The New York Times always has something cool in store when it comes to food.  True to form, Mark Bittman shares his thoughts on creating the best-tasting steak in the oven (cuz if you live in NY right now, you ain’t gonna go on your balcony and grill a steak).

Recipe of the Day: Oven-Grilled Steak

Maybe you don’t have a grill, maybe it’s freezing outside, maybe you don’t want to eat dinner in the choking cloud of smoke that stove-top steak cookery unfailingly produces. Fear not: this is a minimalist preparation if ever there was one.

Oven-“Grilled” Steak

Yield 4 servings

Time 30 minutes

Summary

It’s certainly not necessary, but if you equip your oven with a pizza stone or ceramic cooking tiles, you can produce the kind of strong, even bottom heat that chefs gain by putting their skillets directly on the floor of their ovens.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds strip or rib-eye steaks (2 large steaks should do it)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

• 1. Preheat the oven to its maximum, 500 degrees or more, for at least 20 minutes; if it is equipped with a pizza stone, so much the better. About 10 minutes before you’re ready to eat, put a cast-iron or other ovenproof heavy skillet large enough to hold the steaks (or use 2) over high heat. Wait 2 or 3 minutes, until the pan is beginning to smoke.
• 2. Add the steaks and let them sit on top of the stove as long as you can before the smoke becomes intolerable — probably no more than a minute. Immediately transfer the pan to the oven. Roast the steaks for about 4 minutes, or until nicely browned on the bottom, then turn and cook on the other side for another 3 or 4 minutes, until done. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Source: Mark Bittman’s “Bitten” blog for The New York Times