

 

[Manton]

It all depends: thickess of steak, how evenly the pan heats, how hot is the burnder, oven temp, etc.

You can cook a 1" thick steak completely in the pan on M-H, 3 min one side, 2 min second side for rare, 3 min for MR. At least, that is a rough guide.

Any thicker and the steak should go in a 350 oven. I would be careful, say 2 min per side in the oven and check. Once it's cooked more than you want, there is no going back.

 

[Xiaogou]

Originally Posted by Manton

Once it's cooked more than you want, there is no going back.

That is so true

 

[VKK3450]

Yea, I'm wondering how the heat retention of cast iron affects the cooking in the oven as opposed to a normal pan...

Only experimentation will tell I guess.

K

 

[robertorex]

Originally Posted by Lel

Don't cook steak in the dorms... if it's anything like mine, the kitchenettes have no/very little ventilation. I am ashamed to admit that I set off the fire alarm in the middle of the day and two entire floors had to evacuate.

EDIT: No, nothing was burnt either, just cooked steak like one normally would and produced a substantial amount of smoke (nothing compared to what I would at home though).

luckily, for all the shittiness of my dorm kitchen it has quite a large window to open, so the ventilation is not a problem. I regularly make bacon in the morning which I like to slightly overcook and I've never had a problem.

There are some Chinese exchange students who regularly set off the smoke detector with their cooking however. I think they've caused about two or three fire alarm evacs as of now. This does not reflect well on us internationals

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by VKK3450

Yea, I'm wondering how the heat retention of cast iron affects the cooking in the oven as opposed to a normal pan...

Only experimentation will tell I guess.

K

You don't have to keep the meat on the skillet/pan. On the contrary, take it off the pan and let it rest for 5+ min under foil, then put on a tray in the oven and use the pan to deglaze and make a simple sauce. It looks cool to transfer the pan directly from top to oven but IMO far from optimal. For a big steak, I'd do a couple of minutes on each side in the pan, 5 min rest, then 6 minutes in oven (for medium rare) +/- 2 min for very rare or well done

 

[kwilkinson]

Why do you rest it before putting it in the oven? I've never tried it. Have you found it has some benefit?

 

[Spatlese]

Originally Posted by Manton

Try the opposite, long cooking over low to m-low heat. Really makes a nice steak. Works best with thick steaks.

I do this too and really like the resulting evenness inside. For thinner steaks (actually, not sure why I would want to eat a thin steak) I would crank the heat and cook it obviously for a shorter time.

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

Why do you rest it before putting it in the oven? I've never tried it. Have you found it has some benefit?
I have no idea actually - that's just how I learned it way back from I don't know who. Rest btw top and oven and rest before serving. I wonder if it needs that much resting.

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by gdl203

I have no idea actually - that's just how I learned it way back from I don't know who. Rest btw top and oven and rest before serving. I wonder if it needs that much resting.

Yeah, I don't know how much it would benefit from the resting between the top and the oven, but like I said I've never tried it so maybe it does. It definitely benefits from the final resting, though. Oh well. If it makes a good steak, that's all that matters.

 

[cheessus]

Originally Posted by Manton

This is actually not wise, or at least not "proper" technique. You should either salt meat immediately before it hits the pan, or else a day (or more) in advance. Otherwise you are just pulling out moisture to no good effect. If you do it a day in advance, however, the salt will get inside the meat and tenderize it. Rest the steak on paper towels; a wet steak that hits the pan will A) stick, and B) steam rather than brown.

What about this approach?

I only lightly salt after I finish cooking the steak.

 

[robertorex]

Originally Posted by Manton

This is actually not wise, or at least not "proper" technique. You should either salt meat immediately before it hits the pan, or else a day (or more) in advance. Otherwise you are just pulling out moisture to no good effect. If you do it a day in advance, however, the salt will get inside the meat and tenderize it. Rest the steak on paper towels; a wet steak that hits the pan will A) stick, and B) steam rather than brown.

I'm sure you've heard of the popular steamy kitchen post where this technique gets talked about and aggressively promoted. What in particular is so bad about it? Does it make a steak significantly worse than otherwise?

 

[DNW]

Originally Posted by Manton

This is actually not wise, or at least not "proper" technique. You should either salt meat immediately before it hits the pan, or else a day (or more) in advance. Otherwise you are just pulling out moisture to no good effect. If you do it a day in advance, however, the salt will get inside the meat and tenderize it. Rest the steak on paper towels; a wet steak that hits the pan will A) stick, and B) steam rather than brown.
I've actually done the salt method frequently. First, I cover the steak on both sides with see salt, then I let it sit for about 30-45 minutes, depending on the thickness of the steak. This amount of time is enough to season and tenderize the meat. Any longer and you're gonna have a pretty salty steak. After this period--and the steak is at room temperature--I rinse the steak thoroughly, then dry thoroughly with paper towels. Right before cooking, I brush both sides with some olive oil; then the steak goes into a hot pan to sear, then into an oven (at high heat) for a couple of minutes for a thick steak. I still get a very nice crust, and the meat in the middle is still very moist. Obviously, a 10-15 minute resting period after cooking is necessary for the juice to redistribute. The key to this technique is two fold: (1) the steak must be thoroughly dried (of surface water) before cooking; and (2) the pan must be very hot when the meat hits the metal. Edit: see this post for an example of this method.