Grill like a restaurant?

[camp_cookie]

Here are a couple more done inside. I personally don't go for the extravagant sauces, but the techniques can easily be adapted to other applications.

YouTube - Steak au Poivre "Pepper Steak"

YouTube - Open-Face New York Steak Sandwich with Garlic Balsamic Glaze

[Bilby]

Personally I like pan-fried steaks and I like 'em rare with garlic and Worcestershire sauce but anyway.... Welcome to DC!!

[jerseyjay14]

Originally Posted by college_cook

Secret #1 in making your food taste like restaurant food is to use enough seasoning. Don't be afraid of S+P.

Other than that, just make sure your grill is hot and don't be afraid to finish your steak in the oven if needed.

If you're doing the above, you can't really mess it up unless you're buying poor quality meat.

i agree.... to be honest, i think a pan seared +oven approach is the best way to make a great steak, in fact, i only use the grill at the end to get some lines on it for effect.

season your steak then sear in a very hot pan (i prefer cast iron). then transfer to the over at a lower temperature until its 10 degrees short of your desired doneness. then let rest for 10 minutes, finsih on the grill to get some nice lines on their and serve

[suziquzie]

A grill is best, just go outside. I live on the frozen tundra, I hate the cold, but I will go throw meat on a fire. Otherwise you can make a steak just fine inside, if you want the pretty lines get a grill pan.

[TATTRAT]

Most higher end restaurants use high temp, infrared broilers.

Best bet is a ripping hot grill(gas or coal, let the debate begin) or a smoking hot cast iron pan. Make sure your meat is at room temp before cooking, and like mentioned, SEASON your cut, it is fundamentally incorrect to not season things. Cook your cut until just under desired temperature, pull and rest for at least 5 min.

[Michael in FtW]

Originally Posted by eggberger

Hello from a newbie. Is it possible to grill meat in the kitchen and it should taste like the steaks they serve in the grill restaurants? If yes, what do I need?

The short answer, if you're talking about the steak houses that I know of - probably not unless you have a fireplace and are willing to grill in it! And, your fireplace is vented properly, and you have good airflow.

Restaurants use grills with hard wood, lump charcoal, or a gas grill with lava rocks (like a backyard gas grill) and have very high volume vent hoods that exceed what you will find in a home kitchen. This not only removes the smoke - it removes the lethal buildup of Carbon Monoxide in the air.

If you're going to grill in the fireplace - use hard wood and let it burn down to coals ... then grill over them. Charcoal should never be used indoors. I have done this a few times - but I also had a window open to get better airflow, and my chimney was clean and venting well.

I just built a small fire, let it burn down to coals, then threw a grill (actually it was a cooling/draining rack from a restaurant supply that fits in a 1/2 sheet pan) over the fireplace grate ... and grilled away! Of course, when I did this, I was living in an apartment and couldn't have an outdoor grill, it was winter, and the electricity was out ... so the fireplace was my only source of heat and way to cook anything.

About the only thing you can do "in the kitchen" is use a grill pan ... and that's nowhere near the same.

Hope this helps some.

[BrazenAmateur]

+1 again to the "pan + oven" method for steaks.

The big boys (Luger, Bern's, Smith & Wollensky, Craftsteak) don't use grills, they use pan searing and infared broilers, AFAIK.

I use a big ungodly heavy cast iron skillet. Sear on each side for like 1:30, throw entire pan into oven, cook until desired level of doneness, allow to rest.

Steak is actually one of the easiest of all foods to do prepare very very well.

[ironchef]

Originally Posted by BrazenAmateur

+1 again to the "pan + oven" method for steaks.

The big boys (Luger, Bern's, Smith & Wollensky, Craftsteak) don't use grills, they use pan searing and infared broilers, AFAIK.

I use a big ungodly heavy cast iron skillet. Sear on each side for like 1:30, throw entire pan into oven, cook until desired level of doneness, allow to rest.

Steak is actually one of the easiest of all foods to do prepare very very well.

+2.

I'll take a pan seared steak over grilled any day of the week.

[DrThunder88]

It's hard to go wrong with a simple recipe of salt, pepper, steak, and skillet. There are also those grill pans, but the only thing close to real kitchen grilling would be a trip under the broiler. I remember Alton Brown on Letterman showing how to put "grill marks" on a pan seared steak using an electric charcoal starter. Fancy for sure but gustatorily unnecessary, in my opinion.

Now that Phil mentions it, I also recall "hobo dinners" from my days in Boy Scouts. Now I'm thinking of pouch braising a steak with butter, a few cloves of garlic, and maybe a touch of balsamic vinegar and then searing it with a super hot skillet. I may have to stop by the market on my way home from work today.

[Maverick2272]

My first choice is a charcoal grill, with wood chips for a little smoke and flavor. I go light on seasonings preferring a coarse salt and some fresh ground coarse pepper so I can get as much of the meat taste as possible coming thru.
If I cant grill, then I have a countertop grill I use indoors. In this case I do tend to use more merinades and more seasonings as well. I did have the chance to go to the Absynthe in Chicago and tried a New York Strip there and have to admit it was one of the best steaks I have ever had. I believe they use the infrared grill there, but not completely sure.
I am not big on the Outback or Longhorn steaks as I think they cover the taste of the steak too much with seasonings. I did try a Roadhouse steak in Atlanta and while it still had too much seasoning IMHO, it was still better.
I like to keep an open mind, and am always willing to try new things and new ways of doing things. Variety is the spice of life, right? Some of the best steaks I have had were prepared and cooked in some of the simplest ways, like at the boy scout camp over a wood campfire. Or maybe it had more to do with the ambience then the food?