Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Tenderloin Steak

In the "meat" class I took from culinary instructor Helen Rennie, we were taught to cook steak and roasts using a method suggested in Cook's Illustrated in which the meat temperature is raised in the oven (to a desired doneness) and then it is seared on the stovetop. This is the reverse of the order that most people use to cook meat.

So, I heavily seasoned two lovely, thick pieces of tenderloin (although they could have used even more salt and pepper!), popped them into the oven with a probe thermometer, and pulled them out when the internal temperature reached about 100 degrees. I was going for a medium doneness (although I ended up with medium rare, which was fine). In a really hot pan, I seared the steaks on all sides, creating a beautiful, tasty crust. While the meat rested, I made a little pan sauce. It was really nice to feel comfortable buying a pricier cut of meat, knowing that I had the skills to prepare it properly. Success!

1 comment:

Cami said...

That sounds so good and so technical. Unfortunately, I can't seem to bring myself to touch raw meat of any kind. This precludes me from cooking meat of any kind.

You sound so technical in these posts! Did you really take a "meat class"? giggle giggle.