When Williamsburg Virginia locals or visitors want a great steak they know to look for a restaurant that specializes in Steak. Naturally Fireside Chophouse is at the top of the list. Cooking a steak is as much a culinary art as any other type of food or preparation style. If done right, it can produce a heavenly steak. You know what I mean by heavenly steak, one where the grill marks are perfect, the aroma starts to tease you when the plate hits the table and the taste is juicy and flavorful.
A question we often get, is how do you know if you have a great steak. I mean you may be at home without the tools and techniques of a professional steakhouse. As I mentioned in a previous post, the cut of meat is the start. If you are not dealing with quality beef, it is a steep uphill climb to steakhouse quality.
After cut, a key thing to consider in making a great steak is to make sure it gets seared at high temperature. This just means using a high temperature to crisp the outside of the steak and lock in the juices. Heat is the wall that guards those juices and flavor. If these run off the incredible aromas and flavors go with it.
It is the first step. While there are differences on the best steak seasoning, the best wine pairing, I doubt you will see to many steak houses where the master chef does not say to sear the steak at high temperature.
How Hot Is “High Temperature”
Attention Do not try this at home
You know that visceral image we all have of a grill flaming up or the fireball effect when someone opens up the grill top. Well the temperature of the commercial ovens makes that look like a match flicker. Unless you are going to purchase one of these for thousands of dollars, the incredible level of heat you need to sear a steak is out of reach. And it would be dangerous to try without proper training or the right equipment. Plus on a humorous note, where would you put it. It would take up your whole kitchen.
Some of these ovens reach in excess of 1800 degrees. Man that is hot. You do not want to attempt to get to that temperature without steakhouse equipment and resources like we have here in our Williamsburg location.
But Use These Techniques
When you see steak or steakhouse recipes, whether here in Williamsburg, or abroad, they are going to start with searing. The key is to use the temperatures associated with searing to lock in those natural steak juices. If the juices run out, all the aging and seasoning in the world won’t save it from becoming a dry tasteless hunk of meat. Because restaurant searing is not practical for the home user, many use the pan as their choice to do a less intense version of this. Another option is the sear burner.
The Sear Burner
Some grills have a sear burner which will allow you to sear the meat at high temperature. I have seen some use it directly on the grates this way. I have seen others use a pan on the burner.
Searing Steak In Action
Speaking of heat, I pulled a clip of TV Chef Gordon Ramsey searing a steak in the pan. It is a good starting point. If you disagree…you can argue with him, I’m not.
Now…
And don’t forgot our last key article about how to get the right cut of beef to enjoy the best steak