28
MY
ROUSES
EVERYDAY
MAY | JUNE 2014
the
Chef
issue
Meet the Chef —
Alfred Singleton
Restaurant:
Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse, French Quarter, New Orleans, LA
How To Cook A Steak
by
Chef Alfred Singleton +
photo by
Eugenia Uhl
T
here are five ingredients to a great steak, and you can get them all at Rouses,
which is where I shop. The 5: steak, olive oil, salt, pepper and butter. Your
Rouses butcher can help you with the steak; I’ll help you with the rest.
I like a steak with a bone in it because it adds flavor, but the cut is up to you. The
steak, no matter what cut you are using, should always be room temperature
before it is cooked. Take it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking
and give it a good pat dry with a paper towel. This will help you get an even sear.
If you’re using a grill, preheat it to highest temperature so you can sear, but leave
one burner on low to finish cooking steak. If you’re using a broiler and stovetop,
you want to get your cast iron skillet hot, before you sear your steak. You also
want to make sure your kitchen fan and vent hood are working because you’re
going to create a lot of smoke. When the broiler is hot, place a dry, cast-iron
skillet about six inches from the coils. Let heat for 20 minutes. Put on heavy
kitchen gloves or use heavy potholders to pull the oven rack out so you can
reach the skillet easily.
Now’s the fun part. Place steaks about four inches from the flame and sear two
to three minutes on each side. This will seal in the juices. Remove them from
the heat and brush both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and freshly
ground black pepper. The oil will help you get a nice, charred crust. Finish the
steak at a cooler temperature, transfer to a cutting board or dinner plate, and let
rest at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving. This allows the fibers to relax
so the steak is tender, and the juices to spread adding flavor and moisture.
Steakhouse tips
from
CHEF
•
Choose the right cut. This is all a matter of preference, really. Filet mignon
is the most tender cut, but a strip gives you more of that steakhouse flavor,
and a ribeye is rich and meaty.
•
Choose a thicker cut. If your steak is too thin it will cook through before
you’ve finished charring the outside.
•
Look for a steak with rich marbling. You want that fat, which will liquefy as
you cook, and keep your steak juicy.
•
Keep the seasonings to a minimum, usually just salt and fresh black pepper. In
the case of Dickie Brennan Steakhouse, we use our own Creole seasoning blend.
•
Get that cast iron skillet very hot before you add the steak.
•
If you have ovenproof plates, warm them while your steak is cooking.
•
Top your steak with a pat of cold butter. The combo of cold butter and a hot
steak on a plate is what starts that sizzle.
•
Ever had a chewy steak? It’s probably because it wasn’t sliced against the grain.
Cutting the fibers of the muscles (the grain) of the steak makes it easier to chew.
At home Steak Tips
from
CHEF
•
For big cuts like rib-eyes and strips, choose a steak
about one-and-a-half to two inches. You want a
thicker cut so the char forms on the outside just as
the inside hits the ideal temperature.
•
Filet mignon steaks should be at least two inches tall.
•
Three-quarters to one-inch thick is fine for flank
steaks and skirt steaks.
•
Add about two minutes per quarter inch to your
cooking time. A one-inch steak cooks to medium
rare in about 10 minutes (including sear time); a one-
and-a-quarter inch steak cooks in about 12 minutes.
•
Average cook times on high heat: Rare = 8 minutes;
Medium Rare = 10 minutes; Medium = 13 minutes;
Medium Well = 18 minutes.
•
Cook a filet mignon a minute less than suggested
cook times. You’ll thank me for this one.
•
You can shave a minute off the searing time if the
steak is less than an inch thick.
