This is part of a special meal that’s a tradition from at least 2014, maybe even earlier. On New Year’s Eve (or sometimes New Year’s Day, plus or minus a day or two), I cook up very nice steaks and serve with twice-baked potatoes and sometimes roasted vegetables, like asparagus. A tannin-heavy red wine is a great friend as well.
I have traditionally liked buying New York Strip, but a Ribeye would also be delicious. If you can, select Prime, but Choice is good if it is what is available. Bone-out is easier to cook in a pan and the bone has little impact on the overall flavor or cooking.
Cast-Iron Steak
Servings: 2 servings
Equipment
- 1 cast-iron skillet, 12"
- 1 Thermapen
Ingredients
- 2 steaks at-least 1" thick
- Salt and pepper
- Canola oil
- Butter
- Thyme
- Shallots
Instructions
- As soon as you can (up to 4 days in advance, and at least a few hours before), salt the steaks by covering all sides with a good amount of kosher salt, but not too much. (Some people say to rinse off the salt before cooking but that sounds like a bad idea to me.) Place in the fridge.
- About 90 minutes before you're ready to cook the steaks, remove them from the fridge and allow to warm up a bit. This is, according to some science-based food writers, apocryphal, because the internal temperature increases very slowly so the effect is minimal. I still recommend it.
- When ready to cook, put the cast-iron on the stove and heat to medium-high. Add canola oil as the pan warms up. Heat for a minute or two, but not too long. Oil should be shimmering but not smoking heavily.
- Add the steaks carefully. Flip frequently (every 15 seconds) for up to 4 minutes, until a basic crust begins to form. Turn the heat to medium to start allowing the pan to cool a tiny bit.
- Then, add some butter to the pan along with the thyme and shallots. Continue flipping, though less frequently, and use a spoon to baste the meet. If you are seeing lots of smoke, turn the heat further down.
- Start checking the temperature after a minute or two of the basting. Remember, the steak will continue to cook off the pan. For medium-rare meat, a final temperature of 130ºF (or 125ºF in the pan) is ideal; for medium, (or 135ºF in the pan) 140ºF is your goal.
- Place the steak on a plate or cutting board Let rest for a few minutes.