Strange Question on Cooking.

[Plaidman]

A long time ago, my cousin cooked me a steak. It was the best. But the strange thing was, she cooked it in our OVEN. She put it in, had it on (Broil I think?) and had the oven slightly ajar. Is that how it works? I wanna try it tomorrow, any advice or anyone even know if that is right or what?

[BarbieGirl]

That is how my mom does it. Although she also puts it on a cookie rack in a jelly roll pan to catch the juices. With the oven rack as high as it can go.

[RetailWorkhorse]

Essentially your Cousin roasted the steak. I think I'll try that for dinner, actually.

[Docmayhem]

Essentially your Cousin roasted the steak...

Actually, it was broiled.

How it works depends on the oven type.

Most ovens have a "broiler mode." Typically set up one of two ways:

On electric ovens, there is usually a seperate broiler element mounted on the ceiling of the oven. This is a high power heating element made to give intense, direct heat. If you don't have a cookie rack and jelly roll pan, you can use a broiling pan (essentially a ridged pan with drain holes that fits into a drip pan) to hold whatever you're broiling. Some cooks recommend pre-heating the broiling pan so that you get "grill marks." You will have to leave the door to the oven open slightly to prevent overheating, since part of the point to broiling is that you want the outer surface seared/ carmelized while the inner portion is more gently heated.

On gas ovens, the broiler is often located in a drawer below the regular oven box, and will use the regular burner with two differences. First, there is no diffuser/ refractory between the flame and the food, so you get intense, direct heat. Second, the flame will stay on full blast for as long as you're in broiler mode rather than cycling on and off to maintain a specific temperature. On these you may still want to leave the oven door open slighly, because the oven box will get very hot very quickly.

Either system will make a decent substitute for a proper barbeque grill in a pinch, and are, in fact, much closer to the way most restaurants will cook a good steak.

To go back to RW's comment, you can roast a steak in the oven. It will come out much like any other beef roast, provided it's thick enough not to dry out completely. Personally, I'm much more likely to cut up and wet age a roast and then broil it than I am to roast a piece of meat cut down to steak thickness.

Good luck and don't forget the dry rub.

[friendofjimmyk]

I don't have a good grill, so I usually broil my steaks.

I have the electric type oven - so I put the top rack closest to the heating element, put a cookie sheet or pyrex baking dish on the rack below it and cook it by laying it straight on the rack. Yes, it's a bit messy, but I clean it up afterward and it has yielded the best result for me. Or, as another poster stated, you can just put it in a baking dish on a rack if you have a small rack - I don't, hence the utilizing of the oven rack.

And, of course, don't forget the seasoning.

[lordlundar]

Whenever you go to a restaurant, unless stated otherwise, the odds are good that the steak you order will be broiled in the oven. It's great for cooking, as you can control the heat better and requires less attention. It also allows you to cook several at one time. The catch is the preparation is different, as it's a dry heat, so unless it's properly prepped, it comes out dry.

[friendofjimmyk]

That's why you season it with Kosher salt. Don't know why - but that helps a lot with the drying out problem.

Also, be careful - I've burned my arm on the broiler element more times than I care to admit. Since that rack is so close to the element, reaching to pull the rack out not fully paying attention has earned me a few scars on each arm.

[draftermatt]

To avoid drying the steak I bake it first.

I'll bake it on 350-425 until it's almost to your desired "wellness" and then I put the broiler on to brown it up, and make it crispy but moist.

[Jester]

As others have noted, this is not at all odd, and is often done...though from my professional experience, I would disagree that this is the most common method of preparation of steaks in restaurants.

Adding to this, I have found over the last few months that the oven is far preferable to the stove top for cooking bacon. Especially (but not only) if you are making your own bacon bits.

[Plaidman]

So I tried it out yesterday before work. I added my favorite spices and did a dry rub. Put a cake pan, with water and some soy sauce.

I admit I had it in a little longer then I should have, but it was still delicious. If I can get the timing down, I have a feeling it be a real great steak. Thanks for all the advice though guys. It made me wanna break my weak shell and try something different.

[Jester]

It made me wanna break my weak shell and try something different.

Trying something different can be FUN! For the cookoff tomorrow, I am going to be making a fish and seafood jambalaya that I have not only never made before, I don't even have the recipe completely together. Should be a blast!

[Evil Queen]

Jester, that recipe sounds tasty. Share with us when you're done!

BF used the oven to make bacon last week. Best tasting bacon I've ever eaten. (he saw Alton Brown do it on Food network)

[Jester]

EQ, it is the best way to make bacon, honestly.

As for the recipe, just got back from grocery shopping a bit ago, and the recipe is coming together. Black grouper. Key West pink shrimp. Andouille sausage. Rice. White onion. Green bell pepper. Celery. Green onions (maybe). Spices, spices, spices. Tomatoes.

If it turns out really good, I may just post the recipe.

Of course, I STILL have not sat down with my notes from my chili and typed up the recipe for my files. And that was, what, two, three months ago?

Bad Jester. Bad, bad Jester.

Anyway, just taking a quick break to wolf down some leftover chicken chow mein and then I am off to the kitchen to cruelly massacre innocent vegetables, fish, and meat. Muahahahahahahahaha!!!!!

[CaroPhoenix]

I bake my bacon in my oven for about 30 minutes (depends on how crispy you like your bacon - I like mine so crispy it falls to ashes if you look at it sideways. ). Anyway, when I'm cooking the bacon in the over, I take my broiler pan, cover the bottom of it with heavy duty aluminum foil and then place the top of the broiler pan back on. I place the bacon on top and cook. It's awesome.

As for the broiling of the steak - that's how I first learned how to make it. My mom always cooks it like that.

I also bake my breakfast sausage links in the oven too.

[Shangri-laschild]

Is there a difference between sticking stuff in the broiler under the oven and sticking it in the oven really high up with the door slightly open, like what was being talked about earlier in the thread?