If you’re like me, you’ve spent most your life trying to perfect a Steakhouse quality steak at home. I dabbled for years on grills thinking that was the secret, only it’s not. If you want to learn how to cook the perfect steak in a pan, you’ve come to the right place. Also, with the crazy beef prices today, we are going to walk through how to turn a low-end cut of beef into a high-end gourmet steak, all from the convenience of your stove top and oven.
The steak I am working with is a ball-tip, it was $8/lb, but my grocery store put it on sale for $3.99/lb so I picked up six 8oz petite fillets. The first thing I did was age the steak. This is an easy but import step. Anywhere from 1 hour before you intend to start cooking, up to 48 hours in advance, you should age your beef. To do this, moderately salt both sides of each fillet with kosher salt. Then, place a tray into a baking pan and put the fillets on the rack. Place in frig uncovered until it’s time to cook. If you have time, try to let the beef age 24 hours. You will notice that at first the salt draws moisture from the beef, but then the salty moisture is reabsorbed.
The next step in my process is not necessary of usually done, but since I happened to be cold smoking salmon and cheese today, I put the fillets into the smoker 1 hr before cooking. The next step however, is important, you need a heavy pan, I use cast iron, but a heavy stainless steel pan will work. You want a heavy pan to keep a constant temperature when you place the cold fillets in them.
Preheat your oven to 400 deg. F. and start heating your pan on the stove top over med-high heat. Once hot, add enough avocado oil to cover the bottom. Heat the oil to 400 deg F. If you don’t have thermometer, beside shame on you, just keep the oil below the smoke point. Add the fillets and just leave them alone for ~4 mins. Flip once and fry another 4 mins. At this point the fillets should have the start of a nice crust, but the inside is still raw.
Flip the fillets and put the pan in the oven. Bake steaks ~3 mins and then flip and bake another 3 mins. While the fillets are baking, slice one shallot, peel six cloves of garlic, set aside one sprig of Thyme and cut a half stick of butter into slices.
Return pan to the stove top at med-high heat. Add butter, shallots, garlic and thyme. Cook fillets until the internal temperature reaches 120F for rare or 130F for medium. While the steaks are cooking, constantly spoon the butter onto the top of the steaks. The butter will gain flavor from the herbs and help build a nice crust on the steak. Flip the steak occasional.
Decide which side each fillet you want to be on top when you serve. Using tongs, sear the sides of the fillets as well. When the steaks reach the right internal temperature, place on a wooden board to rest. Spoon the butter and herbs on top and let the meat rest 10 mins. This is an important and often overlooked step. The internal temperature of the steak is cooler than the surface. You need to let the fillets reach an even temperature so the juices evenly distribute.
To serve, slice each fillet in half and place on a plate with one half leaning against the other half. Spoon just enough butter on top to give the steaks a shiny glisten. Add your side dishes and serve.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Beef
- 1 Shallot – sliced
- 6 cloves garlic – peeled
- 1 Thyme sprig
- 2 oz butter – sliced
