Mr. Wizard on Ribeye Steak

Piping in from Twitter, TJonsek asks

Do you prefer ribeye or fish and how would you prepare/cook it?

Exactly the kind of solid, penetrating question I was looking for when I started Mr. Wizard Wednesday. ;)

About 70% of the time I'd go with the ribeye. You picked one of the finest cuts there, tender flesh marbled with luscious fat. You could slide down to the short loin if you wanted slightly more tender beef - a Porterhouse would be lovely as well - though I prefer the slightly higher fat content of the ribs higher up the thorax.

Click to embiggen. 

As for preparation, I'm pretty boring with my beef. Some coarse sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, either a hot grill or cast iron pan, and a few minutes a side to get a nice caramelized exterior still leaving the center just off purple. Rest the meat for a few minutes and maybe toss some red wine into the pan to deglaze, maybe sauteing some mushrooms in that sweet goodness.

But even that's a lot. Usually a little dab of butter or a few crumbles of bleu cheese would be enough to finish off a good piece of meat. Unless I was feeling especially energetic, of course; then I'd make bearnaise.