Flame-Cooked Steak (Pizza Oven)

Thick steaks seared on a cast-iron plate preheated in a very hot pizza oven: two or three minutes a side, then butter and a rest.

Untested: I have not cooked this one yet — the pizza oven has not been bought. It is here for the Pizza Ovens dive, and it is adapted from the source named in the Notes.

Ingredients

• 2 thick-cut steaks, about 8–12 oz (227–340 g) each

Fine sea salt and black pepper

• 2 teaspoons (4.5 g) extra-virgin olive oil

Your favourite rub (optional)

• 2 tablespoons (28 g) butter

Directions

1. Season the steaks with salt, pepper, a little oil and any rub.
2. Heat the oven until the stone reads about 930 °F (500 °C). Put a seasoned cast-iron plate or skillet in the oven for 5 minutes to heat.
3. Sear. Lay the steaks on the hot iron and turn the flame down to medium-low (in a wood oven, let the fire settle). For a steak about 1 inch thick, cook 2–3 minutes a side, turning the pan for even heat.
4. Check with a thermometer: pull at 125 °F (52 °C) for rare or 135 °F (57 °C) for medium-rare, adding about 10 °F for each step beyond.
5. Rest. Top with the butter, tent loosely with foil, and rest about as long as it cooked. Slice across the grain.

Notes

Source Adapted from Federica Scanavini, “The Perfect Flame-Cooked Steak,” on Ooni’s recipe pages, which uses Ooni’s cast-iron “grizzler” plate.

Handles Cast iron from a pizza oven is dangerous. Use a completely dry glove or towel — a damp one turns to steam in the hand.

Temperatures are for the oven floor (stone), read with an infrared thermometer. A pizza oven’s built-in gauge reads the air, which runs much hotter.

The Pizza Ovens dive on the Food site covers the oven, the fire and the dough in depth.