Can you help a beef ignorant woman cook herself a steak dinner?

A tender cut such as rib eye, filet mignon or shell steak.

Hot cast iron pan, a little butter and garlic, sear on both sides fast…fry some onions, too. Tender beef can be tasteless.

@gailcalled

What is a ‘shell’ steak?

I often pan grill Rib Eye and T-bones. Let your meat set outside the frigie long enough to become room temp first though before it goes in the pan. I sprinkle mine with ground pepper on both sides, rub the pan a slice of raw onion, garlic clove and a small pat of butter. A medium heat for 5 minutes of both sides to cook and then turn up the heat high at the end to give each side a little char. Yum Yum Yum.

Shell steak is the same as a strip steak.

”
Shell Steak, or Strip Steak: When the tenderloin strip has been removed from the short loin, the remaining meat is known as a shell steak. Shell steaks are called by a variety of names, such as strip, New York strip and Kansas City strip. Ideal for one person, these steaks can be cut in any thickness you wish, usually from 1 to 2½ inches. Lobel’s Prime Meats often remove the bone for their customers so the steak can be easily sliced on the diagonal. ”

@Neizvestnaya

Oooh..T-Bone..yes! :-)

Thanks for the prep talk..haha..I told you I was ignorant of how to cook beef!

@gailcalled

Okay…never heard of shell or strip steak. Thanks!

Buy a tenderloin, filet mignon or chuck eye steak. Season it with s&p . Heat a little oil and one tablespoon butter in a fry pan until almost smoking. Fry it on one side without turning it over until peeking under the edge you can see that it’s brown. Then turn it over and cook for 3–4 more minutes. Remove then add a couple garlic cloves to the oils in the pan, stir them around, then taste it, adding more salt if desired. Pour the juices over the steak. Careful, @Coloma;
steaks are notoriously tough these days!

A T-Bone blackened in a searing hot cast iron skillet is my favorite way of non-grilling a steak. Toss some onions and mushrooms in the pan while you are at it!! I’m getting hungry here reading this thread!! Yum!

I say definitely t-bone or porterhouse (which is exactly like a T-bone, except it’s a little bigger.)

Pan-fry as described by commenters above, cast iron is great but don’t worry about it if you don’t have cast iron.

Lots of garlic and salt, this is indulgence, do not go halfway.

@Cruiser that sounds wonderful. I’d prefer cast iron, too but threw mine out.

@Cruiser

Me too….off to market soon for my dinner fixin’s. :-)
@Aster

Maybe use @Cruiser ‘s skillet idea with your recipe.

I hope it turns out well..I will have to make sure the cook is loose with some good red wine first. lol

@jaytkay

Yes it is!

And a perfect cool day for a great Sunday steak dinner!

What about some wine in the skillet or no?

Wine on the meat as it sits.

Alrighty!

I have just taken inventory.

Olive oil – check!
Fresh garlic-check!
Sea salt and pepper-check!
Steak seasoning on hand-check!

BUT…..gotta have MUSHROOMS! lol

Do I grill the mushrooms in the pan after the steak is cooked?

What about some wine in the skillet or no?

You won’t taste it if you go medium rare or rare (which is the way to go, seriously). The cooking is pretty quick.

Essentials – meat, salt and garlic – this is primeval eating! Extra fuss is only necessary with lesser cuts.

Funny, my diet is about 90% vegetarian but I am THE MAN when you want steak or roast chicken.

Don’t confuse the meat with putting anything into the pan. Onions sweat , causing the juices in the pain while cooking to steam. You dont want steamed meat. Whole garlic won’t harm. After removing the steak then you can add veggies and then , wine. The pro’s on tv add wine; I’ve never done it.

@Aster

‘Don’t confuse the meat’.....hahahaha

Okay, I’ll try not too, I will do my best to communicate with the meat on a level it will understand! lol

Makes sense..cook the veggies in the pan drippings so no soggy steak.

Got’cha!

I sautee vegies after or in a separate pan because as @Aster writes, the water in the vegies messes with the meat’s char and steam makes meat take on a different texture than dry char.

One more suggestion: since you want a crispy, seared steak that’s not steamed, rub the meat with oil beforehand and make sure that pan is hot, Coloma!!” Do not turn that sucker over until it’s edges are *really dark. I want one. lol

Seriously, you people might be thinking..’ and how is it a women gets to 50 without knowing how to cook a steak?’ haha

Well…my ex was the BBQ’er for years, and being single the last 7 years has left a void in my memory…what the hell DID I cook all those years? hahaha

@Aster

Yes maaam! HOT, sizzling pan!

Oh oh…left handed wine drinking blonde and sizzling skillet…I best be careful! lol

( See….now you know why I put this in ‘social’..gotta have some sizzling humor on the side! ) ;-)

Okay…departure for market in approximately 10 minutes….and then….uncork the wine and massage the meat! lol

re: Don’t confuse the meat with putting anything into the pan…

Steaks are the best cuts. When you have cheaper meat, you make stew or use sauces or make chili or whatever – there are thousands of recipes right down to oxtail soup.

Those recipes include extra delicious stuff in the pan. But steaks do not need help.

You guy’s rock!

Okay..I’ll check in for a blow by blow prep refresher in an hour or two!

Thanks!

I love charcoal-broiled steak, and just yesterday I found and saved this link on “how to cook it right”
http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Cook_a_Steak?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+wired/index+(Wired:+Index+3+(Top+Stories+2))&utm_content=My+Yahoo

Wow, you all turn cooking dinner into a real production. Here is my simple method, I like a New York Strip or in Australia a Scotch Fillet. I have a gas burner out on the deck because I like to use the grilling pan and it sets off the smoke alarm when I use it inside. So I spray the grill pan with oil, get it really hot and smokin’, slap on the steak and listen to it sizzle, couple of minutes each side (Love the way the grill pan brands the lines into the meat) then sit down and enjoy. I do use a little sea salt mixture that also has a little garlic, rosemary and chili before I grill it.

Alrighty!

4:23 p.m.

Potato is baking and done in 15 minutes.
Then ready for the steak !
A T-bone rubbed down and seasoned, and sauteed button mushrooms & steamed pea pods.

I can’t WAIT!

Lets hope I don’t blow out the smoke detectors! lol

@Coloma – I always keep the ladder handy so that when it goes off I can quickly set up the ladder, climb up and fan away the smoke so the damned thing shuts up before someone calls the fire department!

OMG!

Steak came out delicious!
Just perfect medium-ish!
Seared for a couple of minutes on each side and then finished off….could only eat half!

I am a satisfied customer!

Thanks again for all your guidance for ‘Steakless in the Sierras!’...haha

Atta girl @Coloma! I threw some steaks on the grill all because this thread made me want some!! Yum!!

If you’re cooking it in a pan with butter and onions and all that sort of stuff, I suggest lightly slicing a grid pattern into the surface of the meat. It helps it cook a bit faster and helps the butter or oil get in. Plus, if it’s a tougher cut it seems to help make it easier to eat.

Dam I missed the whole thing. Now I want steak!!!!

@Frenchfry

Steak with french fries? lol ;-)

Glad it worked out but Very surprised a T Bone wasn’t tough , @Coloma .

@Aster

I did use a little meat tenderizer with the other seasonings, it was really good, everything I hoped for! LOL

WOW. Meat tenderizer. I never knew it was that effective. Yummy!