Hot cast iron and salt. It was the only way we did steak when we first got married--grad students in Madison, WI with no place to grill. The recipe we used came from a James Beard cookbook and the cast iron came from my husband's mother. By the way, one of the best things you can give your children is your well-seasoned cast iron. You know how to start over.
i seem to do it differently than everyone else here! i preheat the oven to 450, sear salted and peppered steaks in a big cast iron pan over medium-high flame until crisp on one side, flip over, drop a knob of butter on each steak and cook in the oven until they feel right. i haven't had trouble with the grey streak that Cooks Illustrated talks about. hmm.
A cast iron skillet would be much better than a non-stick skillet if possible. A lot of high end steak houses also use a really hot griddle and lots of butter to "grill" the steaks.
I also saw on Cooks Illustrated a technique that is the reverse of boulangere's instructions - although boulangere's technique is the norm. On cooks illustrated they put the meat in the oven on a low temp (300 degrees) until it reached the desired temp/doneness. Then they seared the meat quickly afterwards. This prevented the gray ring problem where the outside of the steak is overcooked while the inner portion is just right.
some people swear by it! all of the juices stay and carmelize on the meat, where they simple drip away to abyss in the grill. I actually preferr hamburgers done in this way. If you have a cast iron your are lightyears ahead in the pursuit. A key tool for that elusive perfect Pittsburgh Rare!
Sam is right, you certainly can. I do it often in the winter because I live in the land of potentially serious winter, and I spend enough time out in the elements (I'm a long-distance bike rider year-round) that braving them to grill dinner is just not in my dna. Preheat your oven to about 250. Sear your steak on both sides to a good, rich brown, then finish in the oven to the degree of doneness you want. Before serving, remove it from the oven and cover with a kitchen towel or pot lid and let it rest for 5 minutes or so. This lets the juices that have been stressed out of the cells by cooking reinflate the cells and deliver a perfectly juicy steak to you. Bon appetit!
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I also saw on Cooks Illustrated a technique that is the reverse of boulangere's instructions - although boulangere's technique is the norm. On cooks illustrated they put the meat in the oven on a low temp (300 degrees) until it reached the desired temp/doneness. Then they seared the meat quickly afterwards. This prevented the gray ring problem where the outside of the steak is overcooked while the inner portion is just right.
Look for 'grill pans' if you want the sear marks. But you can't make a pan sauce in those.
Be ready for lots of smoke when you pan sear a steak. The smoke alarms might go off.
And NEVER walk away from it while searing.