Help me make lunch! (yes I am that helpless)

ceres

I got myself these two little steaks, individually wrapped, for relatively cheap, and I'd like to have one for lunch. They are 3-4 inches across and maybe an inch to an inch and a half thick.

Problem: All I have is a set of frying pans. This includes a griddle pan. And a microwave, but I won't go there. And nothing too exotic as far as spices go (I do own salt, pepper, and garlic powder).

I like my steaks on the medium side of medium rare, but not charred on the outside. Is there ANY way to make a steak like that come out edibly on one of those pans?

Eat it You Nasty Pig.

you can just fry one on mediumish heat

it is kind of a waste if it's a good steak, but it's not hard to cook one that way

ceres

They're individually wrapped sirloins from the grocery store. We aren't talking about filets here.

My stove is 1-9 and 'high'.. lowish heat is what.. 3-4? 4-5, maybe?

Eat it You Nasty Pig.

well, how long do you want to wait?

it doesn't matter really. just slice the middle halfway through and pull it off whenever it's done enough for you

Sir Carcass

Probably 5 or 6.

Dunadan019

cook the steaks on setting 5 until you can look under it and see that its brown and starting to turn black in some places.

flip and repeat

when you think its done, cut it open to make sure the middle is done. if it isn't done, either microwave it or cook it longer and risk a more charred outside.

or just google for pan fried steak.

Improvolone

Let the meat sit before you cut it.
(science warning)
As you may or may not know, when you increase the heat of matter, you give its molecules energy. This in turn helps create pressure as these molecules are now moving at a quicker rate. If inside the steak there is pressure and you make a cut, that pressure will force the lovely liquids out onto your plate.
Do you want a juicy plate or a juicy steak?

cmsamo

My own method for grilling a steak is something like:

(1) put the steak on the sideboard and leave it to get to room temperature
(2) at the same time, put your griddle pan on the stove and heat it on highest temperature
(3) while pan is heating up, rub a very small amount of olive oil into the steak on each side (like half a teaspoon)
(3a) seasoning optional - salt, fresh pepper, garlic powder
(4) When pan is inferno hot, place steak into it. (You should get immediate sizzle, and some steam/smoke)
(5) for medium rare, flip the steak after 2 minutes, and do the other side for 2 mins
(6) if the steak has any thicker 'raw' edges, use tongs to pick the steak up and hold those edges down in the pan for 30 seconds or so each to seal them.

For medium, try 3 minutes.

Cooking steaks in searing hot pans is quite scary sometimes because you do tend to get fatty smoke burning off but the results are amazing. I cooked a rump steak in my Le Creuset griddle pan using this method on New Year's Eve, and it was superb.

Spoiler:

PS - I often get impatient and don't heat the griddle pan up enough before frying. If this happens, then your steak can go a sort of grey colour when you are frying it up. This is fine, it's just that the temperature of the pan was not enough to initially seal the meat with that dark chargrilled steakhouse colour that looks so tasty and awesome. The hotter the pan, the better your results will be

Man - I want to cook a steak now...

EggyToast

For steaks that I cook inside, I typically skip the "whole steak" route and simply slice it up or cube it and fry it up with some sauce. Easier to cut the fat out, faster than marinading, and since I prefer grilled steak I don't think "yeah this would've been better grilled." It's worthwhile to keep in mind as an option, esp since you have two.

Djeet

The AB method for doing sirloin in the house. It requires an oven. I've done it several times and they've come out well. I use the foil snake and all, though I put a foil sheet on the oven floor to catch the drips, and do 90-120 sec a side close under the broil to get it more medium rare.

Or you could pound it out and do a minute steak. Cook on a very hot skillet/pan.

Sir Carcass

Djeet wrote: »

Or you could pound it out and do a minute steak. Cook on a very hot skillet/pan.

Or chicken-fry that thing.

Niceguy Myeye

Mongolian Beef?

The more onions the better. Can leave out the Ginger if you don't have any. Garlic and Onions are the stars of the show here.

ceres

Thanks for the suggestions, guys!

I ended up not bring home for lunch today, but I will pick one of these to try for tomorrow. Although steak sounds delicious right about now...

cmsamo

Tell me about it! I'm on a diet right now and all I've been able to think about since my first post is STEAK! GLORIOUS STEAK!

Another recipe came to mind - I do this with sweet potato (yam) and greek salad -

- Slice the steak thinly
- Mix up a couple teaspoons of each of soy sauce, honey, balsamic vinegar, and a dash of olive oil, all mixed together (basically for a sort of teriyaki taste)
- Let the steak soak in the marinade for as long as you can wait
- grill the steak for a short time (I use a George Foreman grill for this!)

Yum!

virgilsamms

Others have said most of this, but here is my usual technique for cooking on a stovetop

1) Let the steak get to room temperature
2) Rub it with olive oil
3) Grind salt and pepper onto one side of it
4) Heat up your frying pan to pretty hot
5) Put the steak in salt & pepper side down
6) Grind salt and pepper onto the other side
7) After about thirty seconds flip it over
8) Wait a few minutes
9) Flip it back over for another few minutes
10) Let it rest for a few minutes (Note: very important)

Adjust the times to suit preferences, but that usually ends me up with a nice medium rare steak.

Edit: Sometimes I turn the temp down after the initial sear too, so it cooks through without burning on the outside.

rfalias

Pan steaks are amazing. If you have good ventilation, try blackened steak!

Blackened seasoning from the store

Olive oil or butter(melted)

Coat sides of steak with the fatty substance(butter tastes better), lather on the blackened seasoning
Get your pan nice and toasty, toss steak down and make sure it sears the crust on real good.

Flip, sear, eat.
You will have to adjust the time it sits on each side depending on how you like it done. This gets smoky but its so worth it. Use your vent fan.

Only takes a few minutes and you get a delicious spicy steak, if you like the spicy stuff.

Spoiler:

ceres

cmsamo wrote: »

My own method for grilling a steak is something like:

(1) put the steak on the sideboard and leave it to get to room temperature
(2) at the same time, put your griddle pan on the stove and heat it on highest temperature
(3) while pan is heating up, rub a very small amount of olive oil into the steak on each side (like half a teaspoon)
(3a) seasoning optional - salt, fresh pepper, garlic powder
(4) When pan is inferno hot, place steak into it. (You should get immediate sizzle, and some steam/smoke)
(5) for medium rare, flip the steak after 2 minutes, and do the other side for 2 mins
(6) if the steak has any thicker 'raw' edges, use tongs to pick the steak up and hold those edges down in the pan for 30 seconds or so each to seal them.

For medium, try 3 minutes.

Cooking steaks in searing hot pans is quite scary sometimes because you do tend to get fatty smoke burning off but the results are amazing. I cooked a rump steak in my Le Creuset griddle pan using this method on New Year's Eve, and it was superb.

Spoiler:

PS - I often get impatient and don't heat the griddle pan up enough before frying. If this happens, then your steak can go a sort of grey colour when you are frying it up. This is fine, it's just that the temperature of the pan was not enough to initially seal the meat with that dark chargrilled steakhouse colour that looks so tasty and awesome. The hotter the pan, the better your results will be

Man - I want to cook a steak now...

This is the one I ended up trying - I think maybe my steaks are too thick to make it work, or my stove gets too hot, or something, because it didn't even nearly cook through and the steak burned a bit on the outside but was very, very rare on the inside. It also set off the smoke alarm.

Tomorrow I think I'm going to try one of the slower-cooking ones.

Draco_Auric

If you're having trouble telling when steak is "done" this is a pretty handy trick:
The Finger Test

cmsamo

This is the one I ended up trying - I think maybe my steaks are too thick to make it work, or my stove gets too hot, or something, because it didn't even nearly cook through and the steak burned a bit on the outside but was very, very rare on the inside. It also set off the smoke alarm.

Yep - My smoke alarm always goes off as well. That's how I know the pan was hot enough to seal the steak. It sounds like you can get away with a little less temperature in the pan, but you don't get the charred colour sometimes if it's not hot enough. To do that, you turn down the heat once you've sealed the meat. I guess you need to experiment and find the right initial temperature for your pan.

If it's thick, you just need to give it a couple minutes longer in the pan to cook through.

Also, once you've finished cooking it, I find that if I leave the meat to stand a little before serving, it's a good thing (just a few minutes on the sideboard)

ceres

Draco_Auric wrote: »

If you're having trouble telling when steak is "done" this is a pretty handy trick:
The Finger Test

I have never heard of this, awesome.

Cauld

Just do what you did last time (maybe slightly less hot pan so it doesn't burn). Once the outside is about how you want it put it into a preheated oven set to about 350 for a few minutes to get the desired doneness in the middle. The first time I did it this way I thought it would be a real pain, but its easy as long as you use an oven safe pan. Also note the outside will continue to brown a little more (especially the side that's 'down') as it finishes in the oven.

rfalias

Yeah, I do my filets in the oven. Sear in an oven safe pan, toss into 350 oven.

Druhim

For sirloin, you don't want it super hot. They're not well marbled steaks to begin with, so they're not going to be tender and flavorful like a ribeye which would do really well at high heat (if you like a well marbled steak rare).

MentalExercise

Just some general tips:

The "sealing in the juices" thing isn't a real thing, the French have been lying to people for years. But the brown is beautiful thing definitely is true.

Let the steak come to room temperature! Half an hour should do it well enough, but an hour would be ideal.

Half an hour before cooking salt the outside of both sides the steak, preferably with large grain salt like kosher salt, but regular salt will work. This process will build a layer of protein that will give you that great crust.

Alternately you can use seasoned salt such as Lowry's if you like that extra bit of flavor.

Add pepper after you cook, not before. The high temperature steaks are cooked at will burn pepper.

Give the pan two or three minutes over medium high heat (seven on your stove), give the outside of the steak a light spritz of oil and put it in the pan. For an inch and a half thick steak it'll take four minutes on the first side, three and half on the second.

For a thicker steak add a minute to each side.

If the steak wasn't at room temp add a minute to each side.

Give the steak five minutes to rest, preferably raised a bit so it's not in its own juices, which will dissolve a bit of the crust. This will let the proteins relax so they retain more juices when you cut it.

Ego

I have no idea how I'd cook a sirloin with a frying pan. Sirloins have lots of collagen and they really benefit from a slow cook with low heat so it can break down.

edit: no chance of buying even a cheap propane BBQ? You'll get such better results.

Burtletoy

I don't think I would cook two-year old sirloins.