I feel like a moron :(

873 Views 10 Replies 10 Participants Last post by Captivate05, Oct 8, 2010

Captivate05

Discussion Starter · Oct 8, 2010

I love cooking, and today I decided to break in our broiler (it's electric and brand-spanking new). I wanted a nice Delmonico steak for my hard work in moving into my first apartment. Since my fiance hates beef, I decided I'd be clever and just cook it while he's at work...

I've broiled steak many times, but with a flame broiler, and always in a house with good vent fans above the range. Well, come to find out our new apartments vent fan sucks. Now, I was expecting some smoke, but not THAT much smoke! The steak didn't even cook past rare, and I not only managed to set off my smoke detectors, but THREE of my neighbors!

The worst part: the steak doesn't even taste good. No flame to sear in the flavor, and I didn't even think of it. So scaring the bejesus out of my neighbors wasn't even worth it:icon_frow.

I needed to vent, I feel so stupid. No more steak at the apartment, for me...

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mistergreen

· #2 · Oct 8, 2010

You must have those stupid fans that go nowhere. I hate those.

Do you have a balcony? You can always grill.

The trick to steak is to have a super hot pan/surface and deal with the smoke for a few minutes to get good caramelization and then pop it in the oven to finish cooking.

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Jadelin

· #3 · Oct 8, 2010

Do you have a porch/patio where you could get a grill? Steak is definitely a difficult thing to make well in an apartment!

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OverStocked

· #4 · Oct 8, 2010

You should "research" pan fried steaks. You can make a good steak in a nice cast iron pan(read cheap, but well seasoned) on a good high temp.

Don't give up. Just adapt.

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Noahma

· #5 · Oct 8, 2010

I had a friend ask me how to cook pork chops. She did not cook at all. So I gave her a good recipe, which called for her to cover the pork chops... well she used saran wrap instead of foil. Can we say plastic chops?

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Da Plant Man

· #6 · Oct 8, 2010

Charcoal grills, much better than electric or propane...

Sad that you set off the alarms, but at least you got to meet your neighbors

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neumahrs

· #7 · Oct 8, 2010

Sigh....reminds me of my first apartment, any time i wanted to cook I had to put a towel under my front door, open the windows and disable the smoke alarm. As others mentioned, using a skillet works, but it'll produce about the same amount of smoke. Grill with hardwood charcoal if you have a balcony.

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ReefkprZ

· #8 · Oct 8, 2010

Captivate05 said:
I love cooking, and today I decided to break in our broiler (it's electric and brand-spanking new). I wanted a nice Delmonico steak for my hard work in moving into my first apartment. Since my fiance hates beef, I decided I'd be clever and just cook it while he's at work...

I've broiled steak many times, but with a flame broiler, and always in a house with good vent fans above the range. Well, come to find out our new apartments vent fan sucks. Now, I was expecting some smoke, but not THAT much smoke! The steak didn't even cook past rare, and I not only managed to set off my smoke detectors, but THREE of my neighbors!

The worst part: the steak doesn't even taste good. No flame to sear in the flavor, and I didn't even think of it. So scaring the bejesus out of my neighbors wasn't even worth it:icon_frow.

I needed to vent, I feel so stupid. No more steak at the apartment, for me...

I hate electric stoves. when I bought my house I ripped out the electric stove and put in a 60year old propane stove. MUCH better.

if your stuck with the electric, you may want to invest in some cast iron pans, they take longer to heat but once you figure the temperature controls they work great for steaks.

and dont feel to bad about smoking the place out I fell asleep while slow broiling some steak not too long ago (broiling with the broiler door open) and woke up to a house full of smoke and a pile of charcoal on my broiler plate.

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wendyjo

· #9 · Oct 8, 2010

Better check with your county/city before using an open flame grill on a balcony in an apartment - many ordinances don't allow it. My sister tried it once and the someone reported her and called the fire department on her.

If you have to use electric then get a George Foreman grill - they do fairly well on steaks but you gotta set it at the highest heat to get some decent grill marks without overcooking the steak.

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syzygy9

· #10 · Oct 8, 2010

over_stocked said:
You should "research" pan fried steaks. You can make a good steak in a nice cast iron pan(read cheap, but well seasoned) on a good high temp.

Don't give up. Just adapt.

absolutely. i do ribeye this way. i rub a bit of safflower oil (nice high smoke point oil) on each side of the meat and then season with salt and pepper only. 3min/side on the stove in a hot cast iron and then another 2 min/side in a 350F oven (still in the pan). move meat to a plate to rest for a few minutes and you are good to go.

(times and temps may vary depending on thickness of meat and desired doneness)

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Captivate05

Discussion Starter · #11 · Oct 8, 2010

I don't like pan frying steak. I haven't tried searing it then placing it in the oven though... the way I learned to cook steak was to "trick" the beef into being cooked. Get everything blasting hot before putting the steak on, but it causes an crazy amount of smoke, IME. The broiler always seemed much more tame... My prefered method is on a grill, and I was spoiled by the fact that my parents live in the country, with new propane grill AND range.

We don't have a porch or balcony, kinda sub first floor (it's the one my fiance wanted, and he's paying the bills). Even if we did, our landlady said no grills

. We have a george foreman, but it doesn't work well with our custom steaks. I'm kinda SOL until I get a fan wedged into one of windows to blow the smoke outside.

I'm really disliking this electric crap. Fire works so much better, and doesn't leave behind that acrid plasma smell... unfortunately, people can't be trusted around here to be able to identify and report a gas leak, so I'm stuck with this POS range.

The bright side to this: I'm not paying for the steak. Another perk of having doting parents who live on a Black Angus farm, I get a lot of free beef. Still feels like such a waste of a beautiful high quality steak though... Delmonico is my favorite cut, and there's only so many you can get out of one animal.

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