What cut of steak did you use? How long and at what temp were they in the oven for?

Oops... cut would have been good to mention. Vacuum-packed NY strip from Wegman's.

Time and temp are discussed upthread.

275 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until the internal temp is 90-95 degrees.

Were they big strips? Just curious as to how many steaks you could could over the chimney starter at a time.

Two decently sized strips.

They cook so fast it's really no trouble to do it in batches if you have more than two.

Good stuff Mr Cole!!

Okay, I got pictures this time.



Note that the steak is cooked evenly all the way through, and nicely charred on the outside.

I've found that, with the slow oven/jet engine method that the interior will sometimes look slightly more pink than you'd want with medium-rare - but I assure you that the actual temperature, as well as the taste and texture, is consistent with rare to medium-rare. This NY strip melted in our mouths, seasoned with just a little salt and pepper and (for me) a bit of roquefort.

What was the internal temperature when this was complete?

About 130.

Although right now it's at a steady 98.6

Did a test of the (modified) Cooks Illus method today on regular grocery store Choice ribeyes. Sale package of six 1" steaks. Salted and peppered all, then put four of them in 275 oven till thermometer in one read 90 degrees, only about 12 minutes due to the relative thinness of the steaks, then on the grill over a hot hardwood lump charcoal fire for a couple of minutes per side for medium rare. Grilled the remaining two without the oven method.

No comparison between the two methods -- the CI method steaks were far, far superior in taste. My wife and I were frankly quite surprised at the difference. A simple way to enhance Choice cuts, certainly.

Wow--you got good results from 1" steaks--most excellent!

Those of you with smokers--this method is easily transferrable to this medium. Fully smoke-suffused, gloriously rare, thick ribeyes...you dig?

I was waiting to try the method on some thick strips, but my son's dinner request after a week at band camp was a sale package of ribeyes he brought to me in the store. He knew he would eat two, so I thought what the heck, let's see if the oven method will have any effect on these thin, run-of-the-mill Safeway cuts. My wife and I each had the CI steak first, then a bite of the non-CI steak. We were skeptical going into this but the difference was unquestionable.

Question: would using the method on nice dry-aged Prime (or even Choice) from the butcher be worthwhile (could it hurt?), or, to use my father-in-law's expression, would it be like rubbing butter on a fat pig's ass?

I have the same question as well. I'll be cooking for my in-law's anniversary dinner this weekend and I was thinking about going up to Whole Foods to get some prime dry-aged strips. Would the "prime dry-aged" strips be superfluous?

It won't be superfluous, but I'd get double- or triple-cut steaks (small roasts) to exacerbate the effect and to give you a little more room for error on the searing front.

From what I remember about the print article (which they left out of the online version), they went into much more detail about the searing of the steak. They found that pan searing a steak first (and THEN putting it into the oven), greatly reduced the temperature of the pan (even for those steaks that had been at room temperature before the searing). Once the steak hit the pan, the temperature would drop significantly and then have to work its way back up to its original temperature. My interpretation of the article was that they put the steaks in the oven first, so that when you pan sear it (afterwards) the pan would maintain its high temperature and produce a superior sear on the steak.

WARNING - NOVICE QUESTION ABOUT TO BE ASKED:

What's a double or triple cut steak? Is this the thickness? I was thinking about a 1 1/2" to 1 3/4" cut

One more question:

On the online edition of Cook's Illustrated's "The Problem with Thick-Cut Steaks" article, there's a video titled "Why does it matter when I salt the steaks?". In the video, it shows a raw piece of meat with salt on it, time-lapsed over a period of 60 minutes to show the moisture being reabsorbed into the meat. The narration says:

"A piece of salted meat will release moister over the course of 20 minutes through a process known as “osmosis”. This liquid will inhibit browning if you try to pan sear the meat too soon. But if you wait a bit longer, the salts on the surface will dissolve in this liquid, creating a brine in which the course of 40 minutes will break down the large muscle fibers in the meat, allowing the liquids in the meat to be reabsorbed and creating juicier and more flavorful results".

It looks like the steak is sitting out (with salt on it) for close to an hour. Has anyone tried this? What were your results?

Well...of course! Ain't basic thermodynamics grand? However, I'm assuming that you're comparing the same searing surface at the same starting temp in both cases, which in the latter case usually implies a separate baking dish.

I am referring to thickness. My view would be to do fewer, thicker steaks, then slice before service. I think this technique works best with 3" or so steaks/roasts (and maybe even a lower oven/smoker temperature than 275). YMMV. If you want a bit of margin for error, get rib steaks instead of strips .

Alright, did the steak thing tonight. Went up to Whole Foods and bought 3 - 2 1/2" choice, dry-aged strip steaks. Cooked them at 275 for 30 minutes, let them sit under an aluminum foil tent for 10 minutes, and then finished them on the chimney. Served them with a side of spinach (that was tossed in a reduction of shallot slices, chicken stock, white wine, lemon juice, and butter) and mashed, roasted cauliflower with roasted garlic (my in-laws can't eat potatoes).

The results were right on! Easily the best steaks I've ever made! Next time I think I'll increase the oven time (because of the thickness) and I'll let the hardwoods burn down a little more before I put the steaks on. I let the hardwoods burn down half way, but I still had major flair-ups and had to keep removing the steaks.

Those are some mighty fine looking pieces of meat, my friend. To prevent flareups, trim the fat off and discard.

Do you trim them before they go into the oven or before they go on the chimney starter?

That's an excellent question. I don't think it matters, although you'll probably have an easier time trimming them while they're still cold.

If you can, I'd recommend trimming post-oven. If the fat remains while in the oven, you'll get the self-basting as it melts. Probably just need a good heat-resistant glove for one hand to pin the thing down while you remove excess fat.

Trim off all but 1/4" of fat post-oven. If you remove more than that, you'll lose the seal/flavor effect that the fat imparts on the grill. To avoid having to remove the steaks during a flare-up, just build the fire so there's a cool spot on one part of the grill, and put them there until the flame ebbs. Judging from the look of those steaks, though, you're doing everything perfectly.

Thanks for the tips bioesq! I used Dan's grilling technique where he grills them directly over the chimney starter for about 30 seconds on each side the get that nice crust. I think I will trim a lot of the fat next time, but mostly, I think I just didn't let the coals burn down as far as I should have.

Okay, I think this brings up another issue. We all know that the interior fat marbling of a steak is one of the best indicators of flavor. But does the big hunk of fat on the outside (fat cap? gristle?) do anything other than annoy the diner?

I say no.

The fat is on the sides. How could it possibly seal in anything? The top and bottom of the steak are open to the grill. You'd need the entire steak to be wrapped in fat for any "sealing" to take place.

The whole point of grilling over high heat is char - if you leave the fat on, you have an entire side of your steak being charred that you're not even going to eat!

The fat is too big to "melt" into the steak like the interior marbling does, especially in the short time it takes to grill a steak to medium-rare.

Finally, I've heard the whole "move it to a cool spot" technique before. The key to good steaks is to leave them alone! This way you get good grills marks and char. Every time you move the steaks to a cool area you're taking them out of Maillard range.

Of course, I'm speaking entirely from theory and very limited experience. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?

In the realm of strip steaks, the gristly edge can be cooked to tenderness, if you cook directly on that side (requires a thick steak). It doesn't baste anything, but it's gooooood.

Is the steak in the picture even warm inside. I prefer my steak cooked to the point that the middle is pink and warm not red and cold.

Yes they were. They were around 105 degrees when I took them out of the oven. I let them sit for 10 minutes (and the temp increased) before I put them on the grill.

Do you suggest removing the entire strip of fat and just leaving the meat exposed? Seems to me you ought to leave it on-- at least it seals or bastes, or whatever, that one side. I'd rather trim the fat after it's cooked. And as J.P. Arrot points out, a bite or two of fat ain't a bad thing, cardiovascular concerns aside.

The outside fat adds extra flavor as it sears, seals off the edge of the meat from the possibility of overcooking and, as it drips onto the charcoal, further enhances the smoke flavor notwithstanding an occasional flare-up. Perfect, cross- hatched grill marks, while visually appealing, are a matter of presentation, and not flavor; in short, style over substance when dealing with a minor inconvenience such as a few flames spiking. The key to good, grilled steak is to buy the best meat possible, use quality hardwood and develop the experience and instinct that allows you to avoid grinding your teeth over theory. The other thing that’s helpful, and I speak with forty-plus years of experience putting meat on a fire, is to have your third Martini only after the steaks are finished.

Thanks to the advice on this thread, I've now tried the Cook's Illustrated 275 oven -> pan method twice and I love it. Each time the steak has come out incredibly flavorful, perfectly pink (not rare), and.. DRY. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong, but here are the details - I don't have a instant-read thermometer, so I'm playing it by ear, leaving 1.5-2 inch boneless ribeye steaks in the oven for about 23-25 minutes, then directly into the hot pan for 1.5-2 min per side. After the pan searing is done, I leave them on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes, loosely tented. When I come back, each time I have noticed a lot of juice under the rack - I have not cut in to the steak or anything, yet somehow my juices are leaking out. Does anyone have any idea what I might be doing wrong? I'm going to try again tonight, and leave the steak in for less time in the oven in hopes it will retain the juice. Less time in the pan as well. Thanks in advance!

Could be anything...

1) Where'd the steak come from? Forget grade, is it a quality piece of meat (good marbling)?
2) Do you manipulate the steak at all with a fork? That can pierce it.
3) You say "juices are leaking out." A little liquid loss is perfectly normal. Does it actually TASTE dry, or are you just going by what you see?

Try sticking some butter on top while it's in the oven?

I also want to see the answer to #3 above. These are rib-eyes and the marbling will melt and produce a good deal of juices.

If the steaks were actually dry then my question is, Were the steaks frozen?

Sticking butter on top will not make the inside of the steak any juicier. Might make it tastier if you like that sort of thing, but it will only mask the dryness.

I haven't seen the CI method so I'm wondering if it suggests cooling them on a rack? Seems to me, a rack would cause more drippage.

I don't see it as causing more or more drippage... it's not like if you cooled them on a plate that the plate would somehow form an airtight seal on the bottom of the steak.

Which would dry out faster: a soaked sponge sitting on a rack or flat against the counter? Obviously a hunk of meat ain't a sponge, but any time you put something on a rack, it's with the intention of exposing it to air to keep it dry.

Not really the same thing. When pan roasting steaks I cool them on a rack so that the crust stays crisp and I don't get much 'drippage'. Although I used the same cut of meat I cook them with a different technique.

Okay so before I answer, I cooked a steak that night - it was an 1-1.5inch thick ribeye from a grocery store in St. Louis, but in retrospect the meat did not compare to Whole Foods quality, though it was fairly marbled - I have to confess I'm not exactly sure what *good* marbling looks like though. This steak ended up being juicy, but lacking in flavor - the amount of juice leaking while sitting was not as great as in past efforts. But, I realized I forgot to post about another consistent problem I have with this method - the steak is luke-warm at best by the time I eat it after it's sat for 10 minutes, even with a foil tent. I prefer it to be a little warmer - anyone know, does it have to sit for the full 10, or would 5 do?

1. First time I tried this method, the steak came from Whole Foods - Dry Aged 2-inch Boneless Ribeye. Second time, Ribeye from butcher at a grocery store, but still somewhat good marbling. Third time, Ribeye from good grocery store, perhaps not good quality meat. (As an aside, I showed my bro this method, and he's become quite adept at it using Frozen ribeye steaks, says they come out juicy and delicious. I've never tried this method using frozen steak).
2. No manipulation with a fork. I use tongs to take the steak from the oven rack and place it in the pan, tongs to flip, tongs to put it on the cooling rack.
3. First time I did it, used a pyrex bowl for my cooling location, loosely tented. This was a fairly large steak, and the amount of juice underneath was a good sized puddle. The steak being of such great quality, it still tasted delicious - but the meat definitely tasted dry. The second time I did it, I used a wire cooling rack, there was a puddle underneath though not as large as the first time, and the meat again was tasty but dry. Third time the meat was juicy, but the steak wasn't as flavorful.

Also, obviously I've not mastered this method, but the first steak I cooked (the whole foods one) still had the gray area in the steak the method purports to eliminate... I'm determined to keep trying, thanks to everyone for the advice!

Doesn't sound like you're doing anything wrong. Just keep practicing - it's a pretty foolproof method.

Maybe send in some photos of your efforts? You might just be being overly critical

Alright, going for attempt #4 tonight. This time with a good-sized Porterhouse from Whole Foods. Not frozen, bought on Sunday. Should I remove the meat from the bone before putting it in the oven, or is it good to go, bone-in? Will report back, I'm really hoping I don't screw this one up!

Are you planning on using the low-oven/sear method like you did upthread? It's tough to sear a Porterhouse, as the bone often prevents the meat from getting good contact with the pan.

Yes, I was going to do the CI low-oven / sear method. Hmm... good point, maybe I need to consider other options.

This method worked so well with steaks that I started getting a little crazy and tweaking it for use with pork chops and burgers. It is amazing. When they are already at almost a rare/medium rare in the middle I can crank the frying pan up to the highest heat possible and really get a nice crusty sear on the outside but still evenly cooked and juicy on the inside. And for the record I think Alton brown debunked that whole "searing first to lock in juices" thing in his mythbuster take off didn't he?

Harold McGee debunked this in the first edition of On Food and Cooking 20 or so years ago. Not saying he's the first but it certainly wasn't Alton.

Anyone have thoughts on whether the CI low-oven / sear method is going to do anything for a hanger steak? They're only an inch thick, so I'm wondering if I'd be wasting my time with this.

Wasting your time. This method is an urban myth. Do you think Michael at Rays uses it. My steak is spectacular when I fire up the weber for 45 minutes before using it. Give time for the wine to breath and me to drink a glass., 2nd glass is consumed between each side on the grill.. If The steaks are think I put tin foil over steaks to keep heat down low, probably gets over 1000 degrees that way.

There is no way any reputable steak house does the low over sear. And I have assisted at L'academie for over 10 years and they don't use that method either.

Rub yes. Marinade yes.. Drink wine while grilling yes.. Low over..no

For what it's worth, that's a waste of energy, flavor and time. I picked up a flat iron steak at Balducci's on Sunday that was about an inch thick, and grilled it over hardwood lump-- 3 1/2 minutes a side. It had a beautiful char, and was rare to medium rare. Although I have a cast iron grate insert for my Weber, and it cooks a bit faster than the standard grate, I would think that you wouldn't need more than an extra minute with hardwood.

Michael also has access to superior cuts of beef, specialized equipment, and has the time and drive to quality control his dry aging. What works at a restaurant doesn't necessarily work at home. I don't feel like less of a man when I use my oven's broiler instead of an industrial-sized salamander (which is not to say that having one wouldn't make me feel like MORE of a man).

Um ok. Call me an ancient Greek I guess cause I now believe in myths. I could care less how steak houses or (as much as i respect his steak skills) Landrum does it because of the hundreds of steaks and method experimentation I have done at home in my life, the 4 I have done with this method take the top 4 spots and it isn't even close. They had an exact medium rare doneness throughout the entire 1 1/2-2 inches with a perfectly crunchy exterior. I am sure there are more "professional" steak house approved methods for this but this is soooo easy to do and has worked perfectly every time I tried it.

All that said I do think it is a waste of time for hanger/skirt/flank steak.