What does a “perfect steak” mean to you? I’m not sure the word “perfect” is ubiquitous when it comes to describing food. I think it’s more subjective. A perfect steak could be a lot of things to a lot of people. The more I think about it, the more I think that a steak is only truly perfect when it’s both excellently cooked and associated with a good memory. A steak, to me, is a celebratory food. Something I eat at a dinner party, a graduation, a wedding, an anniversary. Steaks are usually bound up in important events. The most perfect steak I’ve ever had was on my honeymoon.
This particular “perfect steak” is a bone-in ribeye, seared in a sizzling hot cast iron, and topped with foaming butter, Gordon Ramsay style. I made this steak on a casual Friday for just Jordan and I.
And there were a few mishaps…
Alison politely warns that it may be prudent to temporarily disable one’s smoke alarm prior to making this recipe. Admittedly, I’m not sure how to disable my smoke alarm, so it stayed on. But oddly the alarm never went off, even though there was a LOT of smoke. This produced lots of coughing and some general concern about the effectiveness of our smoke alarm.
I followed Alison’s directions (6-8 minutes on each side on high heat), but I still got a solid burnt crust on one side of the meat. Thankfully we could easily cut the burnt bits off, but it was disappointing. I was so alarmed by the burnt crust, that I removed the steak from the pan to rest, and subsequently…
Forgot the butter. The best part! I sat on the couch for about 5 minutes, letting the meat rest, when I suddenly sprang up and ran to the kitchen whilst shouting, “BUTTER!!!” Jordan was both concerned and confused. The pan was still super hot, so I was able to melt the butter and spoon it over the meat. What a close call! The meat went back on the cutting board to rest for yet another 10 minutes.
Was this steak perfect to me? No. Could it be perfect to you? Absolutely.
A note about Buttered Radish Toast. It was really nice! Something I would never have thought to combine - bread, radishes, butter, anchovies, capers, parsley. What a fun, funky side to a buttery piece of meat! That’s really all I have to say about it - such fun!
Do you have a perfect steak? I’d love to know all about it.
33 recipes cooked, 192 to go.
