During the cold sub zero Chicago winters I often fantasize about trading in my grill for a cozy oven. But how do you cook a steak indoors and still get that amazing char or flavor from the maillard reaction. I researched and tested 3 different indoor cooking techniques. I will NEVER trade in my grill for these but the results were a good solution when you have to keep in indoors.
Prep Rules
- Always bring your Mino Prime steaks to room temperature. Always follow this rule whether your cooking in the oven or the grill. Take it out 30 minutes prior to cooking
- Use a Cast-Iron Skillet. This is the perfect pan for any indoor meat cooking, it gets very hot and is flat so your whole cut will come in contact with the surface yielding a more even cook.
- Season, season, season: I am a big fan of just using a good quality thick salt but I also love a peppercorn crust, whichever way you choose make sure to apply liberally.
- I used 9oz Filet for each method, just to keep it consistent.
Indoor Cooking Method 1: Sear first finishing in the oven
Searing a cut of meat is the act of applying very high heat to the cut on all sides for the purpose of browning it. This creates a nice crust on the outside( this is the delicious part)
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Get your skillet HOT over high heat and add some oil that has a high smoke point like canola, peanut, avocado or grapeseed oil
- In HOT pan place the Mino Prime Steak( any cut will work, keep in mind thickness of the cut may change time slightly).
- Sear for 2 minutes, flip and sear the other side for another 2 minutes
- Transfer the entire skillet to the oven for 2 to 5 minutes
- Remove the Mino Prime Steak from the skillet and let it rest on a cutting board for 5-7 minutes.
The benefit of the sear first method is it is fast and gives you a nice crust( I like all of those things.) The only negative I see is that you have no room for error on timing or you will have an overcooked steak (I don’t like that)
Indoor Cooking Method 2: The “Reverse Sear”
We have all heard of the Alton Brown reverse sear method which is little different than this In this method you turn the tables on the previous method, starting with the steak in the oven then sear it afterwards. Unlike the previous method, this one is a little more forgiving on time making it more foolproof.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
- Place your Mino Prime Steak on a sheet pan in the oven and cook for 20 to 35 minutes. You want to achieve an internal temperature of 120 to 130 degrees F ( Rare)
- Once that temperature is achieved remove the Mino Prime steak and coat with oil( I use olive oil on this one but you could also use a high smoke point oil like avocado or grapeseed)
- Sear the steak on each side for 1 to 2 minutes ( temperature should be 135 for medium rare)
- Remove the cut from the skillet and place on a cutting board, letting it rest for 7-10 minutes
This method is better for someone who doesn’t like cooking under extreme time constraints like the previous method. Allowing you time to prepare the rest of the meal. Although this method yields a evenly cooked perfect medium rare steak with a seared crust it take a lot longer.
Indoor Cooking Method 3: The 4-3-2
This method is proclaimed to be the quickest and simplest of them all. Using only the cast iron skillet and a hot burner I would have to agree.
- Preheat the cast iron skillet for at least 10 minutes on high heat. Do not add any oil.
- Add your steak and press flat, cook for 4 minutes without moving it.
- Flip and cook for 3 minutes without moving it.
- Remove your Mino Prime Steak from the pan transferring it to a cutting board to rest for 2 minutes. Slice and enjoy
In all honesty I would have to modify this method if I used it again. I prefer to eat my meat at rare to med rare temperature. Although I enjoyed thicker crust on the meat from this method, I did not agree with the times, my filet ended up medium at best not medium rare. So if I used this again I would cut the cooking times down to a 3-2-2 instead.
