Is it possible to slow cook steak

[grgryl]

I usually cook my steak on a frying pan (250 gram . Some restaurants smoke the steak for many hours on a smoker to tenderize the meat ("Hog's Breath"). I would rather not buy and outdoor grill/smoker, and was wondering if I could replicate the results with an oven. I realize that it might not be as tasty, but my main goal is to make the steak as tender as possible.

HOw long and at what temperature would you recommend I cook the steak in the oven? Would this method work?
Appreciate your help.

 

[Uncle Bob]

What cut of beef are we talking about?

 

[coookies]

Hmmm.. I don't know if I will be much help here but when I make steak and potato stew I slow cook the steak (of course it is with all of the rest of the ingredients)... it comes out so tender that you can cut it with a spoon. That is in a slow cooker though, not an oven. Not sure what kind of results you would get in an oven although I imagine it would be much dryer than in a slow cooker pot...

hope that helps at leats a little, lol
Katie

 

[Phil]

Here in Texas....

Hmmm.. I don't know if I will be much help here but when I make steak and potato stew I slow cook the steak (of course it is with all of the rest of the ingredients)... it comes out so tender that you can cut it with a spoon.
Katie

We call that a roast or "meat" and potatoes. I'm thinking grgrly is talking about a rib eye, sirloin, T-bone, something on the "steak" side. I'm guessing like Uncle Bob. I've never had a steak slow cooked. You can, of course, but I don't think it would taste like a fired, grilled steak.

 

[jennyema]

Most steaks are very tender cuts to start out with. That's why they are cooked quickly over very high heat.

Meats that are tougher benefit from a low slow cooking process, like braising. This would be like a pot roast or brisket.

If you are buying what most people traditionally think of as a steak (ribeye/strip/porterhouse/tbone/filet mignon, etc) then the last thing you want to do is cook it low and slow. It'll just dry out.

If what you are buying is marketed as a "steak" but is really a tougher cut (like "round steak") then cooking it like a pot roast would work well.

 

[grgryl]

Sorry forgot to put that in the original post. I've been buying Chuck Eye lately.

What cut of beef are we talking about?

 

[jennyema]

Sorry forgot to put that in the original post. I've been buying Chuck Eye lately.

If they are marketing that as "steak," well, shame on them.

Chuck eye can be braised, like pot roast or oven roasted. If you roast it, it'll be tender cooked just to medium or less. Braising it will give you very tender, but very well done, meat.

 

[grgryl]

Then how is it that people are able to slow cook steaks (like ribeye, tenderloin) in a smoker/grill and get very tender results without it drying out?

Most steaks are very tender cuts to start out with. That's why they are cooked quickly over very high heat.

Meats that are tougher benefit from a low slow cooking process, like braising. This would be like a pot roast or brisket.

If you are buying what most people traditionally think of as a steak (ribeye/strip/porterhouse/tbone/filet mignon, etc) then the last thing you want to do is cook it low and slow. It'll just dry out.

If what you are buying is marketed as a "steak" but is really a tougher cut (like "round steak") then cooking it like a pot roast would work well.

 

[Leolady]

I see them in the store all the time. They call chuck "steak" charcoal steak here!

It is thinner than the chuck roast, and that's the only difference.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Sorry forgot to put that in the original post. I've been buying Chuck Eye lately.

Personally I would cook a chuck-eye steak fast and furious!! The hotter and quicker the better...Medium Rare...no more.

 

[grgryl]

So for tender cuts, fast and furious gets more tender results??
Why is that the opposite for tougher cuts?

Personally I would cook a chuck-eye steak fast and furious!! The hotter and quicker the better...Medium Rare...no more.

 

[Leolady]

Tender cuts are from muscles that are not used much.

Tough cuts come from muscles that are used often. They require longer cooking because of that.

 

[grgryl]

I find that if the heat is too high, the steak gets burned on the outside, and is too raw on the inside.

Personally I would cook a chuck-eye steak fast and furious!! The hotter and quicker the better...Medium Rare...no more.

 

[Uncle Bob]

I see them in the store all the time. They call chuck "steak" charcoal steak here!

It is thinner than the chuck roast, and that's the only difference.

A chuck "steak" and a Chuck-eye "steak" are different...Both from the chuck, but different...The Chuck-eye can at times be almost as good as a Rib-eye...My experience -- most times they are not...Both can be cooked fast and hot with some degree of success. When I see Chuck-eyes...I leave them in the counter...They are usually over priced for what they are...When I see chuck steaks...I normally think moist cooking methods/recipes etc.

 

[jennyema]

Personally I would cook a chuck-eye steak fast and furious!! The hotter and quicker the better...Medium Rare...no more.

A chuck steak is too tough for me. Same with chuck-eye, which I seldom see cut into a steak -- it's generally a larger hunk.

Anything labeled chuck gets braised. Unless it's a burger.

 

[Leolady]

I think that I should have been clearer.

There is a thin, thin chuck steak here that they call charcoal steak.

 

[Phil]

Too raw?

I have several grills, but my favorite is the Weber. It's a domed shape, charcoal grill with vents in the bottom sides and top. I can take an inch and a half ribeye, throw it on at about 425+, and cook it for a total of about eight minutes and it will have a hot pink center with no blood. Raw for me is blood in the meat and that is unacceptable for me. But the Weber, with it's unique shape, is able to produce rare to med with no blood. It's a great grill and gives a great tasting steak.

 

[grgryl]

I still don't understand how a oven is different to a smoker (aside from the the difference in flavor). I know people slow cook beef tenderloins in smokers but would not put it in an oven. Is a smoker more moist than an oven?

 

[Uncle Bob]

So for tender cuts, fast and furious gets more tender results??
Why is that the opposite for tougher cuts?

In simple terms...It takes longer to break down the tougher muscle fibers...

I find that if the heat is too high, the steak gets burned on the outside, and is too raw on the inside.

On the stove sear (brown) your steak on each side in a very hot pan...Cast iron is good. Finish in a hot oven if needed to reach your desired degree of doneness

On an outdoor grill...Same thing. Sear the steak on both sides directly over the source of heat...Then move them to an area on the grill that is not directly over the heat to finish.

 

[Phil]

Interesting...

I think that I should have been clearer.

There is a thin, thin chuck steak here that they call charcoal steak.

...and not to high jack this thread, but I remember in the seventies that the meat department came up with many different names of meat. One was a "round tip-cap off" or some wild name I'd never heard of. Years later I found out that our "gubment" was taxing beef like crazy and meat procucers were naming their cuts of beef different names to avoid certain taxes. I never really knew this to be the whole truth, but I haven't see exotic cuts of beet since.