This one’s for my littlest brother, who loves a good steak dinner. To be frank, I don’t eat a lot of red meat (I think I ate about…half of that steak in the above picture, and then spent the rest of the night groaning about how full I was!) because I spent some real difficult months where my body reacted to all meats that weren’t chicken with severe disapproval. I’ve gotten out of the habit almost entirely by now, and you’re far more likely to find me roasting a chicken or getting a nice piece of salmon. I do know how to cook a steak, however, and since I have family members that can eat what I cannot, I thought I’d share my recipe with you all!
If you have a lot of allergies, as I do, one of the aspects of food prep for any meal is often not simply knowing your ingredients, but know what your ingredients contain. Minced garlic from a jar isn’t simply minced garlic, but water, salt, and/or citric acid (corn!). Ground flour might have been passed through a grinder which just made Masa or TVP (corn and soy, respectively!) Worcestershire sauce might be perfectly fine in one batch, but contain an unfortunate preservative in the next. It’s the same if you’re eating meat.
If you can, ask your butcher if the steak you’re buying comes from corn-fed cows, especially if you’ve got a severe allergy. If it’s not, ask if they’ve been treated with any kind of preservative. Finally, and this one always makes me feel silly, but persevere and be picky! Try for the steak as far away from touching other foods in the display case as possible. You can always wash them later, of course, with cold water and a quick paper towel pat down to dry them, but it’s good to be assured that your meat hasn’t been cuddling up to something to which you might be allergic.
Steak is kind of a fancy meal, in my opinion, which is why I went all out with fancy hasselback potatoes and then brought us back to earth with simple roasted carrots. It’s something to bring out for the holidays and special occasions. I like my steaks to be spiced, but fairly plain, with good fat marbling through the meat. When you’re cooking a steak, the amount of time necessary depends on how thick the cut of meat is. The steak in the picture above is really thick, so rather than risk burning it, I seared on the stovetop and finished it in the oven.
You’ll Need (1-2 servings, depending on appetite!):
1 steak, about 8 oz.
Salt, to taste
Black Pepper, to taste
¼ tsp. garlic powder, or one cut, raw clove for rubbing
¼ tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. olive oil
Take your steak out and coat it in your seasonings on both sides of the meat. If you’re using a raw garlic clove, rub the cut end all over the garlic (don’t be afraid to press down, but don’t leave little pieces of garlic to burn on it). Leave it alone while you heat up a pan on the stove.
Heat the pan on medium until a little bit of water spritzed on the surface makes the droplets skitter and dance. Then rub olive oil on the steak, again on both sides. Turn on your stove’s fan, and/or open a window because it’s about to get steamy and smoky in there!
Preheat your oven to 350F.
You judge the time to cook by the steak’s thickness; I use the rule of my thumb. If the steak is as thick as your thumb, cook it for 2-3 minutes each on both sides. If the steak is thicker, say as thick as the length of your forefinger, cook it for 3-4 minutes on either side in your pan.
If you’re using an oven-safe pan, transfer the whole thing into the oven and cook it for around 10-20 minutes, depending on how rare you want your meat. If you’re not using an oven-safe pan, then you can use a jelly roll pan covered in aluminum foil or any tray with a lip to cook the meat for the same amount of time. I don’t recommend using a casserole dish, because the sides are too big and might trap moisture you don’t want.
Take the meat out and rest it for 10-15 minutes. Then get out a good strong knife and serve!
But What Can You Eat? 