Picked up a 20oz dry-aged ribeye from my butcher and thought I'd try doing a blackened steak!
-First I let the steak sit out and come up to room temperature as I always do.
-Pat dry the outside to get rid of any excess blood/moisture.
-Grab a plate and apply a liberal amount of olive oil or melted butter.
-Dip the steak into the oil/butter and coat both sides evenly.
-Apply blackening spice (I use Chef Paul's) liberally to both sides.
-Preheat grill or cast iron pan to the hottest it can get (I had my Napoleon at 600+ degrees).
-Cook steak at high heat until crust forms, then flip.
Well let me tell you this steak was absolutely delicious! Next time I think I'll try cold smoking first with some hickory. I think I'll be a little heavier handed with the blackening too, and may use a cast iron pan on the grill to allow for a better crust.
(http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/8293/img7454.jpg)
(http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/3613/img7458.jpg)
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Hey Monty
That steak looks good enough to devour.
HR
Monty, that looks good. Love blacken (Catfish, Ribeyes) I have used this seasoning and his magic meat seasoning. There are some real Cajun recipes on the net that you can try. I have blacken spam, bologna, you name it I have tried to blacken it. I see you use a rib skillet. I have never tryed that, looks good but you want to try to burn all them spices. If your pan is hot enough then first you need to do it outdoors and second a steak that thick is abot 1 1/2-2 minutes a side. Thanks for the pics, look great!
That came out great Monty!
I saw that it was your thread, I knew I'd see great pics :)
Carolyn
Quote from: classicrockgriller on September 26, 2009, 04:44:14 PM
I see you use a rib skillet. I have never tryed that, looks good but you want to try to burn all them spices.
I didn't use a skillet I used my LP grill, which I think was the problem. It was really hot, but the blackening would have been better had I used a little more spice and used a pan/skillet/flattop to ensure everything crusted up.
It was still a damn fine piece of meat though!
Great looking steak there Monty. And I think your idea of using a cast iron skillet on the grill would work well. It should blacken the entire surface and produce a real nice crust.
Or even a Lodge cast iron griddle... Make it easier to get to the meat with your 'flipper' of choice.
I really need to try this sometime. My Weber gasser can easily reach 700*.
Awesome pics Monty, as always. Looks like you have a beautiful kitchen.
A regular cast iron skillet is really the tool of choice for Cajun blackened cooking. The theory is too expose as much of the surface coated with spices to the intense heat which produces the nice blackened crust. The cast iron griddle will produce nice grill marks, but cause it to come out more like it was cooked direct on the gas grill. The steak isn't going to stick at all to a well seasoned cast iron pan so turning it should not be a problem.
Thanks Hawkeye, I see what you are saying now.
No problem Squirt, just like like to share the little I know. So much more to learn and this is the place for that! ;D
Wow, that looks great.
Thats how I do venison steaks now, I love the blackening seasoning with the venison.
If you use a cast iron....you almost have to dedicate a skillet to blackening cause of heating the skillet so hot that you cook the seasoning out of it.
I will check my notes on the times I have blacken and see what temp for the skillet. That is a beautiful steak.
I second that. Use a dedicated pan. Last time I blackened catfish, I put my well seasoned cast iron pan on my turkey fryer burner and got it so hot that it was kinda glowing reddish. Great for blackening, but it did take the seasoning right off. Now I have my good one for regular stuff and a non seasoned one just for doing blackened fish/chicken, etc.
Monty, I looked and found that the best results with a steak when I did it was a surface temp of 500 degrees or as jwg said "kinda glowing reddish".
Seeing that steak, I gotta find time to blacken me one. Also for killer fajitas, do a flank steak. Again that looks great.
i'm going to try a (dedicated) cast iron pan next time to ensure the entire surface area is crusted
thanks for the tips everyone!
Next time you blacken a steak, pick you up a can of spam....that is good
Quote from: HawkeyeSmokes on September 27, 2009, 08:16:05 AM... The cast iron griddle will produce nice grill marks, but cause it to come out more like it was cooked direct on the gas grill. The steak isn't going to stick at all to a well seasoned cast iron pan so turning it should not be a problem.
Quote from: classicrockgriller on September 27, 2009, 01:14:38 PM...If you use a cast iron....you almost have to dedicate a skillet to blackening cause of heating the skillet so hot that you cook the seasoning out of it.
Both good points. A griddle is, however, by definition, flat. Lodge has a version that is flat on one side with ridges on the other - a perfect solution.
Quote from: Ka Honu on September 29, 2009, 08:38:01 AM
Both good points. A griddle is, however, by definition, flat. Lodge has a version that is flat on one side with ridges on the other - a perfect solution.
I looked at that very one at the farm store yesterday... It's a big mutha.
I use a fish fryer that I change out the regulator and I use a 12'' cast iron flat skillet. It will get'r done.
Quote from: Ka Honu on September 29, 2009, 08:38:01 AM
Quote from: HawkeyeSmokes on September 27, 2009, 08:16:05 AM... The cast iron griddle will produce nice grill marks, but cause it to come out more like it was cooked direct on the gas grill. The steak isn't going to stick at all to a well seasoned cast iron pan so turning it should not be a problem.
Quote from: classicrockgriller on September 27, 2009, 01:14:38 PM...If you use a cast iron....you almost have to dedicate a skillet to blackening cause of heating the skillet so hot that you cook the seasoning out of it.
Both good points. A griddle is, however, by definition, flat. Lodge has a version that is flat on one side with ridges on the other - a perfect solution.
Good catch Ka Honu. I should have said cast iron grill pan.