Steak, i have no idea

Poppy

Poppy

Poppy

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22 May 2004
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1,189
Hey guys, I was out at Tesco last night and saw some steak that took my fancy! A big slab of 1" thick rump. Picked it up and thought, thats friday night dinner sorted! Then as i was walking past the butchery part of tesco i saw some ribeye steak that caught my eye...so i jumped in and asked for a 1inch slab of that too!

So i know its not going to be amazing quality meat etc, but its all i've got. So which one gets eaten tonight and which one gets frozen for next friday? The rump is a larger piece of meat and looks yummy, the ribeye is that same thickness as the rump but is a smaller piece of meat. The rump is taking my fancy just because of the pure size!

So the next question, how to i cook it? I've got a cast iron griddle or a thick bottomed frying pan. I know i have to leave the steak out for approx an hour or so at room temperature before cooking, season with lot of pepper and salt, spash of olive oil and drop it into my screaming hot pan but how long do i cook it for each side? I like medium rare, is 2mins either side long enough? Any other tips?
 
Eat both :)

2-3mins a side in a screaming hot pan should be enough. But if you know what it should feel like, it's much better, or if you have a probe thermometer, your looking 56c +/- a 1-2c.

No other tips. Lots of fancy ways to cook steak, I don't think any are worth it for normall occasions.
 
Right, I'm having steak on Saturday now.

Always have it with homemade potato or sweet potato chips.

Dash of olive oil on a Pyrex lid or plate, mix in 1 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp ground cumin and a crushed garlic clove, mix together and marinade for an hour.

Cook as Glaucus says and NOMMMM!
 
We really, really need a sticky on steak cooking to summarise everything - I said I'd look into this a few months ago but never did but I've got time on my hands to catch up on food writings so I'll work on something then!

In the mean time, for a good result:
Take out of the fridge an hour before cooking and season generously with salt on either side. You can add some crushed garlic to mix in with the salt at this point which can add an interesting flavour
5-10mins before cooking get the griddle pan on a v high heat so that the temperature is close to that of the surface of the sun
Just before the steak is ready, dab the outside to remove the excess moisture which would have been drawn out by the salt (you'll notice the meat has become more tender too)
I cook with some oil in the pan, but this does seem to cause a lot more smoke, so probably better to gently oil either side of the meat
Gently place in the pan, and turn every 15-20 seconds in order to cook the steak evenly

It's difficult to say about done-ness as Glaucus says but I think 2-3mins either side is probably about right

Season with freshly ground black pepper, rest for around 5-10mins

Resting it will help retain any juices that have escaped from the meat and allows the muscles to relax, it'll make a big difference
 
The only things I would disagree with the above, would be salting the steak after its done rather than before. I don't like the moisture drawn out of mine, I like it where it should be.

Also, only turn the once, not multiple time. You want a good consistent heat on each side for its allotted time.

Not that either way is right or wrong. Just try both, see which you prefer.
 
Detroit_Waves said:
The only things I would disagree with the above, would be salting the steak after its done rather than before. I don't like the moisture drawn out of mine, I like it where it should be.
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It'll make no difference, do you think that salt will draw water out, more than a 300c griddle.

Also there's a method of salting hours in advance that works.
 
Detroit_Waves said:
The only things I would disagree with the above, would be salting the steak after its done rather than before. I don't like the moisture drawn out of mine, I like it where it should be.

Also, only turn the once, not multiple time. You want a good consistent heat on each side for its allotted time.

Not that either way is right or wrong. Just try both, see which you prefer.
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The water/steak thing isn't all that simple

For starters, if the juicy/tenderness of a steak was decided by water content, we wouldn't be eating dry aged beef

Salting well in advance will reduce some of the moisture, but it's not significant compared to what you will lose cooking

I'll do some further research for this on the weekend
 
boxman2000 said:
Right, I'm having steak on Saturday now.

Always have it with homemade potato or sweet potato chips.

Dash of olive oil on a Pyrex lid or plate, mix in 1 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp ground cumin and a crushed garlic clove, mix together and marinade for an hour.

Cook as Glaucus says and NOMMMM!
Click to expand...

Dont use olive oil, it burns at too low a temperature apparently, use olive oil.
 
I guess he meats veg or sunflower oil as it has a higher smoking point than the notoriously variable olive oil.

I wouldn't do anything like add crushed garlic to a steak before whacking it into a belt hot pan either. Burnt garlic is nasty.
 
Just a quick note - ended up doing loads of paperwork this weekend but there's a few unanswered questions that I have that I'd like to iron out and I know just the man to ask on the subject.
 
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