Planked Steak
Planking means to cook food on a plank, in the oven or in front of the fire. Planks are made especially for this purpose, about 2 inches thick; oak planks are considered the best. It is best to cook in the lower oven of a gas stove when using the plank. Fish is delicious, also chicken, and steak cooked in this way. Never wash the plank with soap and water; use a little soda and if necessary, sand paper.
Have the plank very hot, brush with melted butter, dust with salt and pepper. Put steak on and run in gas oven or some prefer broiling steak on one side before putting on plank. Baste frequently and turn steak several times. Have any kind of vegetables ready to garnish and serve with steak. Potatoes creamed and run through pastry tube make a pretty border. Make into roses any color desired. Between these put cauliflower and peas, or anything else you may like. Serve with hot rolls and coffee.
Mrs. Wilson gives a method rather than a formula: a hot hardwood plank does the work of a serving dish and a second heat source at once. A few of her assumptions about the equipment no longer hold.
- The hinge: heat the plank firstAn unheated plank steams the meat and the underside goes gray. Put the bare plank in the oven for 20-30 minutes before the steak touches it, then butter and season it.
- "Lower oven of a gas stove"Period gas ranges were often built with a separate lower compartment; on many models this was a broiler. Since she gives no temperature, treat this as a hot oven or an oven broiler rather than a slow bottom rack, and judge by the plank and the steak.
- Choose the wood carefullyUntreated, kiln-dried oak, hickory or maple only, at least an inch thick and ideally the 2 inches she specifies. Never plywood, glued butcher block, or anything pressure-treated or oiled with a finishing product; the adhesives and preservatives will transfer to the food.
- Cleaning without soapShe gives the rule without a reason. Scrape while warm, scrub with a paste of baking soda and water as she directs, dry standing on edge, and sand off any scorched patch before the next use.
- Cut and donenessA thick sirloin, porterhouse or ribeye of 1 1/2 to 2 inches suits this best; thin steaks overcook before the plank contributes anything. Searing one side first, as she allows, is the better route. Pull at 125-130F internal for medium-rare and rest the meat on the plank off the heat.
- Basting and turningUse melted butter or the pan drippings, and turn less often than she suggests once the steak is on the hot wood, so the surface can brown.
- The potato borderPiped potato needs to be stiff enough to hold a rose; a duchesse-style mixture, riced potato beaten with butter and egg yolk, will do it, though she specifies only "creamed" potatoes. Pipe it on the plank around the steak and give it 8-10 minutes to set and color, and pipe the border before the meat goes on if your plank is crowded.
- Smoke and safety of the setupA hot plank smokes, sometimes heavily. Run the exhaust fan, keep the wood away from a direct flame or broiler element, and set the plank on a sheet pan for carrying, since a 2-inch oak board with garnish is heavy and hot.
- YieldShe gives no yield; a 2-inch steak of roughly 2 to 3 lb, with the potato border and vegetables, will serve three to four.