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The best advice I can give is get USDA Prime. Not Choice, and definitely not Select. Prime.
Nothing else will matter if you don't start with the best meat. For a steak? Esp for one person? PRIME.
Prime is best, no doubt. But an experienced cook can make a choice cut (especially a ribeye) taste pretty damn good. Prime beef tends to be 50-100% more expensive and can be cost prohibitive for some. My recommendation is to start with choice grade beef. If you can master that, the occasions in which you will use prime grade will be a snap.
And yes, never use select grade for anything other than slow cooking or meatballs/meatloaf.
Prime is best, no doubt. But an experienced cook can make a choice cut (especially a ribeye) taste pretty damn good. Prime beef tends to be 50-100% more expensive and can be cost prohibitive for some. My recommendation is to start with choice grade beef. If you can master that, the occasions in which you will use prime grade will be a snap.
And yes, never use select grade for anything other than slow cooking or meatballs/meatloaf.
You and I think alike on this topic, you'll need to see my subsequent posts in this thread!
I follow Alton Brown's directions for cooking it on the stovetop and finishing it in the oven. Bring steak to room temperature. Season and coat the steak with oil. Sear at high heat in cast iron skillet about 2 min on each side. Put in 425 degree oven for about 3 min on each side until 135 degrees for medium rare. Let rest covered for 5 minutes.
Have your driver drive you from your mansion in your Mazerati to Morton's in Chicago, or if you're like us take the Toyota to Outback. I like my steaks cooked on a charcoal grill after I marinade them in Teriyaki for about an hour at room temperature. I like the flames to sear the meat on both sides so I just flip them a lot so they don't burn. We don't eat much red meat so it's just a treat in grilling months.
Since moving from CA. to MO. I've missed tri-tips. They say they've never heard of this cut. Is there another name for them so I could ask for some? tia
Also, if you have Aldi's by you, their steak seasoning is the best I've ever had. Why better than the name brands. I use it on my burgers too.
As others have stated, let the steak get as close to room temperature as possible before cooking.
I've had great results both searing steaks in a pan and putting them on the grill.
Take your index finger and thumb and press them together at the finger pad. Squeeze the part of your hand in between the thumb and index finger. That should be how your steak feels when it's medium rare. Give it a poke.
Otherwise, medium rare at proper heat is roughly 2.5-3 minutes on each side depending on thickness.
We love steak at my house and have steak, baked potato, and veg a couple of times a month. I buy a cut that my supermarket calls "petite sirloin." Good size for us, in my budget, good flavor/price ratio. I'd love to buy a more expensive cut, but then we wouldn't get to eat steak as often.
One thing I disagree with about a lot of these replies: people are saying to season with salt before cooking. Salt draws moisture out of something as it cooks. If you want that to happen, fine, but I don't want that when cooking a steak. I salt when I'm ready to remove the steak from the stove. Other seasonings are fine to add before cooking, although as someone earlier pointed out, if your pepper grind is big, the flakes might taste burned if they're in the skillet too long.
Two tips I learned from a chef that I find helpful:
1. If you have no grill and cook a steak on a stove, use cast iron. I have a flat cast iron grilltop that came with my gas stove, but a skillet also works. NO NON-STICK PAN.
2. Heat the pan (or surface) before you add any oil (and he recommended grape seed oil because of the low-smoke factor, but if you don't have it use EVOO). That technique allows you to use less oil to coat the pan. You'll notice when you add oil to very hot cast iron, it immediately ripples out by itself and thins quickly to coat the entire surface. If you add oil to a cold pan, you have to use more and the oil is cooking without any steak the entire time the pan is heating up.
I'm totally in agreement with people who advise bringing any steak to room temperature before cooking and letting it rest before serving. (That butter idea was great, I'm trying that next time.)
.........some Tri Tip steaks for $1.99/lb at a small independent market. Any recommendations??.............
Every tri tip I've ever had has been tough meat, so it needs a low and slow cooking method. It can go into the crock pot with a large assortment of recipes that are suitable.
I use it for a stroganoff. Cut into pencil size pieces about 2 inches long, brown, add diced onion, some seasoning and enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Cover and simmer on low until the meat is tender. Then add lots of sliced mushrooms.
If there is a lot of juice, remove the lid and cook the liquid down. Then add a fat spoon full of sour cream. Serve it with either rice , noodles, or mashed potatoes.
That simmered meat can also be done with some sliced bell pepper and onion and served with tortillas once it is tender.
We love steak at my house and have steak, baked potato, and veg a couple of times a month. I buy a cut that my supermarket calls "petite sirloin." Good size for us, in my budget, good flavor/price ratio. I'd love to buy a more expensive cut, but then we wouldn't get to eat steak as often.
One thing I disagree with about a lot of these replies: people are saying to season with salt before cooking. Salt draws moisture out of something as it cooks. If you want that to happen, fine, but I don't want that when cooking a steak. I salt when I'm ready to remove the steak from the stove. Other seasonings are fine to add before cooking, although as someone earlier pointed out, if your pepper grind is big, the flakes might taste burned if they're in the skillet too long.
Two tips I learned from a chef that I find helpful:
1. If you have no grill and cook a steak on a stove, use cast iron. I have a flat cast iron grilltop that came with my gas stove, but a skillet also works. NO NON-STICK PAN.
2. Heat the pan (or surface) before you add any oil (and he recommended grape seed oil because of the low-smoke factor, but if you don't have it use EVOO). That technique allows you to use less oil to coat the pan. You'll notice when you add oil to very hot cast iron, it immediately ripples out by itself and thins quickly to coat the entire surface. If you add oil to a cold pan, you have to use more and the oil is cooking without any steak the entire time the pan is heating up.
I'm totally in agreement with people who advise bringing any steak to room temperature before cooking and letting it rest before serving. (That butter idea was great, I'm trying that next time.)
good tips!
a petite sirloin comes from a top-butt sirloin
i buy them too- they are good!
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