THE STEAK THREAD, served a la Man
Discussion
We have a breakfast thread, we have a lunch thread, we have a dinner thread, but if anything food wise summed up Pistonheads surely it has to be a steak thread. Show us your steaks and how you cook them.
Having said that the steak is a pretty tough thing to cook properly considering it is just one thing to cook. They do say the simplest things are the hardest thing to cook right.
So I will start off. Where no man or woman on PH has gone before.
OK, so it ain't that perfect, ideally you want a steak that is of equal thickness and some fat through it would not go amiss, so a ribeye cut to a good thickness would be great. However I turned up at Sainsbury's and they had this left
It's Sirloin with one for his knob, as you would say in cribbage circles. Never mind, onwards and upwards. You can see I added some condiments. Maldon salt, pepper and dried parsley is always a good bet.
Thinking about this, sirloin has a strip down the side so I just gently cooked this on a low heat hoping it would render down a bit and give me some fat for the main sides as they have less fat than ribeye.
Once done we can get the pan really hot. I mean really hot, no time for wussies here I'm afraid.
So after all that you do it 1-2 mins each side and then put it in an oven at 100C and no more to rest for about 5 minutes whilst you cruise the internet looking at porn, cars, or the biggin hill weather forecast for the next 5 days.
IF YOU LIKE YOUR STEAK WELL DONE LOOK AWAY NOW
Et voila
Bit of salad to keep the missus happy.
Personally I prefer steak black and blue but that's just kinky old me,
So, the challenge is up, show us your PH steaks.
Having said that the steak is a pretty tough thing to cook properly considering it is just one thing to cook. They do say the simplest things are the hardest thing to cook right.
So I will start off. Where no man or woman on PH has gone before.
OK, so it ain't that perfect, ideally you want a steak that is of equal thickness and some fat through it would not go amiss, so a ribeye cut to a good thickness would be great. However I turned up at Sainsbury's and they had this left
It's Sirloin with one for his knob, as you would say in cribbage circles. Never mind, onwards and upwards. You can see I added some condiments. Maldon salt, pepper and dried parsley is always a good bet.
Thinking about this, sirloin has a strip down the side so I just gently cooked this on a low heat hoping it would render down a bit and give me some fat for the main sides as they have less fat than ribeye.
Once done we can get the pan really hot. I mean really hot, no time for wussies here I'm afraid.
So after all that you do it 1-2 mins each side and then put it in an oven at 100C and no more to rest for about 5 minutes whilst you cruise the internet looking at porn, cars, or the biggin hill weather forecast for the next 5 days.
IF YOU LIKE YOUR STEAK WELL DONE LOOK AWAY NOW
Et voila
Bit of salad to keep the missus happy.
Personally I prefer steak black and blue but that's just kinky old me,
So, the challenge is up, show us your PH steaks.
jimbop1 said:
Looking forward to a picture of a proper cooked steak... None of this namby pamby pink stuff.
Nooooooooooooooohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrzMhU_4m-g
Of course we will do you well done
On a more serious note, not everyone likes it pink inside so it would be good to see the other side of the coin. Doing well done steak which is still moist is more difficult but it should be doable. The Alain Ducasse method probably is the best bet. I will have a go next weekend.
Edited by Gandahar on Sunday 12th October 11:10
Mobile Chicane said:
Gandahar said:
jimbop1 said:
Looking forward to a picture of a proper cooked steak... None of this namby pamby pink stuff.
Nooooooooooooooohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrzMhU_4m-g
Of course we will do you well done
On a more serious note, not everyone likes it pink inside so it would be good to see the other side of the coin. Doing well done steak which is still moist is more difficult but it should be doable. The Alain Ducasse method probably is the best bet. I will have a go next weekend.
Edited by Gandahar on Sunday 12th October 11:10
OHs no-fail method for ribeye is to heat a non-stick pan as hot as it will go, sling the meat in, then give it exactly 1 minute each side, followed by exactly 2 minutes each side, then a 5 minute rest.
No oiling of pans, no seasoning required, no shoving it around. Just follow the timings exactly, and it's perfect every time.
(I was cynical too.)
I will try to do a black and blue, a rare-medium and well done this weekend and will post up results.
good intro on steak cuts
http://www.eater.com/2014/11/11/7188321/learn-your...
and how different regions name them, our sirloin is their strip for instance, etc.
http://www.eater.com/2014/11/11/7188321/learn-your...
and how different regions name them, our sirloin is their strip for instance, etc.
Edited by Gandahar on Thursday 20th November 21:34
illmonkey said:
This was meant to be a Friday steak, but was out, so had it last night.
Think it was 13oz.
Fantastic looking steak very nice work on the cooking.Think it was 13oz.
Can I recommend a proper knife though ?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/W%C3%BCsthof-Dreizack-Gour...
A proper steak knife cuts cleanly through it and makes it "more tender" as a result even before you get it to your moouth. Avoid those serated fancy knives with horn handles .... damn and beealzebub, worst ever. Complete style over substance.
grrrrrrrrrrrrr
BrewsterBear said:
My favourite meal, cooked by my own fair hand.
king useless. That's not an insult by the way, I hate eating steaks at pubs because you will invariably be disappointed. If any chain such as beefeater or harvester or brewers Fayre could serve one of those bad boys each time I'd be ordering it. Sadly they cannot.
They ask you in all honesty "How would you like it cooked "
Do you know how you should accurately answer? So you will not be disappointed? You should say
"As it comes"
But instead you do this
and go for rare, no medium, no err, medium rare, ummm, rare but trending to medium. Great.
Medium rare is always a good choice because at least it will be a well done chewy mess rather than an overdone crispy beef wellington boot. But who knows?
Has anyone ever asked for a steak done bloody at a chain pub? It might come out raw. Or still frozen. Or well done and half frozen, but just at one end. That might be quite funky actually if done in a £1 extra bernaise sauce.
We need to print a picture of Bresterbears steak and and take it around to all these pub chains and say "Look, this is what we can do at home? So why are you so shiite?"
I do realise i have started to rant. My 30 inch screen is flecked with spittle.
PS The onion ring / potato tower of Babel looks fantastic.
Edited by Gandahar on Wednesday 30th December 18:10
Rick101 said:
Why are folk suddenly cutting their steak up into several pieces. Is it just for photo's or is this how you would eat them normally?
Is there any benefit to it? I usually just start at one end and work my way t'other.
It's an american thing like the new right hand drive Mustang V8's being brought in over here.Is there any benefit to it? I usually just start at one end and work my way t'other.
As an example.
And as a warning, if you like steaks well done look away now.
No peeping
http://newyork.seriouseats.com/steakcraft/
I've suddenly started salivating.
Being american the right hand should be used for a tv controller, not cutting through steaks which might cause wrist injuries, so the chef does it for you.
I love my steaks more than pink inside but I can appreciate that some people don't, it turns them off. I think the best way to cook a well done steak and keep it still moist is the Alain Ducasse method.
An example is here
http://thepauperedchef.com/2009/04/the-butter-stea...
Now he complained that he got it less pink than he liked, but I think this is a good method, slow/cool basting constantly with butter after you have seared the outsides, is the only way to go. It's almost like resting but still getting just enough heat through it, the butter stopping drying.
It's probably the sign of a very accomplished chef to serve a succulent well done steak.
An example is here
http://thepauperedchef.com/2009/04/the-butter-stea...
Now he complained that he got it less pink than he liked, but I think this is a good method, slow/cool basting constantly with butter after you have seared the outsides, is the only way to go. It's almost like resting but still getting just enough heat through it, the butter stopping drying.
It's probably the sign of a very accomplished chef to serve a succulent well done steak.
Edited by Gandahar on Tuesday 23 February 20:07
Ok so I gave the Alain Ducasse method as mentioned above a bash the other day and it ended up not very well, but also it did 
I used a really cheap steak cut. Beef short rib from Waitrose, it's about £4.50 per kg when on offer, about £6 otherwise so very cheap. Also my dog gets a nice bone, so everyones a winner in this cooking experiment. Now normally this is BBQ'd so slow cooking would be good I felt. Sear the outside and Alain Ducasse butter cooking for the rest. I hoped for a grey well done succulent steak.
Here's the cheap raw ingredients
Not bad, quite a bit of marbling. Now some searing to add flavour
Now a small amount of butter
and baste at really low heat for 10 minutes
This is where I went wrong, it was still pink inside. I am so used to bloody, rare, black and blue that it ended up medium rare. Not well done. However if you like medium rare this was perfect. That looks pretty good for a cheap cut of meat, really tender.
I thought I would turn it into a Phili cheese steak
Not bad at all. But next time I need to cook it longer. Can a well done steak still be succulent, I think so.
But it ended up well because I found that the short rib cheap cut of meat is lovely as a steak done this way without paying a fortune
I used a really cheap steak cut. Beef short rib from Waitrose, it's about £4.50 per kg when on offer, about £6 otherwise so very cheap. Also my dog gets a nice bone, so everyones a winner in this cooking experiment. Now normally this is BBQ'd so slow cooking would be good I felt. Sear the outside and Alain Ducasse butter cooking for the rest. I hoped for a grey well done succulent steak.
Here's the cheap raw ingredients
Not bad, quite a bit of marbling. Now some searing to add flavour
Now a small amount of butter
and baste at really low heat for 10 minutes
This is where I went wrong, it was still pink inside. I am so used to bloody, rare, black and blue that it ended up medium rare. Not well done. However if you like medium rare this was perfect. That looks pretty good for a cheap cut of meat, really tender.
I thought I would turn it into a Phili cheese steak
Not bad at all. But next time I need to cook it longer. Can a well done steak still be succulent, I think so.
But it ended up well because I found that the short rib cheap cut of meat is lovely as a steak done this way without paying a fortune
Edited by Gandahar on Tuesday 23 February 20:19
bomb said:
Apologies for shakey hand photo. ( I cannot help it !)
With a steak that is fine, they do get us over excited.I'd like to scoop all that stuff up and scoop it onto one of these bad boys
http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id...
for a midnight snack after some beers.
Epic
bomb said:
Some of these steaks on the thread, look to be raw in the middle. I prefer mine cooked so its 'medium rare', as opposed to ........well, raw.
Steak is a simple dish, however simple dishes are always the hardest to cook perfectly. Just look at cooking the perfect chip for instance. Frying a simple slice of potato should be pretty easy no? Instead we get more words written on cooking chips perfectly than anything else.Edited by bomb on Monday 27th February 20:01
For steaks it is the same but with the downside that is more expense if not cooked "how you like it"
The phrase "how you like it" stirs fear in any steak chef, rather than "as it comes"
That's what this thread is about. The eternal quest.
I've noticed something funny going on at Tesco's, one in 20 fillet steaks seems to be slightly Wagu, for instance this example
Now I don't really like fillet as not enough fat to give it some taste, the tenderness to taste ratio is too far tenderness. However a couple of months back I spotted another of these "Wagu" fillet steaks and cooked it for the Mrs as an experiment; always best to use someone else in these matters. I did it really hot seared and then a very gentle Alain Ducassse to try and melt the fat strands without going anything near medium.
Turned out to be a winner. I'm still far too set in my ways on fillet steak to risk it. Maybe a cut of this one though.
So there you have it, Tesco's might have some mutant Japanese cow giving good results on the overly expensive cut
Now I don't really like fillet as not enough fat to give it some taste, the tenderness to taste ratio is too far tenderness. However a couple of months back I spotted another of these "Wagu" fillet steaks and cooked it for the Mrs as an experiment; always best to use someone else in these matters. I did it really hot seared and then a very gentle Alain Ducassse to try and melt the fat strands without going anything near medium.
Turned out to be a winner. I'm still far too set in my ways on fillet steak to risk it. Maybe a cut of this one though.
So there you have it, Tesco's might have some mutant Japanese cow giving good results on the overly expensive cut
Edited by Gandahar on Saturday 11th March 16:21
Don said:
I raise you these bad boys:
5 minutes in the fryer. Stress free and oh so tasty.
Have to agree Don, if you have a deep fat fryer these are the perfect cheat; crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. Best to thaw them out first so not to lower the temp5 minutes in the fryer. Stress free and oh so tasty.
This is a picture of them with home cooked fish.
Fool proof and taste great. Better than home made thrice cooked efforts
HarryW said:
My wife is out tonight, what's a bloke to do apart from having a Steak and bottle of plonk...
Good idea, me too. Although at 6pm the "butchers" at Tesco had no ribeye left so I had to go rummaging around the prepacked stuff and it's all too thin. Got some 28 day wet aged sirloin and ribeye to see if I could spot any difference at this bottom feeding end of steak buying. Having eaten half I must say I can't really.As such a cheap meal I deep fried a pack of chip shop chips I had in the freezer for 3 months (Tom Bells). Don't try this with an oven. Finally added a couple of duck eggs to try and offset the cheap nastyness of it all.
It's the sort of meal you want at 1am in the morning after coming back from a night out when pints cost £1.50 !
Yours seems to have more healthy veg than mine, assuming refried chipshop chips are not counted as being healthy.
PS A coating of Maldon salt and Aromat does wonders to try and give any steak a bit of "maturity"... ahem....
Edited by Gandahar on Saturday 18th March 21:13
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