Love any kind of steak, I generally season with olive oil and a generous spinkle of 'Canadian/Montreal" seasoning and a splash or two of red wine vinegar, and let marinate for at least an hour.

DH has to have his steaks grilled on the gas grill, he does a good job of searing on the outside but cooking to medium rare beefyperfection... Gotta have a side of mushroms and onions with that bad boy, plus a mixture of sour cream/horseradish for dipping the steak.

Yes!! This is what finally made me able to cook steak at home!!

I asked my butcher "why are my steaks terrible? Why can't I cook them like they do at restaurants?"

And he said, "when you go to a restaurant, do you notice that a cross-section of the steak looks dark around the edges, and the one solid color through the middle? But when you cook it yourself it has all these different rings of color?"

And then he told me the BIG SECRET !! Take it out of the fridge - bring it to room temp. (and he (my butcher) just keeps it simple by rubbing the steak with olive oil and just a little salt, pepper and garlic)

We've been happy steak cookers and eaters ever since.

I'm 39, and only able to make a good steak for about 3 months. So happy now.

Sarah

Any seasoning.
Charcoal!!
Mesquite chips!!
Smoke!!

Pan fried in butter, baby! Cajun seasoning on both sides beforehand, then seared on both sides and almost raw in the middle.

Great - now I'm hungry.

Favourite steaks: either ribeye or beef tenderloin (filet mignon).

Tips:

The beef tenderloin can be very pricey...however, I was looking around at Safeway one evening at their beef tenderloin steaks and the butcher came out and started whispering to me. Said that if I bought the whole piece (a giant beef tenderloin) that he'd cut it up for me and that it would be 50% less than buying the pre-sliced steaks.

I also buy the boneless ribeyes when they're on sale.

As for cooking - it's either BBQ them or broil them in the oven. For the BBQ, cook steaks that are 1" thick about 5 minutes per side...add a few more minutes depending on how thick the steaks are. To broil them in the oven - line a cookie sheet with foil, place a rack on top of the cookie sheet (like a cookie cooling rack) and turn up the oven to 'broil'. Cook about 5-7 minutes per side, and leave the oven door open just a wee bit like you normally would whenever you broil something.

As for seasonings, I'm a big fan of Montreal Steak Spice, but have noticed that some of them contain trans fats (hydrogenated something or other in there). Recently found a version at WalMart Supercenter - called, "Durkee Grill Creations Kansas City Style Steak Seasoning" that contains no trans fats - just the spices. An important part of the process is to put the seasoning on AFTER the steaks are cooked. Sometimes salty things can dry out the steaks if they're used while cooking. Just sprinkle on a tiny bit of the steak spice as you're getting ready to transfer them to a serving platter or your dinner plates.

Meanwhile, (while the steaks are cooking) get a giant, deep-sided frying pan out. Melt some butter...add in a bunch of sliced fresh mushrooms. Sprinkle with garlic powder or chopped real garlic from a jar, or if you have the time/patience, some garlic you've minced yourself. When the mushrooms are almost done, sprinkle on some Lawry's Seasoned Salt for added zing. Everyone always asks me, "What'd you put in these mushrooms?" and they're always surprised that it's just butter, garlic and seasoned salt.

Serve with caesar salad or roasted asparagus (but that's a whole other thread). If you wanna get fancy, put some crumbled blue cheese on top of your steak at the dining table.

Enjoy...

Good quality meat is important. Thick cuts like NY strip, filet mignon or ribeye is important. Cooking it beyond medium rare will make it tougher and less juicy so you want to make sure not to overcook it. Do not let it marinate in something that has a lot of liquid in it like a broth or it will cause the steak to steam rather than sear. You want it to be relatively dry or with a little olive oil on it. Only prepare room temp steaks.

As far as the seasonings go, that is up to your personal taste. Sometimes I use a variety of herbs and spices and other times something as simple as salt, pepper and garlic. Some people say that adding salt to the meat before cooking will make it tougher, I have only found that to be true if the meat is overcooked (in which case its tough anyway) keep in mind I do not really oversalt my meat either but some people swear by keeping the salt off until the meat is done. Either way its more in the cooking technique to get juicy tender steaks rather than the seasonings.

If you do not have a grill a cast iron skillet works nicely. If you do not have a cast iron skillet I suggest you get one, they are cheap and with a little care will last forever. Searing on the stovetop and finishing it in the oven is the next best thing to the grill. The length of time that it takes to cook will depend on the cut and thickness of the meat. There is a picture in my gallery of the middle of the steak and what it should look like in the middle when it is done to be nice and tender. I suppose it could be cooked maybe a minute longer if that is too rare for you but that is medium rare and REALLY juicy and great!

I like a spicy mustard cream sauce made from the pan drippings (drippings, dijon mustard, heavy cream, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, reduced until desired thickness....)

I'm getting hungry! I went and took out a steak to defrost! LOL

I go with Montreal Steak Seasoning. It's the best!

I gotta agree on Costco steaks - YUM!
I will go to a butcher shop, or a small Italian grocery store near my house, but as a rule, I do not buy steaks at chain grocery stores any more.

I prefer ribeyes, NY strips and fillets.

My seasoning varies - rib rubs, season salt, garlic salt, Montreal seasoning, etc...

I have a gas grill and love to slip a pat of butter on the steaks right before they come off the gril - YUM!

I like to eat my steaks with mushrooms & onions.

I will try the room temp rule next time. Sound logical to me.

I love a thick ribeye with fat on it and cook it in my george foreman grill then save the drippings and put it over the steak when done then of course I top it with Blue cheese dressing YUMMY!!!!!

The best store bought steaks I've been able to find are from Costco.

I sprinkle them with McCormicks Grill Mates

Grill them for about 5 - 7 minutes on the grill (med rare)

Then top with crumbled blue cheese and serve with horseradish sauce to dip in.

Yum!

Yum! I was in a restaurant once that served the steak with a buttery cream sauce. Does anyone have a fav recipe to try that might match it?

Thx

Room temp meat, plain or sprinkled with a homemade seasoning mix or my new fave, Big Ass Garlic Steak Rub (at my farmer's market) and then sprayed with almond oil; chuck in cast iron pan (grill pan or fry pan, super hot) and cook for 4 min/side if thick, 2min/side if not so thick. Poke with finger to check doneness or, in my case, lack of doneness (I like 'em verrrrry rare, even raw in the middle).

Favorite side: mixture of baby summer and pattypan squash, onions, garlic, garlic scapes, tomato, cauliflower and romaine lettuce or cabbage pan-roasted/wilted in lard or bacon grease and topped with a splash of dressing (italian-like, usually). Lots of sea salt and fresh ground pepper too.

My butcher recently started stocking a steak topper made from organic butter and beef marrow. I am dying to try it.

Steak is one of my favorite things in the world!

From the looks of it, I'm one of the few here that likes my steak well done