Why did the attempt at pan-searing beef filets fail miserably

cast-ironsteak

Background: I am very much an amateur cook; I would consider myself a novice at best, so pardon my ignorance!

I decided to try to cook a nice dinner for my family recently. Part of that dinner included some small (~6-7 oz., 1.5-2" thick) beef tenderloin steaks. After doing some Internet research I decided on a preparation method that included pan-searing them for a few minutes on each side (with the goal of getting the steaks to the approximately "rare" stage), followed by a stint in the oven to finish them off. This seemed straightforward to me, so I decided to give it a try.

As a novice cook, the only skillet that I had on hand that was suitable for use in the oven was an old cast-iron one, so I used that. Following the recipe that I had found, I added 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil and ~1 stick of butter [*] to the pan and put it on high heat. After the foam subsided from the butter, I placed the steaks in the pan. The Internet consensus seemed to indicate 3-4 minutes of searing on each side would get the steaks to rare, so I waited patiently.

Unfortunately, after 3 to 3.5 minutes, it became apparent that something had gone wrong: the kitchen began to fill with smoke, and when I turned the steaks, the side that had been seared was burned horribly. I had to abort cooking them at that point to mitigate the smoke; I later found that the steaks had cooked through much more than I would have expected by that point.

While my result was discouraging, I'm trying to do some post-mortem analysis to try to determine what went wrong so that if I get up the nerve to try this again, I won't ruin another meal of expensive meat! Some possibilities that came to mind:

  • Was cast iron a bad choice as my cookware in this case?

  • Should I have lubricated the pan differently?

  • Is there some other detail that I missed that could have changed the outcome?

[*] "A stick of butter" is a US measurement, it denotes 113.5 g of butter

Best Answer

Butter is a very bad choice for frying at high heat, as it burns extremely easily. Cast iron is the ideal pan material though, so you are halfway there.

  • Take a flavourless oil like sunflower and brush it directly on the steaks - don't put the oil in the pan.
  • Preheat the pan until it is ridiculously hot.
  • Preheat the oven if that's the method you're going to use
  • Season the steaks generously with salt and pepper
  • Sear the steaks and cook in the oven until desired level of doneness is reached.
  • Rest the steak on a wire rack (or failing that, a plate) for 5 minutes so it doesn't leak juice all over the plate.

Personally I would omit the oven stage and just cook the steaks in the pan, turning frequently. Add a knob of butter near the end and baste it over the steaks with a spoon.

A probe thermometer is a great investment to make if you plan on cooking meat properly. You cannot rely on rules of thumb like pressing the steak or just timing it. There is a good chart here for the temperatures at each level of 'doneness'.

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