Grill like a restaurant?

[VaporTrail]

I'm with the "pan sear and oven finish" group personally.

If you start with a good cut of meat (I usually use thick Porterhouses), season well (I use McCormick Steak Rub most of the time), and give each steak a good sear before finishing on a rack over a sheet pan in the oven (I tend to slow cook mine at about 375, for a 30 minute medium) you should end up with something your regular steakhouse wouldn't just serve, but would promote as thier signature steak.

Grilling a good steak requires equal parts good meat, good seasoning, and good technique. Doing it with a stove and oven takes a LOT of the technique out of the equation. In other words, t's a lot easier to screw up on the grill.

[elaine l]

Ever since I received some very good instructions from my friends at DC, I have been cooking my steaks indoors this winter. Finishing them in the oven. I feel they are as good as any steak house, including Morton's.

[allwellbeing]

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 college cook

[jerseyjay14]

Originally Posted by elaine l

Ever since I received some very good instructions from my friends at DC, I have been cooking my steaks indoors this winter. Finishing them in the oven. I feel they are as good as any steak house, including Morton's.

its the only way to go in my opinion... havent grilled a steak in years... in fact, i usually go to a pan sear + oven approach for all meats.

[Wart]

Best steak IMNSHO is grilled over a lump charcoal and wood fire.

In the kitchen?

Season the steak. Preheat the oven and iron pan, sear one side, flip and put it in the oven.

Seasonings? I like simple fresh ground pepper and Kosher salt.

Best part is, while the steak is resting I deglaze the pan and reduce then pour over the steak. Best steak sauce ever.

P.S.: IMHO grill pans are a waste of time and money. An every day, generic, flat iron skillet is best.

[Maverick2272]

For me it boils down to two things:

If you put a steak down in front of me cooked medium rare the way I like it, and it is juicy and flavorful then I don't care how you cooked it, I am just thrilled you cooked it for me!

If I am doing it myself its the pan and oven in winter and the grill in summer because, as someone else pointed out, its harder to get it perfect on the grill than the pan and I get a thrill from getting it right and seeing the smiles on their faces as they eat it!

[ironchef]

Originally Posted by VaporTrail

Doing it with a stove and oven takes a LOT of the technique out of the equation. In other words, t's a lot easier to screw up on the grill.

I disagree with this. From what I've seen both in the industry and from various homecooks, it takes more technique to get a perfect crust on your steak from proper pan searing. The hardest thing about grilling a steak is knowing and controlling your hot spots so that you don't char the outsides of the meat without it properly cooking through.

[BrazenAmateur]

Originally Posted by ironchef

I disagree with this. From what I've seen both in the industry and from various homecooks, it takes more technique to get a perfect crust on your steak from proper pan searing.

I agree.

If it was that easy to put a perfect char on a steak in a pan, all the steakhouses would get it right all the time, but that isn't even close to being the case.

[Wart]

Perfect crust?

What is that?

[Rob Babcock]

IMOHO it's hard to touch a steak from a top steakhouse when cooking at home. First off, it's not easy to find a steak that good- there's only a very small percentage of the best beef in America that rates as USDA Prime, and the great majority of it goes to restaurants. You can get superb beef at a high end butcher shop, but it's a crap shoot...and you'd better be ready to pay thru the nose! A steakhouse will also age the beef better than you'll be able to do at home.

Unless you use charcoal it's going to be tough to get the level of heat steakhouses sear the meat over. The hottest shelf broilers can reach temps of much higher than you can get at home.

That said, you obviously can get a great steak at home. I agree that pan searing in cast iron & finishing in the hottest oven you can get is a great way to cook a steak.