Steak

[MDK2]

1.) Take steak out of your fridge, pat dry with paper towels, and season with salt and pepper. Build a charcoal fire. Personally I use a charcoal chimney. A full one takes 45-60 minutes to fully ignite all the coals.
2.) spread charcoal evenly on the coal rack and put a grill grate in position. Vents should be at least 3/4 open, if not full.
3.) let grill heat up for at least five minutes, then clean with a grill brush, and oil the grate. I use a folded paper towel dipped in oil, and tongs.
4.) grill steak to desired level of doneness. It takes at least three minutes to get good grill marks, so each side will get a minimum of six minutes. That usually results in a medium rare steak, although a porterhouse like the one pictured will have very rare bits of meat by the bone. Of course if your steak is a rather thin cut, it will be more done.
5.) Place on a plate, cover loosely with foil, and let rest for 20 minutes. Not a minute less! In the meantime, you can fry some sliced mushrooms in butter (use lots, as mushrooms tend to absorb it as it fries), heat some beef broth (or mushroom broth, if available) in a saucepan, then add the mushrooms to the broth for a nice topping. Conversely, you can mix up some prepared horseradish with mayo and a bit of lemon juice. Or your favorite steak sauce. Or nothing at all - sometimes a really good steak should be consumed that way.

[MDK2]

I have no idea why the image is coming out so large. You may need two monitors to see that without a lot of sliding bars this way and that.

[Pigmeat]

That's a t-bone. "Porterhouse" is a marketing term many restaurants/markets use for it.  It sounds higher end than that plain old t-bone steak farmers have been bolting down and blocking their bowels with for decades. Those places can charge more money for them that way.

We killed and slaughtered a couple of steers every year. I ate t-bones a couple of times a week growing up. Lightly pepper them on both sides throw 'em in a hot cast iron skillet on a layer of coarse salt, give them about five minutes a side depending on how hot the pan is, and they're ready to go. No fuss, no muss and a nice char. Some type of potato, and green beans that have been simmering all day with a hambone, and that's real food! Don't forget whole milk to wash it down with. Yeah, you might have a heart attack, but you'll die full and happy.

BTW, most beef on the market these days is way too lean. When you bite into a good steak, the fat should coat your mouth like butter. Buy it from small producers who raise them on grass in the summer and hay supplemented with grain in the winter. Out where you live it shouldn't be too hard to locate. Buy it anywhere else and you've got high chance getting a product that is just above glorified shoe leather. That's why the Great Punkin' eats his with ketchup. It's the only way that feedlot stuff is edible.

[MDK2]

There is a difference. Porterhouses have most of, or the entire, tenderloin, whereas t-bones only have a small part of it. I usually go for the porterhouse because my wife and I can share it and both be satisfied.

But hear hear about the fat. This particular steak was bought later in the afternoon, but if I get to my meat market early (and it's a real meat market with real butchers and real meat sitting in cases instead of styrofoam and cling wrap) I can get some of the most well marbled steak imaginable. But I like to sleep in. 

[Pigmeat]

I still think that may have to do with marketing terminology by the meat industry? What you're pic shows is what was we called a t-bone, there was no trimming. I used to see what you're referring to as t-bone get butchers cussed out as cheats when I was in my teens and early twenties. Those old farmed raised folks would get fired up over it.

[MDK2]

I'm sure marketing is involved. Is that tenderloin, or filet mignon? I know which one sounds like it should be served on china with sterling cutlery and a fine bordeau in crystal, served by a waiter whose training and experience are on par with Prince Charles' valet.

My butcher does label these t-bones, so I'm confident that I'm not being charged anything for the name. But some are definitely more meaty on the tenderloin side than others.

[shadypyro]

Looks yummy, i like steak but if it cook right i eat it as sometimes i have a hard time swallowing steak