Cooking the perfect steak...

[i386]

I've been on a steak kick lately. Some have been better than others. I prefer ribeye's above all others cooked medium rare (pink warm center). It seems to me the best ones are cooked on a very hot flat grill seasoned with only salt and pepper.

I'd like to do this at home. Anyone know how to make the perfect ribeye?

 

[Plainsman]

Re: Cooking the perfect steak...

I also perfer ribeye to other cuts.
I only use charcoal. Use only half the grill with coals. Sear the steak on both sides and move to the side without out the coals for indirect cooking. When you see small "cracks" in the meat it is done. I turn it several times for even cooking.
Just salt and pepper for seasoning maybe a bit of butter as well. I like to taste the steak, not seasonings. If you have a good steak, that is all the flavor you need.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Cooking the perfect steak...

1 1/4" thick. Cook with charcoal. Sear both sides for 2 minutes each then put the lid on the barby to dampen the flame. Cook approximately 4 additional minutes each side for a medium delight. Remove to plate, preheated in the oven, then have at it.

I like slightly salted with Kosher salt. Sometimes I will use Montreal Steak Seasoning.

 

[Reel Poor]

Re: Cooking the perfect steak...

I'm a ribeye man as well. Typically salt and peppermed to med well over charcoal.

Lately I've been on this kick of blackened ribeyes, OMG.

 

[JB]

Re: Cooking the perfect steak...

I think I like T-bones and Porterhouse best. Rare to medium rare. . . warm, red center. 1-1/2 to 2".

I also think that perfect is in the taste of the consumer.

I agree that charcoal is best.. . mesquite if available, otherwise a few mesquite chips on the "factory" charcoal just before you put the steak(s) on for searing.

I usually can't afford "choice" and never "prime", even if I could find them, but I guess "prime" would be required for a "perfect" steak. The cheaper grades I usually get at local markets can stand some help. I sometimes marinate them about 1/2 hour in Adolph's Meat tenderizer made with burgundy instead of water.

Salt, pepper and garlic powder. On rare occasions thinly sliced morels.

Drool, slobber. Dang it; now I'm hungry!8)

 

[rolmops]

Re: Cooking the perfect steak...

And a good christmas morning to you guys.
I usually buy a whole black Angus beefer once a year.Pure grass fed with some grain towards the end to marble him a bit.I get him from a local dirt farmer who has 10 or 20 on his little 60 acre farm.That land has never seen fertilizer and that calf has never seen antibiotics.About as organic as it gets.
Dressed at the hook it comes at about 600 pounds and it goes at $1.95 a pound.
Usually half of it gets to be ground beef,which I sell at cost or give to my family and friends,but the steak is mine.
Usually the little slaughterhouse vacuum packs the cuts and absolutely no water or chemicals are added.
Straight from the hill side into my freezer!
This beef tastes very different from store bought and there is not that much difference between the different cuts.
The real good part is in the family traditions that are kept alive and the fun we have with it.
My wife's grand mother, 93 years old, bless her,always asks for the tongue.She boils it, spices it and then cuts it into real thin slices, she uses for cold cuts.We have to go through the movements of telling how much we love it...
My BIL's parents,from Brindisi,Italy, are always after the intestines and ground beef.They come back a few days later with great Italian sausage,which they are very proud of.I usually give them cod when I go deep sea fishing.They love it and call it Bakkala.
I did not really realize how much of a family tradition is has become until yesterday afternoon. I talked to my daughter,who is going to school in London.She was always a borderline vegetarian,but she would eat my "cow".She told me about the terrible things that the English do to meat and how they call it "pie" once they are done with it.
What she really said,was that she misses the family gatherings by the lake house where we barbecue and enjoy each other.
May you all have a blessed year and lots of family to enjoy and share your life with.

 

[OBJ]

Re: Cooking the perfect steak...

I've tried different marinades over the Summer. One I found really easy was Regular Italian dressing....like you put over Salads. Just put the meat cuts in a large pan or bowl and cover with dressing. Let set in the frig over night. Has a very nice flavor.

The kids like round steak for sandwiches. I'll take a couple fairly large cuts, beat the crap outta' them and then rub them down with a mix of spices and garlic salt. Coat lightly again with Italian dressing and let set over night. Next day, cook to suit the taste. This is a good one if you have barbeque on the Toon.

Now I'M hungry!!8)

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Cooking the perfect steak...

My son cooks on weekends at a big resturant in the resort area. He swears by the "hand test" for the perfect steak. I looked it up on the net bucause a picture is worth .........

http://www.meninaprons.net/2006/01/learning_doneness_the_hand_tes.html

 

[OBJ]

Re: Cooking the perfect steak...

I like that site Bob.....Thanks! Just added it to my favorites list.

I like my steaks with no visible signs of life left....not burnt but cooked well through.....a pinkish line is OK.

 

[Bart Sr.]

Re: Cooking the perfect steak...

All people like their steaks with a certain doneness/color. If you want to know what stage of doneness you have simply look at the juices coming out of the meat.The meat will be the same color as the juices.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Cooking the perfect steak...

I learned to cook steaks from a chef friend.
Just the opposite from what most have listed above.
It always took a long time to get a steak at his eatery.
First you picked out the cut of meat from the display cooler.
Then it disappeared into the kitchen.

This for the typical 1.25" thick steak.
Add more warming time for thicker steaks.
First he slowly warmed the steak.
In an oven or small warming tray set at 130*F.
Let the meat warm through.
A little longer and perhaps 140* if you wanted the steak to be a bit more done. If you want it really done, 150* for 12 minutes.

So after the steak has warmed (about 12 minutes), it was moved to a hot grill or griddle. 2-2.5 minutes a side, just to sear and brown.

Done.
Now the meat is warmed through, done to the desired level, and browned to the desired degree.
There seems to be more control and consistancy, and the meat is always moist and juicy.

He also taught me to use dry seasonings only, as sauces and such will burn when the meat hits the hot grill.

 

[rottenray6402]

Re: Cooking the perfect steak...

I love ribeye and T-bone and like rolmops I buy a 1/2 or 1/4 from a feloow close by that raises his own black angus. Our Washington friends will appreciate that with Stuart Anderson's Steak Houses. A grilling secret shown to me by an old Texan friend involves warming the steak slightly and then rubbing cooking oil or olive oil on each side before putting it on the grill. He said it helped sear in the juices and I really believe it does make a difference. I like a hot fire with mesquite chips and sear the meat on each side and then let it cook about 5 minutes on each side for a thick steak. I like mine medium rare and even though it's a crime I use one of those temperature forks that reads the degree of doneness.8)