This week, Chef Ali and the team started planning to cook a Porterhouse Steak. They knew one thing for sure: they would use the classic Italian cooking style Bistecca Alla Fiorentina to cook the steak. It’s taking the porterhouse, searing it on both sides, then slicing it before reassembling it for final cooking under the broiler.
If you know Chef Ali’s recipes, you know that she loves the Blackstone and the Cast-Iron skillet. So which one to use?? Which one would give the best sear?? This was going to be a tough one. We all had our guesses, but the only way to know for sure was to sear the porterhouse on one side with a Blackstone and the other with the cast-iron skillet. Regardless, we knew we would finish the steak under the broiler until it reached a temperature of 120°. And then it would rest.
The steak was set out to come to room temp about an hour before cooking and generously covered in coarse salt.
Then they heated both the Blackstone and cast iron on the stove to approximately 450 degrees.
They placed one side down on the hot blackstone and set a timer for 4 minutes.
They pressed down on the steak during searing to ensure good contact with the Blackstone.
Then, they removed the steak and quickly added it to the pre-heated cast iron skillet, setting a timer again for 4 minutes. Again, they pressed down on the steak to get good contact.
After the timer went off they could easily see that the cast iron had produced a much better crust.
They then took the steak and transferred it to a cutting board, cut the filet, and strip steak off the bone.
The steaks were then cut into about 1/2-inch slices against the grain.
We put the bone back in the cast iron pan and then put the sliced steak back where it belonged like a puzzle!
We microwaved some Amish butter ( about 4 oz) until melted and added chopped rosemary and garlic.
They poured all the butter over the steak and placed it under a preheated broiler until the temperature reached 120 degrees for medium rare, which took about 4 minutes.
The sliced meat was served with Blackstone sauteéd veggies that Chef Ali added to the area where the steak had been seared to add that yumminess to the veggies.
Ali also quickly made some couscous, which she cooked in beef stock instead of water, to serve on the side.
The whole meal took less than 30 minutes. And the best part? One Porterhouse steak comfortably serves 2-3 adults.