Searing in my cast iron vs the flat top at work, and I finally get why the old guys swear by the griddle
I've been cooking on a flat top for most of my shifts at this spot in Boise, but last Tuesday I did a private dinner where all I had was a cast iron pan and a burner. I made the same ribeye both ways, same 45 day dry aged beef, same salt, and the cast iron crust was just better. The flat top got it grey in spots because the heat drops when you slap a cold steak down, but the iron holds so much heat that it barely flinched. I did a two minute press and the crust came out dark brown all over, not patchy. It made me rethink how I do steaks for big groups, because you can't run 12 cast irons on a line. But for anything under 6 covers I'm pulling out the pan from now on. Anyone else notice this or am I just late to the party?