3 Alternatives To Grilling Meat When You Love Meat But Can't Grill

Grilling is sexy. There is nothing more satisfying than watching a mouthwatering, juicy steak sizzling away on top of a hot grill (which is why our instagram, @meatnbone has grown exponentially).

Yet many people do not own a grill or cannot grill for one reason or another (ie: "My landlord does not allow grilling" or "I live in a skyrise").

What most people do not realize is that grilling is just ONE OF MANY options to cook a great steak.

Here are some alternatives to a grill that can make you a Master chef.

A CrockPot (SlowCooker)

You probably never thought you may need a crockpot but it is perhaps the best and easiest way to make chef-life recipes.

Any food or recipe that requires slow and even cooking will come out amazingly from a crockpot.

Cooking your meat in a crockpot does not get much simpler. Slow and low for 8 hours, add salt, pepper and perhaps a couple vegetables. When the crockpot is done, you may (not always) want to put your roast in the oven and broil for a few minutes.

This recipe is perfect for something like a rump roast and even some ribs. If it has a bone, the beef will almost melt off the bone.

The crockpot is also EXCELLENT for brisket, skirt steak, flank and flap. 

The only cuts we would not recommend are NY strip, ribeye or porterhouse.

Cast Iron Skillet

Cuts like the ribeye and the NY strip, as well as the porterhouse and the T-bone are actually best when cooked best on a cast iron skillet. The reason is these cuts have some bone and some fat and as the fat melts, it stays in the skillet and adds flavor to the beef.

There are a few ways to go about it.

My favorite recipe is to heat a cast iron skillet in the oven to 450-500 degrees. Meanwhile, season your steak with salt and pepper. I also recommend sprinkling oil on the steak but make sure you use an oil with a high smoke point such as avocado oil (500+ degrees) or your kitchen will be completely smoked up.

Once the skillet is HOT, place it on the stove top on high. Sear the steak 1 minute on each side and put it back on the HOT oven for another 2 minutes. If your steak is thick (> 1 inch), flip it over and let it cook for another 2 minutes.

This recipe will give you a BEAUTIFUL steak with an amazing crunchy crust. Just like at your favorite steakhouse.

An alternative would be to do away with the oven and use only the cast iron skillet using the 4-3-2 technique.

This will work for ribeye, NY strip, T-bone, porterhouse, etc. 

  Sous Vide

The cool thing about Sous Vide is that it EASILY delivers steaks that are cooked to precisely the temperature you like each and every time.

The fact that ALL of our steaks come vacuum-sealed makes Meat N' Bone attractive for sous vide enthusiasts since the first phase in cooking steak sous vide is sealing steak in plastic bags. We have an extensive tutorial on cooking meat in water. You can go directly into searing the meat to develop color, flavor, and textural contrast on its surface, and to help render and soften its fat.

You can cook almost ANYTHING via Sous vide, we suggest tenderloin, NY strip, ribeye, porterhouse, T-bone, skirt, flap, or hanger.