Pan sear'd steak

Wazoo

I recently acquired a perfectly sized Texsport 14" cast-iron skillet to start doing pan-searing. Want to try steak first, either a thick sirloin or a tenderloin. I assume I can coat the meat with spices/rub, brush on a little margerine/butter, bottom-out the dome temp gage, and then do a modified T-Rex -- sear it for 30-60 seconds each side, let sit for 20 minutes, then finish with a 400 degree roast with smoke for 3-4 minutes each side (med-rare)? Got any suggestions to make this a perfect cherry-red experience? Waz

mad max beyond eggdome

Wazoo,
you are right on target.... i love to do modified trex, where i pan sear the steaks first. . ..attached is a link to how i do a trexed tenderloin roast. . .. you can certainly do it with individual steaks as well. ...and i follow the regular t-rex mantra. . ..get the pan up to 750 degrees plus. ...sear the steaks in the pan (careful, cause if you use some butter, it will be flaming and spitting back to you. .. .then pull the meat out to rest, get the pan out of there, then dwell the steaks/roast direct on the grid.. ...[p]also, careful about butter and marjorine. ..in particular i think the marjorine would burn and leave a bitter taste at those high temps. ...even with butter, its recommended that you use purified butter to avoid the scorching/burning of the cream products that could leave a bitter taste. ..you can by clarified butter (ghee [sp?]) in many groceries. ...
[ul][li]http://www.dizzypigbbq.com/recipesTloin.html[/ul]

Unknown

mad max beyond eggdome,
Clarified butter is easy to make at home. Just melt regular butter over low heat. Using a spoon or ladle, skim away the foam that is generated when the butter melts. You will then see the milk fat solids that have dropped to the bottom of the pan. That's the part that burns. T[p]ake the pan off for a minute to let every thing quiet down. You can then either arefully pour off the clarified butter leaving the solids behind or, even better, strain the liquid through a mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth. That stuff is liquid gold for high temp cooks.

Unknown

AUAtty,
In Indian cooking it is called Ghee and sometimes picks up a mild nutty flavor, stores well in the refrigerator.

RRP

Richard,
Ghee was a hot topic here a few years ago. I still have a bowl of it at the back of my refrig that is as good as the day I rendered it. It's rich!
[ul][li]Ghee[/ul]

Sandbagger

mad max beyond eggdome, I have three strip steaks ready to go for tonight, per my post yesterday. So, if I clarify the butter, it won't burn even at the temps we're talking....thanks tom

mad max beyond eggdome

Sandbagger,
thats a fact. . .go as high as you want.. . but watch out. ..those steaks will be spitting back at you. .. . also, try to move them from one part of the cast iron to an untouched spot when you flip them to maintain the high heat on the fresh side of the steak. .. it there isn't enough room to do that, no big deal ...but let that pan get really hot . ..me thinks you'll be very happy with your results....[p]

Sandbagger

mad max beyond eggdome, thanks for the info. I'll let you know how they turn out. Any problem with using cowlick, pepper or salt and such....[p]I bought a temperature logger to see what temps are really doing in the egg. Since I am not playing golf anymore, I have excess cashflow -- no bets to pay.....:<}
Tom

mad max beyond eggdome

Sandbagger,
cowlick is perfect for this. ...see my link in the earlier response here for the tenderloin roast. ..same will hold for those strip steaks... . the cowlick stands up very nicely to the pan searing. ...
[ul][li]http://www.dizzypigbbq.com/recipesTloin.html[/ul]