Reduce Smoke by Greasing the Steak Instead of a Skillet When Toasting Indoors
A little smoke is inevitable when toasting steak, and if you don’t have a vent above the stove, that smoke can linger, ruining the ambiance of your otherwise excellent steak dinner. You can’t get rid of the smoke entirely, but you can significantly reduce the amount of smoke by lightly oiling the steak instead of the skillet.
The less oil there is in a super hot skillet, the less smoke there will be. Just add salt to the steak as usual and blot off excess moisture. Heat a skillet over high heat until a drop of water rises and rolls over the surface before it evaporates. Then, use a pastry brush to paint both sides of the steak with a thin layer of vegetable oil (or other oil with a high smoke temperature). Fire as usual. I did this with a fairly thick ribeye, and while there was still some smoke, there was significantly less smoke and a small amount of smoke was quickly expelled through the open window. Thanks to this, the whole process – from cooking to eating – has become much more pleasant, and eating a steak is already quite pleasant.