The Steak Cut Martha Stewart Doesn't Pass Up

Martha Stewart, "the doyenne of domesticity," is beloved for her consistent, solid advice on cooking, entertaining, decorating, and so on. While she may have a reputation for being somewhat formal due to insisting on perfect planning and execution, she's definitely not uptight. She'd prefer you don't use your phone at her dinner table, but come on, that's just common courtesy — even a breath of fresh air these days. On the full-on informal end of the spectrum, there are some things you never knew about Martha Stewart: she knows how to roll a joint and is completely willing to play a game of "shag, marry, kill," for example. And, Martha Stewart isn't afraid to enjoy a whole porterhouse steak by herself, albeit a small one.

In an exclusive interview with our sister site, Daily Meal, Martha Stewart celebrated the merits of a good porterhouse steak. On the subject of publishing her 100th cookbook, Stewart said, "Many people just don't know how to cook a steak, so I wanted to put that in." She said she may only enjoy steak once a month or so, but when it's cooked properly, she can "devour a whole little porterhouse." When it comes to steaks, a porterhouse, the stuff of leathered, white-aproned steakhouses, may seem a bit intimidating and not quite fit for home cooking. But a porterhouse isn't actually that hard to make — you just need to let the steak shine.

Although not quite as delicate as the queen of tender steaks, filet mignon, porterhouse comes in with quite high marks in Mashed's ranking of cuts of steak by tenderness. However, because it has more marbling, a porterhouse has significantly more flavor than the subtlety of a filet mignon. A porterhouse steak is a composite steak, meaning it's made up of two different cuts of meat — the New York strip and tenderloin — with a good amount of fat in between. While you may think of porterhouse steak as something that takes up an entire plate by itself, you can often get it as small as 12 ounces, which is a pretty reasonable size to enjoy alone.

When cooking porterhouse steak, Martha Stewart insists that simplicity is key. "I very gently salt it and pepper it," she told the Daily Meal, "then I sear it, and then I put it in the broiler." To prepare, leave your steak out of the fridge for about 30 minutes to get it to room temperature. Then you'll need a screaming hot, oven-safe pan with oil — cast iron is probably the best choice here. Searing your steak will ensure it forms a beautiful crust before you finish it in the broiler. After a quick sear, broil your steak at 500 degrees Fahrenheit, usually about 3 to 4 minutes per side, although cooking time will depend on thickness. For a perfect medium-rare, you'll want it at about 125 degrees Fahrenheit when you remove it from the heat, so it will reach about 130 to 135 degrees after resting. Keep it simple and don't overcook it because, as Stewart said plainly, "People who go for well-done steak should not do that."

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