Should I complain about my Ribeyes?


 
JeffB

JeffB

TVWBB Pro
That is the question.

Bought two 18oz. bone-in ribeye steaks from an EXPENSIVE online retailer. Paid about $50 each each for them. I have grilled many many steaks in my lifetime, but just a few times with bone-in. I wanted to pan sear these 2" thick steaks and then finish them in the oven. I seared them on both sides in a cast iron skillet for 2-3 minutes per side then put them in a preheated 400 degree oven. The seller's grilling instructions suggested 2 minutes per side to sear then 8-10 minutes per side in the oven for medium rare.

After 4 minutes TOTAL in the oven, I checked the temp with a good quality thermometer and it read over 170. I nearly FLIPPED. I pulled them out, and felt them. They still had some "give" and the feeling of being under medium rare, so I put them back in the oven for 2 minutes then pulled them and let them sit loosely foiled on a plate for 5-10 minutes. They ended up being medium, not medium rare, but any more time in the oven would have been a disaster. They were also really fatty--really fatty. I know they are ribeyes, but these seemed excessively fatty to me.

So my questions are: (i) Did I get what I paid for? (ii) How did they get cooked so fast at a seemingly low temp? I've done thick tenderloins in the manner and kept them in a 450 or 500 degree over for 6-8 minutes and they were perfectly medium rare.

Should I complain or did I make mistakes?

Thanks.
 
I can't be sure but it sounds to me like the mistakes were yours, not the sellers.

Ribeyes are going to have a lot of fat, naturally. The more expensive ribeyes i.e. prime ones will have even more fat, that should be well-marbled throughout but the "eye" of fat in the ribeye might tend to be a little bigger than that in a cheaper, leaner steak.

You should probably check your thermometer's accuracy or re-think where you're placing it in the meat. When I temp a thick steak I temp it in from the middle of the side of the steak so I can be sure I am getting the temperature of the center of the meat and not nearer to one of the edges which is hard to estimate if you poke the thermometer from the top of the steak down.

The mismeasurement (either by you ro by the thermometer) is shown by getting a temp of 170, continuing to cook, and having your steaks come out medium. They were probably 140 at most even after resting. 170 would result in a grey steak throughout.

Then again, you paid a lot of money for the steaks and if you're not happy with the quality of what you received you are within your rights to complain.
 
I sent the company a nice email telling them what happened and expressing my frustration with how the steaks turned out. I explained very nicely that I had followed their grilling instructions and actually pulled the steaks a bit early, and still had medium well steaks.

This afternoon they called my house and explained that the grilling instructions on the website were old and inaccurate, and that they had not updated them yet. They are sending us new steaks (we did not ask them to) which should arrive by Wednesday. I think this was a victory and I am pleased with the outcome.

Sometimes you can catch more flies with honey than with crap.
 
That's good customer service. Hope you like your steaks better next time.

You might want to try reverse-searing them since they're so thick - cook them in a 250 oven until they're 110 internal, then remove and rest them while you get your pan or grill grates screaming hot, then sear for ~1 minute on each side in a high smoke-point oil like canola or clarified butter.
 
I am also happy it worked out for you.
And I agree with George. I can not imagine a steak SO good that it would be worth $50.
That would buy a crap load of steaks from the meat market. But to each his own.
 
Well hats off to the company for sending you new steaks. I really believe it is your fault even if you followed their instructions to the letter. Cooking instructions are a guide line not a guarantee of how something will turn out. With variations in sear temperatures and oven temperatures it is impossible for someone to tell you an exact amount of time for that to be cooked.

That steak also cost you approximately $44/lbs and I don't care how good it is I would never pay that kind of money for steak. Heck you spent almost my entire 1 week grocery budget on 2 steaks.
 
I agree with the comments on the price. We got a gift certificate for this place or we would not have spent the $$ ourselves. We got four 18oz. bone-in ribeyes for $199. That's ridiculous but we had to use the gift card. I just tossed in an extra $100 on the purchase.

I also agree that I am partially (mostly) to blame. As I said, I've cooked a lot of steaks before but I have never seen a big steak like that cook so quickly. Lesson learned.
 
I only buy steaks when they are 3.99 to 4.99 a lb.
Good thing the seller stands behind their product.
 
I thin $50 for an 18 oz steak, thats about $44 a pound or $2.77 per oz, seems pretty high! I wouldn't have paid that but to each his own.
 
Jeff, I have a suggestion. If there is a next time, I suggest you practice on somewhat lesser cuts of meat. Hone your skills, so that when presented with an EXPENSIVE piece of meat, you will be able to do it justice.

A simple way to do this, is buy several "common" steaks, and try them one or two at a time then when you are happy, you can rise to the occasion.

We all come from different financial back grounds so I am not criticizing anyone on how much that they pay for anything. I will say, that, for me, even though I am in good financial shape I will NOT be paying $50.00 for a steak.

I DID spend nearly $100.00 for a Thermapen to help me avoid expensive mistakes. Even then, I had to learn how to use the Thermapen. It was NOT automatic...

I have since added a Maverick 732 to my tool kit for my "low and slow" cooking...

I strive for consistency. Time and Thermometers, as Kevin Kruger has pointed out are just a guide. Experience along with good tools will enable you to consistently produce wonderful meals. There is an old saying amongst competitive shooters - to be good you MUST get "Trigger time". The same applies to grilling - you must spend time with the charcoal. There is no substitute.

We are glad to have you with us...

Dale53
 
Jeff, were the steaks dry-aged by any chance? Dry-aged beef will cook faster than "regular" beef.

Brad
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Robert McGee:
Jeff, I have a suggestion. If there is a next time, I suggest you practice on somewhat lesser cuts of meat. Hone your skills, so that when presented with an EXPENSIVE piece of meat, you will be able to do it justice.

A simple way to do this, is buy several "common" steaks, and try them one or two at a time then when you are happy, you can rise to the occasion.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Robert, I'm a reasonable guy. I really am. But your condescending tone is unnecessary and adds nothing to the discussion. Thanks.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Brad Olson:
Jeff, were the steaks dry-aged by any chance? Dry-aged beef will cook faster than "regular" beef.

Brad </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Brad, in fact they were dry aged. My wife later also told me that she had pulled them from the refrigerator an hour ahead of time so they had gotten pretty close to room temp by the time they went in the cast iron skillet.

I did not know dry aged cooked faster, but that's good to know.

Company sent us 4 brand new 22oz. bone in ribeye's to replace the 2 others.
 
I usually get my steaks from CostCo, but have always looked at the super exensive steaks you can mail order or get online. My fear has always been, what happens if I cook them wrong. Glad you were able to salvage the first batch and get more for free. Do you recall what grade they were?

I usually by Choice, but always want Prime because they look so much better in the store.
 
Jeff, when your replacement steaks arrive how about grilling them over the coals with out using the cast iron pan and the oven. The ribeyes over hot coals seem to taste better that way, as it gives the fats a chance to melt away from the steak into the coals. I like the cast iron pan sear for other cuts of steak. Look at it this way, the first two were your practice steaks, so you will nail them this time.
 
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