Serious Eats recommends putting a shower cap over the smoke detector when you’re cooking like this. We do, and it works like a charm.

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OP, when I know I will be cooking something that might set off the alarm, I take the batteries out temporarily. We have no ability to install a hood with an outside vent, so that is what works for us plebeians.

take out the batteries

Anonymous wrote:We moved our smoke detector - it seemed to be the only solution.

And I got a NEST smoke detector, that detects smoke in a different way and has fewer false alarms. It's not perfect, but it has significantly cut down on steam or just a bit of smoke setting it off.

We moved our smoke detector - it seemed to be the only solution.

your kitchen should have a hood, most look like this

This is stove top and oven? When broiling, set the steaks on a wire rack in a pan over a lot of rock salt. That should catch the grease and prevent much of the smoke.

skip the oil

Is the smoke detector between the front door and the kitchen? If so, opening the front door might be pulling the smoke into the house (and to the smoke detector) depending on how the air flows through your house.

Before we replaced our hood, we had similar problems. Had to cook with all the kitchen windows open, crappy oven fan running, and then a counter fan aimed to blow the smoke out a back window to try to keep the smoke from circulating through the house.

We also replaced our smoke detectors with ones that are not ridiculously sensitive. I feel confident that they protect us (they have always sounded when there was actual smoke) but not everytime we cook something like our original ones did when we bought the house.

Make sure the meat is at room temperature first. Pat it dry and make sure there is no moisture. Oil is fine, but oil. On the meat, not in the pan. Get the pan nice and hot and then put the meat on. Then get a stronger range hood that vents out, and move your smoke detector!

We have a grill outside that has a burner. DH always sears meat outside- no matter what the weather is like.

Do you have a smoke detector in the kitchen? I thought they didn't put them there for this reason. I think you need a better vent fan, not just a stove fan.

You need a larger exhaust fan, or move your smoke detector. Also don't use oil- there is no need to fry the meat, the fats in the meat are just fine.

I enjoy skillet seared/broiled strip steaks. Every time I cook them I open the kitchen windows, the front door and turn on the stove fan-- in an attempt to avoid setting off the smoke detector. I fan the smoke out of the kitchen as the meat broils and still the detector sounds. There's got to be a better way. What am I doing wrong? How can I do this without the drama? I do coat the meat with canola or olive oil. I do not have an outdoor gas grill. TIA