olive oil on steaks

Olive oil burns at 350oF. Because steaks are frequently cooked at temperatures higher than that - the bad taste you are experiencing is burnt olive oil - which tastes awful.

I prefer dry rubs for steaks myself. However, I have heard of people using A 90/10 or 80/20 canola/extra virgin oil because it it has a higher smokepoint.

i think it leads to the flavor of burnt bitter oil on your steak

it's a perversion of a technique sometimes used for pan searing. when using a cast iron pan, sometimes a little (very little) oil is used to increase the contact area, or (like with steak au poivre) to cook something the steak is coated with as well as the steak itself.

when you sear over ridiculous heat (and lump at 1200 is pretty high heat) anything good in the olive oil (like the aromatics and flavor) is long gone when it hits your plate, and what's left is fatty unctuous soot. mmm mmmm gooooood (not)

If someone is really craving the flavor of olive oil with the steak, you can do what Adam Lang does and cut the steak on a plate drizzled with olive oil and herbs. I forget what he called that, but saw him do it in a video I think with Jimmy Kimmel.

Okay, I'm cooking steaks tonight. I usually put olive oil on them because I cover them with Char Crust and that helps it stick. but apparently a little bit of regular oil would be better, eh?

irishrog used it November 23rd of last year...

http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=765917&catid=1

and i used it (spelled incorrectly) in december.

http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=778341&catid=1

seems to be a (semi)popular word around here.

I like to use it Tuscan-style, drizzle some olive oil on the steaks after they've finished to doneness, serve it hot on the plate. Smells great IMO...quite 'redolent'...actually...

charcoal sears in the neighborhood of 1000+ degrees.... you won't be getting any oil that'll outlast that.

char is carbon, plain and simple. if you want the surface of your steakto char don't put anything in between it that is wet. the oil needs to be burnt off before the char will form. if the oil were hjot, like at 400 in a cast iron pan, you'd get browning. essentially frying the steak. that's not what happens when the infrared heat of the coals goes to work on your steak. it may allow seasoning to adhere, but if that seasoning is anything other than salt, it will burn too at high temps.

i dunno... char is a preference.

but olive oil is not going to survive a true temp of
1000+. the dome temp is merely an indicator of how much 1000+ degree lump you have.