Good morning. It’s Labor Day. Let’s start with the cookout.
Happy Labor Day!So this is it. This is it. This is the end of the session. Summer isn’t going to be taking any more questions. We’re loading up the grill one last time for Labor Day and — who am I kidding? Where I stay, the farm stands will have tomatoes and corn through at least the end of the month. We’ve got plenty of time to mourn summer’s end at summer’s end, on Sept. 22. Today’s for cheering working people. We raise our flags and bunting high in celebration of all those who built our nation, all those who brought us the eight-hour workday and weekends off. And to celebrate, yes, we’ll get a cookout going. (My old teammates on the Cooking app have plenty of recipes for that.) It’s the American way. Steak tipsI think Labor Day’s a good one for steak. If you’re lucky, you’ve been cooking outside often these last few months — easy proteins like hot dogs, burgers and brats alongside grilled ears of corn, flame-kissed baby eggplants and hobo-packed potatoes. You’ve grilled some fish, some slabs of tofu. You’re confident, know what you’re doing. You’re ready to face off with a honking big piece of beef just as Samuel Gompers intended when he championed a holiday devoted to the celebration of American workers. I’m here today to make sure you cook it brilliantly. And to do that I’m going to use words that cost me $17: reverse-searing. That is, the process of cooking a steak slowly in a warm oven, then finishing it over high heat on a grill or a plancha. Lots of people have recipes for reverse-seared steak — here’s mine.
But no matter how many times I make it, it feels new. I think that’s because reverse-searing is not a recipe so much as it is a counseling session, one that replaces the anxiety of cooking an expensive cut of meat with the peace that comes from knowing that you’ve got a sure thing. Coat the meat in a dry rub, if you like: Montreal steak seasoning, say, or a Cajun blackening situation. I go with straight kosher salt and revel in the beefiness it underscores. You’ll get a great crust regardless and, beneath it, a fantastically textured interior. And if you’ve spent a pretty penny on the meat that you’re cooking, that’s a very good feeling. You’ll need a digital instant-read thermometer. This is nonnegotiable. (Wirecutter has a guide to the best ones.) You’ll use it to track the internal temperature of your steak so that you can get it out of the oven at precisely the right moment. For me, that’s about 112 degrees. Which will take somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 to 30 minutes. But don’t use the clock as your guide. Mind Mr. Thermometer instead. Let the steak rest for another 20 minutes or so while you get your grill going, and then finish the meat when everything’s ripping hot, maybe 90 seconds a side, until the thermometer shows you something in the low 120s for rare. Give it a short rest, carve and serve to applause. Have an unlaborious day!
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