Today is Ginny's birthday. The way it works around here is the birthday person gets to pick the birthday lunch. She saw an ad for Prime grade steaks on sale at HEB and decided on that. We went to the store and found some nice ones. Ginny had read an article in the Wall Street Journal about cooking steaks. That is what I decided to try, with some modifications.

As far as cooking steaks is concerned, there are many methods. Years ago I had business travel into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I found that the result of their steak cooking method was a piece of meat that was gray on the outside and throughout. Very unappetizing. Out in Oregon Ginny's dad liked to marinate the steaks in an Italian dressing type of mixture. He would cook them over a fairly hot fire and the result was good. My son Robert has tried cooking them sous vide with some success. My preferred way is to cook them on the hottest fire you can muster up. My gas grill does not have the power needed for that type of cooking. I have cooked steaks out there and they were OK but not great.

My preferred method is to cook them in a red hot pan on the stove. You can find all sorts of YouTube videos about this type of method. There are lots of variations. Ginny doesn't like this method because it splatters grease all over the place. Since we got our new kitchen appliances I have willingly assumed the duty of resident cleaner of stainless steel and messes. My method starts with steaks at room temperature. Today it was some nice strip steaks. Just before cooking I generously sprinkle with salt and pepper. I put the cast iron pan on the burner then let her rip at high heat. When a bit of smoke appears it is time to start cooking. First a tiny bit of canola oil to coat the bottom, then add the steaks. Now from this point on you get busy. I turn them once each minute for about four turns. Then I add some butter on top of them and a bunch of chopped garlic, still turning every minute and additionally basting the steaks with the melted butter and garlic in the pan. To check for doneness, a fast read thermometer does the trick. I like to use the Thermapen. Once the internal temperature is right (after about 7 or 8 flips), take them out of the pan and let them sit for five minutes. VOILA. Great steaks cooked just right.

This is done by professionals.
Don't try this at home.
Your results may vary.

We had a great meal of the steaks, baked potatoes, broccoli and champagne. Life is good.