pan seared steak (and smoke)
 

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......

One time on Usenet, "dakota2112" > said:

> 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.

<snip>

> Any suggestions on what I'm doing wrong with the pan searing? thanks
> in advance......

I wonder if it's the oil? I sear my steaks in a cast iron skillet
heated on the stovetop (it gets plenty hot), but no oil -- just some
salt and pepper in the pan...

--
Jani in WA (Smee)
~ mom, VidGamer, novice cook, dieter ~

On 12 Jul 2005 13:33:25 -0700, "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.

(on each side, and then return to hot oven to finish cooking for 4
minutes, turning once)

>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 doesn't take anywhere *near* 20 minutes to heat the pan to a
suitable temperature. With gas, it takes maybe 3 minutes; perhaps a
little longer with electric.

> 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.

Even 1 minute searing, and 4 minutes in a 500-degree oven seems as it
it would produce a fairly rare steak (recipe says 1-1/2 inches thick).
I think I cook on stovetop for about 3 minutes per side for med. rare.

> (And how do people
>actually do this indoors without getting a housefull of smoke?!)

Exhaust fan. Or open window. This method *does* seem to produce a fair
amount of smoke.

"dakota2112" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> 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?!)

You are doing it right. Smoke is unavoidable in my experience. You didn't
move the steak once in the pan, did you?


--
Peter Aitken
Visit my recipe and kitchen myths page at www.pgacon.com/cooking.htm

"dakota2112" > wrote in message
oups.com...

<snip>

> 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......


Do you have a gas grill with a side burner? Outside? The prefect solution to
the smoke problem.

BTW it is said that "Pittsburgh" style came from the steel workers throwing a
chunk of meat onto red hot steel.

Dimitri

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......

Hmmm, I pan seared a tenderloin filet in my cast iron skillet last night. I
wrapped bacon around it first, got the pan smoking hot. It seared up very
nicely. I like mine medium-rare (more on the rare side) but I still had to
do it about 5 minutes on each side. Of course, this filet was close to 3
inches thick.

Jill

On 12 Jul 2005 13:33:25 -0700, dakota2112 wrote:

> Any suggestions on what I'm doing wrong with the pan searing? thanks
> in advance......

Start with a thicker steak. That way you'll keep it on the "fire"
long enough for a crust to form.

at Tue, 12 Jul 2005 20:33:25 GMT in <1121200405.441737.135050
@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com>, (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.

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.

--
Alex Rast

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

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.

Alex Rast wrote:
>
>(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.
>
> 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.

You're so fulla shit you leave brown streaks on your pillow by your
earholes. What kinda crap are you attempting to feed us... you haven't
a clue if you're cooking mako shark or tube steak and on and on your
motor mouth revs... put a ****ing cork in it you dumb loudmouthed KNOW
NOTHING *******... you obviously have never eaten any kinda steak other
than that mystery meat comes all coated with secret sauce from between
the Clown's stoopid sesame seed buns... you FRIGGIN' FRAUD!

Kitchen Kop

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

On 12 Jul 2005 19:04:38 -0700, Sheldon wrote:

> 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.

Unless otherwise specified, we can safely assume the steak in question
is beef and respond in kind. Only a total moron would say "steak" and
not be talking about anything other than beef - without any hint to
the contrary.

sf wrote:

> Unless otherwise specified, we can safely assume the steak in question
> is beef and respond in kind. Only a total moron would say "steak" and
> not be talking about anything other than beef - without any hint to
> the contrary.


"You took my comment entirely out of context, and you know very well how
that can be made to convey to any statement a whole new meaning... after
all I'm the master of that talent"

Guess who wrote that...

~john

at Wed, 13 Jul 2005 02:17:00 GMT in
.com>,
(Sheldon) wrote :

>
>
>Alex Rast wrote:
>>
>>(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.
>>
>> 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.
>
>You're so fulla shit you leave brown streaks on your pillow by your
>earholes...

What, precisely, do you take issue with? Can you specify what parts of
these recommendations you would consider to be inaccurate? I don't believe
that claiming someone else is wrong without detailing where and offering
what you believe to be the proper corrections is very helpful to the
original poser of a question. Indeed, it can add confusion because now any
future readers may doubt or discount the response to the question thus
criticised without having any further information either as to the factual
source of that doubt or to what the correct facts would be if the response
was in fact in error.


--
Alex Rast

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

"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

Yes I'm talking about beef, I believe in this case it was a porterhouse
about 1.5" thick. My cast iron skillet was hot to where water droplets
danced.

I might try with no oil next time; that is one variable I haven't
removed yet. Thanks for the (helpful) suggestions!

Alex Rast wrote:

> at Wed, 13 Jul 2005 02:17:00 GMT in
> .com>,
> (Sheldon) wrote :
> >
> >You're so fulla shit you leave brown streaks on your pillow by your
> >earholes...
>
> What, precisely, do you take issue with? Can you specify what parts of
> these recommendations you would consider to be inaccurate? I don't believe
> that claiming someone else is wrong without detailing where and offering
> what you believe to be the proper corrections is very helpful to the
> original poser of a question. Indeed, it can add confusion because now any
> future readers may doubt or discount the response to the question thus
> criticised without having any further information either as to the factual
> source of that doubt or to what the correct facts would be if the response
> was in fact in error.

Alex, you're so polite . . . entirely inappropriate for newsgroups.
If you can't get with it, maybe you shouldn't post at all. :-)

sf wrote:
> On 12 Jul 2005 19:04:38 -0700, Sheldon wrote:
>
> > 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.
>
> Unless otherwise specified, we can safely assume the steak in question
> is beef and respond in kind. Only a total moron would say "steak" and
> not be talking about anything other than beef - without any hint to
> the contrary.

We... you speak for everyone, how presumptuous...

Shows how much you know, because even if what you say were true, which
it absolutely is not, one still needs to indicate WHICH cut of beef.
I've never yet seen a menu says "steak" without a description... then
I/we can *safely assume* you eat only at fast food booger joints.

Sheldon

"jmcquown" > wrote in message
...

<snip>:


> Hmmm, I pan seared a tenderloin filet in my cast iron skillet last night. I
> wrapped bacon around it first, got the pan smoking hot. It seared up very
> nicely. I like mine medium-rare (more on the rare side) but I still had to
> do it about 5 minutes on each side. Of course, this filet was close to 3
> inches thick.
>
> Jill

Drool.......

Dimitri

On 13 Jul 2005 07:03:58 -0700, dakota2112 wrote:

> Yes I'm talking about beef, I believe in this case it was a porterhouse
> about 1.5" thick. My cast iron skillet was hot to where water droplets
> danced.
>
> I might try with no oil next time; that is one variable I haven't
> removed yet. Thanks for the (helpful) suggestions!

PS: If you're looking for the crust that will form when it comes into
contact with oil, try oiling the meat instead of the pan next time.

Dimitri wrote:
> "jmcquown" > wrote in message
> ...
>
> <snip>:
>
>
>> Hmmm, I pan seared a tenderloin filet in my cast iron skillet last
>> night. I wrapped bacon around it first, got the pan smoking hot.
>> It seared up very nicely. I like mine medium-rare (more on the rare
>> side) but I still had to do it about 5 minutes on each side. Of
>> course, this filet was close to 3 inches thick.
>>
>> Jill
>
> Drool.......
>
> Dimitri

Was delicious! And the bacon was enough to "oil" the pan (which of course
is already well seasoned enough to be non-stick anyway)... the bacon came
out nice and crispy around the beef tenderloin, too. YUM :)

Jill

Peter Aitken wrote:

> 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.


....or you could just hold off on adding the oil until the pan is hot,
like I do.

~john

sf wrote:
>
> PS: If you're looking for the crust that will form when it comes into
> contact with oil, try oiling the meat instead of the pan next time.

I never oiled the skillet, sorry for any confusion. I did lightly oil
the steak though. I used safflower oil if I recall correctly, based on
what Alton Brown said about oils and smokepoints (safflower oil having
a high smokepoint and less likely to burn, as I understand it, than
something like olive oil).

Someone else in here recommended trying it without any oil whatsoever;
I'm thinking of trying that next time and see what happens.

I also wonder if using a T-bone/porterhouse in the skillet is part of
my problem... because the bone might prevent the meat from fully
resting on the skillet surface, whadya think? Next time I might try a
ribeye instead.

levelwave wrote:
>
> "You took my comment entirely out of context, and you know very well how
> that can be made to convey to any statement a whole new meaning... after
> all I'm the master of that talent"
>
> Guess who wrote that...

Yes, you may borrow that for your sig line.

"JEFF IS HERE" > wrote in message
...
> can someone tell me the difference between a t-bone and a porterhouse
> steak?
>
>
> jeff
>
Porterhouse contains more of the tenderloin muscle and also part of the top
loin.

Jill

dakota2112 wrote:
> I also wonder if using a T-bone/porterhouse in the skillet is part of
> my problem... because the bone might prevent the meat from fully
> resting on the skillet surface, whadya think? Next time I might try a
> ribeye instead.

Ok, I tried *again*, this time using a 1.5" ribeye and NO oil - just
salt and pepper.

PERFECTION!

I still got tons of smoke, so I promptly carried the cast iron skillet
w/ steak from the kitchen's electric range burner out to the
(preheated) grill, to help keep the skillet's temperature up. I let it
sear for about a minute or two, then flipped it. The 2nd side didn't
get nearly as good of a sear because the grill can't get nearly as hot
as my electric rangetop burner set to high, but it still turned out
good. Direct heat from the grill flames set to high helped finish the
sear on side 2 (out of the frying pan and into the fire, so-to-speak).
Just a few more minutes of cooking over low heat directly on the grill,
and it was done. Nice dark brown searing on both sides, and VERY pink
and juicy inside.

Not sure if it was the bone in the T-bone or if it was the oil causing
me problems achieving a good sear, but between eliminating both, I've
nailed it. Thanks again for the suggestions!

One time on Usenet, "dakota2112" > said:
> dakota2112 wrote:

> > I also wonder if using a T-bone/porterhouse in the skillet is part of
> > my problem... because the bone might prevent the meat from fully
> > resting on the skillet surface, whadya think? Next time I might try a
> > ribeye instead.
>
> Ok, I tried *again*, this time using a 1.5" ribeye and NO oil - just
> salt and pepper.
>
> PERFECTION!

<snip>

> Not sure if it was the bone in the T-bone or if it was the oil causing
> me problems achieving a good sear, but between eliminating both, I've
> nailed it. Thanks again for the suggestions!

Congrats! I still think it was the oil...

--
Jani in WA (S'mee)
~ mom, VidGamer, novice cook, dieter ~

On Fri, 15 Jul 2005 20:57:43 -0500, (JEFF IS
HERE) wrote:

>can someone tell me the difference between a t-bone and a porterhouse
>steak?
The Porterhouse has a larger "filet" section than the T bone.
------------
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or in Fenway Park in an extra inning
game.
____

Cape Cod Bob

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