Steak sear ... with butter

Pigasso

Recently I read a post that mentioned coating a steak with melted butter (clarified perhaps?) before searing on in a cast iron skillet. Can someone lead me to the post or provide some additional info?[p]Thanks and oinks!

mad max beyond eggdome

Pigasso,
there have been a bunch of posts about this. .. one way to do it is as follows. . .[p]put cast iron pan in egg and fire it up to over 700 degrees (you are basically following trex method). ..coat your steak as you normally would (i use dizzy cow lick). . .put clarified butter in pan (people advocate clarified butter at these temps cause the milk fat will burn and can add bitter taste if you use regular butter). . .sear the steak just like trex in the cast iron. . .when you pull the steaks to rest, pull the pan as well, and continue with normal trex method. . . [p]other method, is to trex as normal, then, during the dwell, put a pad of butter on top of the steak to melt in (this does not need to be clarified as you are working at lower temps now.. .you can also add garlic and/or herbs to your butter to taste. . .[p]either way works great, particularly with filet mignons as they have less natural fat. . .

fishlessman

mad max beyond eggdome,
is it a seared/ fried effect you get on the steak if you go with the first option, ive been thinking of trying lard on the steaks on the cast iron grid with the flat side up. or is the butter flavor what your after in the first option

mad max beyond eggdome

fishlessman,
i wouldn't call it fried. ..but what you end up with is a more even char (kind of like a ruth chris steak or even an outback steak) than searing direct on the grid. ..plus the infusion of the butter flavor.. .again, IMHO i think this works best with a filet/tenderloin steak as opposed to a rib eye or a sirloin/strip. ..

Chubby

mad max beyond eggdome,[p]I 'm right there with you on this one Max!![p]I'd be careful heating butter to thoes temps....toooo many weird chemical things goin' on there for me!![p]Duck fat.....dat's what I'm talkin' bout!![p]Evans[p]

Basselope

mad max beyond eggdome,
Comparing this to a Ruth's Chris steak is a good thing. Comparing this to an Outback steak is not a selling point. Outback the purveyors of crappy meat soaked in tenderizer. Yuck.

mad max beyond eggdome

basselope,
you're right. . .i was just talking about the even charing you get in the cast iron. . .[p]actually, until i got my egg, i really liked outback steaks as far as value for the steak compared to other places. ...

mad max beyond eggdome

Chubby,
oh yea, when you through that butter on that 800 degree cast iron, all kinds of nasty things happen. ..spitten, hissen flaming stuff firing back at ya ... you definitely want to be wearing a full arm glove and have long tongs in your hand. .. .even just putting an oiled steak on the cast iron, that thing talks back at you. .. .[p]some things in life are worth the risk though

Unknown

mad max beyond eggdome, why sear in the egg instead of on the stovetop (and finish/dwell in the egg)? Aren't the results the same? [p]

fishlessman

basselope,
glad that i got my egg befor the outback opened here, with trex steaks, i havent had a need to go there.

mad max beyond eggdome

George,
couple of reasons. .[p]1. i'm not sure you can get a cast iron pan up to 800 degrees on your stove top, and if you do, the smoke in the kitchen will be tremendous . .. i know my exhaust fan can't handle that very well and the house would stink for a week (ok, maybe the house would smell good, but you get my point)[p]2. by searing in the egg, even using cast iron, you still get all the egg benefits (charcoal fired taste, moisture retention - i sear dome closed) . .[p]so, i think the flavor does benefit a little more by searing in the egg, and you avoid a whole lot of kitchen mess. ...[p]just my 2 kopeks worth

fishlessman

George,
ive seared steaks in the kitchen using a huge wok burner, just salt in the pan, no butter or oil and the smoke is huge. results not even close to the egg for the sear, but still good. i cant imagine how much smoke the butter would generate

Unknown

heres the link
[ul][li]link[/ul]

mad max beyond eggdome

hey mike, having a little trouble posting this morning???heeeee

Lawn Ranger

Pigasso,[p]Yep, those are mine, but I didn't post the pic.[p]Mike

mad max beyond eggdome

Lawn Ranger,
i just figured it was you hittin the send key one two many times. ...wonder who it was then . ..hmmmmmmm[p]now, get back in the workshop and get caught up on all those handles and charms!@! [p];-)

Chef Wil

mad max beyond eggdome,
I know I know who did the dumbest thing while posting. I checked all the ip addresses and figured out it was......
I aint telling...........LOL

Lawn Ranger

Chef Wil,
Let me guess....It was Bobby Flay, wasn't it?