"levelwave" > wrote in message
...
> 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.
>

Oil the steak, yes - after patting dry with paper towels, a thin layer of
oil gives a better result. Never oil the pan. By the time the pan is hot
enough the oil will have burned off.


--
Peter Aitken