A couple of weeks ago, I caught a few minutes of a cooking show - something like "The sience of..." and they were talking about the sience of cooking steaks. They reccommended pre-cooking steaks in the oven at 275 degrees before grilling, broiling or frying them. Something about the proteins tenderizing the meat at that temperature.

Anyone ever try this? I was going to give it a try the next time we have steaks.

 

I've heard of boiling ribs before throwing them on the grille, but not pre-cooking steaks. Let us know how that turns out.

 

Not heard of that either, cooking the steak at room temp, yes. But not precooking.

 

I've done some searching online but haven't been able to find the real explanation, but have found a couple of recepies that use similar techniques (some use ~250 degrees).

I will try this sometime this week and report back.

 

Never heard of that method for steaks. It might be used for tough cuts of meat.

 

I think it's good for all kinds of steaks. One other reason for this is to get the inside to cook more evenly with the outside. You don't cook it long enough to get the whole steak to 250, but enough to bering the inside of the steak around 100 degrees, IIRC. That way you don't end up with steak that's charred on the outside and still raw on the inside.

 

How does a steak "cook" at 70 degrees F?

 

 

It just takes a while.

 

Cook steak at room temp as opposed to taking it out of the fridge cold and putting it on the grill.

 

Interesting. I think caterers do something similar. The meat is pre-cooked and then finished to the required done-ness.

 

Yeh....we're just wise arses around here.

 

That makes more sense.

 

This is the method I always use, to make sure the center is warm

"Basically I am looking for a warm pink center... Aren't we all?" -Waiting

 

I know they do it with a roast to seal in the juices and to cut it faster in the oven.

 

 

I do the reverse... I char the outside with the hottest grille possible very quickly, then I cover it and cook at low temp. until the center is at 145*F for med-rare, or 160*F for medium.


I want to experiment with steaks on the smoker one day. I'll try it two ways: one will be charred first before going in the smoker, the other will be smoked first then lightly grilled to finish. I'm thinking the pre-charred one will turn out better because it's similar to how I cook brisket.

 

^^ I did see one recipe where they did the high heat first and finished it off with low heat. I'm going to try low->high first.

 

I've done the high-heat seared then finished off on low indirect heat and it works very well.

On my grill, which is a cheap 3-burner Brinkman, I heat it to as close to 500 degrees as I can (according to the thermometer in the lid.) Sear both sides for two minutes each, then turn off the center burner and turn the left/right burners down to 75% or so and leave the hood up for a couple of minutes. I aim for the thermometer to be around 275 to 300 degrees, lid down, for the final cooking.

A side note, I actually do turn the meat 4 times during that 4 minute sear to get the diamond pattern. Vanity I know, but it does make a great presentation and I think it sets everyone's mind to eating a really good steak when that pattern is present.

I like it anyway.

We just got a membership to the new Costco that opened here last month, we received a coupon for $5 off some pretty decent looking steaks. I'll give the low-heat, high heat finish a try this weekend and let you know how it works for me.

Anyone know if the meat at Costco is actually worth purchasing? We have a VERY good place to get great dead animals close by, but if any of you have good experience with Costco I'd like to hear.

 

cooking the meat at a lower temp and finishing at hihger temp is FTW. when you sear or grill first the protein will tense up and give you a less tender final product. if you cook it low and slow the protein will stay "relaxed" and thus giving you a more tender and an all around better color in the middle.

high heat = less tender and less area of "rareness"
low heat to high heat = more are of "rareness". more tender. and same outer crust.

 

Costco is a great place to buy meat. I don't know where else to find quality cuts of meat with great prices so Costco is where I go.

 

i like steak

 

No Costco near me. I get all our meats from BJ's. It is a lot better than any store. I think the only place better will either be a butcher or a farm.

This thread is going to force me to fire up my grill.

 

Good to hear at least one person has used this method before and recommends it.

I usually get steaks from Stater Bros. grocery store or Coscto. Most other grocery stores have terrible meats or they are way too expensive for what they are. For real good meat, I'll go to a butcher shop.

 

+1 for costco meat. if you do not have a local butcher then costco is the way to go. choice grade (2nd best) and fairly cheap.

 

I haven't had a steak in over two or so weeks. The 25(+)oz ribeye I had a while ago is still holding me over.

 

OK guys I have tried both methods, using New York strips from Costco both times. As a matter of fact the meat all came from the same package.

First let me state this; the Costco meat was awesome. Very flavorful and tender. I'm sold on Costco being a place to buy quality meats.

I used my standard method of searing then slow cooking and the steaks turned out wonderfully as usual, that was this past weekend.

On Wednesday night I tried the slow cook then sear method and I was not as happy with the results. While the steak still turned out OK, it was not nearly as juicy and honestly it was a bit tougher, although not what I would call "tough" over all.

Both times the meat ended up medium-rare.

Maybe it was something I did incorrectly, but I'm not sold on the slow then fast cooking method. To me it seems that it is important to get a good sear to seal the meat, then slowly cook the center. That way the juices stay where they are supposed to.

I'll try again and experiment to see if I can get better results.

CanopyFlyer

 

Costco meat FTW. I usually buy a big slab of Top Sirloin or Rib for around $100 and slice it myself at home. Typically get 30-40 steaks depending on thickness.

 

Cutting it yourself is the way to go, That's what I did in college to be able to eat steak affordably. If you can fit the side in the freezer for about an hour before cutting it makes it a lot easier too.

 

Freezing is a good tip. It also helps that I have a slicer, like the ones you see at a deli. Only smaller.

 

Thanks for posting your results, Dougler.

I also tried the slow cook then sear method this week, but with Filet.

I had two ~7 oz. filets. I rubbed in some season salt, pepper and garlic powder then put them in the oven at 250 for about 20-25 minutes (I didn't time it). I then seared them in a little butter for about 3 minutes each side.

They came out medium - which is how we like it - and pretty darn tender, though, maybe not as juicy. Still, probably the best I have ever made. Keep in mind that I usually grill, so it's not really an apples to apples comparison. Granted, these were some pretty decent cuts and I need to try it with some other meats. I have some Top Sirloin that I plan to try sometime next week.

 

The in-laws were up for a visit this weekend and we grilled two more steaks on Saturday (each one large enough to feed two people). Both steaks were virtually identical in size, weight, marbling and thickness.

Both steaks were coated with olive oil, salt and pepper.

My mother-in-law, who is a fantastic cook, took one and slowly cooked it in a relatively low temp oven. I think she kept it around 300 degrees. Then she brought it out to me to sear it on the grill.

The other steak I cooked using my usual method of high heat sear, then slow cook, all done on the grill.

Both steaks were done to medium-rare.

The consensus among the 4 of us is that the high heat sear/ slow cook resulted in a much better steak, as it was juicier and more tender. The other steak was good and readily edible, but just not as good a the other one.

So there you go, two different attempts, one of which was a side-by-side comparison. The low heat/ high heat method just does not produces as good a steak, at least for us. Your results may be different, or there may be something I'm missing about the slow cook/ fast cook method.

Canopyflyer

 

you need to get the steaks in a very low oven. 180-200 degrees. until the internal temp is ~125 (i would flip the steak once because the side touching the pan will be hotter). then into a SMOKING hot pan. do not use butter because it has a lower smoke point which will prevent you from getting the pan hot enough for the quick sear. use peanut or canola oil. then you can always baste it with butter at the end.

 

I just took another shot at this last night. Put two Porterhouse steaks in the oven @ 200 degrees before searing them. They came out AWESOME. Both sides (fillet and strip) were very tender. Nearly melt in your mouth, which is unexpected since they were USDA Select cuts.

My main issues with this method is it take a very long time. These were relatively thin cuts and after over 45 minutes in the oven @ 200, they still weren't as cooked as we would have liked. I need to use a meat thermometer from now on instead of trying to guess at it.

Cliffs:
- Success.

 

What's the point though if I can get a steak to the same level with 10 minutes on the BBQ with less clean up?

 

The tenderness. I've always used the grill before trying this and it ALWAYS comes out tougher than this. Basically, you get the tenderness of a prime cut with the cost of select.

 

Meh, I pour 1/2 bottle of A1 on it anyways....

 

GTFO. You do not deserve to eat steak anywhere other than Sizzler or Denny's.

 

A touch of steak spice rub+garlic is the most it needs.

 

Seems to work..I went to a high end restaurant and the steaks came out wonderful. We asked how they cooked them...they said they were baked at 375 for awhile THEN grilled to give them the grill marks and finish up cooking. The meat was tender and juicy. BTW, this was Shanghai Red's in Marina Del Rey, CA.