December 18, 2004

• Oops, didn't mean to make the first link go straight to my own comment. oh well.
• Can you tell us a bit more about the meat? What is the cut and how much does it weigh? If it is a roast or a brisket that's one thing, if it is uncut steaks, that's another.
• Individual steaks? Well, charcoal grill is my favorite method, just season and slap 'em on, but the broiler works well too. You should be able to get a charcoal grill fairly cheap, if you're in the market. Obviously, you've got three options: marinade, sauce, or season. One of the best recipe sites IMO is epicurious. If you've not been there before, it's worth a look.
• Six-ounce top sirloin. Got two of 'em in the oven right this second. And winter in Cleveland is probably not the best time to be operating a charcoal grill. Just sayin'.
• I likes a good au poivre.
• The old boss bought us steaks from that very place a couple of years ago. Liberally apply kosher salt (not sure why but it makes a huge difference, maybe the size of the grains), and fresh cracked pepper, and then grill the mofo. Good cuts of meat like those linked only need be seasoned and cooked.
• Marinate, marinate, marinate! I've found some fantastic concoctions for steak on epicurious and other sites. And, even up here in the Great White North, my propane grill runs year-round.
• I think one of the best things you can do for flavor is simply not overcook them.... shoot for medium, at least. It does wonders for the taste.... and I'm someone who used to want only well-done. Of course if you're having guests, social custom may dictate cooking it into a hockey puck.
• I like to rip raw, bloody chunks from a live animal and slap them against a rock a few times before devouring them whole.
• I've found that baking steaks makes for a nasty gray hunk of meat. Grilling outdoors on a hardwood/charcol fire is best, but a nice pan fried steak comes in a close second. If you can't grill em', then salt them with kosher salt as vapidave suggests (according to "On Food and Cooking" by Harold McGee, a great book on the science of cooking, as it helps the proteins retain more moisture) and heat an iron skillet (more heat retention and better browning) then cook it until brown and the meat just starts to firm up (rare to medium rare). Then remove the steak and drain excess fat. Keep the brown bits in the pan and add a pat of butter and some chopped shallots. Saute until just brown and return the steak and it's juices to the pan. Bring it up to heat again and add a bit of Worchestershire sauce and some cracked pepper and serve with a dry red wine, a nice fresh garden salad and a good crusty baugette. Yummy.
• Also, if you can't or won't use a frying pan, then broil the steaks at a high temperature while keeping a close eye on them. Broiling is almost like grilling, just upside down. You can braise a roast in an oven (enclosed in a dutch oven to retain the moisture) but never bake a steak.
• I cannot recommend McCormick's Grill Mates enough. It basically is Kosher salt, with several other spices. The Montreal Steak one is the best, IMHO. (Also works great in ground beef for burgers, really tenderizes the meat, but don't put too much or it gets really salty.)
• Ok, due to the fact that this is too long for one post, I
• I use real charcoal. Briquettes will work, but don
• In general: 140 is rare, 160 is medium, 170 is well done. I have found with the marinade above that the steaks will be most tender with an internal temp of about 155-160. You actually want to pull the steaks off the grill when they are 5-10 degrees cooler than this at the center of the steak. Here's why: if you take a steak directly off the grill and cut it, juices will flow from it. If you do this, you just ruined your steak. You want to keep these juices in, as that was half the point of searing them to begin with. So, pull the steaks, and immediately put them on a warm plate and tent them with tin foil. Let them sit for 10 minutes. During this ten minutes, the internal temp will rise a bit more and the steak will reabsorb all the juices. Then serve your steaks. Cooking them doesn
• Ok, two more things: First and foremost, if anyone has any improvements or suggestions, I would love to hear them. Additionaly, a cast iron skillet can be purchased dirt cheap, 15 bucks or less. If you don't have one to use, you can sear the steaks over very hot direct heat if you want. You won't have the 'stickiness' factor to guide you, however, so be aware. I really do prefer the skillet method, it seems to give a much better even solid sear, however.
• Oh hell, now I read you original statement that you have no grill. Ok, fine. Modified method. You still need to marinade. You still need to seer. So, go through all the steps, but: Sear on a pan on the oven set to the highest heat. The problem with doing this indoors is that you will generate great quanities of smoke. Don't do it if you: don't have a good vent, or if you can't open the doors and windows. If you have a cask iron pan, use that. If you don't have one, you can probably get one dirt cheap somewhere. Otherwise, just don't use teflon. Instead of a hot grill, you can finish the cooking in an oven. Turn your oven to the hottest setting, the hotter the better. Once you have seared the steaks, put them in the over. Use both racks: put the steaks on the upper one and put a pan on the lower one under the steaks to catch any drippings from the steaks. Do everything else as described above.
• killakid, I don't have an issue with most of what you say, but searing has little to nothing to do with locking in the juices of the steak. From the article: Perhaps the most famous theory McGee has helped debunk involves the searing of meat. How many times have you heard a TV chef say, "First, sear the meat to seal in the juices"? Sounds logical, but it's wrong. McGee chuckles as he recalls a presentation he gave at a convention of 400 chefs in Canada. "I asked for a show of hands of how many believe that searing seals in juices. Seventy-five percent of them raised their hands," McGee says. "Then I showed slides of how when you cook meat on a griddle, then put it on a plate and tilt it, you see the juices run out. I asked again how many thought that searing sealed in juices, and of course, nobody raised their hands then. But it's funny how a catchy slogan can stay in people's minds."
• What searing does do is give you a lovely flavor. The use of the iron skillet is most cunning. I have destroyed more steaks than I care to recall, trying to do this over live fire. (I used to have a grill that resembled nothing so much as a kiln. You could fire horseshoes in that thing, not to mention sear meat beautifully - but all too quickly, the meat would become one with the charcoal.) The next time I grill, I'll certainly try the skillet trick.
• One tip that I've always liked is to take peppercorns and shove them into the meat. When they get hot, they explode inside the steak, releasing yummy pepper flavor.
• Those are all great suggestions, but I don't think marinating is really necessary if it's a good cut of meat. I think I will try meredithea's peppercorn idea next time I fire up the grill...
• Thanks squidranch, I did not know that. Searing is still good, however! I know my method probably sounds like a lot of work, and yes, I'll admit, there are definately decreasing means of return with it, but it is worth it when that lovely flavor melts in your mouth. =)
• Thanks muchly for the suggestions all!
• I've heard of meredithea's idea being used with slivers of garlic instead of peppercorns.
• I do that with lamb roasts. You have to be very careful not to scorch the garlic. And if you're sloppy, your roast ends up looking like the little lambie pie had wicked, wicked acne pits. Mighty tasty, though. Damn it. Now I'm hungry.