While on vacation in Florida a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure to cook several meals with my mom. Cooking with her is always fun and brings back so many memories of my childhood. My love of cooking comes from those childhood experiences. I love hearing the stories my mom tells of how she learned to cook from her mom and grandmothers. Being a dad, I really look forward to teaching my son to cook and enjoying time with him in the kitchen.

Lessons learned cooking at my grandfather’s. Let’s just say the kitchen tools we had available to us were sparse. It was kind of like camping, except we had electricity and a wonderful view that overlooks the inter-coastal waterway. We did have a sharp knife, a cast iron frying pan and an oven… not vast, but they got the job done.

So you are wondering… What did we cook together? We made some of the best steaks I have ever eaten. Perfectly seasoned, cooked to perfections, melt in your mouth steaks. My mouth still waters when I think about them. You might remember the lamb chops I shared with you. We used a variation of that spice rub to season the meat. Why did our steaks turn out so wonderfully? Technique, we seared the steaks in a cast iron pan to lock in flavor. We then placed the steaks in a preheated (oven at 350 degrees) and then actually turned the oven off soon after placing the steaks in. In no time (12 -15 minutes) our steaks were ready. There are many ways to cook steaks, but this is by far the best technique I have found that consistently produces great steaks.

What you will need –

A Cast Iron Pan
1 – 2 lbs Steak Cut Thick – Ribeye or New York Strip (the steaks were so good we made them twice. Once with a ribeye, once with New York Strip. I preferred the ribeye).
2 Tbs canola oil

Pelham Inn Inspired Spice Rub –

1 Tbs Celery Salt
1 Tbs Garlic Powder
1 Tbs Onion Powder
1/2 Tbs Kosher salt

In a bowl combine all of the spices to make the rub. Coat each steak with the spice rub. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. (The secret to these great steaks is the use of a cast iron pan). In a cast iron pan add the canola oil and heat the pan over medium heat. You want your pan to be very hot before you add the steak. Add your steak and cook for 3 – 4 minutes. With a fork pick up one end of the steak to look at the doneness. You want the steak to be caramelized, nice and golden brown. Once caramelized, flip the steak over. After both sides are browned, place the cast iron pan with the steaks into the preheated oven.

Close the oven and after 3 minutes turn off the oven. Leave the steak in the oven for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes the steaks will be cooked to a perfect medium rare. If you like your steak cooked more, you will need to adjust the times.

Chefs Note – I know some people like their steak cooked well done. The problem with a steak cooked well done, is that you cook a lot of the flavor right out of the steak. You don’t need to cook your steak rare, but there is a good happy medium.

~ Understanding different Cuts of beef steak ~