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Steak and potatoes
Underdog
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm cooking steak and potatoes tomorrow night. I make steaks by cooking them on a non-stick pan (I have no other type), at a medium heat for a few minutes each side. When it is suitably done, I put it on a plate to rest, like all the tv shows say you should do. However, everytime I've done this the juices of the steak have always run out and onto the plate during the resting period. What's happening here? How do I avoid this?
I'm also going to be making garlic mashed potatoes. My mashed potatoes are fine (well, I like them anyway) but I can't seem to get the garlic part right. Each time I've tried using "roasted garlic" except that I can't seem to roast the garlic properly (i.e. I roast it in it's skin for about an hour and it gets all soft but lacks any real sort of flavour). What is the proper way to roast garlic? Am I even supposed to be using roasted garlic for mashed potatoes?
Please help.
I'm also going to be making garlic mashed potatoes. My mashed potatoes are fine (well, I like them anyway) but I can't seem to get the garlic part right. Each time I've tried using "roasted garlic" except that I can't seem to roast the garlic properly (i.e. I roast it in it's skin for about an hour and it gets all soft but lacks any real sort of flavour). What is the proper way to roast garlic? Am I even supposed to be using roasted garlic for mashed potatoes?
Please help.
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For a good steak on the stove top, you should invest in a cast iron pan. They are cheap and very versatile. Put the pan on high heat for at least 5 minutes until it is super hot. While it is heating, pat the steak dry, spread a little vegetable oil on it and season with salt and pepper. Throw the steak in the pan for 30-60 seconds per side and then put it under the broiler for a few minutes until it is cooked the way you like it. Let it rest for at least 5 minutes after it is done. You can put a little ball of foil under it so it isn't resting in any juices that come out. You will still lose some juices, but resting will minimize this.
When I cook a steak inside, I use a cast iron skillet and cook the steak 3 minutes on each side, creating nice sear marks. Then I put the steak in the oven for 8 minutes at 350 and it's medium to medium rare. I use thick steaks though.
For the garlic mashed potatoes, in addition to what he said above, try doing the following to "kick up" the garlic flavor.
Take a small slice of butter, garlic powder, and some GARLIC OIL (amazing shit) and put it into like, a coffee mug or something.
Microwave for like, 15 seconds, stir up. Add to your potatoes. AMAZING GARLIC FAVOR WOW!
Enjoy!
But...To be honest, I rarely roast garlic for mashed potatoes. I find that it's just too time consuming for my average meal, and the garlic is too mild, so I mince it instead. It's a stronger garlic flavor, and it won't take you nearly as long.
Edit: Also, Newton is the man. I
And dude, you need a cast iron pan. Cast iron kicks ass for cooking steak and oh so many other things. No stick can't get hot enough and if you do manage to get it hot enough, the no-stick flakes off and you end up eating that.
Seeing as you seem to be from TO. Drop by Canada Food Equipment 45 Vansco Rd. Etobicoke. Near Queensway and 427. Their phone number is 416-253-5100.
They sell kick ass restaurant grade cookware and appliances for dirt cheap. Get yourself a Lodge frying pan and cure it ala Alton Brown
Then leave it on high heat until it's really hot. Crack a window and/or turn on your vent, there's gonna be smoke. Turn the heat down to medium and slap down a lubed and salted steak (yes salt, it won't suck out the juice if you don't use too much and you don't season it too soon.) Leave the steak alone without poking at it so it gets a nice crust. Flip once, when the other side has a nice crust, you should have a rare side of medium rare steak (depending on the thickness).
Put it on a warmed plate covered in foil. You will lose some juice, but the meat will also soak up some of said juice and hang onto it while it rests. If you don't rest it, the steak will make it to the table without losing juice, but the first cut you make will ruin the whole thing.
Mmmm steak. I'm hungry again.
Start with cooking the garlic you either crushed or chopped up in a pot in some olive oil until it's starting to become translucent. Then add the milk you're going to add to the potatoes to the garlic first, and let that cook together for a bit at low heat, then add the milk to the potatoes as you mash.
I don't have a cast iron pan (same thing as a skillet right?) and I don't think my mother would enjoy having another pan to put in the kitchen so that's out for now but I had always wanted to pick one up for the future. Maybe I could just store it in my room or something but for now, it's got to be non-stick. And because it's non-stick, I can't put it in the oven so all cooking has to be done on the stove top.
Great steak advice but does sticking it in the oven make it not leak juices when it's resting? That's really my steak main question although I am going to remember all the other tips. I put it down to rest for 5 minutes and come back and the damn thing is bleeding all over the plate. Does warming the plate make much of a difference? I keep it cover with tin foil while it rests by the way. I don't mind a little but the amount that comes out is not a little.
Does it have to be olive oil to roast garlic? I don't have any in the house, Chinese cooking rarely ever uses it. Will vegetable oil do?
To deadonthestreet: I didn't know that non-roasted could be use to make mashed potatoes, I think I might try it that way tomorrow night.
The bloody mess is all the juice you are losing...
That is the very reason every cook book or show says let it rest.
The part about letting the steak come to room temperature is very valid however. I am not exactly sure why, but I think it has to do with the extreme temperature varience i.e. cold steak, really hot pan.
Also, you cannot substitute the same amount of chopped garlic for roasted garlic. The general rule for garlic: the smaller you cut it, the more "garlicy" and strong the flavor is. Basically when you chop or mince garlic, only a few cloves are needed. When you keep the cloves whole, as was mentioned, keeps the flavor mild and sweet.
You can't just add chopped garlic to potatoes though, the garlic oil sounds good. If not, saute the chopped garlic in a bit of butter or oil.
Milk and even cream are awesome in potatoes, but I recently tried some cream cheese in my mashed taters. SO AWESOME, way creamier than cream could ever make it. I did that, a bit of butter, some dill, salt, pepper, and cheese (a combination of shredded motzarella, and grated romano). I don't see any reason you couldn't add garlic to this, although I would cut down on the dill.
I don't think puttting it in the oven will help at all. If anything it will increase carryover (the tendency of food to increase in temperature after taken away from heat source). Thus leading to cooking past the doneness you want.
To what degree of doneness are you cooking your steak (rare, medium)? If you cook it more towards rare, more juice will come out no matter what, resting or not. It is not uncommon for a good deal of juice to come out of meat, especially when it was cooking in a frying pan. The juice that will always come out of meat never gets a chance to get away, as opposed to grilling where the juice drips away.
It can, he's dead right. My mother buys a half-dozen heads of garlic every few months and blends the peeled cloves together with olive oil in a food processor before storing in the fridge (basically its home-made minced garlic, which is awesome, unlike the tastes-like-death shit you can buy. also, its very convenient!). A spoonful of that stuff sauteed for a few minutes or just hurled straight into the taters will do the trick nicely. garlic powder is also an option, although I don't really like the stuff much except when seasoning meat/marinading fish.
#1 - Let the steak warm up to room temp before cooking. I hate eating a cold steak, and if you slap one in a pan a minute after taking it out of the fridge, you will definitely end up with a very rare, cold, steak. If you're roasting the garlic in the oven, just put your steak (in a Tupperware or something) on top of the stove so it can get a little extra heat to quicken the process.
#2 - For cooking a steak in a pan, use 3 things: salt, pepper, oil. Sometimes I use a canola oil kitchen spray to avoid using too much oil. Too much oil makes alot of smoke. Salt and pepper generously, but avoid oversalting. PAT YOUR STEAK DRY BEFORE SALT/PEPPER/OILING.
#3 - Stainless steel or cast iron. I have a 20$ stainless pan from target with a copper bottom that is beautiful.
#4 - Heat... heat the pan up for about a minute, between medium and medium high heat on a large burner, then throw seasoned steak in the pan and cover. Its going to smoke. Leave it alone. Keep it covered. Thats flavor. Give it about 1.5 - 2 minutes per side, depending on the cut and thickness. Generally a side is done when it no longer sticks to the pan. If it is a thick cut, over an inch, you may need to throw it in the oven for 2 or 3 more minutes.
#5 - Rest 5 minutes. Make a sauce in the meantime with the pan leavings. Juices will come out, but the steak will still be juicy. It won't be cold, because you let it warm up before you cooked it. It should be the firmness and warmth of medium, with the color and tenderness of medium rare.
4 or 5 potatoes
4 or 5 cloves of garlic
2 bay leaves
- Peel potatoes.
- Slice potatoes in to chunks of approximatly equal thickness.
- Boil some water in a big pot (soup pot works best).
- Add potatoes, garlic and bay leaves to boiling water.
- When the potatoes are falling apart, they are ready.
- Important: Remove the bay leaves!
- Now you add butter, milk or cream, salt and pepper to taste and mash until its nice and smooth.
You can always add more or less garlic, depending on how strong you like it. I made these for Thanksgiving last year and they were a big hit.Sautee means what exactly? I read "cook until the garlic is translucent" earlier in the thread. Is that about right? I think I will forgo the roasting of the garlic this time around and try it 'sauteed' but I need to know what that means. Ok checked wiki and apparently sautee uses high heat and garlic is not known to enjoy high heat. So I'm kinda lost.
t FallenLord: Uh so do you leave the pieces of garlic in to be mashed? And I assume when you remove the bay leaves, you also get rid of the water. The boiling of the garlic makes it soft enough to mash yes? I might do it this way then.
Thanks for all the replies so far. I'll try to get some pictures up after dinner.
Actually, I saw a Good Eats episode (at least I think it was Good Eats) where it was explained that searing doesn't actually seal in the juices.
That was Good Eats. Searing doesn't prevent juices from escaping, but it does add a lot of flavor and texture, so you should do it.
Another great way to do mashed potatoes is to use buttermilk instead of regular milk or cream. It gives a really nice, tangy flavor to the potatoes. I like to use yukon golds when making mashed potatoes, too. I think they turn out better than russet potatoes.
But yeah, just cook until translucent.
Yeah, sorry. You don't have to boil them for very long. I poke them with a fork and when they are falling apart, pour the whole mess in to a strainer. Then I usually put them back in to the pot, pull the bay leaves, add the butter, cream/milk, salt and pepper and mash 'em up. The cloves of garlic mash right up with the potatoes.
Ok cool, I think I'll do it this way then as it seems less likely for me to mess up. Thanks!