Alex Rast wrote:

> Don't oil the steak. It should go in the skillet without anything else on
> it - in the first place because anything else will simply burn, and in the
> second place because that just puts another layer between pan and the
> steak's surface. At the temperatures involved, I think oil might actually
> be dangerous (possible flare-up)
>
> Smoke, meanwhile, is inevitable. Open every window you can and remove
> batteries from smoke detectors.
>
> A good test of whether the pan is hot enough is to drop a few drops of
> water on the pan's surface. If they literally bounce off the surface like
> tiny rubber balls, it's hot enough. I find that even the point where the
> drops evaporate instantly with a quick hiss isn't nearly hot enough. I
> assume, btw, that your skillet was cast-iron? The bigger the skillet, the
> better.
>
> Be aware also that "seared" isn't the same as "burnt". If you're looking
> for a thick layer of actual carbon char on the surface, then you really
> need to expose it directly to open flame. A good sear should create a dark,
> ruddy colour - very distinctive and revealing the muscle fiber direction
> and grain clearly. Also, carbon char adds nothing to the flavour except a
> burnt taste. So again, unless you're looking specifically for the flavour
> of carbon, there's no need to burn the surface of the steak.


Feel free to oil the steak or the pan, and go ahead and season up that
steak before slapping it in the skillet.

ugh... I blame it on FoodTV.

~John