Quote:
Originally Posted by NemesisX
There's one technique that I've seen repeatedly used in various cooking shows (like Top Chef or Hell's kitchen) that I want to try -
I'll see a chef start by searing a steak in copious amounts of butter (and possibly herbs, spices). The steak is literally sitting in a pool of butter.
Next, what I'll see them do is they'll use a spoon and continuously spoon that hot butter onto the steak while it's searing.
Repeat the same process for the other side of the steak.
Then, they'll take the entire pan and "finish" the steak in the oven (I don't know what temperature).
From what I understand, this is a common technique used in many fine dining restaurants and it leads to perfectly cooked, succulent steaks.
My only issue with grilling is that all too often the steak ends up somewhat dry. I think this technique of constantly spooning butter onto the steak might help keep it moist (in addition adding flavor because, let's be honest, butter and fat make anything taste better).
This is also perhaps one reason why I tend not to be as impressed with chain steakhouses as I am with non-chain steakhouses, because chain steakhouses tend to exclusively grill for the purposes of cooking their steaks whereas non-chain restaurants often employ the technique I described above.
I think one reason for this may be the fact that chain steakhouses often see high volume, and for a high volume restaurant you need to have a couple of guys grilling many steaks simultaneously to keep up with demand. They may not have the luxury to use the aforementioned technique.
Non-chain fine dining restaurants that offer steaks tend to be lower volume, and maybe that allows them to use this "special" searing method.
I've also seen some non-chain fine dining steakhouses cook steaks sous vide. Sous vide steaks are an acquired taste, IMO, but I really enjoy them. Sous vide filets have the consistency of butter. They're essentially vacuum packed and cooked slowly in their own juices in a temperature-controlled water bath.
Because I enjoy sous vide steaks, and because machines for cooking steaks sous vide tend to be rather expensive (and therefore not really feasible to have in the house) I think it can be worth paying the "restaurant premium" for a well cookied, sous vide steak.
I also don't mind paying that kind of premium for a steak if it's cooked with the method I described above. But, if a restaurant is simply grilling a steak I'm inclined to agree with you. You can make a comparable product for a fraction of the price by grilling at home.
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When we bought our Wolf ovens and range the rep came over to show us some of their party pieces. She likes using a pan seared method and cook in the oven with a probe. As long as all the steaks are the same size, the probe will tell you the moment the middle of the steak reaches the desired temperature.
When using a very hot grill and covering immediately you're essentially searing that side of the steak. Which is why i open the grill about 90 sec before flipping the steak. The flame temps increase by a few hundred degrees while the lid is open. Then slowly decrease when the lid goes back on. Keeps all the juice in the steak. This is also why i use a dry rub. That dry rub gets seared into the meat as well. So when i put a properly cooked filet on your plate, it will be in it's own puddle of juice within 30 sec.
That's the way to eat a ribeye!!