My Rule-Breaking Trick for Cooking Steak in My Kitchen with Zero Smoke

I rarely cook steak at home. For one thing, it can be a bit expensive. For another, I have always lived with kitchens that don’t have good vent hoods, and cooking a steak over high heat while basting with butter leads to two things I hate to deal with, spatter and smoke. So, for the most part, I’ve been happy to leave the steak cooking to ambitious friends or restaurant chefs equipped with industrial hoods. That is, until I learned a truly genius technique from a former colleague at America’s Test Kitchen, Andrew Janjigian — starting steak in a cold pan.

Look I know, everything you’ve ever heard about cooking a steak properly begins with getting a pan positively ripping hot. How else are you supposed to get that perfectly browned crust? Not to burst your bubble, but you don’t need to preheat a pan to get good browning on steak. While it may seem a bit counterintuitive, placing steak in a pan that hasn’t been preheated (hence “cold”) and then turning the stove on to high heat drives moisture off the surface of the steak, allowing a good crust to form on the surface. By lowering the temperature after 2 minutes and continually flipping the steak, you ensure even cooking throughout the interior of the steak while simultaneously building up a good crust on the outside.

This technique works best with thick cuts like ribeye or strip steaks. Look for steaks with good marbling as that fat will be rendered out during cooking to help create a good sear. 

To break yet another established rule of steak cooking, leave your cast iron and stainless steel skillets in the cabinet and reach for a nonstick skillet for this technique. A nonstick skillet allows you to cook steak without adding fat to the pan, which drastically reduces the spatter and smoke. That’s why it’s important to choose well-marbled cuts of steak, that marbled fat will render out during cooking and help form a delicious golden crust.

1. Pat the steaks dry with paper towels and season with freshly ground black pepper.
2. Place a nonstick skillet on the stovetop and add the steaks. No need to preheat the skillet. Turn the heat to high and cook the steaks undisturbed for 2 minutes. Use tongs to flip the steaks to the second side and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Lower the heat to medium and continue to cook, flipping every 2 minutes until the steaks are well browned and cooked through (120 to 125°F for medium-rare), 5 to 10 minutes more depending on the thickness of the steaks.
4. Transfer the steaks to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing against the grain and seasoning with kosher salt.

I know the lack of a flavorful buttery sauce will be a turn off to some, but you can always make a quick and flavorful pan sauce right in the skillet you just cooked the steaks in while they rest and then drizzle it over the meat before serving. Here are some more ideas:

• Cowboy Butter
• Bordelaise Sauce
• Peppercorn Sauce
• Creamy Mushroom Sauce
• Chimichurri Sauce