Gourmet Rubs & Spice Blends

For whatever reason many people are afraid of messing-up a steak and therefore fuss about it so much that they ultimately do mess it up.  Don’t make the process of cooking a perfect steak hard; it’s really simple and virtually fool proof if you follow these instructions.  There are two procedures here, the oven process and the grill process and they’re almost the same thing.

You will need a sheet pan with a cooling rack fitted to it and a cast iron frying pan big enough to hold two steaks.  If you routinely need to cook more than two steaks then get more cast iron frying pans, they’re economical and versatile.  Buy the ones that are already seasoned from the factory and remember to NEVER use soap or detergent to clean them.

The Process:

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C).
2. Trim all of the external fat from the steak(s).  This fat really does not bring any flavor to the party so you’re better off without it.
3. Put the frying pan(s) on the stove burner and set the heat to high, get the pan(s) blazing hot.
4. Give the steaks a good rub with canola oil and season with whatever the recipe calls for.  Usually the seasoning should completely coat the steak for the best crust.
5. Put no more than two steaks in the frying pan(s) and cook for one minute thirty seconds; no more, no less.  Don’t be moving the steaks around, once they hit the pan just leave them alone until the time is up.
6. Quickly turn the steaks over and cook for another one minute thirty seconds.  Same rule… leave them alone.
7. Quickly take the frying pans off the stove top and put them into the hot oven.  Completely forget about them for seven minutes per inch of thickness.  Don’t open the oven door, don’t be taking their temperature, just leave them alone.
8. Remove the frying pan(s) from the oven and place the steaks on the drying pan without them touching each other.  Cover the sheet pan loosely with aluminum foil to help retain heat.  Minimize how much the foil touches the steaks.  Leave them rest for five minutes before serving.
9. While the steaks rest you can make a pan sauce by deglazing the frying pan(s) with some red wine.  Add a bit of butter and garlic and unless the recipe calls for a different sauce, you’re done. 

You will need a sheet pan with a drying rack for this.  Also, you will need a flat griddle for your grill.  You can spend over $100 to buy a fancy one or you can spend $20 at your local welder’s shop and have him/her cut a piece of ¼” thick smooth steel plate that will cover half of your grill’s surface.  Before you use it for the first time scrub it really well with mineral spirits to remove any oil and then with soapy water to remove the mineral spirits residue.  After this first cleaning you can just clean it with salt, don’t use detergent on it again.

The Process:

1. Preheat your grill to an under hood temperature of 550° to 600°F (288° to 316°C).  During this preheating make sure the griddle is already on the grill and getting blazing hot at the same time.
2. Trim all the external fat from the steak(s), give them a rub with canola oil, and apply whatever seasoning the recipe calls for (just like in the oven process).
3. Open the grill hood and a quickly as you can put all the steaks on the griddle at the same time.  Close the hood and forget about them for two minutes.
4. Open the grill and turn the steaks over as quickly as you can, close the hood and cook for two minutes.  Don’t peek, probe, or otherwise mess with them.
5. Open the hood and put the steaks on the part of the grill without the griddle.  Leave them alone for one minute thirty seconds per inch of thickness with the hood closed.
6. Open the hood and rotate the steaks 90°, close the hood and leave them alone for one minute thirty seconds per inch of thickness.
7. Open the hood, turn the steaks over and repeat steps five and six.
8. Remove the steaks to the cooling rack, tent with aluminum foil and let them rest for five minutes.  They will be just barely medium.  If you want medium rare reduce the time period in steps five and six by 15 seconds.  For rare reduce the step five and six times by 30 seconds.

BTW: The 90° rotations in steps five and six are there to produce those “restaurant” grill marks.