Why not cook a dry-aged Porterhouse steak tonight?
We suggest serving steak for mid-week celebrations because they are quick. The only prep work required is a trip to a good butcher. Your steak will broil to rare perfection in under ten minutes. On Valentine's Day, less time in the kitchen means more time for, umm, other things.
Here's our step-by-step guide to cooking steaks in your broiler.
Also see our step-by-step photo tutorial to cooking a steak here:
• How To Cook a Steak in the Oven
Cooking a steak starts with the shopping. Go to a butcher with a good reputation (If you're in midtown Manhattan, check out Ceriello in Grand Central). If you can afford to go antibiotic-free and hormone-free, check out the aged steaks at Whole Foods. Be prepared to pay as much as $20 a pound and remember the trade off: you're paying more for premium steaks to save time in the kitchen.
A Porterhouse, also known as a T-bone, combines two of the best cuts of steak: a New York Strip and a fillet. Look for a Porterhouse that's at least an inch and a half thick with a weight of about one and a half pounds -- that's more than enough for you and your Valentine.
Position the top rack four to five inches from the top of the oven. Take the steak out of the refrigerator as you pre-heat the broiler to its highest possible temperature (Our broiler reaches to 550 degrees). Open a window just in case. Things might get a little smoky.
While the broiler warms, pre-heat an empty cast-iron skillet or grill pan on high heat on the stove for about five minutes. If you're using a premium cut of aged meat and a well-seasoned pan, you won't need to add any oil to the pan. The screaming hot pan might just start to smoke a bit. Be careful and be sure to use a thick oven mitt.
Once both the broiler and the pan are pre-heated, sprinkle the steak with salt and put it in the pan (We don't put black pepper on until after it comes out of the broiler because we think it can burn, but others differ with us on this). Place the pan on the top rack, under the broiler.
Let the steak broil for four minutes and then carefully flip it to the other side for another four minutes. If you're using a grill pan with raised ridges make sure you don't wiggle the steak around in the pan. You'll mess up the grill marks.
After the steaks have broiled on each side, pull the pan out of the broiler. Use a paring knife to make a small cut in the center of the larger side of the Porterhouse see if the steak is done to your liking. Remember, the steak will keep cooking a bit even after it is out of the broiler. (Don't feel too bad about cutting into the steak. Yes, you will let some of the juice out of the steak, but losing some juice is better than over-cooking the steak.) If you'd like the steak more well done, return it to the broiler, checking it again after another minute.
Move the steak from the pan to the platter and serve immediately.
We came to this method after making a whole bunch of steaks and consulting with at least four butchers, The Joy of Cooking, and Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything. Kitchn readers, what are your tips for serving the perfect steak at home?
See the rest of our Valentine's menu suggestion and shopping list here:
• Valentine's Dinner for Dummies
Also see our step-by-step photo tutorial to cooking a steak here:
• How To Cook a Steak in the Oven
(Image: Chris Phillips)
How to Make Easy 3-Ingredient Energy Bars at Home
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Straw Mat from The ...
10 No-Fail Decor Tricks & Tips for Small Spaces
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
I like cooking thermometers, too, if you can't tell by feel how well a slab of meat is cooked:
140 Rare
150 Medium Rare
160 Medium
165 Medium Well
170 Well
And I've learned and found that the temp of a steak will rise 5 to 10 degrees, depending on thickness, while resting.
I tend to let meat rest a little after it's done cooking to let the juices redistribute and let the carryover heat finish cooking the steak. It's not as big a deal with such a small chunk of meat, but I've found that 10 minutes under a foil tent can make a difference.
Ah! But yeah--I love broiling steak. It's like grilling, only upside down!
hmm. my grill pan is not oven-safe. aside from the aesthetic loss of grill marks, what would happen if i used a regular flat cast-iron skillet?
A well seasoned cast iron skillet should be fine. But be sure your oven mitts are up to the challenge!
Your method sounded excellent, right up to the last line. "Move the steak from the pan to the platter and serve immediately". Where's the resting? cutting into a 1 1/2 inch steak right away (other than for a little doneness check) is going to send juices running all over you plate, and leave you disappointed. Covering and resting it for 5 - 10 minutes will let everything settle out, and you'll be much happier. Also, I find the palm texture method works well for checking a steak's doneness, especially for thicker cuts.
I just made some fantastic steaks this way ... very easy and very nicely done, if you can handle the clouds of smoke that filled the house and chased everyone outside. I have a well seasoned cast iron skillet that I used. I guess it was a good test of our smoke alarm... we need a new one!
I rarely use my broiler because it is so messy and awkward, so for porterhouses in the city I make Patricia Wells' 18-minute City Steak, which has NEVER failed me:
Kosher Salt
2 lb Porterhouse (or prime rib), room temperature
1 tsp. EV Olive Oil
Ground Black Pepper
1. Preheat oven to 475 F / 250 C
2. Place the salt in a thin even layer on a baking sheet. Lightly brush the beef on both sides with oil. Place the beef, fattest side up, on the bed of salt. Place in the lower portion of the oven and roast until the skin is crackling and brown, and the meat begins to exude fat and juices, about 18 minutes. 120F for rare, 130F for med-rare.
3. Remove from oven and from the bed of salt. Grind black pepper on both sides, loosely tent with foil and rest for 15 minutes.
4. Cut the meat away from the bone, following the contours of the bone. Slice the beef in thick diagonal slices. Place the juices collected during the resting period in a serving boat. Serve.
Bon appetit!
Hey Carolyn - glad to hear you tried it. The marinade sounds very tasty too - I have never done that. Patricia Wells is a great cookbook writer. You should check out her 'Bistro Cooking' for starters and she has several others - all are worth investigating.
This is exceedingly helpful. I love rare steak, and too frequently overcook it, which is frustrating. I am startled by just how much more cooked it gets when I pull it out of the oven.
Your timing advice seems great. Heating the skillet on the stove is a very good idea. One doesn't need to wait as long for the skillet to warm in the broiler (which, as you said, leaves time for "other things" :-)
I got a great price on Chateaubriand the day before yesterday (US$9.99/lb for USDA Prime) and I'm making it into steak sandwiches this evening (don't wince: using high-quality steak in sandwiches takes the meal to another level, much like ground top sirloin enhances hamburgers and such.)
Best,
Joshua McGee
http://www.mcgees.org
Just as a small warning, believe the article when it says be careful attempting this method if you live in a small apartment without a reaaally good vent hood and no ability to pull down the smoke detector that automatically calls the fire department.
Last time I tried it the steaks were perfect, but we spent ten minutes frantically opening every window, throwing on every single fan, and running the pan out to the parking lot in a desperate bid to avoid getting an expensive call from the firemen.
Three years later I have still never worked up the nerve to try cooking steaks inside again.
I broil steaks often. To prevent smoke in the apartment the best way is to forgo the cast iron skillet and broil it in a square roasting pan with a raised rack. Put aluminum foil in the roasting pan and then *important* a centimeter or so of water in the roasting pan (no water should touch your steak). The water catches the super hot fat bubbling off the steak and prevents smoke. If you have an electric broiler as I do, you should crack the oven door open so the heating element doesn't turn off. Electric ovens are stupid. So from top to bottom: steak, raised broiling rack, water, aluminum foil, roasting pan. 7 minute a side for medium rare in my oven. Hope this helps.
I tried the Mark Bittman method recently and the steaks tasted pretty good, BUT I have a gas stove and the steaks caught on fire from being too close to the broiler (even at 5" away). I'm going to have to move them a little lower in the oven I suppose, or try the roasting method described above.
I hate cleaning the oven more than I love cooking steak so I'll keep frying my steak in a well seasoned cast iron frying pan on the stove. That and the last time I broiled a gorgeous porterhouse steak in the oven, the whole thing burst into flames. I was singing happily when the steak was under the broiler when I head a "pop" then a "fwoomp!". Flames started licking out from the exhaust ring and the oven door. No one was hurt, the fire was extinguished using a damp cloth, and my steak was slightly charred on top but was medium rare when I cut it open. I'm not trying to alarm anyone because I'm sure the problem was especially my own (it usually is) but that is why I fry rather than broil.
Just tried this method with sirloin steak and we had a delicious, easy dinner! Thanks for sharing! I put pepper on the side that was on the bottom and also some garlic powder. I guess my steak did not have too much fat or something since I didn't have too much smoke. I rested the meat for 5 mins before serving. Lambamm's tip to pour water in the bottom of roasting pans with racks to catch drips and prevent it from burning is brilliant and I will definitely be trying that next!