Okay, so I’ve been seeing these “aged beef” things all over the place, and I finally decided to give it a shot myself. I grabbed a pretty nice-looking ribeye from the butcher – you know, the kind with some good marbling.
Getting Started
First things first, I took the steak out of the fridge. I’d read somewhere that you want it to come up to room temperature a bit before you start cooking. Seemed like good advice, so I let it sit on the counter for about an hour. I patted it dry with some paper towels – gotta get that surface nice and dry for a good sear.
Seasoning Time
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic powder (because why not?)
I kept it simple with the seasoning. Just a generous amount of salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and a little bit of garlic powder. I really rubbed that stuff in, making sure to get all sides of the steak.
The Sear
My trusty cast iron skillet was the weapon of choice. I heated that thing up until it was screaming hot – you want that sizzle when the steak hits the pan. I added a little bit of oil with a high smoke point (I think I used avocado oil) and carefully placed the ribeye in the pan.
I let it sear for a good few minutes on each side, without moving it around too much. The goal here is to get a nice, dark crust. Then, I flipped it and did the same thing on the other side.
Finishing it Off
After the searing, I lowered the heat a bit and added a couple of knobs of butter, some fresh rosemary sprigs, and a few smashed garlic cloves to the pan. I started basting the steak with that melted butter, spooning it over the top to get all that flavor in there.
When my meat reached the right temperature, I took the steak out of the pan and put on the plate.
The Result
I have to say, it was pretty darn good! The crust was amazing – crispy and flavorful. The inside was cooked just how I like it. That little bit of aging definitely seemed to make a difference. It was tender and had a really rich, beefy flavor. Would I do it again? Absolutely!