Going back a few years, there was a topic where we each posted what food we just couldn’t seem to get right. And for me, that was steak.
I either under cooked them, or over cooked them. They were either watery, or tough, or bland, or some combination. Or I burned them, or I got no sear on them. I just couldn’t get them right.
Now I think it’s the one thing that I always get right. Well, steaks and ribs. Ribs always come out right anymore too.
The reason? Well, Amazing Ribs helped. Specifically, Meathead’s video with Jamie Purviance, where they compare reverse sear and sear-and-slide, was a big help.
[Edit: here’s the video link: https://youtu.be/EnuKEFquBt0 This is one of my most favorite Meathead videos. These guys are having so much fun.]
Reverse sear is kind of like training wheels for steaks. It helps you understand why things work the way they do. It makes cooking meat make sense. But it isn’t training wheels like "get rid of this when you figure it out"; once you got it, it’s a real tool for real cooking. Reverse sear is killer good. And it helps with meal planning and meal timing, too: make the sides while the "reverse" part is happening, then sear, and everything comes together.
But reverse sear isn’t the only method, and it isn’t the best method in every instance. Master reverse sear, and the door is opened for sous vide to make sense. And if reverse sear makes sense, then sear-and-slide makes sense, too. And anything that works on the grill works in a cast iron pan and an oven; that just makes sense.
And finally, once those all make sense, so does JKF: just keep flipping. My favorite. Get that surface (or fire) to about 600*. Put the meat on, and flip it every 15-20 seconds or so. Once you get it to look like you want, check the temp. If it needs a little more, JKF. And, here’s a secret: JKF makes you feel like a king. Like a Grillmaster.
ETA this part. Get a good meat thermometer and use it. It goes in the side, not in the top. Get it all the way to the middle. No matter how good you get, the thermo is king. It rules.It’s easy for me to make my medium rare, but it’s hard to make my medium rare, Mrs Mosca’s medium, and my inlaws’ well done all at the same meal. And a properly made well done can still be juicy if you don’t overcook it.
But method isn’t all. Seasoning counts just as much, and by seasoning I mean SALT. You can add pepper too, and garlic. If you’re using cast iron, a sprig of rosemary or thyme is nice, too, as well as some butter at the end. But a sure fire way to get bland, watery steak is to cook without salting it first. I’ve tried salting it the day before, and I’ve salted it right before cooking. I guess salting the day before is better. But the difference isn’t that much. And I don’t plan meals a day in advance; I usually think about dinner around 4:30 in the afternoon. People: salt your steak.
Last, but just as important: Buy quality steak. Hell, even cheap steak is expensive, you might as well step up. Actually, I probably should have put this first. But you can (partially, somewhat) save a cheap steak with proper method and seasoning, and you can kill an expensive steak with improper method and seasoning. So method and seasoning is first. But folks, if you’ve decided to eat steak, step up. At least get CAB. Get some marbling in there. If it’s a budget thing, take the extra $$$ off a future meal. And do it not because it’s an extravagance; do it because a crappy steak is a waste. You spent the money, and it was lousy. But if you’d spent the extra, well, yes it cost more, but you got to enjoy it. Go for it. Good steak once a month is better than cheap steak once a week.
Anyhow, I got good at cooking steaks the only way you can: I cooked a lot of steaks. And I ate a lot of mistakes, at first. But then I ate a lot of damn good steaks, and it was all worth it. Highly recommended.
I either under cooked them, or over cooked them. They were either watery, or tough, or bland, or some combination. Or I burned them, or I got no sear on them. I just couldn’t get them right.
Now I think it’s the one thing that I always get right. Well, steaks and ribs. Ribs always come out right anymore too.
The reason? Well, Amazing Ribs helped. Specifically, Meathead’s video with Jamie Purviance, where they compare reverse sear and sear-and-slide, was a big help.
[Edit: here’s the video link: https://youtu.be/EnuKEFquBt0 This is one of my most favorite Meathead videos. These guys are having so much fun.]
Reverse sear is kind of like training wheels for steaks. It helps you understand why things work the way they do. It makes cooking meat make sense. But it isn’t training wheels like "get rid of this when you figure it out"; once you got it, it’s a real tool for real cooking. Reverse sear is killer good. And it helps with meal planning and meal timing, too: make the sides while the "reverse" part is happening, then sear, and everything comes together.
But reverse sear isn’t the only method, and it isn’t the best method in every instance. Master reverse sear, and the door is opened for sous vide to make sense. And if reverse sear makes sense, then sear-and-slide makes sense, too. And anything that works on the grill works in a cast iron pan and an oven; that just makes sense.
And finally, once those all make sense, so does JKF: just keep flipping. My favorite. Get that surface (or fire) to about 600*. Put the meat on, and flip it every 15-20 seconds or so. Once you get it to look like you want, check the temp. If it needs a little more, JKF. And, here’s a secret: JKF makes you feel like a king. Like a Grillmaster.
ETA this part. Get a good meat thermometer and use it. It goes in the side, not in the top. Get it all the way to the middle. No matter how good you get, the thermo is king. It rules.It’s easy for me to make my medium rare, but it’s hard to make my medium rare, Mrs Mosca’s medium, and my inlaws’ well done all at the same meal. And a properly made well done can still be juicy if you don’t overcook it.
But method isn’t all. Seasoning counts just as much, and by seasoning I mean SALT. You can add pepper too, and garlic. If you’re using cast iron, a sprig of rosemary or thyme is nice, too, as well as some butter at the end. But a sure fire way to get bland, watery steak is to cook without salting it first. I’ve tried salting it the day before, and I’ve salted it right before cooking. I guess salting the day before is better. But the difference isn’t that much. And I don’t plan meals a day in advance; I usually think about dinner around 4:30 in the afternoon. People: salt your steak.
Last, but just as important: Buy quality steak. Hell, even cheap steak is expensive, you might as well step up. Actually, I probably should have put this first. But you can (partially, somewhat) save a cheap steak with proper method and seasoning, and you can kill an expensive steak with improper method and seasoning. So method and seasoning is first. But folks, if you’ve decided to eat steak, step up. At least get CAB. Get some marbling in there. If it’s a budget thing, take the extra $$$ off a future meal. And do it not because it’s an extravagance; do it because a crappy steak is a waste. You spent the money, and it was lousy. But if you’d spent the extra, well, yes it cost more, but you got to enjoy it. Go for it. Good steak once a month is better than cheap steak once a week.
Anyhow, I got good at cooking steaks the only way you can: I cooked a lot of steaks. And I ate a lot of mistakes, at first. But then I ate a lot of damn good steaks, and it was all worth it. Highly recommended.
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