# Cooking: How to Pan fry a steak without all the smoke?



## tb303

Hi People, 
I really like cooking stakes on a girdle at home (sorry I live on the 3rd floor so no outdoor grill for me). I make them very well and they are succulent, etc. 

However, nearly every time I cook one the b******y fire alarm goes off - they are not burnt, they come out delicious media-rare - but it does make quite a bit of smoke. 

My instructions for cooking steaks are as follows: 
use no oil, use throngs to put the meat, cook one side for as long as needed and then turn once to the other side, for the same amount of time. Basically prod it as little as possible. I also add some fresh thyme on top.

The results are really amazing - but the fire alarms are impossible too 

any ideas or advice is welcome, 

thanks!


----------



## phatch

Disconnect the battery on the smoke detector before cooking steak. Just remember to hook it back up when you're done. 

Really. Cooking the steak properly will generate some smoke. So you need to treat the detector.


Phil


----------



## tb303

It's not trivial to disconnect6 that smoke alarm and I do close the door - the thing is it generates so much smoke I'm seriously concerned for my health.

A little smoke is fine but I think I'm doing something wrong.
Do I need more oil? Could the pan be too hot?

Any ideas are appreciated,

Thanks!


----------



## chefraz

If cooking your steak in a pan, be sure to oil your steak rather than the pan. peanut oil.

Indoor Steak at chewingfat your steak smokes more than this oil peanut oil could help. Amazon.com: Reviews for The Palm Restaurant Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from the Classic American Steakhouse: Books: Brigit Legere Binns


----------



## mikelm

If your smoke detector is hardwired, it's very hard to disconnect (and probably illegal). Tie a baggie tightly over it, maybe sealing it to the detector base with painter's tape or regular scotch tape.. When our new furnace-A/C was installed, they soldered a bunch of copper pipes with a torch literally right under the detector, and the baggie worked fine.

Like Phil said, be sure and take it off after the smoke clears.

If you want to cut down more on the smoke, use grapeseed oil.

If the steak doesn't smoke, though, you're not doing it right. 

Mike


----------



## pete

As everyone before me stated, it really is impossible to cook a steak properly without producing a good amount of smoke. Your pan needs to be really hot to get that good sear that makes steak so tasty. Sure you could use a lower temp, but then your steak won't crust up properly giving you that wonderful flavor.


----------



## deltadoc

You could do the following:

1. Heat a heavy cast-iron pan till its really hot.
2. S&P your steak (like a filet mignon) and let it brown on one side for 3 minutes (for a thick steak like filet mignon)
3. With hot pan holders, grab the handle of the cast iron skillet and give it a healthy shake. If the meat breaks free, turn it over and put it back on the fire (the pan and steak that is) for 3 more minutes.
4. IN the meantime, heat your oven up to 450F.
5. After a total of 6 minutes (3 minutes on each side) put the whole pan in the oven for about 6-8 minutes more for medium rare. The oven should cut down on the total amount of smoke you're generating.

This technique will result in a steak house quality steak. I've used it for years without a problem with smoke.

doc


----------



## groovecommander

I have been plagued by this as well.

Get a oil spatter screen that will cover the frying pan/grill pan entirely. The screen, aside from cutting down on oil spatter mess, will totally cut down on the amount of smoke that is brought into the air. Another benefit, it keeps some extra heat in the pan so that the meat cooks through in less time but not like a solid cover that would cause the meat to steam.

You can also put a pan cover on top of the screen to cut down more smoke and increase the smoke on the meat, while still allowing necessary air flow.


----------



## trooper

The without the sear you just have steam poached meat - yuk. Three floors to an outside BBQ would give time for steak to rest ;-)

I /HATE/ my house hood fan for same reason you have: not enough smoke capture or evacuation power. 

Maybe you could open all windows and doors with fan aimed at alarm? 

I tried 500deg oven pre-heat cast iron sear &cook (no stove top) and it didn't give a good crust. I also tried top-rack bbroil (reverse sear?) With little better results, but still smokes when oven opens. 

Make friends with ground floor occupants. As soon as they learn you cook, they'll buy the food and the beer.


----------



## sparkys44

cast iron, sear both sides, oven… done!


trooper said:


> Make friends with ground floor occupants. As soon as they learn you cook, they'll buy the food and the beer.


They may even chip in and help you pay for the grill /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif


----------

