After After thoroughly enjoying the product of my first attempt at cooking steak - Steak Teriyaki- I decided I was ready to go big and cook a whole steak.
This beauty was leftover from a barbecue... during which I did not cook :) I read many different theories on how to make perfect steak indoors. I chose to use the Alton Brown method. The result was fairly tasty but not worth the complications. I followed the instructions Brown gives here:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pan-seared-rib-eye-recipe.html
First for the steak itself:
It looked terrible.
This beauty was leftover from a barbecue... during which I did not cook :) I read many different theories on how to make perfect steak indoors. I chose to use the Alton Brown method. The result was fairly tasty but not worth the complications. I followed the instructions Brown gives here:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pan-seared-rib-eye-recipe.html
First for the steak itself:
It looked terrible.
The steak ended up cooked medium rare to medium. It cooked evenly BUT the fat marbling on the steak never cooked properly. I think this happened because my stove and oven could not get hot enough to melt the fat. However, despite the fat not cooking the meaty parts of the steak had good texture and flavor.
Now for the experience (and why I won’t cook whole steak in my apartment again):
I read in many of the reviews about problems with smokiness when cooking the steak. I picked up an oil with a relatively high smoke point that was suggested in reviews in attempt to circumvent this problem. Unfortunately that strategy did not work.
Now for the experience (and why I won’t cook whole steak in my apartment again):
I read in many of the reviews about problems with smokiness when cooking the steak. I picked up an oil with a relatively high smoke point that was suggested in reviews in attempt to circumvent this problem. Unfortunately that strategy did not work.
The result was a smoke filled apartment that did not clear out for a couple hours after dinner.
Lesson learned # 1 : Cooking whole steaks indoors is only advisable when your kitchen has a window. The other downside to this was that every smoke alarm in my apartment was constantly going off for almost an hour. The only solution to this annoyance I found was to take down the smoke alarms and wrap them in towels.
Lesson learned # 2 : Taking down smoke alarms before cooking is sometimes okay
Lesson learned # 3 : Alton Brown’s recipe might work for a leaner steak, but does not work well for cuts with lots of fat.
Lesson learned # 1 : Cooking whole steaks indoors is only advisable when your kitchen has a window. The other downside to this was that every smoke alarm in my apartment was constantly going off for almost an hour. The only solution to this annoyance I found was to take down the smoke alarms and wrap them in towels.
Lesson learned # 2 : Taking down smoke alarms before cooking is sometimes okay
Lesson learned # 3 : Alton Brown’s recipe might work for a leaner steak, but does not work well for cuts with lots of fat.