# Do they really cook steaks that way? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 29, 2011, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228 "2011-04-29T23:20:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228/21 "2011-04-30T12:02:17Z")
That’s how I cook steaks - sear, then throw in the oven until done. Very easy, and one of the few ways that you can cook a really good steak to medium-rare or rare in a standard home kitchen. In a non-standard home kitchen, I sous-vide them, then sear them. Also foolproof and easy to do. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228/22 "2011-04-30T19:17:45Z")
Quoth **Apocalypso** : > [@](#): > > My experience eating there was that really thick steaks (2" filet mignion) were seriously undercooked on the inside and severely burned on the outside, which would support the story. Yeah, I always wonder about those really thick cuts of steak. Why would anyone want them that thick? No matter what doneness level you prefer, a lot of the steak is going to end up wrong for it. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228/23 "2011-04-30T19:36:03Z")
I prefer a thick steak cooked so that it is well done on the outside and transitions to very rare in the center. Getting that right is difficult, but easier to do through oven finishing. I know one restaurant that uses a dry steamtable pan instead of an oven for better temperature control. I don’t know why, but it works out better for me on the grill if I sear the meat over very hot coals, then finish over a small pile of dimishing coals at a lower temperature. BTW: Only been to the Ruth’s in Boston, I wasn’t impressed with the quality of the meat. I’ve been to better steak houses that have done every cut to perfection. I recommend Peter Luger’s in NYC, Abe&Lou’s in Boston, nowhere in RI, and a place called Abdul’s outside of Tulsa if it’s still there. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228/24 "2011-04-30T20:38:39Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Quoth **Apocalypso** :Yeah, I always wonder about those really thick cuts of steak. Why would anyone want them that thick? No matter what doneness level you prefer, a lot of the steak is going to end up wrong for it. Any good steakhouse is going to either have a sous-vide setup or a super duper fancy stove that can easily cook any thickness of steak to the required doneness. It’s really not that hard, if you’ve got the right equipment. Sous-vide makes it pretty much foolproof. I’ve had thick filets at Ruth’s Chris, and never experienced the raw-in-the-middle, burnt-on-the-outside thing. They’ve always been cooked perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228/25 "2011-04-30T21:09:23Z")
> [@SanDiegoTim](#): > > My wife read an article about how the popular steak houses (Ruth’s Chris, Mortons, etc) cook their steaks. According to the author the steaks are initially broiled/seared at very high temps and then placed baked to cook the insides. > > Can anyone verify the accuracy or dispel this? That’s pretty much the classic way to make steak, isn’t it? Sear, then finish in the oven. As other posters have stated, I also prefer the bring up to temp, _then_ sear on the stovetop (or grill or whatever) method after being introduced to it a few years ago. If you prefer the transitions of doneness from the sear to the center, then the normal method works better, but if you like the inside to be entirely, say, medium rare, then the start in the oven, finish with a sear method works best. > [@Chronos](#): > > Quoth **Apocalypso** :Yeah, I always wonder about those really thick cuts of steak. Why would anyone want them that thick? No matter what doneness level you prefer, a lot of the steak is going to end up wrong for it. Nope. Not if you slowly bring it up to temp, then sear it. I start my steak at 250 for about 20-25 minutes, then finish on the stovetop. Works perfectly with a thick cut of steak. Equal level of doneness throughout. You don’t need any kind of fancy schmancy equipment to do this. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228/26 "2011-05-01T21:25:01Z")
No idea what those restaurants do, but I always cook my steaks by putting the oven on broil and waiting for it to get nice and hot, spreading fat on both sides of the steak, and then putting them in for about 3 minutes each side. It’s amazing if you like rare, tender steak. ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228/27 "2011-05-01T23:48:01Z")
I got a chance to go back into the kitchen in a high-end steakhouse in Austin a couple of years ago. I was there with a couple of foodie friends on a slow night, and we were waxing ecstatic about the steaks (which were really, really good) to our waiter, who told the chef, who came out to talk to us. Which led to him saying, “you have to check this out!” and taking us to see the broiler. As in the Ruth’s Chris video linked above, the flames and heat were above the meat, so it cooks dry rather than sitting in a pool of its own juices. The incredibly high heat (1800 degrees is what he said, and I have little reason to doubt him) cooks steaks very fast, with a nice sear on the outside. It’s worth noting, by the way, that searing the outside does not lock in the juices - quite the opposite - but does make for deliciousness. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228/28 "2011-05-02T00:32:07Z")
I know Morton’s also uses the high powered “Drawer broiler”, because I saw it in some video somewhere. [Here’s a video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asNfFi8-CbU). ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228/29 "2011-05-02T00:41:39Z")
Peter Luger’s also does their steak with the steakhouse drawer broiler. They also do[thick cut bacon](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjkrNhRfaWg) in them. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228/30 "2011-05-02T01:32:20Z")
Oh man, That Luger’s Bacon looks really really good… with the Thick Tomato and Sweet Onion. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228/31 "2011-05-03T07:26:26Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Any good steakhouse is going to either have a sous-vide setup or a super duper fancy stove that can easily cook any thickness of steak to the required doneness. It’s really not that hard, if you’ve got the right equipment. Sous-vide makes it pretty much foolproof. Frankly, I disagree with the veracity of this statement. A sous vide set-up would never belong in a Good Steakhouse. In fact, I find it rather presumptious that you would find either an Immersion Xurcuklatoror, Vacuum Sealer, nor necessarily a fancy oven in any Steakhouse worth their salt. In many you would find simply a Gas Grill and a simple commercial gas oven, but never sous vide… that’s too… too… FRENCH! ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228/32 "2011-05-03T12:40:13Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > Frankly, I disagree with the veracity of this statement. A sous vide set-up would never belong in a Good Steakhouse. In fact, I find it rather presumptious that you would find either an Immersion Xurcuklatoror, Vacuum Sealer, nor necessarily a fancy oven in any Steakhouse worth their salt. In many you would find simply a Gas Grill and a simple commercial gas oven, but never sous vide… that’s too… too… FRENCH! Sous-vide is French? News to me, and most of the world. Sure, lots of steak houses use the high end gas grill method. But why the hostility towards sous-vide? I don’t have any data, but I’d be surprised if absolutely no steak houses anywhere around the country used the technique, and certainly many high-end restaurants do. It works, it’s simple, it results in a great steak. You think they’re just gonna say no because of some sort of adherence to The Great Old Way of cooking steaks? ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228/33 "2011-05-03T12:57:05Z")
Missed the edit window, but [here’s](http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/master-cook-jean-georges-vongerichtens-take-on-tenderloin) at least one chef who admits to sous-viding in his steak house. Jean-Georges Vongerichten uses the technique at his J&G Steakhouse. [Michael Mina](http://gregslistdc.com/spotlight/2009/january/seasons%E2%80%99-change-michael-mina%E2%80%99s-bourbon-steak-arrives) also uses a related technique as his Bourbon Steakhouse - he slow-poaches his steaks in butter using immersion circulators (a piece of sous-vide equipment) to hold at the correct temperature. It’s hard to tell if a restaurant uses the technique or not, since it’s not typically on the menu. But given that you can take a batch of steaks, cook them to the desired doneness sous-vide, throw them in the fridge or hold them at temperature until someone orders one and then have the chef finish them on the grill, it just makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228/34 "2011-05-04T01:53:59Z")
Blasphemer! The only way to do a steak is from the aged cow to the flame to the plate. Never will sous vide replace that tradition. The grilled steak is perfection since the dawn of man. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228/35 "2011-05-04T02:01:03Z")
> [@Apocalypso](#): > > I have eaten at Ruth’s Chris probably a dozen times but have not been inside the kitchen. IIRC, their menus state (or used to anyway) that their steaks were cooked in 1800 degree ovens. Pan frying or otherwise finishing the steak at a lower temperature was not mentioned. My experience eating there was that really thick steaks (2" filet mignion) were seriously undercooked on the inside and severely burned on the outside, which would support the story. Less thick steaks came out fine. Yes, at my local Ruth’s Chris they will happily lecture you on the incredibly high temperature they use. I remember telling the waiter that they could use those ovens to forge a battleship. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228/36 "2011-05-04T02:41:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Sous-vide is French? News to me, and most of the world. What, did you think that was a German word? ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228/37 "2011-05-04T03:12:05Z")
This method sounds interesting. Can someone tell me approximately what temp should the inside be if I want a medium rare steak? I’m going to try it this weekend! ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228/38 "2011-05-04T03:44:36Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > This method sounds interesting. Can someone tell me approximately what temp should the inside be if I want a medium rare steak? I’m going to try it this weekend! 130 - 135 Fahrenheit I think, but I do the poke test instead of instant read thermometers. Poke the steak when it’s raw. Feel how yielding raw is. Medium rare is classically described as “firm but yielding”. You’ll be able to feel when you’ve hit the desired doneness. It’ll have firmness compared to the raw, but it still has a good amount of give to it. Once that give is gone, you’re long past medium rare. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228/39 "2011-05-04T08:46:28Z")
… delete, wrong thread. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228/40 "2011-05-04T11:51:46Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What, did you think that was a German word? I was thinking the technique, not the word. Sure, the word is French, but the technique is not considered a classic French technique at all. Chefs from multiple nationalities developed and popularized it, including Spanish, English, and American chefs (among many others). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-really-cook-steaks-that-way/580228.md?page=3)