Bought a 12oz filet - almost 3 inches thick.

Heated the oven to 400 degrees.

Heated a cast iron skillet to absolutely white hot!

Coated the steak in oil, crack peppercorn and salt.

Seared the ever-living hell out of each side for 2 mins per.

Placed a big pat of butter on top of the steak when I put the skillet into the oven. Cooked for 10 mins.

Came out exactly medium.

I could cut it with a fork.

damn sounds good. i'm hungry now.

Did you heat the cast iron skillet on the burner or in the oven?

on the burner. as hot as my stove could get it.

I essentially followd these steps:

http://bbq.about.com/od/steaks/ss/aa071507a.htm

god i hate you so much, i want a steak for lunch now

that has been bookmarked and will DEFFINATELY be used at a later date

I get the grill up to 500* and then cook a 1.5" thick steak, 3 minutes a side.

Comes out perfect.

Awesome find!

How long in the oven for medium rare?

sounds great, I will have to try that sometime

How bad did it smoke? I've been wanting to try this, but live in an apartment so I've been gun shy to do it because of the smoke detectors.

it smoked worse than i could have ever imagined!

i had the front door, back door and a kitchen window wide open for about half an hour.

but it was worth it.

Im thinking that may happen for dinner tonight. yum yum.

Ducks,

I got word that you had the fire department called to your house because of this. Please tell me this isn't real....

i damned near called them myself. be warned if you've got a well seasoned cast iron.

I was afraid of that.....I hate living in apartments....

if an oven is good enough for Peter Luger's, it is good enough for me

I had to do that with some steaks once when a buddies grill ran outta gas on him. I grabbed a pan from his kitchen and tossed em in the oven. They came out pretty decent, all things considered.

Sometimes I'll do something similar, but on a gas grill outside (because of the smoke). Only thing I'll do different is use a stainless skillet so I can deglaze it with some bourbon while the steaks rest. Throw in a little butter or cream right at the end to thicken and it'll make your pants dance. Just watch it when you flame the bourbon - that stuff throws some serious flames.

[This message has been edited by Emeril (edited 11/13/2007 9:15a).]

If you use a well-seasoned cast iron skillet, there's no need for the oil (and if you do use oil, just use a little PAM or just a tiny amount of canola oil, which has a much higher smoke point than something like olive oil).

I follow basically the same routine as described above for 3 inch filet mignon:

Heat the oven to 500 and put the skillet in there for about an hour. sprinkle kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper on the steaks.

Put the largest burner on the range on high. Take the skillet out and put it on the burner. 2 minutes on each side of the steak, don't mess with them while they are searing. If you try to turn them and they stick, let them sit. They'll release when they are ready.

Put the steaks in the skillet back in the oven, cook for 4 minutes on each side (for medium-rare), and serve sizzling.

I usually de-glaze the skillet with a little red wine (and toss in a few mushrooms if you like near the end).

Being a man and all, I love playing with fire outside, but this is a consistently great way to prepare steaks.

[This message has been edited by TechDiver (edited 11/13/2007 9:16a).]

Yep. The best steak places cook steaks the same way.

With all the above said, I do love me a big, thick ribeye grilled over mesquite.

Porterhouse: strip on one side, filet on the other, bone in the middle.

rare ribeye

Damn - gonna have to go to Farm Patch and pick up a couple for tonight. Drank my last big of Woodford the other night, so I've got an excuse to go to Specs, too.

Need to try this with some venison steaks I am picking up from the processor this weekend. Any added suggestions when do this with venison?

use clarified butter if you want to avoid some of that smoke.

It has a much higher smoke point than regular butter.

the smoke is overwith before i put butter on the steak.

it's the oil and skillet that smoke so much.

One of the BEST ways to cook a steak, imo.

I'm not able to get it 100% like Papas, V&A, etc, but damn close.

Thanks for bringing this one back up...I plan on attempting it this weekend.

Also, this is about the same way the chefs at the Miramont Country Club used to cook them. They had little thermometers to see how done it was inside but those steaks were something else.

Are those called thermometers or thermostats?

quote:

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If you use a well-seasoned cast iron skillet, there's no need for the oil (and if you do use oil, just use a little PAM or just a tiny amount of canola oil, which has a much higher smoke point than something like olive oil).

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quote:

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Not to hijack the thread or anything, but what's your favorite steak.

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I have two favorites that I choose between.
1. A bone in ribeye
2. Prime Rib that has been slow roasted to Rare then taking a slice and seasoning it with a little salt and pepper and then searing both sides for about a minute. This leaves the steak at med. rare, tender and awesome.

quote:

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Sometimes I'll do something similar, but on a gas grill outside (because of the smoke). Only thing I'll do different is use a stainless skillet so I can deglaze it with some bourbon while the steaks rest. Throw in a little butter or cream right at the end to thicken and it'll make your pants dance. Just watch it when you flame the bourbon - that stuff throws some serious flames.

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You can use a cast-iron skillet for this as well. And if you do what you're talking about with brandy instead of bourbon and add just a little flour to thicken the sauce you've got a classic steak au poivre.

Fantastic stuff.

Former Hall of Fame level poster w/ Ag tag who was banned for bagging on fran. Now that the wicked witch is dead I have returned.

If you're using this method where you put the pan on the grill top from the stove, be sure you wear an oven mitt the WHOLE time.

I once grabbed the handle of a Calphalon skillet that had been in a 500 degree oven.

It was like that scene with the Lye in Fight Club. I was trying to go to my happy place.

But this is the best method of cooking Filets and probably Strips.

I prefer a grill for anything with more fat, like a ribeye.

Try the exact same recipe with backstrap. Just make the following modifications.....

....sear for ONE minute per side

....use butter and pour either balsalmic vinegar or worchester sauce over meat(beware of smoke)

....place in 500 degree oven for 6-7 minutes (DO NOT OVERCOOK VENISON)

....take it out and let it rest for 10 minutes (very important)

You may never fry your backstraps again.