Making Steak… in the Oven

This may be sacrilegious for some, but it was pretty cold outside on my husband’s birthday and I wasn’t about to go grilling outside.  There’s a reason why I got fleece PJ’s for Christmas that included a hood AND footies!  🙂  So, I researched and researched and found a way to make a sirloin steak inside.  I don’t like to use the broiler as some suggest because it tends to overcook my steak and/or set my oven on fire.  Well, it didn’t catch fire, but it did smell bad.  So, according to a chef I found online and my cooking experiments, here is what I did.

If you need a special birthday menu (at quite a discount), then here was the meal we had:

1.  Sirloin Steak select – $6  ($3.99/lb. sale)
2.  Roasted Asparagus – $2 (tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper; roasted at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.)
3.  Baked potatoes -($.75)
4.  Chocolate Cake with chocolate glaze (glaze recipe is coming later.  I didn’t use frosting because this was less calories)
5.  Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

Pan Seared Sirloin Steak
4 servings

olive oil
1.5 lbs of sirloin steak, trimmed and cut into 4 large pieces
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Tools you need:  Cast iron skillet – I used my 12″, tongs and a good oven mitt

1.  Prep the steaks:  Let them sit out for about 30 minutes to bring closer to room temperature.  Season generously with salt (preferably kosher) and pepper.

2.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

3.  Prep the pan:  Pour a little olive oil in the bottom of the cast iron skillet to coat it.

4.  Preheat cast iron skillet to medium-high heat.

5.  Sear steak on one side for 2 minutes.

6.  Flip with tongs and sear on the other side for 1 minute.

7.  Put the steaks and skillet all in the oven until desired doneness.  Here I usually stick a temperature probe in one of the steaks to go off when the temperature is right.  It took about 10 minutes for medium rare and 15 minutes for medium well.

8.  Remove skillet from the oven and set onto the stove.  Take the steaks out and let them rest.  While resting, you could… heat the skillet back up (well, it’s already hot, but turn on the burner) and deglaze the pan with a little white wine. Add some chopped shallots, cook a little.  Add some pepper and parsley perhaps.  Get the yummy bits off the bottom of the pan.  Stir in some butter and reduce the liquid in the pan – voila, you gotta pan sauce.