Can I grill steak on a frying pan if I don't have a bbq?

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7 Comments

marketmaster May 26, 2011
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.
 
adoozy May 26, 2011
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.
 
wssmom May 26, 2011
One thing I do when grilling a steak indoors is to season the pan with a couple grinds of sea salt before putting the steak on ...
 
CaryNC May 26, 2011
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.

 
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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!
 
boulangere May 23, 2011
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!
 
Sam1148 May 23, 2011
Yes, in fact some places do that and deglaze the pan with white wine and make a green peppercorn, mustard creme sauce reduction.

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.
 
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