You can probably tell from this site that many of my meals don’t focus on the American standard of hunk of meat, starch, vegetable. I like meals that cook in one pot. I like I like vegetables and eat a lot of vegetarian dishes.
But don’t let all that fool you. I also love a good steak.
And good steak is easy to make at home. It’s much more about technique than recipe, and a $25 investment makes a dinner for two that would easily cost $80 at a prime steakhouse.
Step 1: Get good steak
Beef is not supposed to be cheap. While I could go on and on about why this is, I’ll spare you the rant and just say this: since we all know we should be eating more vegetables anyway, save yourself the guilt and eat steak only for special occasions. That way, when you do, you can get a really good steak.
Look for a prime steak, grass-fed if you can find it, that is at least one inch thick. I suggest New York strip, ribeye or filet. It will run you somewhere around $20 a pound. Grass-fed beef, which is both healthier for you and easier on the environment, could be even more. But this is a special-occasion meal, not an everyday dinner. You can justify the purchase by telling yourself that the same steak would cost upwards of $40 at a fancy steakhouse.
The thickness is really important. Thick may mean that everyone at the table does not get his own steak; I know that I definitely do not need a pound of beef for myself, though Scheidt probably wouldn’t complain. Plan for about 6-8 ounces per person, and just slice the beef in the kitchen rather than presenting each person with an individual steak if you are worried about plating.
Ready to cook: a one-pound prime filet dried, salted and peppered
Step 2: 3o seconds of prep
So now that we have a thick cut of high-quality steak, here’s the beautiful part: we don’t need to do much of anything. Marinades and complicated spice rubs are for pieces of meat that need help to taste good; since we got a freaking awesome steak, we don’t need any of that stuff. All we need is paper towels, salt and pepper.
Bring the steak to room temperature before cooking. Obsessively dry the steak with paper towels; the drier the meat, the better crust you will get. Liberally salt and pepper the outside of the steak, pressing the seasoning into the steak.
Step 3: Screaming hot
This two-stage method is the same one used at many prime steakhouses. You will need an oven-safe skillet that is large enough to hold all of your steaks without them touching, preferably not nonstick.
I’ll say it again: this method makes the best of a thick, high-quality steak. After you’ve got the right steak, the only other secret is hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot heat.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Once it’s fully preheated, heat the skillet on the stove over high heat until it is smokin’ hot. Add about a teaspoon of oil per steak. Put the steaks in the pan – if you have more than one, make sure they are not touching – and sear for 2-3 minutes on each side side. Do not disturb while they are searing!
After searing on both sides, flip the steaks back to side one* and transfer the whole pan to the oven. Your roasting time will vary based on how done you want your steaks and how thick they are. For 1.5-inch-thick steaks done medium rare, plan to roast for about 6 minutes. Roast thinner steaks less time; roast longer for steaks that are more done (but don’t tell me, because cooking steak past medium misses the point of having a steak.) To tell if your steak is done the professional way, give it a poke: a medium-rare steak will give under pressure and feel juicy. If you have an instant-read thermometer, you are looking for 130-140 degrees at the center of the steak. Remember that you can always cook it more if it isn’t done enough, but you can never subtract once you’ve gone too far. Also remember that the steak will continue to rise in temperature as it rests.
Important: your smoke alarm might go off. If you live in a place where this is a problem, like a highrise apartment, simply turn the oven off and leave the steaks inside for an extra few minutes – the residual heat will do the job.
*I didn’t re-flip the steak in the pictures here, which meant that side 2 had a lot more contact with a very hot pan than side one, leaving me with somewhat uneven sear all around. (It was still delicious.)
Step 4: Let it rest
Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the steaks to a plate. Tent with foil to keep the exterior warm. Do not touch for at least five minutes! While the steak rests, all the juices redistribute so they don’t run all over your plate when you cut. If you feel antsy, spend the five minutes turning the delicious bits that are stuck to the bottom of your pan into a quick pan sauce (Google “pan sauce”).
And that’s it. Serve with potatoes, vegetables and a full-bodied red wine for a fantastic meal.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you! I am a mostly vegetarian who is ok with a very occasional grass-fed steak. And I am planning to make steak tomorrow for my husband’s birthday. But I wasn’t sure how! I can do this -and I think I’ll melt a little maytag blue over top at the end. Yum!
Here’s the funny part: Scheidt and I had gotten some really fantastic gorgonzola to top this with… but we totally forgot to do it, and didn’t miss it at all until we were making dessert and found the cheese in the fridge. D’oh! But it would have been awesome.
ha! I remembered the cheese and it was a luxurious addition – but you’re right, it would still have been fantastic on it’s own. It turned out to be a perfect birthday dinner thanks to your technique.
Nice post; you’re making me very hungry. It isn’t worth doing without the freaking awesome steak is it? When the meat’s this nice, the cheese just gets in the way…..
Just used your method again and it worked great! Thank you! (Again!)
Not a whole lot better than a perfectly cooked steak!