Broiled Steaks

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 4 rib eye steaks or New York strip steaks, 1-2-inch thick
• kosher salt
• ground black pepper

Directions

1. 1

   Blend together butter, thyme and mustard; season with salt and pepper. Place butter on waxed paper or parchment; roll into a log about 1-1½" thick. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm.

2. 2

   Trim steaks of any exterior fat. (Leaving the fat on will result in a lot of smoke in your broiler.) Pat steaks dry with paper towels. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Do not use your oven's broiling pan; it's too shallow. Pour 2 cups of salt into a 3" deep disposable roasting pan, then place a cooling rack over the pan. The salt will catch any drips and prevent them from flaring or smoking. Place steaks on the rack.

3. 3

   Place steaks in a preheated 375°F oven for 6-8 minutes to bring them up to temperature. Turn steaks over and pat dry again with paper towels. Let rest 10 minutes while preheating broiler.

4. 4

   Place roasting pan in broiler, positioned so steaks are 1-1½" from the heating element. Broil 3 minutes, then turn steaks over and broil another 3 minutes. Continue flipping the steaks every 3 minutes until center registers 125-130°F (for medium-rare), 6-16 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and top each steak with one quarter of the compound butter. Tent with foil and let rest about 5 minutes before serving.

5. 5

   Note: timing depends on how strong your broiler is. Place a slice of plain white sandwich bread under your broiler, about 3" from the heat. If your bread is toasted in under 30 seconds, you have a very strong broiler and should use the shortest times. If longer than 2 minutes, your broiler is very weak, and use the longest cooking times.

6. 6

   Note: for 1" steaks, prebake 6 minutes and flip every 2 minutes. For 1½" steaks, prebake 8 minutes and flip every 3 minutes. For 2" steaks, prebake 10 minutes and flip every 4 minutes.