I don't have a grill - What are the best types of steaks for cooking indoors on the stove and about long should you cook them. I usually don't cook steaks and only eat them out. Help!

I would say the really thinly sliced ones are the best bet. They cook up quickly and won't smell up the kitchen to much. I've never had good results with thick steaks on the stovetop.

Plus with the wafer thin steaks you can make beef onion rolls. Just wrap the meat around a green onion stalk hold it together with some toothpicks and yum yum. Expeirement with making a good low carb sauce to go with it.

Sirloin steaks and eye-of-round steaks are typically the cheapest ($2 to $3 per pound). If you are not a regular steak eater these might taste good. This is what is usually sold at the cheap steak places -- Golden Corrall's, Western Sizzler, Ryan's Steakhouse, etc.

Rib-eye and NY Strip steaks are very good but more expensive ($5 to $6 per pound). Tenderloins are the best but about $10 per pound. These are the steaks served at the good steak houses.

There is aged beef and higher quality beef (more $ per pound), but I usually buy the cheapest Rib-eye or NY Strip steak I can find.

Personally I don't like buying T-bone and porterhouse steaks because -- you are paying $5 per pound for bone!

Also be careful when buying rib-eyes. Rib-eyes can be sold with or without the bone. Again, I don't like paying $5 per pound for bones.

I have a spare refrigerator and freezer. I go to Sam's Club and buy the meat in bulk and it is cheaper. Rib-eyes at my grocery store are about $7 to $9 per pound. Same steaks at Sam's are $5 to $6 per pound. I assume Costco and similar offer similar deals.

I have a vaccuum bag sealer so I take each steak, throw it in a bag, seal it, and freeze it. If you don't want to mess with the vaccuum sealer -- Sam's sells Ziploc bags also (just suck all the air out ).

You can buy the huge whole ribeyes at Sam's which are one huge slab of meat -- about 15 to 20 pounds. The price is about $60 to $80 ($4 per pound instead of $5 or $6 per pound) but if you slice 1 pound steaks out of it -- you are saving $1 to $2 per pound.

As far as cooking, I typically grill, even in the winter. But this winter it is below freezing -- so the oven will do fine. I just take a frozen steak out of the freezer, set my oven to 425 degrees, throw the steak in the oven and come back 30 minutes later to see how done it is. Typically it will require an additional 10 to 15 minutes.

Some people use a meat thermometer to tell how done it is, I've cooked so many, I can usually just look at the outside and tell how done it is. It is a good idea to cut the steak in half at it's thickest point to see how done it is. Some people suggest "cut a slit in the steak" to see how done it is -- but I can't tell from that -- I cut the steak in half.

Steaks will continue cooking for a few minutes after removing from the grill/oven, so you might pull it out a little sooner than later. This will not make a large difference in doneness -- but a small one.

You are suppose to eat steak medium-rare. This is the optimal doness to kill bacteria but still taste the flavor and tenderness of a good rib-eye or NY strip. If you cook your steak well done -- don't buy the expensive steaks -- stick with the sirloins and eye-of-round. It is harder to taste the difference between a $20 steak and a $5 steak when they are cooked to well done.

I use to eat large subs / pizzas every night at about $10 or more per meal (I typically eat a few large meals but not snack). So now I am paying about $5 per pound for Rib-eyes, eating 1.5 pounds per night for a total of $7.50.

So I eat nice steaks every night, save money, and lose weight! I must be in heaven!

Update on 2/1/2002 at Sam's Club:
Sirloin steak $2.49 per pound
Eye Round $2.66
NY Strip $5.69
Ribeye $5.87
16 pound whole ribeye $4.50 per pound ($72 total)
Tenderloin $9.87 per pound

You get what you pay for.

A steak that I have come to enjoy over the years is the top sirloin steak. It is reasonably priced, usually pretty tender and is very economical (I usually buy it when it goes on sale at $2.99; typically it is $3.99). I like it better than a New York strip sirloin.

If you want a nice steak to use for a steak sandwich (with LC bread/roll of course), then try getting some flank steak and slicing it pretty thin across the grain. It is very tasty.

Bobby

I have a similar problem - I live in a small apt. in New York city, and I don't have a kitchen fan to deal with a lot of smoke...

so, my first solution was a George Foreman grill. That works pretty good for a lot of types of food, steaks included, but not so good for thicker steaks and for steaks with bones.

Later I decided to switch to one of those grill pans that you use on the stovetop. Mine is squarish and has upraised ridges on the grilling surface of the pan. I got it at Williams Sonoma for 90 bucks - pricey but worth it to me, since I use it almost daily. There are far less expensive, cast iron, versions of this type of pan availlable. Anyway, to me, this type of pan has two big advantages over George's device - you can vary the temperature (Georges is just set to one temp. and that's it), and it's an awful lot easier to clean. Just soap and water and a sponge and you're done.

I find that if I cook my meats on a low to medium temp, I get a lot less smoke in the apt. However, I like to sear both sides of a steak, say a rib-eye, or a shell steak, or a filet mignon, for about a minute on a high setting, and then cook it the rest of the way on a low to medium temp. But not too long, since I like it very rare. The high-heat searing gets kinda smokey, but since I like the results, I put up with it.

Btw, someone mentioned cooking your meat enough to kill bacteria, but the problem with that is that you need to cook it to 160 degrees, and that is very, very, well done. I think you just have to trust your sources of meat, and buy the best and freshest meat you can find.

One last thing, I recommend a book called " The Complete Meat Cookbook". by Bruce Aidells and Denis Kelly. They tell you pretty much everything you need to know about buying, preparing, and cooking beef, pork, lamb, and veal.

Here is my most common way to make steak:

First off, I usually buy a ribeye (my Favorite unless if I can get a good deal on filet.)

I take a cast iron pan and put a little bit of oil in it (one with a high smoke point.) I sprinkle lightly some black pepper, kosher or sea salt and some garlic powder. I sear one side until it is dark golden brown, then I flip it over. Then I add fresh garlic, a little more salt and pepper and a few slices of butter on top. I then take the pan and put into the oven on broil (500 plus degrees). I cook it for another 2-5 mintues depending on the thickness. Then I take it out and put it on a plate for a few mintues before serving. It is heaven! And it is soooo YUM!

Hope this helps for cooking steak indoors!

Oh and I agree completely with kebaldwin and I think steak should always be medium rare if not rare. When you take a steak off of the heat, it still cooks for another few minutes. Also, when you wait a couple of minutes before cutting, you will not get a bloddy plate. Luckily for me the bloddy part is no problem and I usually can not wait!

I am with the rare steak lovers, and even when I lived in a small apt. as long as I put the range hood fan on - I didn't set the smoke alarm off. I never cooked thin steaks - too hard to get them good and rare - if you want beef for sandwiches, it might be easier to cook a roast and slice it after it cools for nice thin slices. But for a nice thick steak cooked indoors, a cast iron pan or cast iron grill gives great results - I think a lot of people are scared of cooking on cast iron - the good old ugly olde fashioned kind - but really they are way more stick resistant that these teflon things they sell and give much better heat - get yourself a good heavy cast iron, heat it good and hot and throw your steak on - for a steak with very little fat and about an inch thick, 2 minutes a side should be good - if there is more fat, leave it a little longer. It might take a couple of steaks till you figure it out - there's no crime in cutting into the meat to see how well done it is - there's also this finger test - where you clench your fingers into a fist - and probe with fingers to replicate the texture of doneness -I can't figure out how to describe it - but probably half the world knows this so just ask someone at the next bbq you go to

You may also want to try a chuck eye steak. This is a little cheaper cut of meat, around $4.00 a pound, but the quality is great. The meat manager at Kroger told me that this is actually the end cut off of a ribeye steak. It actually looks like a ribeye, and taste like one. I have found them at Kroger, Walmart, and Winn Dixie.

Darin

sirloin & tenderloin steaks are perfect for pan searing. Invest in a meat thermometer, it is worth every cent. Take the steaks off at an internal temp of 120 degrees. Let rest for five minutes, and voila: perfect steaks.

What you need is a small, iron skillet! Heat it till it's medium high. Toss in some Land o lakes butter. I love Ribeyes this way-- rub with mixture of garlic powder, salt and pepper.. Place in skillet as soon as the butter melts. Sear on both sides then just turn a few times till your doneness level. (mine is Medium)
My mom taught me how to cook steak this way. After you remove your steak you can toss in some more butter, sliced mushrooms, red and green peppers and you have a steak as good as any restaurant !

We cook steak indoors on a cast iron griddle. First we heat it up to a medium-high temp, then sprinkle salt on the dry griddle. Throw the steak on, cook for a few minutes, turn over, and cook for a few more. The salt is not just for flavor; it makes the steak quite juicy.

As for bacteria, the bacteria grows on the surface. That's why you should always make sure ground beef is cooked completely through, but a good sear on a steak will kill what you need to kill.