Scott's Skillet Mustard Rubbed Steak

Scott Frazee

Ingredients

• 8 - 10 oz. Filet Mignon (1.5" thick)

• French"s Yellow Mustard - do not use dijon mustard

Instructions

The Rub
Mix to taste:
2 parts Kosher Salt
2 parts Coarse Black Pepper
1 part Lemon Pepper
Allow your steak to come to room temperature. Lather the steak with good old French's mustard (yes, mustard -- it does NOT make the meat taste mustardy, I swear ... do it because you trust me Then, sprinkle on (lightly) some kosher/coarse salt on both sides of the steak. Follow this with a like amount of coarsely ground black pepper, and finish it off with lemon pepper. Your steak should look really yellow-y when you've rubbed it right. Again, no fear, most of this will be seared off/into the crust on the meat. Let the meat stand about 15 minutes out of the fridge before throwing it on the grill.

Soak some mesquite wood chunks (chunks - not chips) for at least 30 minutes before lighting the fire. Use mesquite or some other wood that has a strong smoke flavor. Be warned, pecan, fruit woods, etc. will not give the same &#034smoky&#034 result (due to the short cooking time). Light the egg ... and leave the grate off. Bring the egg up to only 500F. (Note that the temperature is significantly lower for this recipe). CAREFULLY open the egg and take the soaked wood and put directly on the biggest part of the flame. Put your grate back on. Center a cast iron (11&#034) griddle onto the egg's grate. Shut the lid. Your temp will probably drop to 300 (or less). Give it 5 - 10 minutes, watch it closely as it will rise quickly when it does start rising ... It will start smoking/belching white smoke. By the time it hits 500F again, it should be burning relatively clean.

Throw your steak onto the cast iron griddle. Cook at 500F for 4 minutes, flip. DO NOT PIERCE THE STEAK WITH A FORK OF ANY KIND - use tongs to flip the steak. Cook another 4 minutes. Shut chimney and vent. Cook additional 9-11 minutes (10 minutes seems to be medium). I only flip the steak that one time. When you are ready to open the egg, open the top chimney completely and then the lower vent completely. Watch the temp gauge closely and it *should* start to rise. If not, with an oven mitt on, open the egg about an inch for a couple of seconds to let in some oxygen and then shut it. Again, temp should start to go up. Take it off the egg and eat (and for those brain-dead enough to actually need that last instruction, please let me offer you some land I own...some say swamp, I prefer to think of it as potential lakefront property).

Leave the cast iron skillet in the egg until the egg cools down - otherwise, you run the risk of burning your oven mitts. The steak will have quite a bit of juice when cooked this way, albeit not as much as cooking the standard Infmaous Mustard Rubbed Steak at 700F.

You will get a nice even searing of the meat without the charring coming from the direct heat.

SO .... BIG QUESTION Is it better than the original way? Yes and no (like I've never answered THAT way before) It does NOT have the intense woodsy flavor since it is not over the flame (which I do enjoy) ... HOWEVER, it is more evenly cooked due to better heat distribution, it does not burn (unless you forget about the damn thing and it cooks into shoe leather, in THAT case you should just pack up your egg and let me take it off your hands ... you, my friend, are dangerous) the sides, and it is easier to get a more consistent steak when cooking &#034many&#034 steaks. I can get about 6 on my skillet (pressed in tight).

Notes

Number of Servings:

Time to Prepare: