(Part 2) Best products from r/steak

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0096K1ZDG/ $60

No idea what kind of knifes you need. I like this set. I avoid serrated knives as they tear the meat.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00008GKDJ/ $15
Lodge is pretty much the go to cast iron pan. It's relatively cheap, but it is a pretty simple design after all.

You have 75 bucks left in your budget, I would get this:

https://www.amazon.com/Lavatools-Javelin-Limited-Ambidextrous-Thermometer/dp/B01F59K0KA/

Resist the urge to go cheap on instant read thermometer, it was the single best thing I purchased that drastically improved nearly all the food I cooked - especially steaks.

My pan is a Matfer Bourgeat Black Steel Round Frying Pan, 11 7/8"

It's 100% amazing. I love this thing and I use it almost every day. By far the best fry pan I've owned. Would mostly definitely recommend it.

> I've found that when I've used that procedure in the past, I've ended up with overcooked steak...

A digital probe thermometer is a godsend for this. I sear my steak for ~90-seconds per side in grapeseed oil, put a pat of Ghee onto the steak, and then toss the steak into my 250º oven for ~20-minutes with the probe thermometer set in it set to 145º.

Perfectly cooked, perfectly delicious steak.

Nice. You are going to love it. If you are only ever doing 1 or 2 steaks a bigger pot should work out fine for your sous vide. I needed to cook up to 6 steaks at once and opted for a [cambro-like container] (http://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-Commercial-FG631200CLR-Space-Saving-Container/dp/B000R8JOUC?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00) and [lid] (http://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-Commercial-FG652300WHT-Lid-SSC/dp/B000VAUFD6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00)

That helps whenever I want/need to use my Anova. Some people use a cooler and I understand that line of thinking, especially if you are using it for long periods of time as it is more energy efficient. I just could not find a cooler that I would have been able to attach the Anova to so I went the route that I did.

You can most definitely use the oven. Reverse searing is a fool-proof method of cooking a delicious and juicy steak every time. You'll want a thicker cut of meat. Below are two good links to get started. You absolutely need a good digital instant read thermometer. I picked up this one off Amazon, works great.

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https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2018/10/reverse-seared-steak-recipe.html

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https://jesspryles.com/recipe/how-to-cook-a-steak-with-reverse-sear-method/

A griddle is a great idea. In fact, this is the carbon steel one I use. (It used to be $10 cheaper, so an even better deal.) A good pile of charcoal will be putting out a ton of heat so you certainly can cook a bunch of steaks at once without worrying about the pan losing heat.

One thing that stands out for the griddle you linked to is that it doesn't have handles that are easy to get ahold of. Even with a good pair of hot pads it looks like it'd be hard to get off of a smoking hot grill without getting burnt.

I found that a long knife is a must for cutting bulk/whole meat. I have a nice set of Shun Japanese knives and my biggest (8" chef) really isn't big enough to properly cut whole pieces of meat.

I ended up buying a (relatively) cheap carving knife to slice my brisket as well as cut up bulk meat. I got this one when it was on sale for $27. Sure there's a difference in quality compared to Shun but it's a damn nice knife for that kind of money and cuts great if you touch it up on a honing steel before each use.

As others have pointed out, thin cuts are usually less desirable unless you need something to cook on a super hot griddle/grill that will spend minimal time on the heat. You could probably sear these for a minute per side and they'll be OK.

Nice! I like the idea of cast iron as opposed to carbon steel but Amazon has much cheaper prices than Lodge's own website

https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-LPGI3-Reversible-Griddle-10-44-inch/dp/B00008GKDQ/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1525960340&sr=1-4&keywords=cast+iron+griddle

and good point re: the handles. I figured I would leave the griddle on the grill and just sear the steaks and then take them off. Then deal with griddle cleanup after it's cool off. I think even with more pronounced handles I wouldn't be trying to lift and carry a 700 degree piece of iron around haha

I felt the same way about thermometers, but for reverse sear, its really the best way to get consistently great results.

I use one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Thermometer-Smoker-Cooking-Monitor/dp/B01AGNOUBU?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

It stays in the meat the whole time for the cooking part.

I have a thermapen but that's not a leave in thermometer. You can get a leave in thermometer for pretty cheap. (something like this )

That said if you are on the edge about getting a thermapen for doing instant reads of your steaks. I'd highly recommend it. It's worth every penny.

Alright, fucked up the egg but at least the beef's on point right?

Didn't want to go through the hassle of using the full-sized oven for the typical reverse sear so I decided to try out this Philips air fryer that I had lying around for years but only used for simple frozen food cooking jobs.

It goes all the way down to 80C (175F) so it made for amazing temperature control; a one-inch cut here would take roughly 10 minutes to hit med-rare internal temps and is extremely fast in pre-heating (2 minutes) and much easier to clean up than the oven.

Canola oil in a screaming hot pan, sear for 40 seconds per side which was perfect for a well developed char while limiting the brown creep to what you see above.

Probably won't do it again since I got an Anova coming in soon, but it was a nice (and very delicious) experiment to perform.

See my other posts in this thread, but to sum it up: Shun knives are considered a joke by serious cooks.

The 600$ Shun is trying to charge students for that selection of knives is a rip off. No one needs more than 2-3 knives for at least the first couple years of their career, which will be spent doing basic prep and line cooking. You won’t be doing any butchering or specialized work till further on anyways.

And when you do, do your research and buy them piece by piece. At that point you’ll be working with and learning from more experienced chefs who will be more than happy to point you in the right direction.

Here’s a suggestion to get you started:

8” Chefs knife

Paring knife

Bread knife

Ceramic Honing Rod

knife roll

peeler

All of this can be had for around a 1/3 of the price Shun charging and I guarantee you these tools will serve you way better.

I don't really have an exact recipe, but I can describe how I do it. After cooking the steak in a stainless steel pan, deglaze it with some brandy or cognac (watch it, it'll light up). I then add shallots and some butter for a few minutes on medium heat.

Then more booze, I add roughly equal parts port wine, balsamic vinegar, and beef consomme, or if you can find it, some beef demi-glace (you'll need a little beef or chicken stock too this way). Demi-glace is expensive, but the one in this link is borderline life changing.

It'll need some salt and lots of pepper. If you'd like to use regular red wine instead of port you can do that, and then throw in a bunch of cherries and mash them up while the sauce reduces (until silky). If you do this, you'll want to make sure to strain the sauce before using it. It's very delicious, one of the dishes people most frequently ask me to make them.

Lodge LPGI3 Pro-Grid Cast Iron Reversible 20" x 10" Grill/Griddle Pan with Easy-Grip Handles 10" x 20" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00008GKDQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_rC7MDbBTNP38K