Fabulous Ribeye Steak

DH and I have looked around for a new butcher shop since we’ve moved and the most persistent recommendation came from my BIL Stu (Suzy too, but not quite as fervent about it). He sang the praises of the one near the shuk called Meat Choice and I have to say that a whole bunch of people on my Israeli Foodie groups chimed in and agreed. So we moseyed on over to check it out and first of all, it’s spotless. Secondly, the displays of meat and chicken are just gorgeous and it gives you a real push to wanna buy something. We eyed the ribeye steaks and I promise you they looked like something out of the Flinstones cartoon – brontosaurus steaks – enormous, gorgeous and arrayed with the bone intertwined, if you get me with another rack of ribs. We looked at each other and said, k, soon. First let’s check out the chicken. (One thing at a time) This may sound funny, but the chicken was so fresh and delicious that I said, we gotta go back. Nay. nay, we didn’t take the plunge immediately, we said, let’s try their burgers. So we did and I’m trying not to drool on my keyboard when I tell you how fabulous the burgers were (made ’em in my Ninja Foodi Grill) perfect and not too fatty. By our next visit, the guys working there gave us beaming smiles (I’m a friendly sort and I complimented them on what we’d already consumed) and I asked the guy about the steak. He recommended the bone in and we agreed the bone adds to the flavor. He lopped off 2 steaks for us and said, you will be very happy with these.

Mind you, each steak weighed a bit more than 700 grams (24 ounces) and we lugged them home. We realized we would have to freeze one (sacrilege, I know) but no way we could eat more than one between the two of us. Then came the great debate, cook them in the Ninja? Cook them in the broiler? Cast iron pot? My youngest son Netanel had popped by the office and was appalled (he is without question the most like me when it comes to food, experimenting and precision in techniques – makes a mean gravalax btw) and said, Ema!! (Mom) you know better and we said in unison, reverse sear, right? He rolled his eyes at me (I’m of the generation that wants to say, they’ll get stuck that way, but has learned not to) and my SIL Yechiel agreed with him (now he’s backing out and claiming you should finish it on a smoker. I gave away my indoor smoker to Netanel – never do it indoors, you are smoking the whole house) and anyway, I’m convinced Yechiel would smoke his kids cornflakes if they’d let him get away with it. So I decided to go purist reverse sear and I’m so glad I did. Fabulous, drool worthy, crisp outer crust and juicy melting interior – you will go mad for these steaks, trust me 🙂 . Mind you, it’s important to note that they are 2 inch (5 cm) thick. If they are thinner steaks, it’s a whole different ballgame.

So gather your ingredients

Yup yup, that’s all folks. Some will throw in a sprig of rosemary or thyme but a) didn’t have none and b) I find fresh rosemary too powerful for me, I feel it overpowers all other taste so I avoid it but thyme would be nice if you can get it. A note. Please see the oil above, it’s canola and that’s for the end searing of the steak. It’s due to the fact that canola has a high smoke point and since you need your pan – you got it – smoking hot (more about that later) you cannot use olive oil, it won’t stand up well to the heat. K. Onward.

Now to the steps involved. First you will preheat the oven to bake 250 F/ 120 C. Yes, this is low heat and that is quite deliberate. You want the steak to slowly rise (internally) in temperature and do not worry, we will be careful not to overcook it. K. I’ve mentioned in the past how worth it it is to buy at least a cheap instant read thermometer. You need it for so many things and it’s truly not expensive. Without it, you are guessing and you may overcook your steak which would be a shame. I will tell you how long I cooked it for but since ovens are also not all the same and some go hotter and some colder, it’s a guesstimate.

First sprinkle the steak top and bottom with black pepper and salt and let sit till it comes to room temperature. Don’t cheat with this, it’s part of the whole process. If it’s been in the fridge, it’s about half an hour to 45 minutes depending on the warmth of your kitchen. Next, take a rimmed baking pan and place a wire rack in it. The purpose of this is to allow the steak to be cooked from the bottom as well as the top – airflow.

Once your steak and your oven has come to temp, you pop your steak into the oven and set the timer for 40 minutes. This is the relatively calm part. Good idea to set up your cast iron or heavy duty stainless pan, the oil and garlic (and thyme if ya got it). The timing is important at the end so have it ready to roll.

What the steak looked like at 40 minutes

As you can see, the steak’s fat is getting some color as is the meat but it ain’t done. Keep going – back into the oven but now you should be on alert. No reading that riveting book, no distractions. The internal temperature of the steak should ideally be between 48-50 degrees Celsius or 118-122 degrees Fahrenheit. I did another 5 minutes (45 minutes altogether) and it was 43 C so back it went in for an additional 7 minutes and it was 49 degrees. By the by, best to insert the thermometer prong into the same hole each time so you don’t poke the steak all over. While it is in the oven for the extra minutes, heat your pan to ridiculously hot. This means when you shake a drop or two of water into the pan, it dances and skitters.

Remove the steak and check the temp. Let sit on the rack it’s on, and pat dry with paper towels. You will see that the juices bead up and form on the steak and why pat dry, you may ask? Since you’re about to place oil into your smoking hot pan and if the steak is wet/damp it will a) splatter like a fiend and b) not develop a crust and be kind of meh and semi soggy. Not to be desired!

Now place the oil in the hot pan (btw, yes, cast iron is most preferable but you can use stainless as well. Not non-stick!). It will shimmer from the intense heat of the pan and this is what you want. Since I don’t use butter to baste the steak (kosher after all and I won’t use margarine for this) I toss in the garlic for 30-60 seconds just to add some extra flavor and scoop out and set aside.

Then add the steak carefully to the pan. Best if you have a long handled pair of tongs since baby, it’s hot!!!

Sear the steak in the boiling hot pan and oil for about one and a half to two minutes on each side till steak is beautifully crusted and carefully turn over and sear on other side for same amount of time.

Note that the fat has browned. Since the fat cap (the fat on top of the steak) was trimmed properly, the steak seared properly and you can render the fat cap last. Using the tongs, hold the top of the steak with the fat cap in the smoking hot oil.

Turn the steak to make sure you render the fat on all the edges. Then place the steak back on the wire rack (which you used to cook it in the oven) to rest for about 8- 10 minutes. This is super duper important. If you cut into the steak (tempting, I know) before it rests, all that lovely juiciness will run out of the steak and you’ll be left with some expensive shoe leather, I kid you not! Now I prefer not to cover it, even if it’s not as hot because I want the steak’s crust to remain, well, crusty. Set up your plates, if you’re having salad, keep it far from the steak so it doesn’t have the dressing run into the meat, and divvy up the steak between the two of you. Because I love my husband, I gave him most of the bone, just taking a small bit for me (he kept asking if he could give me another piece, ain’t it cute?). I recommend putting away your phones, and removing any distractions from the serious business of eating your steak. Tell you a secret? No fries were involved nor potatoes. Just some salad since we couldn’t eat another bite of anything. Fab U Lous!

And here’s my beauty – medium steak

Fabulous Ribeye Steak

1 (700 grams) 24 ounce ribeye steak bone in, 2 inches (5 cm) thick

Salt

Pepper

Canola Oil

2-3 Garlic cloves

Directions:

Remove steak from fridge and let come to room temperature about 45 minutes or so.

Preheat oven to 250 F/120 C, not a higher temperature!

Season steak generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Place on wire rack on rimmed baking pan (so steak gets cooked from the bottom as well as the top).

Place in oven for about 40-45 minutes for a two inch (5 cm) thick steak, I did 45 minutes, it was 43 degrees Celsius on an instant read thermometer and put in 7 more minutes and check with thermometer to see steak reaches 118-122 F/48-50 C. Remove steak from oven.

During the last five minutes of oven cooking, heat a cast iron or stainless steel (not non-stick!!) pan till smoking hot (don’t burn yourself!) and add the oil till oil is shimmering hot (once pan is smoking this should take less than a minute). Take garlic cloves and cook for 30-60 seconds and remove to wire rack. Lay steak into pan and sear for about 1 1/2-2 minutes on each side (this creates the crust) and then turn with tongs to make sure the fat cap is seared as well all around the edges (the white part on the top edge of the steak). Remove from the heat and let rest uncovered for about 8-10 minutes. Serve after resting.