Steak-Crusted Steak Is Basically Inception For Meat

Chicken has oyakodon (a chicken, egg, and rice dish that literally translates to "parent and child rice bowl"), pork has bacon-wrapped tenderloin, and now beef has joined the club with steak-crusted steak. Ingenious combination or violation against nature, you ask? The jury might still be out on that, but there's one thing we do know — this is an incredibly creative food-ception that meat lovers will surely want to try. And while it might not be the most budget-friendly, time-saving, or environmentally-conscious recipe, it's still a dish feasible enough for home cooks to taste for themselves.

TikTok home cook, Jack Mancuso, posted a video chronicling his attempt at the steak-crusted steak. The success of this — and any good steak — lies in the Maillard reaction achieved from searing. In order to properly season a raw steak with steak, he first seasons a separate steak with salt and pepper, then over-sears it so that it develops a really strong crust. Once cooked, he then thoroughly dehydrates it so that it loses enough of its moisture to be blended into crust-dust. Yes, you read that correctly — "crust-dust."

The success of a steak-crusted steak lies in the residual flavor found in what TikTok's Jack Mancuso calls "crust-dust." The amount and type of seasonings you use in the first steak will noticeably carry over to the steak you eat, but the primary flavor being transferred over is undoubtedly still just the taste of cooked beef. So do you really gain anything that simple salt and pepper don't already provide? In comparison to steak that gets coated with salt and pepper right before going into the pan, this is definitely true. When meat is seasoned right before it's cooked, there isn't enough time to allow the salt to draw out its water, resulting in a less concentrated beef flavor.

@chefcuso

Steak crusted Steak 🥩 #steak #cookinghacks #meateater #foodtiktok

♬ original sound – Jack Mancuso

Dry-brined steak, on the other hand, stands up very well to the flavor punch that crust-dust provides. Dry brining, or salting the meat ahead of time and leaving it to rest in the fridge so that the salt can penetrate the meat, yields a steak that not only develops an excellent sear, but has a much meatier, umami-rich flavor. A regular cut of beef that has been dry-brined is arguably a more unadulterated steak-eating experience — it doesn't have that crumbly mouthfeel from crust-dust, yet still packs a satisfying punch. Ultimately, you probably can't go wrong with any methods discussed in this article, but if the occasion calls for it, you might as well treat your dinner guests to the meaty inception of steak-crusted steak.