Big Ribeye

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Friday, April 8. 2022

We bought two big ribeyes at Costco a few weeks ago. They were Top Choice, not Prime. I measured them - 3 1/2 inches thick. I forget the weight, but I have never cooked a steak that thick. (I should have put the ruler next to the photo.) For us, that's 4 meals.

Readers know that pan-seared is the only way to go with good steak, especially ribeye. Chefs agree. Here's a good discussion of the topic.

Thing is, you can't really pan-sear a piece over 2 inches thick. My chef consultant suggested pan-searing the heck out of it in butter + olive oil, then finish in the oven. She said 130 (F) in the center with the meat thermometer, which I could not find. I thought we had two.

So I seared all sides of it in the cast iron pan (very smokey), and put the pan in the oven at 400 degrees. Winging it. After 20 minutes, I checked the inside and the meat was not even rare yet. It took a while to get medium-rare. When I checked it again it was perfect. I do remember that meat keeps cooking for a while after you remove it from heat.

Here's Cast Iron Pan-Seared Steak (Oven-Finished)

Tasty.

Posted by Bird Dog in Food and Drink at 13:52 | Comments (16) | Trackbacks (0)

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Chef’s agree, because they don’t have a Big Green Egg in the kitchen.

Years ago, based on the recommendation of Maggie’s, I tried the pan sear method. Didn’t work for me. It did take the seasoning right off my good cast iron griddle.

#1 B. Hammer on 2022-04-08 14:06 (Reply)

Rib eye is my favorite cut. They have gotten to be pretty expensive though. With the new concern for food shortages, which seems to be more intentional than accidental, I may have to give up steak. Hopefully our central planners in government have made a decision to put our citizens first and have reduced or better halted export of grain from the U.S. Also it must surely have occurred to them to halt the ethanol production to save the corn for food purposes. I feel confident our administration is got this taken care of.

I do fear that the coming food crisis is planned (like the last dozen or so crisis'es). If you doubt it remember these are the same folks who killed your grandparents in nursing homes and denied you life saving drugs during the pandemic because simply acknowledging that those drugs were effective made Trump look good. And you think they wouldn't starve a few of the hoi polloi to death to create a crisis where they can seize more power. Wake up! Your Democrat party has turned communist.

#2 JustMe on 2022-04-08 15:05 (Reply)

Hopefully our central planners in government have made a decision to put our citizens You answered your own question in the second paragraph.

Costco really does have some great meats. I find that their Premium sirloins are actually more flavorful and more tender than the Choice ribeyes. We load up and use the Food Saver vacuum packer for freezer duty.

#2.1 Aggie on 2022-04-08 15:32 (Reply)

I inherited a very heavy 18 inch cast iron pan from my Mom and my sons bought me an outdoor 200,000 BTU propane burner stand.

The burner and huge pan work great to sear steak. Outdoors the smoke does not matter, except it cause the neighbours to sniff the air and leer at us over the fence looking for invites.

#3 Fred Z on 2022-04-08 15:50 (Reply)

A colleague of mine swears by sous-vide cooking for steaks, especially thick ones. He adds thyme, salt and pepper and cooks the sealed steak for 2 hours at 130F and then gives it a quick sear on a heavy cast iron pan.

I've just acquired a "water oven", sous-vide bags and a sealer and am waiting for barbecue season to start so I can try it for myself.

#4 Al_in_Ottawa on 2022-04-08 19:10 (Reply)

Gah! Cook your meat over flames, the way the gods intended you to do.

With a steak that thick, doing a reverse sear on a gas grill WITH A SEARER is the best way to go.

Start by warming up your grill, but with the burners very, very low. Put the steak on and leave sit for 2 minutes, then turn and leave sit for 2 minutes. Lather, rinse, and repeat turning every two minutes until the steak reaches somewhere between 110° and 115°F in the middle, measured with an instant-read probe-type thermometer. A couple of turns before it hits those magic numbers, fire up the searer to full blast and let it get cherry-red hot.

Transfer the steak to the searer, and put it on the first side for 30 seconds. Don't be alarmed when the fat starts dripping and igniting on the searer, sending flames soaring...that's normal. Because it was cooked over very low heat, the fat should have barely been sizzling when on the grill. Flip it to the other side for 30 seconds more, and then do it over again for a total of 1 minute of searing on each side.

Transfer to a warmed-up plate, cut into portions (split the crown evenly, don't hog it all), season with salt and pepper to taste, and DEVOUR.

#5 Blackwing1 on 2022-04-08 19:19 (Reply)

I'm with COL B on the reverse sear. I don't like corn likker in my gas, nor gas in my steak. Either sear in an iron pan or with a wood flame.

#5.1 Mike Anderson (Link) on 2022-04-09 04:45 (Reply)

Oh, by the way, if you like rib-eye steaks you probably also love prime rib.

The single best recipe is from Cook's Illustrated's issue of November/December 2017 (pages 16 and 17), which is a step-by-step recipe for the best reverse-sear method of a prime rib roast. It also includes basic information on how to select your cut.

I just checked their web site, and that recipe doesn't show up as part of that issue...I made a photocopy and a .pdf file of it, but can't load it to the comments. Sorry.

#6 Blackwing1 on 2022-04-08 19:31 (Reply)

That Fever Tree ginger beer is pretty great too.

#7 Wilbur Hassenfus on 2022-04-08 20:17 (Reply)

Reverse sear. Oven at 275* F. Digital temperature probe embedded in center. Cook steak in oven until internal temperature hits 127* F. Remove steak from oven for 10 minutes to rest. High heat with gas burner on cast iron skillet with ridges with 6 minutes remaining on the steak's "rest". Skillet should be close to 500 degrees when you drop the steak in. 40 seconds on first side then rotate 90 degrees and another 40 seconds on that side. Flip, 40 seconds sear, then rotate 90 degrees for another 40 second sear.
Perfect medium-rare every time...
Don't even get me talking about carmelized/sauteed onion (large), 1/2 cup Amish Blue Cheese, 1 cup heavy cream cooked and then eaten with the steak...

#8 COL B on 2022-04-08 20:28 (Reply)

Tasty, indeed. I gave up meat for Lent, so even a picture like that makes my mouth water. I could eat thin raw slices of that right now. We have a bone-in rib roast waiting in the freezer for the Easter feast.

I would be making Philly cheese steaks the next day, with Whiz not provolone. That's the best way to eat a ribeye. I hope you cooked it extra rare, cold in the center.

#9 jack walter on 2022-04-09 07:28 (Reply)

DIRECTIONS
With a steak at room temp, generally cover with salt and pepper.
Place the steak on a cooling rack on top of the foil-lined baking sheet.
Place steak in oven at 275 degree until internal temp is 125 degrees (use a thermometer so you get the exact temp).
Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes.
In a cast iron skillet on med high heat, add oil HARD sear each side.
Can be served immediately since it already had a resting period.

#10 Steve Korbet on 2022-04-09 11:01 (Reply)

I have had success with the sous vide method. Especially useful for a large event with staggered arrivals. Steaks sit there medium rare from edge to edge until you sear them. No flavor lost since it's in a sealed bag.

Worked well even with improvised methods (large pot in oven, ziploc bags). I imagine it's even easier with the digital circulator thingie they sell.

It seems like this is exactly what you want to do - get and hold uniform temperature across a thick piece of meat.

#11 Ben David on 2022-04-09 14:08 (Reply)

Another sous vide vote. Just did a 2-incher. 129 degrees, 2 hours, then red-hot pan sear. Perfectly rare/medium rare, juicy, blackened surface. Heaven. I learned from the expensive steakhouse guys in Minneapolis, who do all their steaks this way.

#12 bobby b on 2022-04-10 01:52 (Reply)

Sous vide is the way to go for steaks this thick. 128-129 deg F for 1 1/4 to 2 hours. Very hot pan sear or grill sear 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side. Absolute perfection. If you are willing to spend the money on good piece of meat (now >$20/pound), you might as well do it right. Side note, also did this method on a whole tenderloin for my wife's birthday a few weeks ago. Again, perfection.

#13 bobn (Link) on 2022-04-10 10:08 (Reply)

Sous vide all the way for a piece like that, followed by cast iron pan or the grill to sear it. For the amount of money invested in the meat, I wouldn't mess about with it any other way.

Reverse sear would be my next choice.

Thermodynmaics are pretty clear about the outside being overdone while the middle will never get there if you just blast the crap out of it with high heat. Don't get me wrong, I love me some char but for that much meat, I want it all done right.

Sous vide beef wellington is next level.

#14 Old Canuck on 2022-04-11 08:24 (Reply)

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Friday, April 8. 2022

Big Ribeye