How Tu: Sear Steak

My new series on How To or Tu’s. Yes, a play on my last name, dork I am! Anyways, I’m going to try to post once a month and see how much response I get. It’s basically going to be highlighting favorite techniques and recipes. I’d love to hear comments and questions.




I’ve cooked Steak a million different ways but I found this to be the best ‘home’ cooked piece of meat ever. Everyone has to own a skillet or at least an oven friendly pan. Searing the meat is the most important step. So, why does a skillet work the best? Because of the infrastructure of the thing, insulation is the key! They are heavy and heat up fast…what every piece of meat needs. I used a Porterhouse in this case, the best of both worlds, lean but yet fat, a combination Filet Mignon and Sirloin.




Follow these steps and be careful with controlling the heat of your burners or electric stove:




1. Pick your out your pan as you please, in this case I used a Le Crueset skillet.




2. Salt and pepper your piece of meat, let sit out for at least 20 minutes. Salt activates meat, tends to bring out moisture and flavor.




3. Place pan on stove at high heat with oil (amount depends on you), just make sure it’s enough to coat the piece of steak




4. Put steak in and let sear for about 2-3 minutes on each side. You’re looking for a nice caramel color.




5. Once you’ve seared the meat, place pan with steak in a 375 preheated oven. Depending on thickness of steak, cook for about 13-15 minutes to reach a rare steak. A few extra minutes for medium and about 8-10 extra minutes for well done.




6. Once cooked to your likely, remove the piece of meat and let ‘rest’ for 5-10 minutes on a plate or cutting board. This allows for all the juices to regroup and for the steak retains its moisture.