I have devoted a bit of time to figuring out how to cook the perfect steak. Despite the fact that I usually prefer something lighter, my wife is a devotee to nice red meat, so I acquiesced.
Her favorite cut is filet (no surprise there I guess) so I cook it thusly:
Get a filet 1 and ¼ to 1 and ½ inches thick. Olive oil on both sides and fresh cracked pepper and sea salt to taste. Get the grill as hot as it can go. Turn it on high and let it heat up for at least 15 minutes. Make sure the grilling surface is clean and open the top up. Oil the grill with a cloth or paper towel just before putting the steak down on the grill. I use extra virgin olive oil. As soon as I lay the steak down I lower one side of the grill to the lowest heat available. Close the top to conserve the heat you have built up between each flip of the steak. I first cook the steak on the high heat for three minutes on the first side. I then flip the steak over and grill it over the high heat for an additional 3 minutes. After that I flip the steak and grill it on the low heat side for three minutes and then an additional 3 minutes on the opposite side. Take it off the heat and drizzle with a bit of olive oil and tent for 5 minutes with tin foil. Perfect Medium Rare. Add 30 seconds for each degree of doneness you desire on the second part of the cooking (on the cooler side of the grill). It has worked like magic every time I have done it.
For a New York Strip it is just slightly different. Instead of using olive oil I use clarified butter and corn syrup with the same sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. The cooking times are still the same assuming the 1 and ¼ to 1 and ½ inch steak but the butter and the corn oil give you a very good crust without overdoing the meat.
I have been to Morton’s and Ruth’s Chris and the steaks tend to be great but I am sure if I had access to the same dry aged steaks that they do I would at least equal their results. Save you money and cook from your own home.
