For Chef Andrew Gruel, the secret to a perfect steak isn’t in a secret high-end rub or a fancy cut of beef. Try a paper towel.
According to the celebrity chef and owner of SoCal’s Calico Fish House, moisture is the enemy of a great sear. If the surface of the beef is wet, the water has to evaporate before the browning reaction can happen. That means your steak steams instead of scorches, killing the crisp, golden crust you are chasing.
In a perfect world, Gruel says, you would dry brine: salt the steak ahead of time so the salt pulls moisture out, then lets it reabsorb while the exterior dries. If you skip that step, salt right before it hits the pan so you are not dragging water back to the surface.
“You need the steak to be super, super, super dry,” he says. “Just keep pressing it and keep drying it — dry, dry, and dry, and drying.”
From Pan to Plate
From there, Gruel’s method is aggressive and simple. He throws a carbon steel or cast-iron pan on “high, high, high, high” heat until it just starts to smoke. Then he adds a small touch of olive oil, not enough to shallow fry. People overuse their fat, he warns. Too much oil dulls flavor and interferes with the pan-fond you want for serious crust.
Once the steak hits the pan, you leave it alone. “You do not touch the meat,” Gruel insists. “Set it down and then forget about it.” He sears one side for about two and a half to three minutes, flips, then uses a series of quick flips to build a deep, even crust without overcooking, riding that blast-furnace heat the whole time.
Off the heat, he lets the steak rest, tops it with butter and fresh herbs like chives or thyme, then goes one step further: a quick cowboy butter on the stove, melted butter toasted with garlic, herbs, and chilies, finished with the steak’s own juices for dipping.
It is big, bold cooking from a chef who built his career on flavor. A graduate of Johnson & Wales University, Gruel moved from premier hotels and diners to leading a sustainable seafood program at the Aquarium of the Pacific, then founded Slapfish, the fast-casual seafood chain he scaled nationwide. He has judged on the Food Network, co-hosts The SoCal Restaurant Show, and now runs the American Gravy Restaurant Group, including his flagship Calico Fish House in California.
His steak advice, though, could not be simpler: dry it harder than you think you should, then crank the heat and let science handle the rest.
“You don’t touch the meat at this point,” Gruel says. “Set it down and then forget about it.”