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1: buy prime beef
2: you only need kosher salt and pepper.
3: dont cook a cold steak bring to room tempature
4: get the hottest fire you possible can but you will never match the temps of the broilers at some of these steakhouses.
5: Take steak off the heat once the internal temp is 120-125
6: let steak rest for about 5 minutes after cooking
7: profit

ss1088 wrote:
3: dont cook a cold steak bring to room tempature

The reason meat is brought to room temperature before cooking is to promote even cooking. Why on Earth would you want an evenly cooked steak?!?!

Carry-a-Kimber wrote:

ss1088 wrote:
3: dont cook a cold steak bring to room tempature

The reason meat is brought to room temperature before cooking is to promote even cooking. Why on Earth would you want an evenly cooked steak?!?!

Depends on how hot your fire is. I mean, you're right, but the degree to which it'll cook evenly depends on the difference between "room temperature" and "grill temperature". If ss1088's fire is NASA hot, a cold steak might be downright burned on the outside and still be cold on the inside.

ss1088 wrote:1: buy prime beef
2: you only need kosher salt and pepper.
3: dont cook a cold steak bring to room tempature
4: get the hottest fire you possible can but you will never match the temps of the broilers at some of these steakhouses.
5: Take steak off the heat once the internal temp is 120-125
6: let steak rest for about 5 minutes after cooking
7: profit

Just did this a couple nights ago... My wife stopped by Central Market and brought home a couple of fat strips. Nice pinkish/red middle, nice crust on all sides. Knife cut into it like it was made of butter. And now I'm.

It's aweful hard to get a cool pink center when you start with a lukewarm piece of beef.

ETA: I typically season my steak, wrap in butcher paper and place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to get it extra cold (not frozen) before grilling.

Alton Brown says for beef, kosher salt and black pepper is all that is needed.

Okay, now it's my turn.

I agree with most of the posts on how to cook the steak.

There is still debate about letting the steak rest at room temperature prior to grilling. I tend to agree for two reasons: 1) allowing the steak to rest at room temperature allows whatever spices you put on it to be absorbed into the meat and 2) steak is a muscle, dead muscle tissue, but I think that resting it a room temperature will result in less contraction and result in a more tender steak. .

The most important part is choosing the cut of steak. IMO, a well-marbled ribeye is THE way to go. Bone-in, all the better. The steak must be cooked rare to medium rare. IMO this is only possible with a steak that is cut a minimum of one inch thick. Preferably 1 1/4 to 2 inches thick. If you buy any kind of lean steak other than a filet mignon, forget about it. Chances are that a restaurant that serves a ribeye that is thin and still tender is they use a meat tenderizer mixed in with their seasoning.

You all have discovered the steak house's secret to a flavorful steak - salt. Restaurants give diners an overdose of salt in most of their dishes and steak is no exception. Whatever other spices they use, pepper, garlic, etc, good old sodium chloride enhances and overpowers them all.

I don't know where the practice of putting butter on top of a steak came from. It may be a Texas thing. The first couple of times it happened to me, I was a bit offended. The third time, I enjoyed it.

Rather than kosher salt, I use gray sea-salt. This was suggested by a chef at a high-end steak house in Houston. Sea salt is supposed have a different taste as is less salty than normal table salt. I don't know if I can tell the difference, but I use it any way. Some of my friends think that I am a cooking snob. I also use fresh ground white pepper for it's subtle flavor, rather than black. And no, I am not a racist.

flb_78 wrote:Alton Brown says for beef, kosher salt and black pepper is all that is needed.

And fire.

Salting and letting set in the fridge is supposed to enhance the flavor by reducing the amount of liquid in the meat.

coarse ground salt, fresh coarse ground pepper
sometimes a splash of garlic powder

Ameer wrote:

flb_78 wrote:Alton Brown says for beef, kosher salt and black pepper is all that is needed.

And fire.

Steak Tar Tar.

flb_78 wrote:Steak Tar Tar.

Is that the house specialty at La Brea Steakhouse?

Well thanks to all who answered, the wife and I enjoyed the best steaks we've ever cooked at home!!! I used virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and course black pepper, that's all. We had rib-eyes (no bone) and they were fantastic. I just need to adjust my charcoal grate so I can use less coal and still get close to the meat. Cooking time was about 5-6 minutes. Wife brought home some Uncle Chris seasoning too. We'll try that next time. I'm sure I must have used this sometime in the last 70 years

As for salt, when I was regularly going to Brazil on business, I couldn't wait to eat at a local Churascaria (Steak House). One time, they had a BBQ in my honor on the hotel patio, and that's where I learned that the only seasoning they use on the beef was a heavy coat of rock salt. Don't know why I never tried that at home

Sauce: Good steak doesn't need it, bad steak doesn't deserve it.

Butter one side of the steak (not melted butter) and salt and pepper. Grill.
Butter the other side, salt and pepper. Flip. Continue to grill. Serve. Period.

You can tell the done-ness of steak by feeling it. Touch webbing between the thumb and first finger.

Relaxed hand: Rare.
Make a fist but don't clench: Medium Rare.
Clench said fist: Medium
Forget Well Done, just serve shoe leather.

I prefer sea salt and course ground pepper.