Steak

Regrettably it's been a while since my last post.  Ngoc has been sick and one of the byproducts is the mother in law coming over every day and cooking lunch and dinner.  Not many recipes are getting tried as of late, though not to my dismay I'll admit.  

One mini-meal I did create last weekend was the ultra classic steak for two.  It goes without saying that the basic grilled/broiled beef steak, almost entirely naked, should be a basic arrow in the quiver of any herbivore chef.  Pair it with 1 starch and 1 veggie, and you've got a classic American meal.

There are many ways to heat a steak, but I prefer cast iron for it's high conductivity and ability to really get a crispy black surface on each side of meat.  Everyone has their preferred cut, but it goes without saying that the quality of meat is going to pay a major factor in the resulting steak, especially since we're doing very little other than adding heat and serving.  I prefer rib eye for its fat content.  Ngoc prefers filet for its lean but tender texture.  New York and sirloin steaks also will work, but bone-in cuts like porterhouse or t-bone are better saved for the broiling rack.

The meat needs a basic coating of fat.  This is the first step in ensuring a hot and crispy burn on each surface.  You will also need to rub in some salt for a basic flavoring, but just how much is up to you.  I coat each side with a thin layer of vegetable oil and maybe a half teaspoon of kosher salt (do not used iodized salt, EVER!)

While heating up the cast iron to medium high heat, melt a couple tablespoons of butter in the skillet.  This will come in handy later.  I should not that, if you do not have a cast iron skillet, you need to get your pan over BLAZINGLY hot heat to come close to simulating the amount of direct heat that cast iron can send straight to the meat's surface.  

Once your butter is melted and bubbling ferociously, place your steaks in the skillet and begin basting the surface of the steaks with the butter.  Do this semi-continuously until you are completely done cooking.  For a 1.5 inch steak, rare is about 2.5 minutes on each side.  For a medium steak, try 2.5 minutes on each side twice for a total of almost 10 minutes.  This is the hardest part to convey, and will probably only be perfected after a bit of practice on your end.

Viola!  You should have a crispy, buttery, juicy steak ready to serve alongside a glass of red.