Rib eye a la plancha

We got some good looking grass fed inch thick rib eye steaks and I wanted to try something different; a quick search on the web and I had my recipe:

Put some coarse salt on the bottom of a cast iron pan
Heat said pan till very hot
Put steak on pan
During the next three minutes, finely chop some shallots and take some thyme leaves off their stems
Turn steak
Wait three minutes
Put the shallots and the thyme on the steak, take off the heat and put a cover on the pan
Let rest for three more minutes and serve.

Yumm. But this sucker could smoke the whole house. Make sure your fan works.

[Jenise]

Jacques, you have brought back a wonderful food memory! When I was young, and before she became too sick to cook anymore, my mother would sometimes serve what she called Minute Steaks. Not a thick rib eye like yours, mind you, but some thin economy cut that she would cook in exactly this manner though, obviously, for much shorter time hence her name for them. I had forgotten all about them. She didn't use thyme, and shallots were nonexistent in our household then, but she did top them with a pat of butter and some finely slivered green onion. Oh if only I had a way to clean pans, I'd want--NEED--this for dinner tonight. Thank you so much for this post!

Hi Jenise, I was thinking of finishing them with butter but decided the steak looked good enough without any more fat. I have never done minute steaks on a griddle, I have to give those a try.
Your kitchen will look beautiful, hang in there.

[Jenise]

Hi Jenise, I was thinking of finishing them with butter but decided the steak looked good enough without any more fat.

Sure, and a rib eye would have that--if I were to do this tonight, rib eye's what I'd use. That's why I mentioned "economy cut"--it had almost no fat, but it wasn't tough because it was so thin. I don't recall what the name for the cut was (hey, maybe it was 'minute steak' and that wasn't just her name for it?), it's not something I see around today.

Hi Jenise, I was thinking of finishing them with butter but decided the steak looked good enough without any more fat.

Sure, and a rib eye would have that--if I were to do this tonight, rib eye's what I'd use. That's why I mentioned "economy cut"--it had almost no fat, but it wasn't tough because it was so thin. I don't recall what the name for the cut was (hey, maybe it was 'minute steak' and that wasn't just her name for it?), it's not something I see around today.

I think there did exist a cut called minute steak, back 35-40 years ago. OMG, am I really old enough to remember that, and did I actually cook it?

[Jenise]

I think there did exist a cut called minute steak, back 35-40 years ago. OMG, am I really old enough to remember that, and did I actually cook it?

No, it's just the power of suggestion.

No, it's just the power of suggestion.

I appreciate your attempt....but, alas, I do actually remember it.

They were shaved slices of beef layered together and frozen. I cooked many of them. They were called "Minute Steaks."

I recall a real steak -- not one assembled from shards -- that was called a "minute steak". It was often perforated, to tenderize it.

The thin frozen ones were called "Steak-Umms." I guess according to their website (http://www.steakumm.com/, they're still out there. I haven't seen them in years.

I can't wait to try this technique for rib-eyes. Grilling always proves to cause too much flare-up from all the fat deliciousness, so I usually use my cast iron skillet on the grill for a quick, hot sear. But the addition of the shallots and thyme? My mouth is watering.

[Jenise]

I recall a real steak -- not one assembled from shards -- that was called a "minute steak". It was often perforated, to tenderize it.

YES! Fresh from the fresh meat counter, and perforated. Also called cube steaks. It's all coming back to me now....

I recall a real steak -- not one assembled from shards -- that was called a "minute steak". It was often perforated, to tenderize it.

EXACTLY Jeff!

It may be a regional thing, but I always considered minute steaks and cube steaks as different things: minute steaks as thin sliced beef and cube steaks thicker, perforated and pounded. However, to get back on the subject, my mother always cooked burger and cube steaks in a hot, cast iron skillet with salt in the skillet before putting the meat in.

[Jenise]

It may be a regional thing, but I always considered minute steaks and cube steaks as different things: minute steaks as thin sliced beef and cube steaks thicker, perforated and pounded. However, to get back on the subject, my mother always cooked burger and cube steaks in a hot, cast iron skillet with salt in the skillet before putting the meat in.

I think it is a regional thing, Bob. As we've noted many times before, in butchery there are apparently many words for the same thing, and sometimes there's more than one interpretation of the same word. Minute steaks seem to be yet another.

Minute steak is still available at butchers here - not a "used to be". What makes a minute steak seems to be about the thin cut allowing fast cooking - minute steaks are often silverside or sirloin cut thin, although probably also other (less expensive) cuts too.

The thin frozen ones were called "Steak-Umms." I guess according to their website (http://www.steakumm.com/, they're still out there. I haven't seen them in years.

I can't wait to try this technique for rib-eyes. Grilling always proves to cause too much flare-up from all the fat deliciousness, so I usually use my cast iron skillet on the grill for a quick, hot sear. But the addition of the shallots and thyme? My mouth is watering.

You're right! They were called Steak-Umms. They came frozen in a box; each "steak" was separated by paper. We used them to make Philly steak sandwiches at home. The thicker, tenderized hunks of meat were called cube steaks where I come from.