Need help...steak in a cast-iron skillet

This will be my first adventure with a cast-iron skillet. It is new (Lodge Logic...I don't have any family heirloom cookware yet) and this will be the first dish. I need some help preparing a steak.

A few things to keep in mind:

• My wife won't eat anything below medium-well.
• I have an electric stove, so I will be doing the burner portion of this on my propane grill.
• This will be the first dish in the skillet. It hasn't been seasoned, aside from the supposed seasoning at the factory (I doubt that counts for anything) and an olive oil treatment it got yesterday.
• The cut of meat is a shoulder steak. Marbled pretty well.
• Simple seasonings...seasoning salt, pepper, et cetera.

So gents, I need some help with the recipe. Take me from start to finish. I know there are skillet artists on the board and I'm looking forward to some great recipes.

Lodge has been making those things forever. If they say they seasoned it, I know no reason not to trust them. I do steaks in mine all the time, Keep the fire low.

extremely simple and yummy:

small amnt. of olive oil in skillet, get hot over med heat (adjust as you think necessary), add steak.

as steak is cooking add salt, black pepper, garlic powder all to taste on both sides and cook into steak. as it gets more towards half done (however you define that) add a good splash of balsamic vinegar to both sides of the steak and let it cook in. yes, really, balsamic vinegar. finish cooking to what you consider done. enjoy.

It will help the spices and flavor to penetrate if you stab the steak with a fork all over a few times, but this is not required.

I'm a bit confused. Everything I've read thus far advocates putting the skillet in an oven and getting it insanely hot, searing the steaks on a burner, and then cooking in the oven again. Is that only recommended for medium-rare steaks? (Don't get me wrong...simplicity is very good.)

I have to disagree with you Rich on stabbing the steak while it is cooking. Stabbing the steak will allow the juices to run out and result in a dryer piece of meat. If you want a piece of meat cooked medium well or beyond, like Bishop's wife then this will help it to cook faster.
I don't smash hamburgers while they are cooking either


Allow the steak to come up to room temperature. Pre heat your pan to medium. You don't want it smoking hot. Melt some butter in the pan, add smashed garlic cloves and if you feel adventurous you can add any fresh herbs you like, Rosemary, Thyme etc, add them whole. Salt and pepper the steak and put it in the pan. The steak should sizzle when it goes in the pan, if it doesn't your pan isn't hot enough, take it out and wait for the pan to heat up. Using a spoon or a ladle baste the steak with the butter. Let the herbs sit on top of the steak, the hot butter will extract nice flavors. Turn the steak when its half way done. When its cooked let it rest before you cut it up. While its resting dump most of the fat out of the pan and remove the herbs. Saute mushrooms and onions in the remaining fat, when they are cooked add them to the steak. You can deglaze the pan with some red wine if you want, add a couple of ounces of red wine to the pan and scrape the bottom to get all the little bits unstuck. The burned bits are delicious. Let the wine reduce then add an ounce or two of cream, swirl it around, taste it and if it needs it add some salt and pepper. Add it to the steak.

Or since this is going to be cooked out doors.....

Get some Cajun seasoning coat both sides of the steak liberally with the seasoning. Add some vegetable or canola oil to the pan, when the oil is smoking hot add the steak. DO NOT BREATH THE SMOKE! Flip the steak when it's half way done.

Here is a great link with many good cast iron ideas
http://whatscookingamerica.net/CastIronRecipes.htm

bishop said:

I'm a bit confused. Everything I've read thus far advocates putting the skillet in an oven and getting it insanely hot, searing the steaks on a burner, and then cooking in the oven again. Is that only recommended for medium-rare steaks? (Don't get me wrong...simplicity is very good.)

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I don't know about insanely hot skillets unless you want to blacken the steak or you have a big piece of meat that is going to really suck the heat out of the pan. If you really want to get the skillet insanely hot start it on the stove top. Unless your electric stove top is pretty anemic you should be able to get the cast iron pan pretty darn hot it might just take a few minutes.
Finishing a steak in the oven does a couple of things.
It allows you to cook a steak that has already been seared or grilled on both sides at a more moderate heat so that the outside doesn't get burned or charred to a crisp. This is really helpful with large steaks, like say a 24 oz bone in rib eye. It also cooks both sides at the same time, reducing cooking time. It also frees up valuable burner or grill space.

highball said:

Here is a great link with many good cast iron ideas
http://whatscookingamerica.net/CastIronRecipes.htm

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The cobbler looks good. Really good. The blue berry pie looks pretty tasty too. I need to go eat lunch.

RichGem said:

small amnt. of olive oil in skillet, get hot over med heat (adjust as you think necessary), add steak.

as steak is cooking add salt, black pepper, garlic powder all to taste on both sides and cook into steak.

Click to expand...

Sullybob said:

Allow the steak to come up to room temperature. Pre heat your pan to medium. You don't want it smoking hot. Melt some butter in the pan, add smashed garlic cloves and if you feel adventurous you can add any fresh herbs you like, Rosemary, Thyme etc, add them whole. Salt and pepper the steak and put it in the pan. The steak should sizzle when it goes in the pan, if it doesn't your pan isn't hot enough, take it out and wait for the pan to heat up. Using a spoon or a ladle baste the steak with the butter. Let the herbs sit on top of the steak, the hot butter will extract nice flavors. Turn the steak when its half way done. When its cooked let it rest before you cut it up.

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These both sounds fantastic. Roughly how long per side for medium to medium-well? I need to get a meat thermometer, I suppose. I've been eyeballing steaks on the grill for years.

I'm definitely not going to stick anything into the steak...my wife will eat this cooked to medium if it's good enough. She's more apt to do that at home.

I use a Le Creuset cast iron grill pan and skip most of the steps mentioned here. After rubbing a small amount of olive oil over the steaks I apply a fairly tame homemade rub, let them sit out and come close to room temperature. Then I slide them in the preheated oven on broil. I usually cook either rib-eyes or filets, about 1 1/4" thick. Cook 6 minutes per side and they come out between medium-rare and medium, always VERY moist. I'm sure if you were to go 8-9 minutes per side you'd reach something close to medium well.

This for me cooks the steak in a way that brings out the flavor of the meat. I don't add alot of flavors/spices to it because I tend to think if you're getting the right steaks their flavor should be the focus, not what you've added to it.

Roman414 said:

Lodge has been making those things forever. If they say they seasoned it, I know no reason not to trust them. I do steaks in mine all the time, Keep the fire low.

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I have a few pieces of Lodge "pre-seasoned" cast iron ... I don't care what they say, I always season a new piece prior to the first use. The coating they put on at the factory is mainly there just to prevent it from rusting on the shelf in the store ... there isn't enough oil soaked in to the iron yet to provide a good cooking surface.

Prior to first use, clean it and season it as you would any used piece of cast-iron. Use an oil that is good for high-temp cooking, such as grapeseed, peanut, or canola. Olive oil burns at too low a temperature, so don't use that for seasoning a pan or to grease up a skillet, but it is OK to rub on a steak prior to putting on spices.

+1 for keeping the heat low ... cast iron soaks up heat in a hurry, and it holds it. You can always turn the heat up if need be, but once that pan gets to be TOO hot, it will stay that way for quite a while.

Don't rely on watching the clock, because cooking times vary widely from one meal to the next. Get a thermometer probe, and use that to tell you when the meat is done.

Cooking on cast-iron is as much art as it is science ... don't be surprised if your first few meals turn out to be a disaster, but rest assured you will get better after a few times. Don't use expensive cuts of meat when you're first starting out ... save those for later on, after you know what you're doing.

Good Luck, and Bon Appetit.

dpm802 said:

Cooking on cast-iron is as much art as it is science ... don't be surprised if your first few meals turn out to be a disaster, but rest assured you will get better after a few times. Don't use expensive cuts of meat when you're first starting out ... save those for later on, after you know what you're doing.

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PS: Especially your first few times, make sure you cook in a well-ventilated area, in case the oil smokes up on you. If you have a range-hood fan, great ... if not, be prepared to open the kitchen window to let the smoke out.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

dpm802 said:

PS: Especially your first few times, make sure you cook in a well-ventilated area, in case the oil smokes up on you. If you have a range-hood fan, great ... if not, be prepared to open the kitchen window to let the smoke out.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

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This is the other reason I'm cooking outside on the propane grill.

Good luck on your Steak journey.

The only thing that I would add is to salt the meat after its off the fire, you will get a better crust and sear if you skip the salt until the very end when its resting.

i agree the coating they use isn't enough. lard or crisco works really well for seasoning one. i use the one my granny used most of her life. has to be at least 60 or 70 years old now. also when you mess up and you will. a little oil and some sea salt will do wonders to clean it.

bishop said:

I'm a bit confused. Everything I've read thus far advocates putting the skillet in an oven and getting it insanely hot, searing the steaks on a burner, and then cooking in the oven again. Is that only recommended for medium-rare steaks? (Don't get me wrong...simplicity is very good.)

Click to expand...

this is what I do, similar to what you posted:
heat skillet in oven (350) while I pat the previously marinating meat dry & add whatever spices at this point.
skillet on stove, med hi temp, olive oil in pan and lightly rubbed on steak, then steak in the skillent, sear on both sides, 2-3 minutes, then skillet w/ steak into the oven again, for as long as it takes to get to desired doneness. Turns out better than I ever would have expected
(I like mine well done, btw)

Do yourself a favor and experiment with compound butters. They are easy to make will take your steak to new heights.

RichGem said:

extremely simple and yummy:

small amnt. of olive oil in skillet, get hot over med heat (adjust as you think necessary), add steak.

as steak is cooking add salt, black pepper, garlic powder all to taste on both sides and cook into steak. as it gets more towards half done (however you define that) add a good splash of balsamic vinegar to both sides of the steak and let it cook in. yes, really, balsamic vinegar. finish cooking to what you consider done. enjoy.

It will help the spices and flavor to penetrate if you stab the steak with a fork all over a few times, but this is not required.

Click to expand...

The trouble is that vinegar is an acid, which can raise hob with the seasoning on cast iron if too much is used.

luckysealy said:

i agree the coating they use isn't enough. lard or crisco works really well for seasoning one. i use the one my granny used most of her life. has to be at least 60 or 70 years old now. also when you mess up and you will. a little oil and some sea salt will do wonders to clean it.

Click to expand...

Fry some bacon in it. Then cook a burger. Bacon is good for more then just eating.

arghblech said:

Do yourself a favor and experiment with compound butters. They are easy to make will take your steak to new heights.

Click to expand...

Sometimes I like to finish with a compound butter while the steak is resting. Very nice.

Kit Walker said:

The trouble is that vinegar is an acid, which can raise hob with the seasoning on cast iron if too much is used.

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What is hob?

Okay. I bought mine unseasoned and seasoned it myself, so I didn't know. I do my steaks on top of the stove; if you put the cast-iron lid on, the heat conducts so evenly the skillet essentially becomes an oven. If the lid is of the self-basting type with the little teats on the inner surface, you are freed up to do something else while it cooks.