We often use avocado oil for searing and wok cooking. It has a high smoke point and a mild flavor. I believe grapeseed oil is less expensive, though.

If you use a good stainless or cast iron pan, you don't have to use super high heat. Just let the pan get nice and hot first.

Alton Brown had an episode where he seared a steak indoors. His keys to success were: Cast iron pan, not a lot of oil, high smoke point oil, doing it quick, then tossing it in a hot oven. He said there will be hissing, there will be some smoke; so turn on exhaust fans, other fans, and open windows. You might also want to temporarily disable the smoke detector (which will be ok because you have a fire extinguisher, just in case, don't you?)

It depends on the thickness of the cut you're cooking, but America's Test Kitchen has a great method. They bake the steak at a low temperature (275 degrees F) for about 20 - 25 mins for a thick cut steak. You put it on a cookie sheet lined with foil and a rack. When it's just about at the doneness you're looking for, you pull it out and just sear it off in a pre-heated cast iron skillet for a few mins so you get that great crust (salt it, of course). It's counterintuitive because most recipes say sear and then bake, but I found this to be a great technique because it stays crisper when the sear comes last.

I've also tried this method with a NY strip steak and it works well -- and no smoke alarms!

I have this problem a lot, I solve it by taking the batteries out of the smoke detector while I'm cooking. As soon as the smoking item I'm actively cooking has finished, the batteries go back in,but that's the best solution I've come up with.

Another tip is to oil the meat, not the pan. That will help to avoid putting too much oil in the pan.

That is a GREAT tip, Daisy! I'm trying that next time.

I'm also second the method of quick high-heat searing in a cast-iron skillet and then into the oven to finish. I've had good luck with that both in terms of smokiness (or rather, smokeLESSness) and yummy meats.

There are definitely ways to reduce the smoke (the oil recommendations above, maybe lowering the heat, etc.) But no matter what you do, there will be smoke (the brown you want comes from burning the meat to a desired level). You probably aren't doing anything wrong. Take the batteries out of the smoke detector, open the windows and turn on your exhaust fan. Good luck and enjoy the steak!

Smoking points of cooking oils:
http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/collectedinfo/oilsmokepoints.htm

I use the same method as Daisy11. I pat my steaks dry and rub the oil directly on the steaks before covering with a salt/pepper mixture.

Once I did that, I found that by getting my skillet hot (but not scorching) I could get a perfect sear without sending my fire alarm into a panic. Then I finish them in the oven...but I'm curious to try the CI method!

I keep forgetting to try that Cooks' technique - thanks for the reminder Lewi Wedi!

And don't forget - butter has a very low smoking and burning point. Best to add it once the steak has come off/out of the heat - while resting. mmmm!

Some smoke alarms are just too sensitive/too close to the kitchen and there's not much you can do other than, as others have suggested, take the batteries out when you're cooking something that you know will smoke a bit. In my old apartment, the smoke alarm would go off if we so much as opened the door to a 350-degree or higher (clean) oven. Totally annoying!

One thing no one mentions with smoke in their kitchens with things like this- if you season your meat like many (I do and am guilty of this far too many times) spices and herbs burn WAY before you get a yummy sear on meat. So that hot pan might not smoke with the meat or the oil, but the pepper you cracked all over that steak sure will.

But to solve this, like others, I deactivate my crappy apartment smoke alarm. I was always told kitchens nowadays shouldn't have smoke alarms, rather a heat detector. Kitchen smoke won't set them off but a quick change in temperature or temp past a certain point (Ie- fire) will.

Instead of taking the batteries out of the smoke detector, try putting a shower cap over it while you cook. It works for our overly-sensitive-too-close-to-the-kitchen detector.

Shower cap is a great suggestion. I usually stick some foil over mine with push pins. Don't forget to take it back off - don't want to do without your alarm.

I had this happen way too many times even when the cooking temperature wasn't high because the alarm was too close to the kitchen. It was SO annoying we took it out. But shower caps is a good solution.

I highly recommend the ATK method, but only with thick cut steaks, at least an inch or more. I recently gave it a shot, and the result was a great tender juicy steak, with a nice crispy exterior.

Make sure your hood vent is working, on high, and open your windows, because if you don't get the pan smoking hot, then you're basically wasting your time. Don't start with butter, it has a now burning/smoke point. Use another oil, we use olive oil at work, or vegetable oil. Add the butter at the end and tilt the pan towards you, while spooning the melted/browning butter away from you, coating the meat.

I love the shower cap idea. I would never have thought of it.

My apartment's smoke alarm is way too close to my kitchen, so I stick a fan in my kitchen window. It's as if the kitchen had been designed for it. There's just enough lateral space, and there's an electrical outlet right where it needs to be, a foot up from the floor. I like to roast fish at 400, so this window has been a lifesaver.

But the showercap idea...that's brilliant.