I like the French method myself, but the steak has to be quite thin (1") and very tender: just take it with kitchen tweezers and press it on a very, very hot grill / skillet, flip it over, press it again. The cooking should be done in less than a minute.
If you order this in France, ask for the bleu.
Salt and pepper is optional. Serve with fries and sauted veggies.
You are a better person than me. My mind is closed. A well done steak is an abomination and an indication of taste bud deficiencies.
Steaks are easy. Season both sideds of a steak liberally with salt and fresh ground black pepper about 4 hours before cooking. If you want, you can some fresh garlic on it just prior to salting. Superheat the section of a grill (a disposable aluminum pan is great for this), or a cast iron pan. Lay the steak down on the grill. In two minutes, turn 90 degrees. (Let sit in cast iron 4 minutes). Two more minutes, flip. Start taking temperature readings. If close to 135, turn 90 degrees after one minute, else wait two. After 4 minutes on second side, if not yet up to temperature (that’s some thick steak!), continue to cook until instant read thermometer reads 135. Take off of heat, let sit 10 minutes, tented.
Thinner steaks need to be rotated and flipped on a shorter timetable.
Some additions while steak is tented would be to lay some rosemary sprigs on top, or some blue cheese crumbles. Also, finishing with a compound butter can be quite nice.
I tend not to use cheap steaks, but on occassion will get a supermarket london broil cut. These I’ll marinate with Worcestershire sauce and garlic. They tend to need more help than a nice bone-in rib-eye from the butcher.
I eat a 4-6oz Ribeye nearly every morning for breakfast (the perk of a low-carb-for-diabetes diet and the wonder that is Costco beef slabs) and since it’s a normal part of my day I never do anything special regarding spices or marinades. I turn on the broiler and let that heat up while I cook the rest of my breakfast. I put a couple of tablespoons of bacon grease in a cast iron skillet and turn the heat on high. I take the steak out of the fridge and grind the pepper mill over it for several seconds, then I sprinkle on some kosher salt. By this time the skillet is smoking and I put the steak in, pepper side down, to sear. I put more pepper and salt on the other side, turn it over, then I put it in the broiler for 30 seconds to 1 minute per side, depending on how thick it is. I take it out and let it rest.
Where it gets weird is that I turn the fire back on under the skillet, and while it gets to smoking temperature again, I cut the steak into small bite-sized pieces and throw those back into the skillet for several seconds, smooshing them around with a spatula, to sear the sides of the cut pieces. I pour them out onto a plate and let them rest a few minutes while I finish getting dressed. It’s exactly the way I like it, a bunch of little mini-steaks, seared/cooked on the outside, medium rare on the inside. Yum. I don’t know what I’ll do if I ever get tired of steak.
…otherwise known as a “sub-primal”. If you can handle cutting your own steaks from a large hunk of meat, you can save $2 a pound! And if you can’t handle cutting up a large hunk of meat, what are you doing eating steak? This is a food for unrepentant carnivores!
Searing to trap the juices is a myth. Doesn’t happen. Period. It only feels like the juices are trapped if you cook it properly: the gelatins are released and distributed throughout the body of the meat, and the Maillard browning on the seared surface triggers additional salivation.
I’m with those who advocate the “start slow then sear to finish” method. The trick is to start with a thick piece of meat, brought to room temperature before cooking. Lightly salt and pepper, let stand an hour, into a very low oven until the center reaches 105 (I prefer very rare), meanwhile heat a cast iron skillet until it’s approximately the temperature of the surface of the sun*, when meat is ready throw it in the skillet for 90 seconds to 2 minutes per side or until crusty and brown, LET REST FIVE MINUTES, eat. Perfectly done every time.
*not really that hot
Cervaise, your method is the opposite of mine. I sear first, because a thinner cut steak may be finished at the same time as searing is finished, and a thicker cut steak can finish away from direct heat. For roasts, I like (when I have time) to cook in a low oven and finish with high heat.
And I do think that the cast iron skillet should really be as hot as the surface of the sun. 
I’ve never tried tenderizing with a mallet. Occasionally I’ll poke the steak a couple of times with a fork but that’s about it.
A touch of garlic before it goes in the skillet doesn’t hurt, but normally I don’t do any other seasoning until after it’s cooked. Then a very light touch of pepper or not, as desired.
Since I’m a beer lover, I have occasionally marinaded steak in this mixture:
bottle beer (any kind you like, stout even)
worcestshire sauce
chopped onions and garlic
1 small can canned tomatoes, chopped or whole
Marinate for 1 full day.
Then cook as you like.
What he said. However, in my experience, resting the steak after cooking does make a big difference in juiciness.
And I usually just season with Morton seasoned salt and black pepper after cooking and before resting. Works for me.
RR