Steak in the oven

[tgm]

We just veered away from pizza last night and tried some sirloin steak. I seasoned the steak liberally and let them rest while I got a good bed of coals roaring. I then raked out some coals in the center of the oven and laid a grill rack directly atop the coal bed. After it got hot I used the peel to load the steak. It cooked perfectly on the first side and then I flipped once. I keep the fire going so I had some flames curling off the ceiling. I cooked a 20oz sirloin to a perfect medium in 8min., tops, 4min each side. The flavor from the wood fire was uncomparable. Our family and guests just raved about it. I'll never cook another steak on our gas grill again.

Thanks for the good forum guys,

Tom in PA

[jayjay]

Grilling Meat

On Saturday I was building one of the last of my curing fires.
I decided to use the fire for some grilling. I was going to have
a Tuscany Style grill made but settled on a local option. Here
they have a grill that sets over charcoal. The legs are 2 3/4 inches.
The size is 8 x 10". The grill is made of stainless bar and is fairly
easy to clean. I used the grill, borrowed from a friend. I scooped out
some hot coals and put the grill over the coals and put some marinated
beef on the grill. Here meat is usually very tough as the meat is not
properly aged. What I cooked was great. Tender and juicy. I asked
the friend I borrowed the grill from, a welder and metal worker, to make
me two grills. I am now waiting for the small portable grills with a short
handle to put in the door of my oven and to cook away. I have an elder
man here, the one that made my oven, and he will make the oven door from
plywood. I am sure that will hold a lot of heat inside the oven.
My metal worker friend is also making me a peel and a blade to clean the
oven. Wood will not cut the situation. We had hopped to use a wooden
blade to pull ashes forward and out of the hearth or onto the ash hole. Wood just will not cut the heat that is generated by the burning.
We are still curing our oven and find out it is holding heat better as it cures.
JJ
Philippines

[piomike]

Re: Steak in the oven

I learned this on a trip to Italy at a small restaurant outside of Lucca that is no longer there.
Start with a un-trrimmed (ask your butcher) rib or porterhouse steak at least three fingers thick. cover it on a plate and let it come to room temp. Start a large fire in the oven and let it go to coals to completely cover the floor of a 36" oven it's very hot! I slide in two bricks on thier sides to support my grill. I have a homemade grill with a handle. Season the steak with salt only, place on the grill and set the grill on the bricks directly over the coals. The steak will start to cook on both sides because of the extreme heat in the oven There is very little flare-up, and you may or may not need to turn the steak depending in it's thickness. remove rare and let rest loosely covered on the cutting board for 10 min. This is where I lose most people but stick with me as this is without a doubt the best steak i've ever eaten. Trim the outter layer of fat slice the steak on the diaginal and plate, cube the trimmed fat and sqeeze the juice of one lemon over the fat. Pick up the fat pieces in your hand (or use a potato ricer if that bothers you) and squeeze the fat juice mixed with lemon juice back over the sliced meat. Do not skip this step, if you do it's just a steak. The oven puts an increadible crust on the steak and the lemon juice breaks down the fat into the most flavorful sauce you have ever tasted.

Serve with crusty bread to soak up the juices.

Let me know what you think.
Mike

[dmun]

Re: Steak in the oven

This sounds good. The famous Peter Lugar serves their sliced porterhouse with ladles of the molten beef fat. I don't remember anything about lemon, though.

[nissanneill]

Re: Steak in the oven

HI Guys,
using a grill over a bed of coals is exactly what we do down under when we go bush on the 4 wd trips.
First task on selecting a campsite which should have a plentiful supply of wood and preferably besides water, is to collect enough wood for a night's good campfire. Start the fire and let it burn for a good supply of coals. Drag out some besides the fire and cook or grille over these. I cary a grilling plate/griddle in my vehicle for such events. Ariund 20" X 12" on 4 fold up legs 3" high. Half the plate is steel sheet and thew other is 2" mesh.
The oven concept of grilling is better as the captured heat only ads to the experience and reduces the cooking time.
Any campfire cooked meal, no matter what is done, always tastes better than a domestically cooked meal.
As far as the fat over the meat is concerned, without fat, meat is tasteless. We just need to control the amount of what we consume.

Neill

[Frances]

Re: Steak in the oven

Mike, that sounds delicious! I must try it!

The big probelm will be finding a steak like that in Switzerland...

[sarah h]

Re: Steak in the oven

Wow, I'm going to start drooling in a minute - have to try this, as steak is my all-out favourite of any meat. Thanks Mike!

[arevalo53anos]

Re: Ribs in the oven

Some time ago...
The pizza party was over, the oven was hot...
Nice ribs wrapped in aluminium foil or barbecue plastic wrap.
The first one just with coarse salt, the second rib with red peppers and onions.
Clean hot oven.
Seven, eight hours at 220 to 170 C.

Nice
Luis

[DrakeRemoray]

Re: Steak in the oven

That looks fantastic! You always cook the best non-pizza stuff!
Drake

[arevalo53anos]

Re: Steak in the oven

Oh, thanks, but... my pizzas are jealous...
Luis

[arevalo53anos]

Re: Steak in the oven

and the traditional ones too...

Luis

[DrakeRemoray]

Re: Steak in the oven

Oh, No insult to the pizzas intended!

[wilson]

Re: Ribs in the oven

Some time ago...
The pizza party was over, the oven was hot...
Nice ribs wrapped in aluminium foil or barbecue plastic wrap.
The first one just with coarse salt, the second rib with red peppers and onions.
Clean hot oven.
Seven, eight hours at 220 to 170 C.

Nice
Luis

...that looks just about AWESOME! ...