Delmonico Steak

A mid-century outdoor-grilling formula, written for a thick single steak over live coals. The timings assume a hot fire and a steak brought closer to the heat than most modern grills allow.

• ThicknessThe steak starts at 2 inches and is pounded down to about 1½ inches. The recipe does not say why; pounding a steak of this kind was done both to tenderise and to even out the thickness, and on a well-marbled cut it can be skipped.
• What a Delmonico isIn American butchery of the period the name covered a boneless rib or top-loin cut, depending on the region and the butcher. A ribeye or a boneless strip steak of the same thickness behaves identically.
• Club steakA club steak is a small bone-in cut from the front of the short loin, close to what is now sold as a bone-in strip. The recipe gives the same timings for either cut.
• Broil means grillPeriod usage of "broil" covers both direct heat over coals and cooking under an overhead broiler; this recipe does not specify which, and the timings will need watching either way.
• Check with a thermometerFourteen minutes total for rare is on the long side by current practice. Pull at 125F for rare, 135F medium, and expect a well-done steak at 22 minutes to be dry.
• Salt timingSalting "all over" immediately before oiling is fine, but salting 40 minutes ahead and leaving the surface to dry gives a better crust.
• "Its own gravy"Most likely the juices the steak releases rather than a made sauce; the recipe gives no resting time, but letting it sit briefly on a warmed dish and pouring the collected juices back over it follows the sense of the instruction.
• WatercressSold in bunches or clamshells rather than plucked; hold it in ice water until serving so it stays stiff. Its pepperiness is the point, and a small handful per plate is enough.
• YieldThe recipe gives no yield. A steak of this size will feed two moderately, or one hungry eater.