Making my first steak

[Fritzo]

is that before or after you soak it in A1 sauce for an hour?

Dirty secret: I love A1 sauce. It's actually very complex.

 

[tcsenter]

Why am I not crazy about sirloin? Too lean. No matter what I do with it (grill, pan, broil), always comes out a little dry if not a teensy bitter? Never tried Sous Vide, pressure cooker, or other low-slow method. Is that the secret for super lean sirloin?

Dirty secret: I love A1 sauce. It's actually very complex.

+1. Tried a couple lesser brand knock-offs of A-1 they use too much vinegar.

 

[Phoenix86]

For clarification: I put salt on it liberally than let it sit for 45 minutes, at which point I use the sink to wash it off? Then I put salt on it again after it's done baking in the oven? (is this thing going to give me a heart attack?)

Lastly, at that temp, about how long (on average) does it take to reach 120 degrees? I'll check the internal temp to be safe, just curious as for when I should turn the stove on with the skillet as the apartment fire alarms get feisty when it comes to smoke.

Yes 45 min. Kosher salt. No to re-salting. It will absorb the salt you used prior.

At first the salt will draw the liquid to the surface and form a brine (bad) but will soak back into the meat salting and tenderizing it through out (awesome ). This is why you don't half ass the salt. It's either let it sit for enough time to draw back in, or if you don't have the time, salt it immediately before you start cooking.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/05/...-salting-charcoal-technique-resting-tips.html

Truth of the matter is that you should salt your meat about 40 minutes before it hits the grill. When the salt first hits a steak, it sits on the surface. Through the process of osmosis, it'll slowly draw liquid out of the mat, which you'll see pool up in little droplets. As those droplets grow, the salt will dissolve in the meat juice, forming a concentrated brine. At this stage in the game—about 25 to 30 minutes in—your steak is in the absolute worst shape possible for grilling. That moisture will evaporate right off, leaving you with a tough, stringy crust.

Give it a bit more time, and eventually that brine will begin to break down some of the muscle tissue in the meat, allowing the juices to be re-absorbed, and taking the salt right along with it.

What does this lead to? Meat that is both better seasoned and more tender and moist when you cook it.


edit: as mentioned above with oils and heat, I dum-dum'd and said olive oil, but at high heat you should be using a high heat oil like peanut. If your oil is smoking that's bad. Should only be minimal smoke from the steak itself.

 

[Phoenix86]

Why am I not crazy about sirloin? Too lean. No matter what I do with it (grill, pan, broil), always comes out a little dry if not a teensy bitter? Never tried Sous Vide, pressure cooker, or other low-slow method. Is that the secret for super lean sirloin?

+1. Tried a couple lesser brand knock-offs of A-1 they use too much vinegar.

It's a fairly lean cut, see the salting recommendation above. Voilla, tender sirloin.

 

[echo4747]

BTW- I've graduated from plain old steak and been getting into making beef Wellington lately. Here's my last two results:

looks awesome...how did you make it?.... is that puff pastry you use on surrounding the beef?

 

[ElFenix]

Only extra virgin olive oil has a low smoke point. Lower grades are fine for high temp cooking

 

[Phoenix86]

Only extra virgin olive oil has a low smoke point. Lower grades are fine for high temp cooking

Speaking of I want to try safflower oil next time. I don't cook so much and the longer shelf life, high smoke point, fairly health and neutral taste seem ideal.

 

[Fritzo]

Why am I not crazy about sirloin? Too lean. No matter what I do with it (grill, pan, broil), always comes out a little dry if not a teensy bitter? Never tried Sous Vide, pressure cooker, or other low-slow method. Is that the secret for super lean sirloin?

+1. Tried a couple lesser brand knock-offs of A-1 they use too much vinegar.

If you read the ingredients, it's amazing it all works. It's a mixture of anchovies, raisins, citrus...I actually use it as a secret ingredient in gravy for pot roast

Speaking of I want to try safflower oil next time. I don't cook so much and the longer shelf life, high smoke point, fairly health and neutral taste seem ideal.

It's an excellent oil to have on hand. It's a little pricey, but should be in line with higher end olive oils. A little goes a long way too. You only need a tbs or two in the pan when searing things.

 

[waggy]

Dirty secret: I love A1 sauce. It's actually very complex.

I like it every now and then. Depends on the steak. sometimes the steak doesn't need it. Sometimes the steak needs a little help.

I like a little dab if A1 at times. it does add to it.


damn now i want a steak.

 

[Fritzo]

looks awesome...how did you make it?.... is that puff pastry you use on surrounding the beef?

It's a beef filet (it's a whole filet mignon). You can actually but a whole beef tenderloin for under $50, and separate it to get your our filet out of it (plus get a nice flank steak or roast for later!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf9K0D-fnnM


It's got too many steps to post, but just do like my man Gordon does here (minus the chestnuts). It's exactly how I prepared it and it came out fantastic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uXIPhxL5XA

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

It's a beef filet (it's a whole filet mignon). You can actually but a whole beef tenderloin for under $50, and separate it to get your our filet out of it (plus get a nice flank steak or roast for later!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf9K0D-fnnM

?

You won't get a flank steak from breaking down a tenderloin. Flank steak comes from a different region of the animal.

 

[Fritzo]

?

You won't get a flank steak from breaking down a tenderloin. Flank steak comes from a different region of the animal.

It's just a general term for tough steak. Yes, a proper flank steak comes from the bottom of the cow, but the texture of the muscle surrounding the filet is very similar and you can use it as a substitute.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

It's just a general term for tough steak. Yes, a proper flank steak comes from the bottom of the cow, but the texture of the muscle surrounding the filet is very similar and you can use it as a substitute.

Gotcha. Do you do the same thing I do and remove the lobes on the butt end of the tenderloin? While I don't necessarily find them tough they don't actually have the same flavor and texture of the chateaubriand portion. You can salvage some meat from the chain too, but it's not very much; what you can get is damn tasty though.

 

[Fritzo]

Gotcha. Do you do the same thing I do and remove the lobes on the butt end of the tenderloin? While I don't necessarily find them tough they don't actually have the same flavor and texture of the chateaubriand portion. You can salvage some meat from the chain too, but it's not very much; what you can get is damn tasty though.

I'll sear the ends up and put them on some crusty bread with some sauteed onions. Good lunch

 

[Kaido]

My current favorite way to cook steaks is in my Namath Rapid Cooker. It's basically a mini salamander broiler. Retails for $400 on their website, but PC Richards has it for half off all the time. Great way to grill outside easily & also really nice for camping & tailgating:

http://www.pcrichard.com/Edenpure/Joe-Namath-Rapid-Cooker-Stainless-Steel/EY101.pcrp

Keeps the heat & especially the smoke out of my tiny, unventilated kitchen. I did a basically blind taste test with sous vide steaks finished in the Namath & with steaks cooked completely in the Namath and the Namath-only steaks definitely won. Only catch is you don't get any charcoal flavor with this, so you need to add some seasonings (I like garlic salt) or whip up something like an herb butter or mushroom sauce (or I guess liquid smoke). The nice thing is, three minutes per side on high heat (middle height setting) & you're done! Left is Namath, right is Anova/Namath:

Sous vide has a hard time getting a good crust, and I like a crispy crust, so when I do steaks at home these days, I use the Namath. If I'm at a friend's house & they have a well-ventilated kitchen, I do Alton Brown's cast-iron pan method.

 

[Phoenix86]

Looks pretty good, how long does it take?

 

[smackababy]

Sous vide has a hard time getting a good crust, and I like a crispy crust, so when I do steaks at home these days, I use the Namath. If I'm at a friend's house & they have a well-ventilated kitchen, I do Alton Brown's cast-iron pan method.

That is why you sear afterwords. Sous vide until it is perfectly cooked and then Alton Brown cast-iron sear the fuck out of both sides to finish it.

 

[Kaido]

That is why you sear afterwords. Sous vide until it is perfectly cooked and then Alton Brown cast-iron sear

I always sear afterwards; it's just too moist to get the type of crust I like. Lately though, I've been using the Reverse Sear method: (slow-cooked in the oven, then seared)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ4xl7XJM08

Comparison here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=104sWyAS4vY

Sous Vide wins for tenderness, but Reverse Sear wins for crust & texture. I also kind of prefer the meatier texture from the Namath (salamander broiler) & Reverse Sear methods. Today I'm doing a 1.5" NY Strip in a toaster oven using a modified Reverse Sear method (275F & 50 minutes, plus Searzall to finish it), so we'll see how that goes. I still use Sous Vide for steak, just not as much, and more for if I'm using the steak in other stuff, like shish-ka-bobs or fajitas.

 

[Kaido]

Steak (not mine) - click to zoom; careful, it may crash your browser and/or computer:

http://imgur.com/gallery/GbEeH8a

 

[Kaido]

I tried out the Reverse Sear method in a toaster oven today. I had previously done it in a regular oven with excellent results. I did a 1.15-pound 1.5" NY Strip steak for 50 minutes @ 275F (no drip tray like the oven method tho, just some aluminum foil); it came out oddly gray inside, but very juicy:

The weird thing was, there was no pink, but it wasn't overcooked. Very tasty too. We actually used plastic forks to cut it because I was near a picnic place, so it was plenty tender. Not sure if it's due to lack of a drip tray or the smaller cooking area heating up faster or what. Despite still being very moist out of the toaster oven, it did sear up really nicely with the Searzall. The oven method came out super pink all the way through, so I'm not quite sure what caused the change...too many minutes & no drip tray is my thinking. Oh, and with the oven method, I did a cast-iron skillet sear, which gave me a really nice, thick crust: (a bit too thick for how thin that steak was, but tasted awesome!)

 

[JEDIYoda]

salt your steak liberally for at least 45 minutes.

That is a lot of salt.......

 

[Kaido]

That is a lot of salt.......

Nah dude, prepare to become enlightened on steak hacking:

http://steamykitchen.com/163-how-to-turn-cheap-choice-steaks-into-gucci-prime-steaks.html

 

[Ns1]

@Kaido

Perhaps shitty thermometer on the toaster oven compared to regular oven?

 

[Kaido]

Yeah, that might make sense. It was just weird that it was gray and not the typical well-down brown when you overcook it. I'm thinking it was overcooked by maybe 15 minutes, which took the pink to gray.