Microwaved Ribeye Steaks Ala Joe

My buddy Joe, came over the other day and the conversation eventually got around to cooking meat.  I was espousing the virtues of the reverse sear method for cooking prime rib, a sandwich of which we’d had for lunch, and I told him it also worked for steak.

We talked on and he said he cheats a little on his steaks, he uses the microwave for the initial cooking that I do on the grill - which he discovered one night when he was in a hurry. This sounded very intriguing and we invited he and Carol over for dinner and a steak taste test.  To insure only the cooking method would be tested, Bev seasoned all 4 steaks the same and we each picked our two at random.

Since we were to have the grill running, had shrimp in the freezer, and a company quality way to fix them, we decided to make it surf and turf, sided with grilled onions, peppers, zucchini, and sweet potatoes - steamed them to nearly done first. And Bev made up some garlic bread and a Caesar salad.  I used the remaining garlic-parsley-parmesan butter from the bread on the veggies.

So I fired up the grill with a chimney full of regular Kingsford, which I rarely use, and I ended up with a really hot fire.  I've cooked on a gasser for so long, I have to relearn using a charcoal grill - rather than being at Kingsford University with Chris, I need to be at their grade school. 

While the veggies cooked over direct heat, I cooked my two steaks over indirect to an internal temp of 120* - a little higher than I wanted.  They were then moved over the direct heat to establish a crust then taken up to rest while I cooked the shrimp.

In the meantime, Joe nuked his two steaks, at less than full power, for about 3 minutes then put them on the grill over direct heat to get a crust.  Both of our steaks ended up at the doneness we were looking for and here's a not very good shot of my plate.  Since I got it a little too done over indirect, I couldn't get as good a crust as I wanted without over cooking.

Joe and I swapped a bite of steak and neither of us could tell any difference in the two - I was sure there would be a texture difference and serious food tasters might have found a difference, but we didn't.  I know it's blasphemy to even think of putting a good steak in a microwave and I don't plan or it being a regular occurance, but I may have to try this again for myself just to be sure.

And while the meal was very good, Bev had whipped up a chocolate truffle cake that afternoon that I thought was outstanding - it has no flour, just chocolate, butter, and eggs.  She added a little Chambord (raspberry liqueur) to the recipe, then served with whipped cream and fresh raspberries.  Here's another not so good photo.

I either need to learn how to take pictures or get me a really good photo editor.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Larry