Almost burnt my house down today

[Cougfan2]

I am probably going to try garlic, should I go with fresh garlic, or garlic powder? One I have the other I dont (fresh garlic). I might try the red pepper, I think my brother has some for Pizza's.

I used to go to the trouble of mincing fresh garlic, but after a while went to using just garlic powder and I couldn't taste much difference. I take a 8-10 oz. tenderloin filet, pat a little garlic powder on both sides then coat it pretty good with course ground black pepercorns on both sides, brush both sides with olive oil, let it sit for about 15 minutes and then pop it on the grill. I let it brown nice on one side and then flip it over to the other and take it off the grill when it feels between rare and medium-rare. Let sit for 10 minutes to let the juices soak in and voila, dinner is served.

 

[jquirit]

Oh yeah, one other thing I found out with steaks, and I didn't see anybody else mention: bring it to room temp (or near room temp). Take the steak out 30 minutes before you plan on cooking it, season it, and let it rest for a bit while you do other things. Once you do get around to start cooking it, you get a more consistent cooking gradient across the depth of the steak.

 

[sadiesassy]

There is a reason for outside grills you can tolerate flame ups. Assuming you do not out it under your roof.

Most people sear thier steaks to hold in juices ( Hot pan idea) - except they use items like Propane weed burners, Other hot flame to sear and then put on the grill to cook. Or you can buy a BBQ with a Searing grill

If you ever get around to some cooking with alcohol - I have seen flames 4 ft tall of a butter and alcohol mixture we were cooking.

 

[JimmyS1985]

There is a reason for outside grills you can tolerate flame ups. Assuming you do not out it under your roof.

Most people sear thier steaks to hold in juices ( Hot pan idea) - except they use items like Propane weed burners, Other hot flame to sear and then put on the grill to cook. Or you can buy a BBQ with a Searing grill

If you ever get around to some cooking with alcohol - I have seen flames 4 ft tall of a butter and alcohol mixture we were cooking.

You don't want to make it too hot as I did, I read somewhere on the chef forums that the oil breaks down at high temperatures and I assume then loses its flavor. If its smoking thats definitely too hot, and I went past that which was a flame up.

I checked out another grocery store, and they had some serious mark up on their steaks, the steaks they were offering, same cuts as my small grocery store across the highway, were $14-$16 a pound. I bought two New York Strip Steaks for $11.63, well over a pound's worth.

Ok I cooked a New York Strip Steak just now. It was delicious, I got if for under $5 and it was enough to fill me up even though it looked kind of small. I missed one step which was to add garlic powder to both sides, I only added it to one side. I prepared the meat through heavily salting and peppering it. Then I threw it in the pan. I put garlic powder on the top raw side. Then after I flipped it over, I put in 3 slices of butter, finished that side, I took out a spoon and basted it with the oil/garlic/salt/pepper onto the plate. It was pretty delicious, but the meat was tougher, makes sense because the meat I got was $9.50 a pound instead of the $11 a pound Ribeye. It came out medium rare, medium around the edges but medium rare in the middle. I put some A1 steak sauce off to the side, and between the delicious concoction of oil and other ingredients and the A1 it turned out I think, restaurant good.

I told my dad if he buys me a steak, Ill prepare him one, for some oddball reason he likes his well done though, where most people prefer theirs medium rare.

One of my favorite King of the Hill quotes is about well-done steaks.

Hank: Yep, firm but with a little give...these steaks are medium rare!
Bobby: What if someone wants theirs well done?
Hank: We ask them politely, yet firmly, to leave.

 

[Redcap]

Hank: Yep, firm but with a little give...these steaks are medium rare!
Bobby: What if someone wants theirs well done?
Hank: We ask them politely, yet firmly, to leave.

Exactly!

 

[mat33]

As some have already said, the best way to sear at home (without Gordon Ramsay's restaurant grade range, broiler, and fume hood) is outside on a BBQ. You can get a charcoal grill much hotter than an indoor electric stove and do so without smoking out your pets. I've also found I can get some ridiculous heat by out of the crappiest most shot out propane grills by adding mass in the form of any piece of cast iron cookware that will fit one one side.

While almost every cookbook on the planet will tell you to sear meat at the beginning of the cooking process, Cooks Illustrated Magazine started experimenting with reversing the process. They let the meat come up to room temperature, then roast it low (200-300 depending on thickness), then sear at the end. As a medium rare man, I always cook roasts and steaks this way now. It looks god awful scary leading up to the sear, but after the sear you'll see that the meat is cooked more evenly and the sear is more complete because the exterior is dry going into the sear so you don't waste searing time steaming off the water which would normally overcook a layer of the meat around the edge.

One final note, never leave a charcoal fire unattended anywhere on or near combustible material. My friends parents won the opportunity to build a brand new house after letting their BBQ cool down on the deck after dinner.

 

[Max713]

I didn't read every reply... but why not BBQ instead?
With a little practice, you'll be cooking steaks far better than any but the very best restaurants.

Rule #1: When cooking on the BBQ, cook every steak on high heat. The hotter the better. The hotter your grill is, the faster it will sear the outside of your meat, holding all the juices in, as well as giving you a nice char with a perfectly cooked interior. This works for any preference of cooking, from bloody rare, to well done. Personally I like rare-rare medium.

Find a good marinade, I use Aloha Hawaiian BBQ Sauce( <broken link removed> ), and add a healthy amount of red pepper flakes, on my thick Costco Ribeyes, and T-Bones. I marinate for ~3-9 hours, and cook on absolute high heat (obviously). With my weber, it usually takes about 3 minutes per side to get my perfect rare-medium rare steak. In all honesty, the only steak I've ever had better than mine is my dads (my teacher), and I've eaten $100+ steaks.
For my tri-tips (second favorite behind ribeyes/t-bones), I use a dry rub: Jakes (Rub BBQ). Rub much more than you think on the tri-tip, a medium size tri-tip uses at least 1/3 of a bottle. Cook on high heat (obviously), until the very center of the thickest portion of meat is at 130 degrees F. This will give you a nice, deep pink, tender center, with the tapering edges of the meat being more well done. I'm a fan of the deep pink middle, but in mixed company, the variety in cooking levels helps keep everyone happy. When cutting your tri-tip, make sure and slice the pieces of meat very thin, and against the grain, to exaggerate that tenderness!! On my BBQ, a medium tri-tip takes about 30 minutes.
Lastly there are your tenderloins, small deer or elk steaks. These I cook on the stove top in a cast iron skillet. In my opinion these are much more difficult. Cook at the highest heat you can without setting things on fire, or ruining cookware. Skip the olive oil, throw butter in that pan! Tenderloins I do not season just a LOT of butter, deer/elk steaks I season with montreal steak seasoning, but be careful, it is easy to over season these thin pieces of meat. I can't give you a time estimate.

There is no set cooking duration for any piece of meat, as every piece of meat is different. As you practice more and more, you will learn how a piece of meat feels when it's cooked properly for you, just by pushing on it with tongs. When first learning, I would get the meat close to where I thought it needed to be, then lightly slice it to check my progress. This method works fine, and only looses a little of your withheld juices if you need to throw her back on the BBQ. I'm to the point where I no longer need to check, but this has come from years of practice.

Also.... if it needs steak sauce, it is not a good steak. In saying that, I do really like my tri-tips with a homemade steak sauce: 40% Ketchup, 40% Mastercraft BBQ sauce, 10% mustard, 10% sirachi(sp) sauce, couple tablespoons Worcestershire. All approximate... adjust to taste. I love my tri-tip plain, but I do appreciate it more with my homemade sauce.

 

[marty8587]

Uncle Howard used to say..."Have the cowboy put a ropeburn around his neck, then put him on my plate"!

 

[Stomper]

Pan frying steaks is just outright BLASPHEMY! LOL!

Open flame whether gas, charcoal, or wood... All are better than pan frying.

El Gauchos (downtonw PDX) cooks over open flames, and they make THE BEST steak dinners you'll ever spend $150 a person on!

Safeway has awesome thick-cut ribeye steak, and have a free marinade called Wild Turkey... Will melt in your mouth!

 

[Key-Hay]

Bimart has cast iron grill pans for around $10. I heat one of these up (outside cause it smokes pretty good) till it's almost glowing and toss the steak on it.

Look up Steven Raichlen's "The Barbecue Bible" Page 119 "How to grill the perfect Steak" That 1 page is worth buying the book, plus you get tons of really great recipes.

 

[Both Eyes Open]

6 min per side 2nd shelf from top in the oven on broil. Works every time. Just don't forget to leave the oven door ajar! Good luck chef!