How to Cook Steakhouse-Style Steak in a Pizza Oven

There are as many ways to skin a steak as there are to cook a cat.

Strike that, reverse it.

I would never tell anyone that you need a specific piece of equipment to cook a great steak any more than I’d tell someone they need a jet engine-like burner to wok up some fried rice or a pizza oven to make great pizza. In fact, some of the best steaks of my life have been cooked on a regular old home burner using the reverse sear method. That said, if you want to make a steak in the style of some of the great steak houses—say, Peter Luger in New York–the kind that have the sizzling hot charred edges, clean flavor, and intense crusts achieved by cooking under a really hot broiler, you need a bit more firepower.

To get there, I use an outdoor pizza oven. The current oven in my arsenal is the Ooni Koda 2 Pro which is the most recent and fancy-pants of the Ooni oven lineup. (They are also the sponsors of this recipe). I’ve used Ooni ovens since their very first iteration and have not used a better line of pizza ovens at home.

To cook a steak in it, I start with a thick-cut ribeye or New York strip. I aim for at least two inches or so which give you a really nice contrast between the charred crust and a nice medium rare center. If I plan in advance, I’ll start the day before by seasoning the steak generously with kosher salt and a bit of MSG, then letting it rest on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet in the fridge overnight, uncovered. Keeping it uncovered is important! This allows a dry pellicle to form around the exterior of the steak which greatly improves in browning and crust formation.

When I’m ready to cook, I place a heavy cast iron skillet in the pizza oven as it preheats on maximum heat for at least half an hour or so. With the Ooni that will bring it up to close to 1,000°F. Not quire the 1,600°F that the broilers at Peter Luger hit, but plenty hot for searing.

As a general rule of thumb, the hotter the oven, the longer your meat needs to rest after coming out, and the higher the carryover cooking will be. In a screaming hot oven like this, with a thick steak you can expect at least a 10- to 15°F rise in temperature after it comes out, so for medium-rare, I aim to remove it from the oven at around 115°F to hit a final temperature of 130°F or so.

We’ve got two thumbs, so here’s another general rule: the fattier a steak, the hotter you should cook it. A lean tenderloin is best on the rare end of medium-rare, say 120- to 125°F or so, while a fatty ribeye will be at its juiciest on the higher end of medium rare, in the 130- to 135°F range. Some folks even swear by 137°F ribeyes. You do what feels best to you.

I never like to waste a good hot fire or a panful of rendered beef fat, so while the steak rests, I like to toss some asparagus (or broccoli, or brussels sprouts, cauliflower, or green beans) into the hot skillet and toss it back into the oven. The high heat of a pizza oven is the ideal place for green vegetables, giving them a nice nutty char while still maintaining a crisp, bright green center.

All of this is excellent with just a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, and some fancy finishing salt (remember: the inside of that steak isn’t seasoned), but if you feel like putting on some slightly fancier pants, you can make a lemon-parsley compound butter. If you want those pants to be even fancier, you can call it beurre maitre d’hotel.. 

And if you want to add some sequins to those fancy pants, throw a hat over some of those vowels and call it beurre maître d’hôtel.

Pizza Oven Steaks with Lemon-Parsley Butter and Asparagus

Every recipe I publish here is personally tested, tasted, and approved.

What I like about this recipe:

- The powerful heat of a pizza oven mimics the broilers used in high end steakhouses

- Asparagus or other green vegetables get a nutty char while maintaining a crisp green interior

Yield: Serves 2-3

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes or up to overnight if you are pre-salting the steak

Ingredients

For the Lemon-Parsley Butter:

4 tablespoons (60g) softened butter

1 small shallot, finely minced

A handful of parsley leaves, finely minced

The zest of one lemon, plus a teaspoon of its juice

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Steak and Asparagus

1 thick-cut bone-in ribeye steak, at least 2 inches thick, about 1 1/2 pounds (700g)

Kosher salt, MSG (optional), and freshly ground black pepper

1 pound (450g) asparagus, trimmed

Extra-virgin olive oil

Steps:

1. Make the Lemon-Parsley Butter: Combine the butter, shallot, parsley, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Mash together with a fork until combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. You can make this butter in advance and store it in the refrigerator for up to a few days or in the freezer for several weeks. Allow to come to room temperature before using.

2. Season the steak generously with salt and a pinch of MSG (about an 8:1 ratio of salt to MSG). If you have the time, place it on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet and store in the fridge, uncovered, at least overnight and up to 2 days. This will help improve the browning and texture of its crust.

3. Place a large cast iron pan inside a pizza oven (I use the Ooni Koda 2 Pro) and preheat with the highest heat for at least half an hour. Using an oven mitt or dry folded kitchen towel, carefully remove the pan from the oven and place the steak in it. Return to the oven and cook until the edges are deeply browned and lightly charred, about 3 minutes. Flip the steak, return to oven, and continue to cook until deeply crusted all over and the center registers 115°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 3-5 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and place the steak on a resting rack set in a rimmed baking sheet. Pour the rendered fat over the steak and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, toss the asparagus with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the asparagus in the cast iron pan (keep it in a single layer and cook in batches if necessary) and transfer to the pizza oven. Roast until the asparagus is charred but still crisp, about 2 minutes.

5. Top the steak and asparagus with the butter and serve immediately.