I decided we needed to splurge and went to buy rib-eye steaks. The prepackaged boneless ones just looked kinda…flaccid. I wanted something a little more celebratory so I headed to the Butchers station.
I probably made an inappropriate noise when I saw his meat but I was instantly captivated. Those steaks called out to me like the couch does when I’ve had a tough day.
I bought two glorious bone-in ribeye steaks: 1.555 kg (3.4lb) total. I may have had a slight aneurism when I saw the price.
My options are frying (Teflon not cast iron), broiling and or baking. Montreal Steak Spice will be involved.
Any suggestions on proper cooking techniques will greatly appreciated. (And needed!)
Mehgs, if you must use the stove, notice that LVBoPeep’s link states that “[a]ny grill pan will do, or you can…use a regular (but not nonstick) skillet.”
You can’t use a nonstick skillet because it’s not possible to get it hot enough without damaging the pan, or alternatively, you end up slow-cooking the meat so that it ends up an unappetizing gray color.
So you either need an iron grill pan/griddle (which retains heat better), or at least a nonstick pan.
But I’d still consider getting the small charcoal grill. Just don’t use it inside.
This is the bees knees. Ive done this about 10 times. You want to freeze it on a flat surface, brown all sides (I like butter) straight out of the freezer, then bake in a 200 degree over for one hour. It’s GOOD.
I want to post a link to this steak doneness pictorial before the rabble arrive with their superstition and disinformation.
Charcoal is best. Pick up a Weber Smokey Joe if you don’t have the desire or space for a full on Weber Kettle.
The 2nd best option is Alton Brown’s revered Pan Seared Rib-Eye recipe. You need a cast iron skillet anyhow. Everyone does.
As for doneness, go with Steve Raichlen’s poke test. It is better than an instant read thermometer.
ETA: give the steaks a good five to ten minutes to rest once done. It makes a significant difference when the give the juices time to settle down. Cutting hot off the grill is every bit as much of a steak foul as well done is.
Why anybody would do this to an ungodly expensive ribeye is beyond me.
OP - follow the Alton Brown link above. Do NOT for all that is holy bake it. Spend the extra money and go get a non-teflon pan. If not cast iron, then just regular steel or whatever. But really, cast iron is not that expensive and can often be found in hardware stores or with camping equipment.
The sear and broil in cast iron, as in the Alton Brown link, takes about ten minutes and will give your husband a much better birthday meal than a steak baked for an hour (yeah, I don’t care that it started out frozen - it should not be frozen in the first place. Freezing is turning that steak to mush). As a matter of personal preference, I like the boneless ribeyes better simply to make cooking times easier and keep an even layer of doneness all around. If you want a bone-in steak go with a t-bone or porterhouse.
This is your answer. The reverse sear. Basically, you cook it in the oven slowly first, then sear it at the end on a hot cast-iron pan. I use the same technique when cooking on a grill, it works so well. You get a nice, even doneness in the steak itself (and, supposedly, some sort of enzymatic action that causes it to tenderize more than the standard sear-then-finish-in-oven method) and a wonderful sear that is facilitated by the bit of drying the meat did in the oven during the slow-roasting/baking portion of the cooking time.
Seriously, for me, this is the best way to prepare steak. If you want to get fancier, you can finish it off with a green peppercorn sauce or go “au poivre” (which is traditionally a filet rather than a ribeye), but the with the Montreal seasoning you’re contemplating, it should do well on its own.
In theory, this does not sound like a bad idea. I’d at least give it a try before criticizing it. I was a little :dubious: with the reverse sear, and now I cook almost all my meats with that technique: cook just below desired doneness slowly, then finish very hot.
Well, it requires the steak to first be frozen. This is going to damage the cell structure of the meat. Upon thawing its going to give up its moisture more readily, no matter how it is cooked.
In theory this is close to sous vide, which I would have no problem with. But in that method you are not required to start with a frozen steak. Nor is there a problem with frozen steak, per se, but the OP’s steak has not been frozen and there is no need to do so merely to cook it in a method that is dubious at best. I also have to question the use of butter to “brown” the steak. On a good cooking surface there is no need to add any type of fat. The steak has plenty. Beyond all of that, I am not going to put a very expensive ribeye in an oven for an hour. Even starting with a frozen steak you are just destroying one of the finest cuts of beef there is. Somebody wants to send me a couple steaks, I will give it a try and report back.
The reverse cooking method is a good one. It is a very good method for roasts too.
I’d love to grill but our apartment building doesn’t allow it. Cast iron would probably be my second choice but I haven’t been able to properly season the pans I’ve tried. (More tips?)
I guess broiling is the way to go. I do know about the poke test. New thing I"ll try are warming the steaks to room temp first, heating the grill pan and letting them rest afterwards.
The timing will be the tough part. My poor deluded hubby likes his steaks well-done. I’m a rare to medium-rare gal. I’m thinking that starting his two minutes earlier will do the trick. I’m actually aiming for a medium-well for his. That’s as much as I’m willing to torture that beautiful piece of meat.
I’ll go crazy and suggest something I did this summer a few times (I ran across it on the Dope).
Lay down a bed of rocksalt (I couldnt find rocksalt in Podunk so I used roadsalt!) Lay the steak on that. Press it down. Cover steak in another layer of rocksalt and press the salt firmly down. If the steak is an inch thick, let sit for an hour. If a half inch, a half hour. You get the idea.
The salt tenderizes the meat very well.
Rinse the steak. Rinse it very very well. Now the important part. You have to pat it dry. And I mean like going through half a roll of paper towels pressing/patting/drying. If you don’t do this last part well, you won’t be able to sear/cook the steak properly. Instead you’ll end up with a steak that has been sorta boiled from the inside out.
Don’t worry about. It’ll sear fine. Just give it a nice light coat of oil, throw the steak on when it just about starts to smoke, and you’ll be fine. You’re not making eggs here where you need every last bit of stick-free surface. The steak will survive a little bit of sticking. I prefer cast-iron to broiling, by a good bit.
