Chef Forum banner

Skillet ribeye...What am I doing wrong?

2K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  scott livesey 
#1 ·
So I cooked some steaks on the skillet. They were about an inch and a half thick. Cooked them for about 4 minutes each side, adding garlic cloves thyme and butter once I flipped them. They came out perfectly rare/med rare and I let them rest for about 8 minutes. The problem is that they were still too chewy. I let them sit out for about an hour or so before I started them so I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing wrong...Any ideas?
 
#2 ·
Most likely culprit is the quality of the steak. 

Sometimes a very very rare (read, actually raw) steak can be kind of chewy, but if you think you hit a good rare or medium rare temp then I don't think that would be the problem. 

Like I said, most likely you bought ungraded beef, or just got unlucky with an inferior piece. And you are sure it was a ribeye?
 
#5 · (Edited)
You want to look for good marbling on a steak.  What makes you think it was a ribeye?  They should be labeled ribeye or rib steak if you get them at the supermarket.  Have you tried getting them at the butcher?

If you have some leftover and want to eat it like a steak just make a sauce to go with it.  Bernaise or even a gravy will do.
 
#6 ·
The problem is that I didn't actually buy the steak so idk for sure. This may sound really ignorant...But it was cut exactly like a ribeye...With a decent sized tough outer layer of the steak on one side (is that gristle?)... Regardless, seems like part of the problem is the steak. Probably time to go find a good local butcher lol. What's a good cut choice for the skillet?
 
#8 ·
The part that wraps around the ribeye is called the cap or the deckle.  It is not gristle.  It is extremely tender and in my opinion the best part of the whole cow.  It cooks at a different rate than the eye, takes a little longer so it's easy to overcook the eye while waiting for the deckle to cook.  If it is gristly then it is not deckle, therefore it is not ribeye.  If you post a pic maybe we can find out for sure.  Next time buy your own beef.
 
#10 ·
Anytime you have a though steak don't blame the cow. The cow didn't it! The feed lot fed me my whole life, I didn't have a choice what I ate, the cow said. By Brother cow lived on a farm and ate wonderful green grass all of his life. He was then finished with corn for 150 days to put some marbling in his meat. What cow do you think had a better life ??? We raise our own cows but that isn't the point. If you eat meat, try to find a butcher in your town that buys from local farmers. Tell your local butcher you would like a well marbled steak that will be melt in your mouth tender. Buy quality, eat well. The meat companies that process 1000's of cows daily, cut, and cryovac without hanging the sides. When I process my cows they hang for 30 days. If it's not aged in whole pieces at the grocery story there won't be any age on the meat at all. The Whole Rib Eye, New York, Whole Top Sirloin could be wet aged at that point if the store wants a better tender steak. I would rather have one quality steak per month than have a lesser quality steak every week.........ChefBillyB

This is a filet from my cow that I sliced for steak sandwiches today. Not everyone can raise their own cows and have room for 600lbs of meat. But, everyone can seek out a butcher that will allow them to buy good quality meat when wanted.

 
#12 ·
Thanks ChefBillyB and manavatmix. Just started getting "serious" about cooking so don't know a whole lot about good butchers and good cuts of meat. Aging sounds like an interesting project but it also sounds like it could go horribly wrong lol.
 
#13 ·
On aging beef at home ....

What is the recommended Time and process for this ? There is ( or was ) a steakhouse in Charlotte nc that advertised 6 week aged beef. I get the context but like James Gregory I might change my mind waiting that long !

Any and all advice is appreciated
 
#14 ·
Thanks ChefBillyB and manavatmix. Just started getting "serious" about cooking so don't know a whole lot about good butchers and good cuts of meat. Aging sounds like an interesting project but it also sounds like it could go horribly wrong lol.
Couple of points.

1. The US cattle industry has learned that any beef cut marked "steak" sells better, at a higher price. So they have been experimenting with a lot of "steak" cuts from parts of the animal traditionally used for other things. Since most US steak eaters prefer meat medium or more done, it hardly matters. But it does mean that buying meat from anybody but a traditional butcher requires some study and care. Don't beat yourself up about it: this wasn't true 20 years ago.

2. Minor point: beef does not come from cows. Beef only comes from steers. Under certain circumstances you could buy cow meat, which has wildly varying texture and flavor because of the lactation process. But if it's labeled "beef" and you're not buying from Weird Cousin Ernie out back, it's from a steer. (if you do get cow meat, it should be much cheaper, and you should assume that stewing is the only really certain bet. I use cow for steak, and just accept that sometimes it's got a weird texture.)

3. Your cooking method sounds good. You might do better to flip it every 30 seconds instead, but if you got beautiful pink all the way through, that's not going to change much.

4. Cut and quality aren't the same thing. You might have had something that isn't a ribeye. You might have had third-rate ribeye. Either could produce dubious results. Without paying through the nose, you're not going to get truly excellent grass-fed organic prime beef steak, so you're going to have to think about what matters to you most.

5. Aging is complex, but it needn't be a huge deal. And it really can't go all that wrong. The worst that can happen is you tuck into the steak and go, "yuck!" It's not going to kill you. If you're concerned about contaminants, think about it this way. If it's contaminated after aging, unless you contaminated it through truly bad handling, it was contaminated to begin with. Most contaminants that scare us--salmonella, E. coli, etc.--don't really start to die until they hit 130F, at which point your steak is ruined. So if it was contaminated, you were probably going to get sick from it on day 1 anyway. Obviously the stuff can breed and spread, but a lot less so than you'd think. Almost all the contaminants remain very close to the surface, where a really hot grill does kill them. It's like stock: if you let it go off and then boil the heck out of it, it's quite safe, but it'll taste awful. So don't panic. The one crucial thing: if you do age some meat, be clean, and buy from a place you think is serious about being clean. Other than that, relax.

Good luck!
 
#15 ·
On aging beef at home ....

What is the recommended Time and process for this ? There is ( or was ) a steakhouse in Charlotte nc that advertised 6 week aged beef. I get the context but like James Gregory I might change my mind waiting that long !

Any and all advice is appreciated
I strongly recommend that you search the web for "Heston Blumenthal perfect steak"--the video should be about 50 minutes long. His discussion is extremely clear, and his explication of dry-aging is fascinating. He also tests a range of aging types. That's very, very high-end prime beef, aged and cooked by dedicated pros, but you will learn a lot. The text version in the accompanying book is also excellent. The recipe he develops is amazing.
 
#16 ·
OP said, "Well one thing I did notice is that it didn't have much fat on the steak or through the steak."  It might not have been actual ribeye but more of a round steak (with which you can sometimes tow a car).  Some hunks of beef, even the same cuts from the same store, are tougher than others.  Cheaper cuts of beef may look to be a bargain because they have less visible fat which our frugal eye thinks of as waste.  Unfortunately, a lean piece of beef is likely to be a tough piece of beef.  
 
#17 ·
The problem is that I didn't actually buy the steak so idk for sure. This may sound really ignorant...But it was cut exactly like a ribeye...With a decent sized tough outer layer of the steak on one side (is that gristle?)... Regardless, seems like part of the problem is the steak. Probably time to go find a good local butcher lol. What's a good cut choice for the skillet?
I like top sirloin. When I can find it, I buy an 8-12 pound cryo vacced piece. the closest supermarket sells top sirloin as "Top Sirloin Fillet." I buy the thick cut which is 1" to 1 1/2" thick. 2 minutes a side in a very hot cast iron skillet, steaks into a pan then into a 350F oven for about 10 minutes while all the sides are prepared. Results have been a nice medium rare. favorite side is to brown onion and green pepper in same skillet used for the steaks. when veg is browned, add diced cooked potatoes.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top