How do you cook steak?

[jimmyj]

I love steak, but rarely make it at home because I just can't make it as good as at a proper steak restaurant. How about you TBN'ers share your best steak cooking secrets with the rest of us.

Note: I have a gas and a charcoal grill so I'm eager to try lots of new things.

What cuts do you prefer, to merinade or not to merinade, season or not, what is the best side dish in your view?

 

[LD1]

How do you cook steak

That is easy.....with heat


In all seriousness, there are different ways depends on your taste.

Personally, I like charcoal:thumbsup:

NO marinade. Steaks must be already thawed. DO NOT cook directly over the charcoal. Indirect heat:thumbsup: And put some cherry wood or apple wood (my two favorites) over the charcoal, and close all vents on the grill. This makes the wood smoke and smolder instead of burn. Then a little spritz of mccormicks steak seasoning.

Takes longer to cook than directly over charcoal, but it allows the cherry or apple more time to flavor the meat.

Ribeye or porterhouse for choice of cut too. Medium to medium well. Just a hint of pink in the middle and no blood

 

[jimmyj]

Heat! Ahh that's the problem!!!!!


I make ribs with indirect heat and charcoal, never tried steak though. I will give 'er a try tonight.

 

[LD1]

Heat! Ahh that's the problem!!!!!


I make ribs with indirect heat and charcoal, never tried steak though. I will give 'er a try tonight.

The indirect heat is only beneficial if you plan on smoking the meat.

Otherwise it is just a waste of time IMO.

Find yourself some cherry or apple. I like to take a hatchet and chop little slivers or chunks. The less bark the better. Use only the actual wood. And it is also handy to have a spray bottle with water. That way when you open the lid to check/flip the steaks, you can spray a little on the wood to keep it from bursting into flames.

 

[ray66v]

I agree, real cooking is done with heat.

The answer to your question, depends mostly how you like your steak done.

Restaurants usually sear both sides, then move the steak to an area of indirect heat or oven to finish the inside.

To get a good char, you want very high heat, and meat that has a dry surface. If the surface is wet, as the moisture it evaporates, it cools the meat and that usually works against you.

The more rare you like the center, the colder you want your steak when you cook it. Unless it's really thick, then you want it to warm up somewhat, before cooking.

A lot of gas grills today do not get hot enough to do a proper steak. In that case, I put a grill grate right on top of the burner(s). (This will ruin those fancy porcelain grates, so use an inexpensive, or stainless one). You now have a sear burner that will sear/char very quickly, a minute or two in each side with the lid open, then move the steak to the higher grates, reduce the heat in that area, and close the lid for say 5-10 minutes, depending on how you like your steak done.

If the meat sticks to the grate, don't force it, it will release on it's own, just be patient and keep gently checking it.

My favorite method is to use my high btu Cajun cooker to cook steaks. I made a 1/2" thick stainless griddle, which I heat up until it's glowing. (You can use a cast iron frying pan). Coat both sides of the steak with melted butter and seasoning, (Cajun seasoning is wonderful), and toss it on. (This makes a lot of smoke). The butter will sizzle and keep the steak from touching the hot griddle, and the intense heat produces an excellent charred crust. I can completely char the outside, and still have a cold center if I want, using this method. It's simply a matter of time and temperature.

My favorite steak is a big 1" thick porterhouse, charred on the outside, medium on the inside. :drink:

 

[wrflt]

Well, I'll throw my 2 cents worth your way.

Credentials: 32 years in the fire service. Lots of chefing (Chiefing too) in those years. Never saw anyone spit any of this recipe out.

The cut I like best personally is the "T"Bone. This recipe works on any cut including venison butterflies.

First; place your cuts into a ziploc baggy, add a generous helping of "dale's" steak seasoning, and marinade for a minimum of 2 hours (even longer is better) flipping the bag every hour or so.

Just before you throw these on the grill, dust both sides of the cuts with McCormick's Grill Mates (Montreal Steak) seasoning.

When you are ready to cook, get your grill (gas or charcoal) very hot. I like my Weber gas grill at 450 degrees at least. No more than 500. You want it hot so when you flop those cuts on, it will almost instantly sear (or seal) the meat so the juices don't run out.

I like my steak medium rare, which means it's showing a good bit of pink when I cut it. Most people I have known that really enjoys a good steak, also likes medium rare, but some like medium (some pink showing), and a very few like well done (no pink), or rare (still moooing). The only thing you will taste on a "well done" steak is the marinade. All of the steaks' natural flavor has been cooked away. My opinion only...the juicier, the better.

Now, here is the only tricky part. Determining when a cut is done to your liking. (Cooking time). It will depend on the thickness of the cut and the heat of the grill. The best way I have of checking is to make a small puncture through the meat at each end and in the middle. Use your knife and a fork to (open) these punctures to have a peek inside.

On a cut of 1" thick, for medium rare, cook no more than 4-5 minutes on each side. You may think by peeking that it is too rare. Remember, once removed from the grill, the steak is still cooking until it cools off some. You'll just have to make adjustments in time for other ranges in depth of cooking. It's always better to throw one back on the grill for a minute than to over do it to begin with. It just takes practice to get it right where you like it.

You won't need any A1, 57 or ketchup with this steak. Yumm yummm. Hope you enjoy.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

R A R E !

I am now MOSTLY cooking steak over a wood fire, when I am in a hurry I will use the gas grill.

I never season the steak if it is a quality cut.

I NEVER close the lid because if I do, I end up with a medium steak, and I LOVE Rare to just barely Medium Rare (warm & red/juicy in center).

I tend to sear the steak over very hot flames first and then move it slightly away but not quite indirect.

I LOVE smoking meats, and smoke flavoring them also. But Steak needs to be just barely cooked in my book.

Just my :2cents:, Your mileage may vary.
David

 

[Soundguy]

grilled and slightly marinated, perhaps rubbed with peper.

if a good cut.. no steak sauce needed!

 

[massey990]

try googling "the perfect steak"

 

[riptides]

Wow.. lots of interesting ways to cook.

Let me say, I prefer two types of steak. Both must be over one and a half inch cuts.
Sirloin is the best type for me.

I am a charcoal person, year round. Personally since the days man discovered fire, there was charcoal. It's a hint to all you gassers......

I have the store bought and the butcher bought steaks. Store bought is fresh and will get seasoned up. Butcher is grain-fed western, is usually two or more inches thick and is frozen.

Both types go straight on a nuclear hot grill, close the top and depending on your like for blood, time them accordingly.

I do not season the frozen beef. It is that good, the butcher is well known and respected in these parts and beyond. I just cannot afford it every week!

 

[schoolsout]

I love a good filet...

buy it...bring it home...put it in a ziploc bag with some worcestershire sauce and let it get to room temp as best as possible...

Get the coals lit (I use a Cobb Grill and it cooks steak slower than traditional methods), soak some cherry wood in water....place cherry over hot coals...let the smoke start rolling then place steak on grill and add fresh black pepper/kosher salt. Cover and cook for about 7 mins on each side until meat starts to firm up. Once it gets a little firm, take it off and enjoy.

Cobb grill
Cobb America : The Tabletop Cobb Premier Portable Charoal Grill and Cooking System

and yes, it only needs 8 or so pieces of charcoal to cook for 2 hours...

 

[jinman]

I believe that if you want to flavor your steak, you might as well be eating ground beef. I get my grill hot and throw on 1" thick rib-eye steaks until they sear on one side and then flip them to the other side. When my thermometer says the center is 140 F to 150 F, I take them off the grill. I let everyone salt and pepper to taste or ruin the meat with steak sauce. I cook/eat steak because I want to taste the beef and not some flavoring out of a bottle. In my estimation, good cuts of beef cooked properly can't be improved on with flavorings.:licking:

 

[brin]

I believe that if you want to flavor your steak, you might as well be eating ground beef. I get my grill hot and throw on 1" thick rib-eye steaks until they sear on one side and then flip them to the other side. When my thermometer says the center is 140 F to 150 F, I take them off the grill. I let everyone salt and pepper to taste or ruin the meat with steak sauce. I cook/eat steak because I want to taste the beef and not some flavoring out of a bottle. In my estimation, good cuts of beef cooked properly can't be improved on with flavorings.:licking:

Glad you posted this Jim...I ditto all you posted...I thought I was the only one that did that so I did not want to post...

 

[MossflowerWoods]

I believe that if you want to flavor your steak, you might as well be eating ground beef. I get my grill hot and throw on 1" thick rib-eye steaks until they sear on one side and then flip them to the other side. When my thermometer says the center is 140 F to 150 F, I take them off the grill. I let everyone salt and pepper to taste or ruin the meat with steak sauce. I cook/eat steak because I want to taste the beef and not some flavoring out of a bottle. In my estimation, good cuts of beef cooked properly can't be improved on with flavorings.:licking:

:licking::licking::licking:
When can I come over for dinner?

Beef is YUMMY!

Steak Sauce is for Yucky meat.

David

 

[RobertN]

I like a hot charcoal grill, sear bothe sides, then move to side till rare or medium rare. At most, I will lighlty add a little sea salt and fresh cracked pepper when it goes on the grill.

Then, I eat it plain... IMHO, FWIW, steak sauce or other seasoning are for poor cuts of meat, or improperly cooked steaks. A good steak will stand on it's own with good flavor and texture.

 

[wrflt]

To Ray66v. I like your method also. I have prepared steaks this way and they are very good.

 

[jwnge]

I believe that if you want to flavor your steak, you might as well be eating ground beef. I get my grill hot and throw on 1" thick rib-eye steaks until they sear on one side and then flip them to the other side. When my thermometer says the center is 140 F to 150 F, I take them off the grill. I let everyone salt and pepper to taste or ruin the meat with steak sauce. I cook/eat steak because I want to taste the beef and not some flavoring out of a bottle. In my estimation, good cuts of beef cooked properly can't be improved on with flavorings.:licking:

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[JamesHW]

I used to always grill my steak over charcoal, but lately we have taken to simply pan searing the steak in a big cast iron pan with some kosher salt and ground pepper.

 

[polo1665]

I am also not a big believer in steak sauce. Kinda makes me a liitle mad when I see someone put it on a steak that I grilled.

I prefer a ribeye or even a nice thick strip steak. Sometimes I will marinade the meat in Italian dressing, and sometimes I will just salt and pepper. I like to get the grill as hot as possible to sear the meat. Then I'll back off the heat for a few minutes until medium rare. The most important thing in my opinion is to allow the steak to rest for ten minutes or so after removing it from the grill. This allows the juices to get back into the meat. Cutting into a steak as soon as it is removed from the grill is not the way to go.

 

[AGGIE00]

Just my opinion, but why spend a lot of money on a good cut of beef to destroy it by cooking it medium or more? You might as well buy something cheap so you can enjoy the steak sauce. I prefer ribeyes and dust them with montreal seasoning and a bit of garlic salt. Then to a hot grill and 2 minutes on each side to sear. After it's seared off the high heat for 3-5 minutes depending on thickness. I want it still a bit bloody when I take it off and then let it rest to a rare plus or medium rare. Nothing is worse than buying some really good cuts and a friend or family member wanting it medium well.