Perfect Ribeye Steak

I did up a couple of tenderloins the other day. I seared them for two minutes on each side and than put them in the oven (in the cast iron pan) for about 12 minutes at 500 degrees. I was looking for an internal temp of 125. Thinking back the only thing that could have made them better was to smoke them for a bit first.

LCNSac-Was gonna do some spars, two racks but everwhere I looked had solution added, so I passed, instead bought two cab ribeyes about 1 and 1/4 lbs. ea. followed your recipe man oh man was one of the best steaks I have ever cooked and grilled .....tks for your tip, will do steaks only this way, better half looks said it all-uhm, uhm...fyi-did find some spars at a meat market all natural late Fri...their days are numbered

LCNSac & Beef Jerkey, I see one of you mentioned that it was better than Morton's, so are you saying there still a nice Morton's style char crust from the oil & grill?

I think two reasons Morton's is so hard to duplicate is that first off they use dry aged prime beef, which is hard to get. And secondly, those dual zone ovens they use one with infrared searing and the other for cooking to temp are a tough act to replicate on my Weber. I'll have to try this idea.

Tried this one today with costco NY steaks. Salt & Pepper rub, chunk of apple wood & garlic cloves in wood box, 175 for 1 hr 15 min. Finished on weber.

Flavor was awesome. They were a little tougher than I like though. Did I leave them in the smoker too long?

Bill

quote:

Originally posted by Cubs Win:

Did I leave them in the smoker too long?

Bill

Tenderness could be:

1. Quality of the steak
2. Cut of the steak
3. Grade of the steak
4. Overcooked

How's that?

I will try that one tonight. Looks like a winner. Here is a way to do steaks that I ( and many others) have had great luck with:

Kevinator Method


Start with the best steak(s) you can afford, and it's ideal they be about 2" thick. Take 'em out of the fridge early and let 'em get up to room temp. Give 'em a good olive oil massage like you're makin' love. Season 'em with salt and pepper or something else if you wish, but know this; you're gonna sear 'em over incredibly high heat which will probably burn any herbs or spices if you lay it on too thick. You can be a little generous with the salt, as it will help form a nice crust without tasting salty. Let 'em rest to enjoy the loving massage.

Set up your grill with the coals on one side, and nothing on the other. This is an ideal situation for lump. I use and recommend mesquite -- it's perfect for beef. DO NOT be skimpy with the coals. Essentially, you're going to build the hottest fire you can build. Be generous, and pile the coals to a height of about 2-3" below the cooking grate. Be sure to have enough coals for the amount of room your steak(s) will require. The heat should be so hot you fear you'll melt the grill. Once your coals are ripping, put the lid on (all vents wide open) and go get your steak(s). It'll only be a few minutes to showtime.

Remove the lid and set it down some place safe -- it will be wicked hot. Place the steak(s) on the grill directly over the coals (you may need tongs to do this) and DO NOT MOVE 'EM. Don't use the lid (yet). Leave them alone no matter what happens (flames, hissing, popping, steam, smoke, etc) for 2 minutes, then rotate 1/4 turn and wait 2 more minutes. Turn over and do the same to the other side. Use a watch with a second hand to time yourself, and don't cheat. This is the searing process, and it requires super high heat and nerves of steel.

After a frightening sear, move 'em to the cool side. Throw a man-sized handful of mesquite chips right through the grill onto the coals, and drop the lid on. Smoke will be billowing shortly. So much for the science... now comes the art.

Depending on how you like your steak will determine how long before you lift the lid and pull the meat. I like the rare side of medium rare, so I'm thinkin' about 4 minutes. If you know the "poke test" of the meat between your index finger and thumb, do that. You may want to use an instant read thermometer. With experience (sorry) you'll "just know" when.

When the magic moment arrives, use tongs to lift your beauties to a warm platter, and cover (tent) with foil. Don't strangle all the juice out of 'em trying to get the foil tight. Loose is the key word here. Now wait, and wait, and wait... for at least 10 minutes, or more if you're really good with the whole "deferred gratification" thing.

Enjoy,
Kevinator

Allboy: Ah yes, that method sounds like someone in pursuit of the magical Morton's style char crust.

I once read on someones grilling forum (I cant recall who�s) that "when the meat is first put on the grill that it will grab onto the hot grate with the intensity of a newlywed couple" and that when it the meat finally releases its hold from the grill that it is time to turn it 45� for a few more minutes (about 3-5), then flip it over and give it 5 more minutes and then finally 3-5 minutes rotated 45� to finish. This way you get those great diamond grill marks, let the meat rest 10-15 minutes (so as to not loose the internal juices)and serve.

Cubs: As smokin� said, there lot of variables on why a steak is tough, since the cut was a strip steak its pretty fibrous to start with, unless you bought choice or prime it would have less marbling (fat) with which to be tender. Also wet or dry aging and thickness play a role in the steak being tender as well. Ever notice how the top steakhouses always serve wet/dry aged prime beef and the cuts are almost always 1-1/2"-2" thick on average?

I personally love ribeye�s and fillets, and here in Chicago the highest regarded cut is the Chicago bone-in ribeye. As a matter of fact, just this Saturday I had the �cowboy cut�(bone-in ribeye) at Ruth Chris. Not quite Morton�s but damn good.

This year I rigged my Weber with one of those long cast iron griddles from Lodge, it sits on the top warming rack about 5� above the meat, and it boy does it hold the heat during these crazy winter days!

Since my birthday is Wednesday I already told my wife to pick up a case of choice ribeye�s from Sam�s, I plan on mesquite smoking them for about an hour, and then plopping them on the modified Weber inferno. I usually brush on a blend of olive oil, soy sauce, a dash of: garlic, kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper on my steaks, before grilling, makes for a great crust.

Everyone - great idea's! I know what I'm doing this weekend! thx

OK report on my Birthday Sam's Club Choice Ribeye's (came as a 4 pack):

smoked 1 hr@ 180� with Mesquite wood

Brushed with a mixture of:
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs worcestershire sauce
1 tbs garlic pepper

I slapped them on the grill at when it hit about 700� for about 8-9 mins (2 minutes rotated 45�, 2 more min, flipped over: 2 min, rotated 45�- 2 more to finish) and rested about 10-12 mins before serving.

The crust was exceptional dead on Morton's, the flavor very good, but the mesquite was too strong, in fact there was a much stronger smoke flavor from the smoker than from the built-in Weber steam and smoke chip attachment I usually use for grilling steaks.

I thought the meat was somewhat different in texture, cant put my thumb on why, it wasn't exactly tough, but it didn't come out as tender I've pulled the steaks out when they were at the right temp but then they rested for too long.

Not by any means was this experiment a failure but some modifications may be in order:
1) lower the temp to 150�
2) shorter time 30 min max
3) less smoke (or a softer smoke- the apple wood was probably a better idea) or maybe even no smoke
4) I wont add smoke until they hit the Weber

One of things I know Morton's recommends is that a steak be as close to room temp as possible before grilling. I think the smoker accomplishes this by slowly and evenly bringing the meats temp up to about 100�, and making it good to be finished the remaining 45�-60� (depending on how done you like it)on the grill.

LA: please let us know how yours goes, good luck!

Gurnee - I will. I have experimented in the past. In my opinion, 1 hour is way more time than the steak needs. Beef steaks suck this smoke quicker than Paris Hilton on a bad day. I have the Smokette; it will start smoking at a very low temp. I have put ribeyes in at 100 degrees for 10-15 minutes to lightly absorb smoke, yet not long enough to begin cooking. When I pulled them, they were still totally red inside. Another approach, which I will try this weekend is to do it like cold smoked salmon; covering the element with steel, and inserting a bowl full of ice. Will keep you posted. Good Luck!!!

allboy; i like to cook ribeyes and i do say so my self my was always pretty good. but iam always trying to improve, i tried your method today and could not asked for a better tasting steak. i rub with olive oil then cayenne pepper,black pepper and salt. i can say that when it starting flaming up i did want pull them off but i just grab another beer and stood back. the wood i used was oak and mesquite. thanks, keep cooking!

Best steak ever! And I didn't put any effort into it. I wanted to see how a "smoked steak" tasted, so I piggy-backed this steak with some chicken I was smoking. I threw it in for about an hour and grilled it for 3 or 4 minutes. I think next time I'll try some of the more elaborate methods on the board and maybe go less than an hour and with a lower temp. I'm just really amazed at how good the taste was. I usually use some steak sauce but I couldn't bring myself to do it with this one. Let's see Outback do that!

I can & do eat steak cooked anyway and from moo to medium. I like a nice crust on the outside.

Now my wife wants it still pink, but not "bloody" and no black marks on the outside. It's burnt if it has black on the outside.

Now, this drives me crazy. First it is hard to get a 2" steak up to pink, but not grey all the way through. Second, it is even harder to grill one to pink without putting a little sear on the outside.

I think next time I'll try smoking hers, or indirect grilling it, or oven cook it for an hour or so before I put mine on !

I quit wasting a good steak on my daughter, she likes them well done, so might as well have a strip.

Some tough critics around here !!

Ahh, searching for the best steak...one of life's great quests! Being from Beefland (Omaha), I am used to Prime quality meat...Choice will do in a pinch, but that is where 90% of your tenderness, marbling, flavor is going to come from. Morton's is so good because they:

1) Use Dry aged beef like noted above - very few people will have access to true dry aged beef without paying through the nose for it (I have yet to find a butcher that does it)
2) Prime quality - I have yet to find Prime quality meat in a supermarket
3) Equipment - Morton's and other high end steakhouses sear their steaks at over 1000 degrees - even the best home grills cannot do this (unless you have a infrared grill). I use a lynx grill at home and it comes close....Once seared, the art comes in as to when the steak is done....I have smoked rib eyes before (my fav cut of meat), and they turned out good, but I will take a a nice 2 inch rib eye, rubbed down with olive oil, salt and pepper (or greek seasoning), sear on each side for 2-3 minutes, finish indirectly with a brush of real butter and parsley flakes to rare and take it off (will rise to rare/medium rare by the time you eat it)

I added Gurnee'simple marinade this time and he's got it down! Even better than before; highly recommended. As he said, dead on to Morton's.

After smoking at 175 deg for an hour in the CS, using 2 chunks of apple, letting rest for an hour, I used a Weber gas grill; 4 minutes each side, rotating 45 deg at 2 minutes. Medium rare.

I noticed "Outback" was mentioned.I seen on a web site you can imitate their marinade by mixing taco seasoning with Good Seasons Italian dressing mix and water?Dont know and have not tried it yet.

This is a great post: steaks lined up this afternoon after U of A beats USC in B-Ball. One comment: some days we have to put them back in the refrigerator to get them back down to under 100 F -- it can be a little hot her the the desert SW (room temp???). But we sure don't have to worry about but cast iron griddle in our grills to keep them warm!