dakota2112 wrote:
> Ok, so I've been reading for quite a while about how good a steak is
> when it's seared in a hot cast iron skillet. On "Good Eats", Alton
> Brown says to preheat the skillet in a 500 degree oven, then place the
> skillet on the range top and sear the steak for 30 seconds.
>
> I tried this last night. But because of a pie being in the oven, I
> wasn't able to preheat that way, so I turned the electric rangetop
> burner to HIGH and let the skillet preheat for about 20 minutes. It
> got hot to where I couldn't hold my hand above the skillet for more
> than a few seconds, and the skillet took on a gray ash-like appearance.
> I dropped my room-temperature, safflower-oiled steak in the skillet,
> filled my house with smoke, and ended up with only a very minimal
> seared crust - and I seared it for at least 1-2 minutes per side.
>
> Am I still not getting the skillet hot enough? (And how do people
> actually do this indoors without getting a housefull of smoke?!)
>
> I've tried various heating methods outdoors to avoid the smoke issue,
> and nothing seems to get it nearly hot enough... I've tried a hot
> plate, my propane grill, the heating element in my electric smoker, and
> even a bed of hot campfire coals, and these methods all required
> several minutes of searing to produce only a barely discernable sear.
> The best skillet sear I've been able to achieve thus far is using my
> electric range top indoors, which obviously is a mistake due to the
> smoke... and yet none of these methods have produced as good of a
> sear/char as what I can accomplish by just throwing the steak directly
> on my propane grill and letting it go hog wild for a few minutes per
> side (flames about 2 feet high will make a nice char crust, although
> it's probably carcinogenic but it sure tastes good)
>
> Any suggestions on what I'm doing wrong with the pan searing? thanks
> in advance......

It would help a heck of a lot more if you simply described the steak
and not bother with all of that fercocktah useless crapola you wrote.

What kinda steak you talking, ham, salmon, swordfish, halibut, mako,
beef, tube? Which cut and how thick? No one can really help you
beyond offering wild speculation if all the information you indicate is
about your fercocktah pan (yoose gonna eat the steak or the pan)? You
gotta say exactly what GOESINTO the pan.