November 6, 2009 6:25 AM
- Text
Sizzling Steak Tips From Morton's
(CBS)
If you're looking for advice on grilling the perfect steak, the folks at Morton's steakhouse are the experts. Elias Iglesias, the executive chef at Morton's in New York City, stopped by The Early Show on Wednesday to share grilling tips for your Fourth of July cookout.
Iglesias says the best cuts for grilling are sirloin, porterhouse and rib-eye, which is his favorite for grilling at home.
"You don't need to spend a lot of money, whether you buy choice or prime. What you want to look for is steaks that are nice and red, have abundant marbling because that gives you that flavor, that tenderness. You want steaks that are at least an inch to inch and a half in thickness, because that way they can cook nice and even and they won't overcook and turn to a burnt piece of cardboard on the grill," he says.
One important tip is to cook the steak when it is at room temperature, and not straight out of the fridge. "Take the steaks you're going to grill out at least two hours before you're going to grill them. What happens is you get that steak nice, and it is not as cold, in other words. When you grill it, it will cook up nice and evenly. If the steak is cold, what happens is the outside gets charred and the inside is still red," he says.
When seasoning a steak, Iglesias keeps it simple – he only uses salt and pepper.
How often should you flip a steak? Only once, Iglesias says. "When you're cooking, we have the grill up. When you cook, you really want to keep the grill down. That way you don't lose the heat. And also, the meat isn't as tough if you keep the grill down. And pretty much it depends how you like it how long it is going to take," he says.
Before serving the steak, which Iglesias likes to pair with a red wine such as a Cabernet or Merlot, he says let the meat rest for about five minutes, so the juices don't all run out at once as soon as you cut into it.
Finally, if you are not in the mood for a giant steak but something smaller, Iglesias says choose a filet mignon. "Smaller cut, very tender, flavorful. It's always a nice choice if you want something smaller, smaller cut."
Below are tips on cooking the perfect steak, as well as recipes for some of the restaurant's famous side dishes from the 2006 edition of the "Morton's Steak Bible" cookbook.
Timing the Steak
We test steaks' doneness by time and by their feel. Both are subjective. Timing will vary upon broiler to broiler and grill to grill, and we hope you view the cooking times in our recipes as guides, not absolutes.
Not all cuts of meat feel exactly the same. But as they cook, all reach different degrees of doneness in similar ways. If you press lightly on a raw strip steak of T-bone, it will feel firmer than a raw filet or mignon. As these cuts cook, they will feel different as they reach each stage of doneness but the principle will be the same.
To understand our method, follow these guidelines:
Hold your hand out, palm up. Poke the pad at the base of the thumb. This is how rare meat feels when it's ready to come off the grill or out from under the broiler. (The strip steak may feel a little different from the filet mignon, but not remarkably; if you feel them both when they are raw, you'll be able to determine this.) The area of your hand between the thumb pad and the center of the palm feels how medium-rare meat feels; the middle of the palm is how medium meat feels; and the base of the pinkie is how well-done meat feels.
There are other tests for doneness. For example, if you like medium-rare meat, a bone in steak is done when the meat is still firmly attached to the bone. When the meat on a porterhouse or T-bone starts to pull away from the bone, it is past medium-rare and on its way to medium.
Watch the juices that naturally escape from the meat. The steak won't release much juice when the meat in the middle is still red, but when it starts to turn pink inside, it will. If you notice small pockets of juice collecting on the meat and they look a little white, you can be sure the meat inside is medium.
Many home cooks like to use instant-read thermometers to determine when beef is done. We don't recommend this because we don't like to puncture out steaks until it's time to take knife and fork to them. If you would like to use and instant-read thermometer until you get the hang of our testing methods, go ahead. After a while you won't need to poke one of these little things into your beautiful steaks. In the meantime, here are the temperatures for doneness:
Extra rare: 115-120F
Rare: 125-130F
Medium-rare: 135-140F
Medium: 145-150F
Medium-well: 155-160F
Well done: 165F
(These temperatures apply to lamb as well, except lamb is rare at 140 F.)
Iglesias says the best cuts for grilling are sirloin, porterhouse and rib-eye, which is his favorite for grilling at home.
"You don't need to spend a lot of money, whether you buy choice or prime. What you want to look for is steaks that are nice and red, have abundant marbling because that gives you that flavor, that tenderness. You want steaks that are at least an inch to inch and a half in thickness, because that way they can cook nice and even and they won't overcook and turn to a burnt piece of cardboard on the grill," he says.
One important tip is to cook the steak when it is at room temperature, and not straight out of the fridge. "Take the steaks you're going to grill out at least two hours before you're going to grill them. What happens is you get that steak nice, and it is not as cold, in other words. When you grill it, it will cook up nice and evenly. If the steak is cold, what happens is the outside gets charred and the inside is still red," he says.
When seasoning a steak, Iglesias keeps it simple – he only uses salt and pepper.
How often should you flip a steak? Only once, Iglesias says. "When you're cooking, we have the grill up. When you cook, you really want to keep the grill down. That way you don't lose the heat. And also, the meat isn't as tough if you keep the grill down. And pretty much it depends how you like it how long it is going to take," he says.
Before serving the steak, which Iglesias likes to pair with a red wine such as a Cabernet or Merlot, he says let the meat rest for about five minutes, so the juices don't all run out at once as soon as you cut into it.
Finally, if you are not in the mood for a giant steak but something smaller, Iglesias says choose a filet mignon. "Smaller cut, very tender, flavorful. It's always a nice choice if you want something smaller, smaller cut."
Below are tips on cooking the perfect steak, as well as recipes for some of the restaurant's famous side dishes from the 2006 edition of the "Morton's Steak Bible" cookbook.
Timing the Steak
We test steaks' doneness by time and by their feel. Both are subjective. Timing will vary upon broiler to broiler and grill to grill, and we hope you view the cooking times in our recipes as guides, not absolutes.
Not all cuts of meat feel exactly the same. But as they cook, all reach different degrees of doneness in similar ways. If you press lightly on a raw strip steak of T-bone, it will feel firmer than a raw filet or mignon. As these cuts cook, they will feel different as they reach each stage of doneness but the principle will be the same.
To understand our method, follow these guidelines:
Hold your hand out, palm up. Poke the pad at the base of the thumb. This is how rare meat feels when it's ready to come off the grill or out from under the broiler. (The strip steak may feel a little different from the filet mignon, but not remarkably; if you feel them both when they are raw, you'll be able to determine this.) The area of your hand between the thumb pad and the center of the palm feels how medium-rare meat feels; the middle of the palm is how medium meat feels; and the base of the pinkie is how well-done meat feels.
There are other tests for doneness. For example, if you like medium-rare meat, a bone in steak is done when the meat is still firmly attached to the bone. When the meat on a porterhouse or T-bone starts to pull away from the bone, it is past medium-rare and on its way to medium.
Watch the juices that naturally escape from the meat. The steak won't release much juice when the meat in the middle is still red, but when it starts to turn pink inside, it will. If you notice small pockets of juice collecting on the meat and they look a little white, you can be sure the meat inside is medium.
Many home cooks like to use instant-read thermometers to determine when beef is done. We don't recommend this because we don't like to puncture out steaks until it's time to take knife and fork to them. If you would like to use and instant-read thermometer until you get the hang of our testing methods, go ahead. After a while you won't need to poke one of these little things into your beautiful steaks. In the meantime, here are the temperatures for doneness:
Extra rare: 115-120F
Rare: 125-130F
Medium-rare: 135-140F
Medium: 145-150F
Medium-well: 155-160F
Well done: 165F
(These temperatures apply to lamb as well, except lamb is rare at 140 F.)
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