Help on making steak

[Baselerd]

Technically the a portion of the rate of heat transfer between the air in the oven and the surface of the steak is proportional to the temperature gradient between the two, so a hotter oven will cook a steak faster. With that said, the difference in common cooking temperatures is probably a relatively small net difference. Obviously nobody is going to be cooking a steak at super low temperatures in the oven so practically speaking I believe dcarch is giving good advice.

[dcarch]

BTW Keith, Amazing post you did. It never occur to me that thin steak is a very good option. Tonight I went to Shoprite (supermarket here in NYC). Porterhouse was $4.99 a lb regular is $10.99 a lb. But the steak was like only 1/2" thick which I normally don't buy. I bought two, and did the same as your way, sous vided at 128F, seared on 575F cast iron pan. Amazing!.

Back to OP's steak concerns, it is MHO that in any cooking, not just for steaks:

The oven temperature should not be changed to control timing of internal temperature. External temperature is very specific for a given recipe to develop the proper caramelization, crust crispiness, browning of specific rubs, etc. In any case, within reasonable range of changes to external temperature, say +-20 degrees F, based on the laws of physics, the variation to timing will be insignificant. Given time, internal temperature will reach to desired temperature no matter what. Don't risk over cooking your meat. That's the absolute disaster in making steak.

dcarch

[sigma]

sigma, what dcarch said sounds counterintuitive but he's correct.

No, sorry, he is not. At least according to modernist cuisine he is incorrect. The problem you are both having is that you are making the mistake of carrying the logic of the period before the crust level dries to the entire cooking time. Using his now amended statement that +/-20 degrees won't make a difference, I have no problem, but the difference between putting a steak in a 250 degree oven and a 500 degree oven will be significant, as will be the target internal temp for removing the steak.

[dcarch]

"----putting a steak in a 250 degree oven and a 500 degree oven will be significant, as will be the target internal temp for removing the steak."

????????

Have you read the OP's post?

If the steak is seared on both sides already, why would you put the steak in a 500F oven? The OP wants to have a steak that's evenly cooked! not making beef jerky.

I just don't understand the logic of making the temperature higher to get the internal temperature higher quicker, what if you encounter the famous "stall" for larger pieces of meat?

dcarch

[Keith_W]

No, sorry, he is not. At least according to modernist cuisine he is incorrect.

I will check MC when I get home, but in the meantime if you could post a reference to it that would be helpful. Otherwise, no biggie - I can look it up the index.

dcarch, i'm not sure what you mean by "Porterhouse" because here in Australia "Porterhouse" refers to the T-bone with fillet attached. To add to the confusion, other Aussie butchers refer to the non-fillet portion of the T-bone as "Porterhouse".

In any case, I believe that T-bone steaks should not be cooked on a pan, because as the meat contracts from the bone, it is lifted off the pan - uneven browning is the result. If I have a T-bone steak, I cook it over charcoal. The concept is otherwise the same - IMO thinner steaks give you more flavour

Edited September 10, 2013 by Keith_W (log)

[dcarch]

Keith, it did have a bone, but I have a custom made press to press down the meat around the bone for the meat to make good contact with the hot pan.

I sometimes use the grill also, actually that is my preferred way.

dcarch