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 stovetop steak cookery unfailingly produces. Fear not: a minimalist preparation if ever there was one, this technique will put a great crust on your steaks and keep your kitchen (largely) smoke free.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　1 1/2 to 2 pounds strip or rib-eye steaks (2 large steaks should do it)

　　Salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to its maximum, 500°F 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.

　　

Step 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.

　　From Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes From the New York Times by Mark Bittman Copyright (c) 2007 by Mark Bittman Published by Broadway Books.Mark Bittman is the author of the blockbuster Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.