Steak - how to cook and what to have with it {Mega Merge!}

You can but you'll have to keep the heat lower so the butter doesn't burn.
Not ideal as it's best to cook steak at a high heat but it will work.

Cheers for the replies, you saved me ruining a good steak.

I'l take another trip down to the shops and get some oil.

Thanks again.

Normally you wouldn't use butter as it burns, but in some circumstances the resultant burning or blackening might be actually desirable.

Bannasidhe wrote: »

Unless you have a lot of experience the likely outcome (unless it is minute steak) would be burnt on the outside and raw in middle.

What??? Raw in the middle is desirable

If he was lookign for a rare to mid-rare steak then there is no reason why he can't cook it in butter as the cookign time is so short.

Or is be was cookign a rib eye, he might want to cook at a longer temp for longer, there the butter won't burn.

You could 'seal' (brown) the steak in butter and then finish cooking it in the oven - just don't stick a fork in the steak before it's finished cooking as this will allow the juices to escape and you'll end up with shoe leather!

This is wrong and is one of the most comon misconceptinos about steak.

It'd called searing not sealing. The reason for it to to cook the outside at a high temp so it caramelise the meat, before finishing in the oven. It is not to seal in the juices as people often suggest, juice still escapes from seared meat just as much. Pricking with a fork won't turn the whole thing into shoe leather. Steak is from a large cut that has already been cut or pierced lots of times

Mellor wrote: »

Sometimes its done that way, slowly warmed in an oven at low temp. But I'd imagine that blue more often refers to a steak seared quickly outside with the inside raw and cold. ie very rare steak


Also, the time really depends on thickness rather than weight/size. Just in case anybody mistakes them for absolute cooking times

either way, just bring it on.

or as they used to say, "just wipe it's arse and herd it on through and i'll take care of the rest".

Ribeye all the way for me. Loads of fat for flavour and moistness.

Fillet is something I don't understand. There's very little fat in it, so it's very dense and doesn't take flavour from the pan in the same way as a fattier steak would.

Threads merged.

tHB

Volovo wrote: »

I will always buy the striploin unless I am treating myself to a fillet steak on the odd Sunday I never by ribeye or t bone

Why do you never buy rib eye or t-bone?

Seaneh wrote: »

Problem with that is, it will still be cold in the middle.

The oven method is a better way to cook blue because it means the heat is constant throughout the meat.

Black and Blue would be where it's preped as blue and then seared very quickly on a very hot griddle/pan to caramelisation.

If you are cooking a 'blue' steak or ordering one in a restaurant, it should never be cold in the middle.

The steak should be removed from the fridge and allowed to come to room temperature before cooking.

That's intended. Blue steak isn't supposed to be warm in the middle. Room temp is correct. Some places might serve it warm based on demand, but thats up to the chef really. Blue steak is closer to cold dishes like steak tartare, carpaccio etc imo

Pixie-Fairy wrote: »

my dad bought me 3 small pieces of steak for during the week for college
i think they are fillet steaks

he bought some yesterday morning and i had some with homemade sweet potato wedges

i want to do something different with them this time..
ill use one for the usual steak veg and wedges
but i dont really know what to do with the other two

anyone have any suggestions?

Steak with baked mushrooms, fried onions and pepper sauce
Steak with sweet and sour roast veggies and whiskey sauce (or what ever sauce you like)
Surf and Turf with fries

Basically;
steak + Veg of choice + Sauce of choice + side of choice = nyom nyom nyom

If I'm cooking one I'd give it about 3 minutes per side on a hot pan, then rest for a couple of minutes. That'd be for a steak about 3/4 inch to 1 inch thick I'd say, adjust the cooking time if it's much thicker or thinner!

Merged with latest Steak thread.

Chillin117 - all the info you need on cookn g steak is in this thread.

tHB

We have steaks usually about once-a-week and here's how do mine: my favourite are Aldi sirloins - the ones aged 28 days

Finely chop chilli, garlic and ginger. Smear into the steaks. Put in a bowl and add a dash of red wine & a dash of Soy sauce. Cover in cling film and put into the fridge for 3 or 4 hours.

30 Mins before cooking, take the steaks out of the fridge

Time to Cook:

Wipe away the marinade mixture from the steaks & pat dry with paper towel
Rub a little oil into each steak
Put the frying pan on the highest heat (no oil)
When the smoke is visibly rising from the pan add the steaks and leave alone!
After about 3-4 minutes, flip the steaks, turn the heat down and cover the pan with a lid
Fry for another 3 minutes or so
Remove the steaks to a chopping board and leave to rest for 10 minutes
Whilst resting, add a glass of red wine to the frying pan and on a high heat, cook until well-reduced.
Take the frying pan off the heat and add a good knob of butter. When fully melted in, add to a ramekin dish with a spoon for pour over the steak

That's it!
Loire.

Probably universal language on how to order steak in a restaurant?

Back on topic...

There is an interesting article here on salting:

http://amazingribs.com/recipes/rubs_pastes_marinades_and_brines/dry_brining.html

What it basically says is that salting will draw out moisture, which will dissolve the salt, then get reabsorbed by the meat, pulling the salt inside the steak. This flavourises and tenderises the meat. I've been doing it since I read the article and I swear by it.

So here's my pan method:
1. Ribeye or striploin - 1.25 to 1.5 inch thick. I buy whole ribeyes and cut to size. Much as I love Aldi Specially Selected steaks, they aren't thick enough
2. Remove from fridge an hour before hand
3. Salt both sides of steak (on a rack of possible). Use rock salt. No pepper on steak
4. Red hot cast iron pan. I like to use a griddle pan for char marks
5. Oil the steak with Peanut (Groundnut) oil. This is important - Olive has way too low a smoke point.
6. Steak in pan. 1 minute each side, then flip again and rotate 60deg to get cross hatching marks from griddle. Another minute each side (2 mins a side total). Maybe an extra 30 sec a side for a thicker steak
7. On second pass lob a knob of butter and baste top of steak.
8. Rest on a warm plate
9. While resting, deglaze pan with a shot of whiskey
10. Allow whiskey to reduce by half and add a shot (~50ml) of cream
11. Add pepper to sauce. Lots of. Taste and add a little salt if necessary.
12. Any juices that have left the steak while resting go back into the pan.
13. When cream has reduced it will be lovely and thick. Pour over steak.

Except, I bought a Sous Vide machine in Lidl before Christmas. It changes everything. Now I cut my steaks, Salt and vacuum pack, then into the freezer. When I want a steak that evening I set the machine to 52 degrees (which actually equates to 56 deg based on thermocouple probe thermometer). Take steak from freezer and place in Sous Vide. When I'm ready to eat I take the perfectly medium rare steak out and sear in a red hot pan for 1 minute each side. Then make sauce as above. The result is perfect edge to edge medium rare every time.