Yes...lol...I said boiling a steak
Published on February 8, 2006 By Ziggystyles In Life Journals
Well its simple. I love to cook and I am the chef in the family of Marcie and I. But, of all the things I CAN do, I can't cook a steak. Well I suppose there are many ways to cook a steak: in the pan, George Foreman grill, oven, outdoor grill...etc. I haven't experimented enough to figure out the 'best way' to cook a steak.

When I was a teen, I loved experimenting. My mom bought all the food so I didn't lose out if something bombed. One day I wanted to cook a steak for dinner. But I didn't really know how to cook it in the pan so that the middle would be cooked, but the outside stayed unburnt. So...I grabbed a pot and heated up some boiling water and ended up cooking the steak that way.

It sounds crazy...but I'll you how I do it. It works out pretty well for me. I haven't tried any other way since. Id like to be able to make a very tender (aka...a fork cuts it) steak. But alas, I am not there yet.

I heat up a pan of water and make it boil. While that is heating up...I take a t-bone steak and score it so that the hot water can go through the steak and cook it...and also keep it moist.

I add some A1, 57, and worchestereerewerwrewqewrq[puqqqqqq sauce along with a few other things and let the steak boil for about ten minutes. My theory (as unscientific as it is) is that the seasonings and spices will marinate the steak as it cooks...completely going through the steak.

When that is done, I take the steak out and shake off the water and add a marinade that I mix up consisting of 11 different spices and sauces. I let that soak and then cook it in the pan for a few minutes on each side so that the thicker marinade penetrates the meat and soaks through. Then I add the marinade again and let it sizzle for a few seconds on each side and then serve it on a plate.

It still needs a knife to cut through...but it smells and tastes very good. Tonight I made a steak like that and its the first time in the time that I have known Marcie, that Ive made it. She looked at me and was surprised I was boiling it.

Like I said...I love to cook, but I dont know how to make many things because I don't experiment that much. Well...I guess I know how to make stuff...but not how to actually 'cook' something. We mostly cook beef or chicken based dishes. Marcie doesnt like pork too much, but I cook it from time to time...but I only know how to make a pork chop (aka...frying it, lol). And, while I like fish....I dont know if I could make it as that can be fairly tricky.

Im trying to expand Marcies horizons when it comes to things we can eat. I like most stuff while she is more limited. So....focusing on the things she likes...I try to make new and interesting dishes..but many times what stops me is the simple fact that I dont know how to cook a dish.

I just grew up watching what my parents did when they cooked and applied that to what I do in the kitchen. I think Im better than the average cook, but at the same time, I frequently create a dish using recipies I find in a magazine. When Marcie cooks something like spaghetti, she uses salt, and pepper and some garlic powder. I often use the same ragu, but add fresh ground pepper, diced bottled garlic, a bay leaf, garlic pepper, basil...etc.

Who cooks more in your family? How do you do it?

Comments
on Feb 08, 2006
Your style of cooking sounds vaguely familiar ... Hmmm... Oh, yeah! *snap* that's because it's the way I cook.

It drives my wife nuts. I never make the same recipe the same way twice (pretty close, but never quite the same). The only time I'm using a recipe is the first time I make a dish. After that ... I experiment.

Although, I must admit, my reaction would've been like Marcie's. "WTF?!?" Then I'd be willing to try it ...
on Feb 08, 2006
Well, people do that when they make stew, they just add carrots and potatos and such. What you really want I think is a bastardized form of braising. I use it sometimes when they don't have any steaks good enough to eat rare at the grocery.

Take your steak and get a nice, heavy, lidded skillet really, really hot. Brown both sides for a couple of minutes, then hit it with stock or water, until it comes about a fourth of the way up the side of the steak. Add some garlic and black pepper to the liquid, or mushrooms or onions or whatever you like. Put on the lid.

IF you have a nice, tight lid, you can be satisfied with that, but with most lidded skillets it will boil dry fairly fast, so have extra liquid. If you were doing a roast this way there wouldn't be a problem because you'd have juices coming out of the meat, but steak is pretty dry.

You want to keep the liquid level about at 1/4th of the way up on it, but not kill the heat of the skillet. Do that until it is tender, which isn't long if you keep a lid on it as much as possible. You're basically cooking a steak the way someone would make a roast in a pressure cooker. The steam from the liquid permeates the meat and keeps the temperature in the skillet very, very hot.

Then when your steak is tender, reduce it until the liquid is about gone and all you have left is the au jus from the steak. It gives you a nice brothy sauce, filled with the flavor of the steak and whatever seasoning you used.
on Feb 08, 2006
Take your steak and get a nice, heavy, lidded skillet really, really hot. Brown both sides for a couple of minutes


hmm, sounds interesting...but how I do this without burning it?

The only time I'm using a recipe is the first time I make a dish. After that ... I experiment.

Yeah I agree. I use a recipie once...following it exactly. Then if I decide to make it again...I follow the recipie and add or delete as I see fit. My dad got me a subscription to Quick Cooking a couple of years ago...lots of good and easy recipies in there. Marcie and I used to use that alot and while I still get ideas from it....we still are both too lazy at the end of the day to cook anything. Im only home in the evenings if I have the day off and on those days Im doing the cooking and hardly feel like planning and making a meal.
on Feb 09, 2006

Chuck steaks are actually easy to cook and keep tender due to the fat content.  An easy way to prepare them is to marinate overnight.  Now, to have a marinate that will tenderize, you need to have sugar, oil and an acid.  An easy and tasty marinade is: 1/3 cup olive oil, 2 TBS vinegar (balsamic or red wine would be good) and a TBS of sugar.  To this, you could add steak sauce, soy, teryaki, or BBQ sauce.

Marinate over night, then drain the marinade off.  A boiler can be your friend if it works well, otherwise, you could pan cook it.  I would suggest investing in a grill skillet (they are cast iron skillets that have ridges in them).  The ridges keep the juices away from the steak, yet heat them under the steak giving a moist, flavorful heat.  The ridges also produce a nice "grilled" look to the steak.

A good show to watch to learn about the science of cooking is "Good Eats" on the Food Network.  Alton Brown would be cringing at what you did to those harmless steaks

 

on Feb 09, 2006
I eat my steak medium rare, so boiling is out for me.

I am the steak master on a grill though, I don't even need to check them, I just know when they turn rare, take them off and let them sit for 5 minutes and you have a perfect med rare steak. For medium, cook to med rare, then let sit for 5 min and so on.
on Feb 09, 2006
"
hmm, sounds interesting...but how I do this without burning it?"


You stand there and listen, mostly. If you have a hot burner you can rip through a can of stock fast adding a little at a time to keep the pan hot. And contrary to popular believe you can make ANY cut of meat fork tender with that method. By the cheapest you like, it will work. I got 20 years of experience with the method behind it.
on Feb 09, 2006
*nod* My parents used to leave me for a month or so at a time when I was in high school. A teen shopping budget ends up being a lot of doritos, two or three records and some shoe leather...
on Feb 09, 2006
A simple marinade that I use when I'm lazy is simply some Italian Dressing (not the creamy kind!) in a ziplock bag.


worcestershire sauce, bourbon, or certain wines can also be good marinades.
on Feb 09, 2006
A simple marinade that I use when I'm lazy is simply some Italian Dressing (not the creamy kind!) in a ziplock bag.


worcestershire sauce, bourbon, or certain wines can also be good marinades.


Just remember one very important fact on wines. "Never" use a wine to cook with, that you would not drink outright. If you do not like the taste of it in your glass, you dang sure won't like the taste of it in your food.
on Feb 09, 2006
If you do not like the taste of it in your glass, you dang sure won't like the taste of it in your food


excellent advice!
on Feb 09, 2006
Here's the way us Brits say Worcestershire: 'Wuss-ter-sheer'. \

It's not 'Wuss-cess-ter-shyre'. It's 'Wuss-ter-sheer'.

That make it a bit easier for you?
on Feb 09, 2006
Here's the way us Brits say Worcestershire: 'Wuss-ter-sheer'. \

It's not 'Wuss-cess-ter-shyre'. It's 'Wuss-ter-sheer'.

That make it a bit easier for you?


We had a sub in elementary school and the guy had the last name "Worcestershire" and he pronounced it "wooster".

Weird.
on Feb 10, 2006
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Lots of new stuff to try next time we get some steaks. Usually, we buy some small cheapy steaks...but I had a hankering for a Ziggy sized steak the other day and bought a Tbone. I look forward to experimenting!