Baked Steak

[Ben]

I've always been a "steak on the grill" guy, but just started playing around with steak baked in the oven, based on a very simple recipe I found on the Web. It makes a really juicy steak.

Preheat oven to 350.
Season steak with salt and pepper.
Heat up a cast iron pan on the stove top.
Sear the steak on the stove top, 30-45 seconds per side.
Put a big old gob of butter on top of the steak.
Add 1/4 cup red wine to the pan.
Place pan in oven for around 20 minutes (for medium rare in my oven).
I found turning once when halfway through lets it bake more evenly.

Anyway, it makes a fine steak. I'm gonna do this more often.

[mtnbkr]

I've used that before as well, but without the red wine.

It's good.

Chris

[MillCreek]

You don't end up with any sort of crisp crust, do you?

[Gowen]

You don't end up with any sort of crisp crust, do you?

No, there are a few youtube videos on this method.  Some nights when its a pain to fire up the grill, you can still have a steak that tastes good.

[K Frame]

You can get a moderate crust that way. I've done it before, but I've found that I generally like a pan fried steak better.

[Brad Johnson]

You can get the crisp crust by searing it after it cooks.  You loose less juice, too.  (Searing steaks beforehand damages surface cells and allows more moisture to escape than does an unseared steak.  Goes against popular food lore, but hey, sometimes science does that.)

Brad

[BobR]

I have done that also, but without the red wine. It seems the red wine would steam the steak some, rather than bake it. I heat up my cast iron on the Weber, it gets plenty hot, I shoot for about 500 degrees. I brush the steak with a little grapeseed oil and toss it in the hot skillet. 2 minutes on each side and then into a 400 degree oven to finish it off.

I have adapted this recipe.

bob

[Scout26]

I've also done it this way when I didn't feel like firing up the charcoal grill.

Disconnect the smoke alarms.

[Ben]

I have done that also, but without the red wine. It seems the red wine would steam the steak some, rather than bake it.

bob

I think it might. This weekend I'm gonna try it with no wine and very little wine. On the no wine one, I'll probably brush it with additional butter or olive oil while it bakes.

I've heard about what Brad said on searing. On the grill, I don't really bother with the "sear on high then cook on low" thing. I just get the grill where I want it and throw the steak on. I have a cast iron plate for my grill and often throw the steak on that versus the actual grill, so technically you could say I'm frying the steak on the grill, but I find it comes out a little more evenly cooked when I do so, and I get a nice, thin, even brown semi-crust.

I did the pre-sear here just because I wanted to stick with the recipe the first few times.

With the searing done quickly and first on this recipe, there was no crust at all. I might actually also try a quick post-bake sear for a crust just to see what it's like. I'm gonna be eating a lot of steak this weekend.  

[Brad Johnson]

Alton Brown made some kind of contraption with a charcoal starter. Mimcked the ultra high temp ovens used in bhigh-end steakhouses. I'll try to find a link when I get home.

Brad

[Physics]

I bake steaks all the time.  Cover both sides with fresh garlic and then pepper until it's pretty much black.  Put it in the oven on one of those racks you can put on a cookie sheet.  That keeps the steak a bit elevated off of the cookie sheet and cooks better.  Drop temps and let it cook longer for extra awesome. 

[zahc]

My parents cook steak in their big green egg clone. It's basically like baking only with more smoke. The results are good if different. I have a friend who insists that sous vide cooking steak is the best possible way but the results are not appetizing to look at. I would have to flame-sear it before eating just to make it look cooked.

[Azrael256]

I do a baked steak.  I like to reduce a couple cups of red wine with sliced mushrooms on the stove and serve it (thickened a bit with flour.  A proper roux seems to get gummy in wine. Maybe I do it wrong.) over the steak and mashed potatoes.  Sub white wine with pork chops.

[Gewehr98]

You'll often see it done this way in better restaurants.  The steak is seared in the pan, then the pan and steak go into the oven.

[Laurent du Var]

Would be the typical French way of cooking Côte de bœuf (Beef -Rib).
Sear it and then in the oven.

Scout - your fake Italian is a lousy cook : Don't boil the potatoes before you put a herb mix on it, taters will be tasteless
and either only one herb at the time (rosemarin) or Herbes de Provence. Less heat and more oven will get you the right texture.
Pre-boiling is just how restaurants will do it to save time - the only reason why restaurant food tastes "better" is an obscene amount of seasoning (especially salt) and natural or nature-identical flavor enhancers. Below the "gastronomical" cooks who are really good anyone
who likes to cook could do better than what you'd get in 99 percent of the restaurants. Anybody remembers grandmother's cooking ?
Took a lot of time and that's the secret. The meat that lousy Luigi used wasn't great to begin with, you don't salt it before you sear it, which he didn't do anyway - he burnt it coal black, that's not crusty but cancerous...

He really shoud have been beaten with a wet rag for the "sauce" : Parsil with stems, cooked yoke, capres and anchovis   
     

[230RN]

I sometimes sear stuff coming out of the microwave with my propane torch.  Been doing that a long time, then saw it on some famous kitchen engineer's TV show.

[MillCreek]

I sometimes sear stuff coming out of the microwave with my propane torch.  Been doing that a long time, then saw it on some famous kitchen engineer's TV show.

I do this with the Christmas ham to set the brown sugar glaze.  The kids love watching this.  I did it a couple of times with my industrial heat gun, and it was not nearly as exciting as the torch.

[Scout26]

Would be the typical French way of cooking Côte de bœuf (Beef -Rib).
Sear it and then in the oven.

Scout - your fake Italian is a lousy cook : Don't boil the potatoes before you put a herb mix on it, taters will be tasteless
and either only one herb at the time (rosemarin) or Herbes de Provence. Less heat and more oven will get you the right texture.
Pre-boiling is just how restaurants will do it to save time - the only reason why restaurant food tastes "better" is an obscene amount of seasoning (especially salt) and natural or nature-identical flavor enhancers. Below the "gastronomical" cooks who are really good anyone
who likes to cook could do better than what you'd get in 99 percent of the restaurants. Anybody remembers grandmother's cooking ?
Took a lot of time and that's the secret. The meat that lousy Luigi used wasn't great to begin with, you don't salt it before you sear it, which he didn't do anyway - he burnt it coal black, that's not crusty but cancerous...

He really shoud have been beaten with a wet rag for the "sauce" : Parsil with stems, cooked yoke, capres and anchovis   
     

I don't boil the potatoes.  I agree that it ruins them.  I simply peel, dice and coat with olive oil, rosemary, sage and thyme, then bake. My son absolutely loves them so that's all that matters.

Steaks, when not on the grill, get a thin painted coat of oil, some kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.  Seared in a pan (2mins per side) then put in the oven until 130F on the thermometer. 

And I do believe that he's a real Italian.

[Nick1911]

Potato recipe I really like:
Cube up sweet potatos.  Throw it in a casserole pan.  lightly coat taters with olive oil and a bit of rosemary.  Mix in some halved pecans.

400F for 40 min, or until potatos are done.  Sprinkle blue cheese on top, serve.

[makattak]

Potato recipe I really like:
Cube up sweet potatos.  Throw it in a casserole pan.  lightly coat taters with olive oil and a bit of rosemary.  Mix in some halved pecans.

400F for 40 min, or until potatos are done.  Sprinkle blue cheese on top, serve.

I may try that tonight. Minus the blue cheese, though.

[makattak]

I don't boil the potatoes.  I agree that it ruins them.  I simply peel, dice and coat with olive oil, rosemary, sage and thyme, then bake. My son absolutely loves them so that's all that matters.

Steaks, when not on the grill, get a thin painted coat of oil, some kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.  Seared in a pan (2mins per side) then put in the oven until 130F on the thermometer. 

And I do believe that he's a real Italian.

I like that recipe for potatoes, but I don't peel and sometimes I will instead use garlic, pepper (white, red, and black), and salt.

[lupinus]

Pommes Anna makes a great potato accompaniment to all things roasted meaty and good.

[Nick1911]

I may try that tonight. Minus the blue cheese, though.

I don't actually like blue cheese either, but I do like it in this recipe. 

It's fine without too, though.

[Brad Johnson]

Found it.  The good part starts at 1:30...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4aI_O8kcN8

Brad

[seeker_two]

So....I guess I don't need to add my George Foreman Grill & brick technique to this discussion, then....