Heat your skillet on high for 10 minutes, sprinkle the bottom of the pan with Kosher Salt, throw in a thick steak, flip it when it no longer sticks to the pan and Bob's your uncle. And it was Bob, from the Land of Aus, who taught me how to fix a steak, stove top, that tastes as good if not better than most steak houses in town. I didn't perfect his technique immediately. I tried it at home, it was good, but not quite up to Bob's standards. He graciously invited me back to his home for another inspection of his process. I picked up a few more pointers and last night, when I threw that Rib Eye in the pan, I knew this was going to be the one. Ahhhhh!!!!
There are a few differences in our techniques. Bob uses a heavy aluminum pan, I have opted for cast iron. Bob's meat of choice is a 3" thick piece of tenderloin, where as I scaled down to a 1" thick Rib Eye. I haven't quite graduated to the thicker cut. The result is a crispy on the outside, red and juicy on the inside, slice-like-butter steak. When making this, be prepared for a lot of smoke. Open the windows, turn on the fans, disable the smoke alarm. The good news, this stove top steak takes less than 10 minutes to prepare, not including the pan heating time. I have kissed broiling and grilling goodbye.
This is a great tip, one that I learned while watching the movie "Julie and Julia," thoroughly pat your meat with a paper towel on both sides before throwing it in the pan. It makes all the difference in the world on how the meat turns out. I also read this tip while making Julia Child's recipe for Beef Bourguignon, which I did manage to successfully make, but was a bit overwhelmed by the process. It took me all day. The prep time alone is phenomenal. The results, divine. The recipe calls for cooking it in a dutch oven. I wanted to buy a Le Creuset, while being beautiful, they are also pricey, even at Marshalls, so I bought a Lodge Dutch Oven. A 7 quart Lodge Dutch Oven that I have named "The Beast," because it weighs a lot, requiring some muscle to handle and it cooks like a beast in heat. It's worth the hassle and it's a great way for me to get my weight training in without leaving the kitchen...and Bob's your uncle!!!!
I ate at a restaurant in Iowa City when visiting my relatives called Bob's your uncle. Do you know the backstory to that phrase?
ReplyDeleteBob’s Your Uncle was chosen as the name for these restaurants because of its meaning in Great Britain and Australia that everything turned out well. The story of its origin is that Prime Minister Lord Salisbury, whose family name was Robert Cecile (thus “Bob”), appointed his unpopular nephew Arthur Balfour to a succession of political offices. The first in 1887 was Chief Secretary of Ireland, a post for which Balfour was considered unsuitable by many. The consensus among the irreverent in Britain seems to have been that to have Bob as your uncle guaranteed success, hence the expression and its meaning of things turning out very well for you.