# Pre Cooking Steaks



## k of c 258 (Jun 22, 2008)

Hi, My Name Is Tim, I Do Weekend Events For A Fraternal Org. Called The Knights Of Columbus. Ive Been At This Now For The Last Four Yrs And Enjoy It Greatly. Alas I Can Say I've Never Had Formal Training As A Cook And Am Looking To Expand My Horizons. My Question Is I'll Be Cooking Rib Eye Steaks (8oz.) On The Grill For 180-200 People Next Month For A Benefit Golf Tourn. Can I Cook Them Ahead And Hold In My Holding Oven,or Any Other Thoughts.
Thanks


----------



## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

That's a tough one to hold because an 8oz ribeye is really small.

Suggestions anyone else?


----------



## shipscook (Jan 14, 2007)

How are they being served? buffet or table service? sauce? how big is grill?
Am thinking they will hopefully go out medium rare? this is a tough one (no pun here),

I am not sure how to approach it without more information???

could you possibly switch to tenderloin and roast them?

Nan


----------



## food-macro (May 13, 2008)

I would think though Im not 100% sure but if you do cook them ahead of time wouldnt they dry out in a cooking hold if held there for any major length of time? 8oz isnt very big so its a possibility...?


----------



## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Absolutely not. 

Other thoughts: Rent a commercial size grill, around a 7 or 8 feet, or rent two five footers, and add two helpers. Cooking that many small steaks seems like a lot, but it really isn't a big deal at all. 

Set up your salads and sides table at a right angle to your grill service area so guests can move easily from the salads to the steaks.

Make sure you have a pair of long tongs for each grill person and a couple of back up pairs. Keep the tongs with the grill, don't let them go to salad and size service. If you're using volunteer help, ask them to bring an oven mitt or a long sleeve sweater and a pair of gloves to protect their hands and forearms. Bring at least two "instant-read" thermometers, too. Remember the steaks are going on in groups and each group is cooking in a temperature-consistent area. When one steak in a group is done, so are they all. (I finger test for doneness, but you shouldn't unless you know you and your helpers can do it with the pressure on.)

Start the grills going, and when it's preheated, lay your first group of steaks across the center of the grill. Once they're on, lay your next groups across the far side, than the next on the side nearest you. You should be able to cook 5 to 6 dozen steaks at any time. At normal grill temps, an 8 oz rib steak (about 1/2" thick) takes 3 minutes a side to medium, so you're going to be loading, turning, and pulling with only brief rests between each. When you pull the first group of steaks off the center of the grill, place them in a warm hotel pan with some hot "jus," reload the grill and announce that the salad line is open. You'll be cooking to order about half way through the line and the last group will have to wait two or three minutes for their steaks to finish cooking. Keep a small section of each grill for people who want their steaks medium-well or well done. Either the outside edge or half the line closest to the cooks. Cook all steaks to 140 deg (which is right between med-rare and med), unless med-well or well is requested, then cook to 155. Some people like their steaks cooked to death. FWIW, very well done is 165 and very rare is 125. If someone asks for medium rare try and give them a steak right off the grill, if they want medium give them one that's been held longer. 

Here's a recipe for a fast and dirty catered steak "jus." 
(For 1/2 gallon)
Ingredients:
4 cups beef stock
1 bottle red wine, preferably Zinfandel
1 cup Worcestershie sauce
1/4 cup (4 tbs) minced garlic
8 oz (2 sticks) butter
1/2 cup chopped parsley.
Salt and black pepper

Technique: 
Put all ingredients in a pot, bring to the simmer. Cook until the garlic is no longer bitter, about 15 minutes. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper. Add the butter and parsley, allow the butter to melt. You can hold this sauce refrigerated for several days before reheating, or hold hot, and just before service pour about half a cup of the finished sauce into your hotel pan. When the pan is loaded add another half cup on top. This will help keep the steaks hot and moist without adding or taking too much taste. The protein/fat balance is similar to the steaks itself and will add a "lip smacking" quality to the first bite. 

Variation: Load the sauce with sliced mushrooms.

I guarantee you will get requests for this simple catering trick.

Good luck,
BDL


----------



## johnnybones (Jun 24, 2008)

Being a steakhouse grill cook, I've seen fellow cooks pre-cook meat. It's not a practice I endorse. With steaks that small, there is no need to pre-cook and hold them. Ribeye steaks are already naturally tender. Pre-cooking and holding ribeyes that small would just destroy them. One of the previous posts was right... get yourself a couple extra hands to help you out on some rented grills. Those steaks aren't going to take long to cook even if people are wanting them well done.


----------



## yorvo (Jun 11, 2008)

What kind of service are you having? Is it plated, buffet, or right off the grill? For the first two options you'll need to cook them first. Just do it last minute. Besides I think we serve steaks too soon, a good steak needs to rest a few minutes.


----------



## ras1187 (Oct 3, 2006)

I would seriously just mark them one side on the grill and let them carry over in the holding box. Cook as close to service as possible and get people to eat them as soon as possible.


----------



## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

Most of my experience having been in volume banquet service, this is the way we do it. Mark your steaks on the hottest broiler or char grill possible only on one side since these are only 8 ounce. Place on sheetpans but not to close together as they wont cool quick enough.Transfer to a cool not cold place.
Just before service (timeing is everything and should be coordinated with dining room) place the steaks in a fairly hot oven for a few minutes, just till hot and then proceed to plate right away . Tell wait staff try to avoid takeing temperatures from guest as they should all be cooked med/rareish. Dont attempt to keep steaks hot in any kind of heaters at all for any length of time or you will be serving potted steak or shoe leather


----------



## k of c 258 (Jun 22, 2008)

Thank You Chef


----------



## littlechef0222 (Jun 18, 2008)

Chefed
Nice thoughts, I would have to agree, same as my great teacher once would have taught me! Keep up the great advice.


----------



## chefangmo (Jul 12, 2012)

The best way for you to cook the steaks is to mark them on the grill. (You can do this up to three hours before the event starts)  Place them on racks on sheet-pans, and bring them up to temp in the oven.


----------



## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Four years too late.

BDL


----------



## duckfat (Aug 7, 2008)

8 oz rib eyes are not going to work out well at all pre-marking and finishing in the oven. The problem is the physical size of a rib eye (especially at the chuck end) as those are very thin steaks. By the time you get grill marks and even slightly cook the other side those steaks are going to be MR+ and then they will continue to cook as they rest and cool, then you have to bring your steaks back up to temp in the oven later. Either way it's not a great technique for 8 oz rib eyes unless you are serving a MW crowd.

I have used this technique on strip steaks many times (16 oz) as it was not at all uncommon to have a function of 300+ in one room and a wedding at the same time in a different banquet room. If either party was late it could mean plating for 500+ all at once. Strip steaks can be marked and held then brought back up in the oven but any steak has to be thick enough to properly utilize this technique or your going to have a lot of very unhappy customers.

Dave


----------



## petemccracken (Sep 18, 2008)

Um, BDL's correct, this thread is four (4) years old!


----------



## duckfat (Aug 7, 2008)

Four years ago or four years from now, 8 ounce rib eyes won't hold any different.  

I have however noticed a bunch of very old threads getting bumped up in the last few days by members with one (1) post.

Seems a bit odd.

Dave


----------



## bostonbutt (Dec 4, 2012)

Greetings Fellow Culinary Crazies! 

First time here and I must say the conversations are lively, interesting, and informative.  I'm always on the lookout for secret ways pro chefs put things together.

And that is what prompted me to try this jus. 

I figured this was a no-brainer - the recipe was laid out right in front of me here! 

Well... disaster! 

The only thing I changed, if you call it a change, is the wine - I used Red Sweet wine instead of Zinfendel because the only Zinfendel I could find was white.  But this was a sweetish red.  And the recipe called for red.  Oh, I also used a beef stock from a box.  Do I need to make it from scratch?  I can do that easily but I don't usually have the time, except on weekends.

The jus was sooo vinegary (winey) it was just about inedible on the perfectly grilled NY strips.  Of course I sampled it along the way and knew it wasn't going to make it to my guests...  even dumped 90 percent out and re-filled pot with fresh stock plus a pound of mushrooms and more butter!  I did have it on mine just to see if they complimented each other. 

They didn't!  ;-)

Is this just an awful recipe or has anyone made it to taste as good as our dear contributor says it is? 

And, BTW, having posted a gizzillion recipes on the net (Google:  Bostonbutt) over many years, I DO appreciate anyone who takes the time to do that... good or bad.  No one has intentions of posting any recipes that suck. 

So, I thank the good chef for posting and I'd love to learn a more detailed recipe for jus.  Anyone?

Thanks a bunch, and good cookin'.

Jeff


----------



## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

The "jus" in question wasn't meant as a sauce, but just something to help hold steaks kept in a pan doing volume. Sorry if it didn't work for you. And, yes. The problem may very well have been the wine you used.

A lot of restaurants serve reduced dry -- or at least drier -- red wines -- without very much else -- as a sauce for steak. In that case, it's often reduced down to the demi-glace/glace level and, of course, the wineyness gets cooked out. If I were making a simple stock/wine sauce, I'd also do it as a reduction -- which would mean sauteing some aromatics (likely including a little tomato paste); deglazing with stock, reducing that a little to concentrate before adding a mix of stock and wine; adding Worcestershire after _that_ was partly reduced; then reducing to the desired consistency -- which would be a little but not much liquid than a nappe -- and mounting with butter or perhaps a splash of cream to develop some structure and mouth feel; and finally, adding some chopped herbs.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of red wine reductions. My usual stock/wine sauce is not built around stock/red wine, but around stock, Madeira and aged spirits (either cognac, rum or bourbon, depending on whim), and otherwise following the technique I just described.

BDL


----------



## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

It very well could have been the White Zin substitution that was problematic.  Even Two-buck Chuck Cab would have been a better choice.


----------



## duckfat (Aug 7, 2008)

bostonbutt said:


> The jus was sooo vinegary (winey) it was just about inedible on the perfectly grilled NY strips.


Please skip the sauce on my perfectly grilled NY strip. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif If your going to go that route work on a home made steak sauce or perhaps a beurre rouge if you really insist on working with a wine reduction. Have you considered a simple compound butter or Chimichurri?

Dave


----------



## bostonbutt (Dec 4, 2012)

The "jus" in question wasn't meant as a sauce, but just something to help hold steaks kept in a pan doing volume. Sorry if it didn't work for you. And, yes. The problem may very well have been the wine you used.

A lot of restaurants serve reduced dry -- or at least drier -- red wines -- without very much else -- as a sauce for steak. In that case, it's often reduced down to the demi-glace/glace level and, of course, the wineyness gets cooked out. If I were making a simple stock/wine sauce, I'd also do it as a reduction -- which would mean sauteing some aromatics (likely including a little tomato paste); deglazing with stock, reducing that a little to concentrate before adding a mix of stock and wine; adding Worcestershire after _that_ was partly reduced; then reducing to the desired consistency -- which would be a little but not much liquid than a nappe -- and mounting with butter or perhaps a splash of cream to develop some structure and mouth feel; and finally, adding some chopped herbs.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of red wine reductions. My usual stock/wine sauce is not built around stock/red wine, but around stock, Madeira and aged spirits (either cognac, rum or bourbon, depending on whim), and otherwise following the technique I just described.

BDL

Thanks for your insights, Chef BDL - much appreciated!

How dumb of me - I should have known the "jus" was a holding liquid! Byt, nevertheless, I think you're right about the 'wrong' wine. I too am not a fan of wine sauces/reductions... but thanks for the tips on how to prepare one, especially around the stock and aged spirits. I'll give that a go sometime soon.

I've got a lot to learn from you guys/gals. Wish I had more time to hang out here. Come March '13, I may! ;-)

Jeff Lipsitt

The Boston Butt


----------



## bostonbutt (Dec 4, 2012)

Folks, how do I reply specifically to a post (ie: highlight the original quote)?  I see a grey backgound for the original - you know the deal.

Thanks!

Jeff Lipsitt

The Boston Butt


----------



## bostonbutt (Dec 4, 2012)

BrianShaw said:


> It very well could have been the White Zin substitution that was problematic. Even Two-buck Chuck Cab would have been a better choice.


Methinks you're right Brian... and I love your negative suggestion!

Jeff Lipsitt

The Boston Butt


----------



## bostonbutt (Dec 4, 2012)

DuckFat said:


> Please skip the sauce on my perfectly grilled NY strip. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif If your going to go that route work on a home made steak sauce or perhaps a beurre rouge if you really insist on working with a wine reduction. Have you considered a simple compound butter or Chimichurri?
> 
> Dave


Oh yeah, Dave, a simple compound butter would be much better... have done that before - good stuff. But skipping the sauce on good steaks is my bet, like yours, for a flavorful steak. Unfortuneately, the steaks at Stop & Shop, while 'choice', don't taste nor cook up like anything anywhere near 'prime'. The quality of the meat has gone so far downhill it's digusting! Almost no marble in their offerings anymore.

I'd love to be able to afford the $25/lb for the good stuff but I can't do that on a daily, or semi-daily basis for my carnivore wife! Thanks a bunch for your help!

Jeff Lipsitt

The Boston Butt


----------



## bostonbutt (Dec 4, 2012)

bostonbutt said:


> Folks, how do I reply specifically to a post (ie: highlight the original quote)? I see a grey backgound for the original - you know the deal.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> ...


I have, obviously, figured it out!


----------



## bostonbutt (Dec 4, 2012)

I'm not sure why my posts are duplicating... sorry for the absurdness - I hate it as much as you.  Every forum format has it's quirks - good thing I'm a quick learner  Sometimes.

Jeff Lipsitt

The Boston Butt


----------



## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

Here on the West Coast, the Knights prefer spagetti and beer... plenty of both!


----------

