Searing with olive oil???

Rubmyrock · August 2012

I read that searing steaks slathered with olive oil is a mistake due to the fact olive oil has a low flash point? What's the verdict? I tried a couple ribeyes earlier today and the taste was bad and overpowered my Redeye express rub.

ratcheer · August 2012

I have done it and my steaks were good, but I usually forget to use the olive oil. When you say "slathered", that makes me think you are using a lot more olive oil than I use. I put a thin coat of the oil, then the dry rub.

Also, some olive oils are much more strongly flavored than others. Shop around a little. Another idea would be to use peanut oil, instead. But, that's just a guess.

Tim

stike · August 2012

Sounds like the verdict is that the taste is bad

The idea comes from pan searing, to improve contact with the pan, but even then you wouldnt use olive oil. Certainly not your best olive oil either

But when tying to sear by radiant heat, the oil actually hinders the sear and burns itself instead

Hi54putty · August 2012

Don't do it if you are searing in my opinion. Use peanut oil if you really want to cover them in oil before you cook them. I don't think it is necessary.

Hungry Joe · August 2012

Naked for searing on the egg. The steak that is. I don't even season when I sear, only after when I bring the steak up to the doneness I am looking for at a much lower grate temp. Seared meat tastes good, oil and spices just burn off at those temperatures.

Baysidebob · August 2012

+1 on no oil for searing. I do season because it makes me feel better but Hungry Joe might just be correct. Ribeye has good fat. Fat melts during the sear. Why add oil? Just the thought of that crusty black sear and rare to medium-rare interior makes me hungry.

timekpr1 · August 2012

Nothing wrong with naked searing at the grill.

nolaegghead · August 2012

Say you're cooking a 16 oz steak that's 25% fat. That's 4 oz fat. You put 1 tablespoon (0.5) oz of oil on the steak. (You're gonna have a little more fat dripping in the fire if you're cooking direct) There is 8x more fat in the steak ready to render out than you put on it. Point is, if fat dripping in the fire tastes bad, minimize it. Trimming the fat, putting oil on the steak - wherever the oil comes from, if it burns and tastes like crap, minimize that.

I generally don't put any oil on my direct cooked or seared steaks. I'll over-season them to compensate for the fact that most of the seasoning won't penetrate deeply into the meat and will burn or fall off. End result is what counts.

Skiddymarker · August 2012

stike said:

Sounds like the verdict is that the taste is bad The idea comes from pan searing, to improve contact with the pan, but even then you wouldnt use olive oil. Certainly not your best olive oil either But when tying to sear by radiant heat, the oil actually hinders the sear and burns itself instead

Further, I think the concept of oiling the meat or the grid is a throwback (love to say that) to cooking on a gasser. Chances are if you didn't oil the food, it stuck to the cooking grids. Much like not having to soak wood chips/chunks, you just do not need to oil meat when searing on the egg.

That's also why anything using an oil based marinade will often be cooked either hot (450 ish indirect) or a cooler (350 ish) raised grid direct.

fishlessman · August 2012

dont sear the oil or the redeye rub, both can get bitter

Hillbilly-Hightech · August 2012

Hungry Joe said:

Naked for searing on the egg. The steak that is. I don't even season when I sear, only after when I bring the steak up to the doneness I am looking for at a much lower grate temp. Seared meat tastes good, oil and spices just burn off at those temperatures.

^^^^^ What Hungry Joe said.

No oil, no seasonings, no "nuthin" on a steak during a sear.

After the sear, during the "rest" cycle (which, luckily, coincides w/ the amount of time to get the Egg stabilized to the roasting temp) is when I'll apply my rub-o-choice. Then once the Egg temp is stabilized, I throw the steaks back on to finish them off at a lower roasting temp.

I get incredible results w/ this method - so much so that there's only ONE steak house we still go to, and that's a 4-star in San Fran (House of Prime Rib). All the others... mehhhh... I (ahem, the Egg) can do better :D

HTH,
Rob

stike · August 2012

skiddy, you don't need oil on any grid really. if it sticks, it isn't ready to flip.

panic is what causes sticking...

Rubmyrock · August 2012

stike said:
skiddy, you don't need oil on any grid really. if it sticks, it isn't ready to flip.

panic is what causes sticking...

I don't get this logic. If it's been three minutes, you must flip or it will burn. If you wait until the steak is burned by the time it is "ready", what have we accomplished. Am I missing something?

FanOfFanboys · August 2012

stike said:

skiddy, you don't need oil on any grid really. if it sticks, it isn't ready to flip.

panic is what causes sticking...

Curious, do you put salt on before sear? Just naked and then season?

stike · August 2012

salt is a mineral. only thing that doesn't burn when we sear steaks. i salt before, usually. season with pepper or rub after, or after searing and before finish-roasting (like with Trex)

tazcrash · August 2012

I'm +1 on salt before, but i also add fresh ground pepper.

gonna have to revisit that.

stike · August 2012

taz. i add pepper too sometimes. i just don't coat heavily in rub or over season. i don't usually sear for very long anyway.

if you like pepper, try steak au poivre (coated in pepper). fantastic cook with an ny strip

TonyA · August 2012

In general, Extra Virgin Olive Oil has the lowest smoke point among olive oils then virgin .. light olive oil has a high smoke point almost similar to canola oil which is still only about 475*F.

I look for cuts with good intramuscular fat. I remove any thick fat rind. I salt before I cook either an hour before I cook or right before. An hour before and you can achieve osmosis. 30 or 20 minutes before and you risk only having gone half way through the process... ie a bunch of liquid from the steak has drawn to the surface. You wind up with a steamed surface and dryer meat.

I pepper after it's off. Although I do appreciate a well prepared Steak Au Poive

tazcrash · August 2012

if you like pepper, try steak au poivre (coated in pepper). fantastic cook with an ny strip

Thanks, gonna give that a shot. seems simple enough.

fishlessman · August 2012

Rubmyrock said:

skiddy, you don't need oil on any grid really. if it sticks, it isn't ready to flip.

panic is what causes sticking...
I don't get this logic. If it's been three minutes, you must flip or it will burn. If you wait until the steak is burned by the time it is "ready", what have we accomplished. Am I missing something?

well for one, get rid of the watch, the steak will release itself before it burns unless your searing dome open and the steak is engulfed in flames.

stike · August 2012

what fish says.

a steak is a wet flabby chunk of meat. if you toss it on a hot grid, which has been receiving direct radiant heat, that grid is going to be searing the meat it contacts long before the meat (which is exposed) is going to sear. you can't burn the steak (exposed meat) while the grid remains undercooked. the grid is ALWAYS going to burn the meat before the coals below can do the same.

those black marks are not flavor. they are carbon. the meat will not stick.

if it sticks when you try to flip, there's no way the meat will be seared anyway. if you wait "too long" and your steak is burnt, how would the grid marks not yet be burned-in? they would have burned first

stike · August 2012

...and about the worst thing you can do to 'prevent' sticking is to scrupulously clean the grid, even oiling it after. just scrape it when hot, before closing down. and the grid will be fine. again, the worst advice you can give for cleaning a cast iron pan is to clean it perfectly. why do that with your grid (cast iron or not)?

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