Steak on the Stove

Before I went to Korea, I had always made steak on the grill. I was very proud of the way my steak turned out there, and have quite a good taste for steak. In Korea, I had no barbecue grill, so I had to figure out how to pan fry steak. My first 6 or 7 attempts all came out pretty bad. The steak was overseasoned, undercooked, and just not good. I tried with different seasonings, different oils and different methods (including the Foreman Grill), but I could not get a tasty, medium rare steak. Until I started using high heat and a cast iron skillet.

Ingredients

1 Steak - Prime cut is best (can be Sirloin, Ribeye, T-Bone).

Oil

Salt

Pepper

Cooking Directions

Take steak out of the refrigerator and leave out for at least 30 minutes to take the chill off.

Put the cast iron skillet into an oven heated to 450 degrees for 10 minutes.

Give the steak a light coat of an oil with a high smoke point. Some recommendations:

Safflower Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Canola Oil.

When skillet is heated (after the 10 minutes), place the skillet over high heat on the stovetop for 5 minutes.

Lightly coat the steak with kosher salt and ground black pepper.

Turn on ventilation system (there will be smoke). After the 5 minutes, put steak in the skillet for 30 seconds on each side.

Place the skillet in the oven for 2 minutes. Flip steak. Leave for 2 minutes. If you prefer medium (instead of medium rare), do 3 minutes per side. Check internal temperature to check on doneness (we're looking for 125 for medium rare, 132 for medium).

Place steak on cooling rack. Cover with foil (tented). Let rest for 2 minutes. Serve.

Prepare Steak

There will be smoke

Sear forms quick crust

Let rest on a dish to keep steak from steaming in its escaping juices

Perfectly medium rare