Recipe from this very blog!

*Updated*

Just in case some of you aren't reading all the comments on each of these posts, I figured I'd re-post this one for your enjoyment. I used it last night for the first time and was absolutely overjoyed with the results. My wife can confirm that I wouldn't stop talking about the steak for hours after I was done. Thanks, Kristie!

Okay, here's what you need: A steak. I'm a recent Costco member and their inch-thick, USDA choice ribeyes for under $6/lb make me do a little dance in my head every time I think about them. You will need some of those. Or some of another, far inferior, woefully-overpriced meat-slab. You will also need some seasonings. I used some kosher salt, some Lowry's seasoned salt and some hickory seasoning. You will need some high-heat oil (not Extra Virgin Olive, for example. Safflower worked well for me)and a cast iron skillet. If you don't have a cast iron skillet, you're wrong. Go get one so you can be right. You'll need to "season" this skillet, but I still haven't gotten mine right so ask someone else about it.

This is precisely all you need, disregarding a kitchen timer, tongs, some crazy-insulated oven mitts and so on. If we want to get crazy, I can also specify teeth, fingers, steak-knives, arms, elbows, etc. Basically, you need a kitchen, some cast iron, some flavor and some meat. Rock on?

Let your steak sit out for a while. You want it to warm up almost to room temperature before you get started. You can sprinkle both sides with your seasonings at this point. Once your steaks are up around 60 degrees or so, spread a little oil around the bottom of your skillet with a paper towel, pop it into your oven and turn it to broil. Leave it be for like 10 minutes. Pull out the rack using your mitt (you can touch the skillet but only if you're damned sure it can take that kind of heat) and drop your steak on there. It'll sizzle like the dickens, but you just slide the rack back in and set your timer for 2-3 minutes. Kristie suggested 2 minutes on the first side, with another few on the other. That got me a good crust on the outside, but the inside wasn't as done as I like. I'm planning to stick with 3 minutes next time, and see what that gets me. Once the timer goes off, pull out the rack, turn your steak with the tongs (be careful not to touch the skillet as it is currently hot enough to burn your soul) and slide it back in. Set your timer for another set of minutes (2-3, depending on various factors) and let the steak sit. When the timer goes off, take the steak out of the pan and put it on a plate to sit for 10 minutes or so. I cover mine with a sheet of foil to help keep the heat in a bit more. If you want a rarer steak, you can leave this off and I think the heat will dissipate more easily, leaving your steak less cooked.


*Begin Update* Having tried this again, I have determined several things: one, putting your steaks in a zip-loc bag and letting them hang out in warm water for a bit works really well to get them to room temp, and two, cooking for 2:45 to 3:00 on each side is perfect, as long as you let them sit on a plate under a sheet of foil for about 10 minutes. That carryover heat will finish the job very nicely. *End Update*