Best method for cooking steak at home?

Redsoxfan

I have a griddle and a gas grill and hob.

What is the 'best' method for cooking steak given the above and the fact that I like it cooked rare.

Also, what is the 'best value' cut? I tend to go for striploin. I realise this is a 'how long is a piece of string' type question, but thought I'd ask anyway.

superficies

Griddle! Esp. if you rub the steak in a small bit of olive oil first or oil mixed with dijon mustard (drool...) and leave for maybe 15 minutes for the flavours to soak in. Will be v tender and flavoursome even if cooking rare.

As for best cut...no idea. Would be interested in what other people think.

jdivision

Best cut is probably rib eye but value for money i'm unsure. I don't like sirloin. More fat tends to mean better flavour though.

dudara

Buy a cast-iron skillet or grillpan. Put it on a very high heat and walk away. Let it get really really hot. When you think it's hot enough, walk away for another 5 minutes, as I can guarantee you it won't be hot enough.

Rub some oil and balsamic vinegar into the steak along with salt and pepper.

When the pan is hot enough, put the steak on to cook. As you like it rare, you'll want to sear the outside quickly, getting that lovely outside. ABout 1-1.5 mins each side will suffice. Take the steak out of the pan and leave to sit for about 5 minutes on a chopping board. This will let the juices redistribute themselves throughout the meat.

The biggest mistake most places make when cooking steak is not having a hot enough pan. There really is no mystery to cooking steak.

neuro-praxis

dudara wrote: »

Rub some oil and balsamic vinegar into the steak along with salt and pepper.

I find it better to salt the steak afterwards. Salt draws the juices out of food, so if you salt it before cooking, it will be less juicy than it would have been otherwise.

Kenny_D

I personally find Rib-Eye to be the nicest cut for a steak
Griddle
HOT HOT HOT!!
Lots of pepper and garlic rub (neuro is spot on about the salt. leave it right to the end)
REST (This is the secret to a great steak)

As you like it rare the hot griddle works especially well as you'll sear the steak nicely and wont have to worry about overdoing it. If its a thick steak I'll sometimes sear it in the pan then put the whole pan into a preheated oven and finish it off in there.

olaola

BBQ if you can, griddle otherwise. Don't worry about the salt, you're only seasoning it just before you put it on the pan, so you're not going to leech out any moisture. Most important... LET IT REST!

Aldi ribeye is great, but if you live near Rialto - Ennis butchers have the best strip I've ever had. About a fiver a pop.

Kenny_D

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/steak-sandwiches

Great recipe for a fantastic steak sandwich from Nigel Slater. The herb/garlic butter on the ciabatta is heaven!

BanzaiBk

Smoking hot griddle pan, massage grapeseed oil into steak (I prefer triple trimmed fillet as I'm dieting), pat some freshly pummeled pepper onto all sides, grill.

I adore this kind of "au poivre" method. Usually go for a black and blue in a restaurant as I like a crust but at home I give it about 2 mins a side.

The Hill Billy

There's a whole thread about steak & how to cook it here.

Procasinator

Hill Billy wrote: »

There's a whole thread about steak & how to cook it here.

Your link is broken (the dots got through).

Working link: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055320134

niall_belfast

Sear the meat over a high heat in a griddle pan, and place some flakes of sea salt and a small knob of butter on top just before serving.. delish..

Or what about a roasting plank? We were given one to review recently, and it was fantastic - it smoked the meat as you cooked it..

If you're interested, we wrote up a review - you could read about the roasting planks and see what you thought?

nice1franko

Never even heard of a roasting plank before ... I'm very very very tempted.

Nice site by the way!

niall_belfast

Thanks nice1 - always great to hear that the site is OK..

Yeah - I heard about the roasting plank through "Come Dine With Me", and then a follow-up interview on Chris Evans' show on BBC Radio 2 - apparently they're used a lot in Argentina and South Africa..

I'd entertained the thought of building my own smoke-house - just a small thing that I'd seen on a few cooking programs - but this does the trick!

It's a bit different, at least

niall_belfast

And in terms of steak, I do like the rib-eye - it's cheaper, but really flavoursome as there's a bit of fat..

pog it

Is this business of putting steak on scorching hot pan called sealing a steak by any chance?

Kenny_D

Yes

Kenny_D

niall_belfast wrote: »

Thanks nice1 - always great to hear that the site is OK..

Yeah - I heard about the roasting plank through "Come Dine With Me", and then a follow-up interview on Chris Evans' show on BBC Radio 2 - apparently they're used a lot in Argentina and South Africa..

I'd entertained the thought of building my own smoke-house - just a small thing that I'd seen on a few cooking programs - but this does the trick!

It's a bit different, at least

Ordered 2 bbq planks and an oven plank so cheers for the link. Had looked at the whole building your own smoker also. Maybe next year

pog it

Ah ha. Have to try this! So is it that you seal on the pan, and then finish off on the grill according to how well cooked you want it?

the beer revolu

pog it wrote: »

Is this business of putting steak on scorching hot pan called sealing a steak by any chance?

It is incorrectly and commonly called 'sealing'.
The steak isn't really sealed - it is just charred, caramelised and made tasty:D
As long as you do it, it doesn't matter what it is called!

Kenny_D

pog it wrote: »

Ah ha. Have to try this! So is it that you seal on the pan, and then finish off on the grill according to how well cooked you want it?

Depending on the thickness of the steak and how you like it cooked. I like mine medium or medium rare so if its a really thick steak I'll sear it on a really hot pan and then pop the whole pan into a preheated oven to finish