Recipe: Porterhouse Steak in a Skillet

Porterhouse Steak in a Skillet
Recipe By : Merle Ellis, The Butcher column
Appeared in the San Antonio Express 3/27/96

1 (1 to 1 1/2-inches thick) porterhouse steak
1/4 cup olive oil
black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
juice of 1/2 lemon

1. A good thick (1 to 1 1/2 inch) porterhouse easily will feed two to four people, unless they are starving lumberjacks or threshers. So buy one steak for every two (or four) people, the day before you plan to cook it. It benefits by spending a day in a good olive-oil bath.

2. Pour 1/4 cup of the best quality olive oil over each steak, along with a generous grind of coarse black pepper. Let the steak marinate, refrigerated, for 8 to 12 hours, turning occasionally. If the steak is frozen, it may take as long as 24 hours to thaw, and the best way to do it is in an oil bath.

3. When you are ready for the best steak that you've ever eaten, heat that black iron skillet over high heat until it's almost red hot. I use an old Wagner skillet that's 11 inches across with the ridges on the bottom that give those great grill marks to the steak. (Somehow those grill marks make any steak taste better). Two big porterhouse steaks will fit in my skillet at the same time. If I need to cook more than two, I use the broiler in my oven or my barbecue grill.

4. Put the steak in the hot skillet and stand back! It's going to sizzle some, and smoke a little - it could even set off your smoke alarm. Cook the steak for about 2 minutes, then turn it 90 degrees and cook another 2 minutes. Turn the steak and repeat the process for the second side. The total cooking time is about 8 to 10 minutes.

5. If a steak is to be cooked past the rare stage, turn the heat down after the second position so that the outside won't char before the inside is cooked to the desired degree of doneness. When the steak is well seared, with a nice crust on one side, turn it and sear the other. Reduce the heat to medium and cook to the desired degree of doneness. An instant-read thermometer is a must for cooking all kinds of meat.

6. Remove the cooked steak to a heated serving platter. Remove the pan from the heat to cool slightly, then return to low heat and add 2 tablespoons butter and the juice of half a lemon to make a simple lemon-butter sauce that adds a nice zip to the flavor of the steak.

7. If you are using a black iron skillet with the ridges on the bottom, stirring with a basting brush will help mix the lemon butter and, at the same time, incorporate the steak drippings that have drained down between the ridges of the skillet. Pour the sauce over the steak, garnish with a sprig of chopped parsley and serve immediately. A good steak doesn't like to be kept waiting.