Author Notes
Brown the meat on high heat first, then cook it longer on slow heat. That is the way that many chefs in America, who are trained in the French ways of cooking, learn to prepare steak.
But I've often watched Italians cook their meat following the opposite—and, for many of us, the counterintuitive—method: low and slow rather than hard and quick.
I adapted this technique for my apartment kitchen because I hated searing a steak in the pan, spattering grease everywhere and inevitably setting off my fire alarm. In the winter months, when many of us have forgone the grill for the stovetop, a less messy method is a relief.
You’ll come away with a very tender, very evenly cooked, medium-rare steak with a browned, well-seasoned exterior (if you love your steak rare, however, this probably isn’t going to work for you). —Sara Jenkins
Ingredients
- For the steak:
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2 tablespoons
extra-virgin olive oil
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one
2-inch-thick bone-in rib eye, at room temperature
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Salt and pepper
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Equipment: 1 heavy-bottomed and ideally well-seasoned cast iron pan
- For the spicy grated salad:
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2 to 4
medium carrots, peeled
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1 teaspoon
sea salt
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Juice of 1 lemon
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1 tablespoon
harissa (as always, I prefer the occasionally elusive Moulin Mahjoub harissa)
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2 tablespoons
extra-virgin olive oil
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2 tablespoons
chopped flat-leaf parsley
Directions
- For the steak:
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Put the pan on the lowest heat you can and place the 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan. Place the room temperature steak on the pan and cook at low heat for 20 minutes.
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Flip the steak and season the cooked side heavily with salt and pepper. Cook the other side of the steak at the same equally low temperature for 15 minutes.
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Remove the steak from the pan, seasoning the other side. Turn up the heat to hot, add the steak back to the pan, and sear each side for just 3 minutes per side, until a nice brown crust has been achieved. You are looking to keep the steak a perfect medium-rare; if you’d prefer to track the time by internal temperature, make sure it gets up to 130° F inside but not more.
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Let the steak rest about five minutes, slice in 1/2-inch-thick slices and serve with this spicy grated carrot salad on top.
- For the spicy grated salad:
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Grate the carrots on a mandoline or box grater and season with the salt and lemon juice.
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Let the carrots marinate in the lemon juice and salt for about 5 minutes. Dress with the harissa, olive oil, and parsley.
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Serve piled on top of the sliced steak with all the juices from the marinade.
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