I tend to go for a NY strip 9/10 times when I’m buying steaks, unless there’s some good deal on something else. Or I’ll go to Costco and get a big roast and cut steaks out of it. I’m not super picky these days because I always sous vide and torch my steaks and they come out so nice no matter what the cut. Salt and pepper and herbs before the sous vide usually, but every now and then I’ll try out a marinade. Sometimes I’ll finish with some butter, but usually it’s fine without a finish.
But I do find that a NY strip just looks the best to me and has a good ratio of fat to meat for my tastes. Eating out, I may go for a ribeye or something more “premium” but I rarely get steak when I eat out. So what’s your favorite cut and how do you cook it?
Dry-brined, reverse-seared ribeye for me. I like me that extra juicy fat running through the ribeye.
Dry-brine (fairly generous salting with kosher salt) the night before, leave uncovered in the fridge overnight on wire rack over a pan, toss them in the oven at its lowest setting (150F for mine) mid afternoon for a couple hours until they’re at the desired doneness (use a thermometer!), then sear just prior to meal time either in a cast iron pan or on the sear burner on my grill.
I prefer this over sous vide because the dry outside lends to better searing and there’s no plastic waste. With just salt and pepper, the flavour of the beef really comes through. I do beef roasts this way too.
I’m loving the inspiration from everyone here for how I might branch out. I usually get tenderloin fillets, sous vide + cast iron seared. Personally, I like a coffee+cocoa rub based on Smith & Wollensky’s recipe, topped with a small sprinkle of fried onion strings, and sometimes a little bleu cheese. (I might be mixing some things that don’t technically go together, but I enjoy it.)
I think I don’t need sous vide for that cut, but it’s a comforting crutch to know I’m not going to overcook it. Now I want to try the oven and reverse-sear method. If that gets me the same forgiveness without plastic waste, plus with the benefit of a drier surface at searing time, that sounds like a promising upgrade.
For home, I usually buy picanha steak and cook it in my carbon steel pan. I like to render the fat to cook the steak in it’s own fat.
Ribeye. Salt with kosher salt, let rest. Sous vide for about 2 hours at about 132 to 134 Fahrenheit. Let rest. Sear on cast iron skillet, ideally with butter, shallots, and herbs if you can manage not to burn them.
You forgot pepper
Pepper is optional.
