How to Cook the Perfect Steak?

Zascar

I love Steak. I almost always order steak when i'm eating out if the resteraunt is any good, cause they are aways so much better than I cook at home. I like my steak medium rare - just perfectly pink all thew way through, but when I cook it I usually end up with red in the middle and brown around the outside. Can anyone tell the the right way to cook it perfectly? I want it to look like this:


I was told my my butcher to only turn the steak once, and to wait until the blood forms on the top until you turn it. Someone else told me to put it on to a cold pan and let it heat up, but I have always put it on hot to 'sear in the juices'... I'll prob cook in on a big gas bbq, should I use the flame grill or just on the flat plate? How hot should it be?

Found some interesting links on steak here:

http://www.greatangusbeef.com/pages/preperation.html
http://et.sdsu.edu/radair/world_wide_weber/steak_doneness.htm
http://www.goodcooking.com/steak/doneness.htm

But i'd still like to hear the boards.ie opinion... Can any steak lovers out there help me?
Thanks!

jackie g

hi,

i have pasted in below recipe sheet we give to our customers and it seems to work every time. we have a mixed organic farm and among other things sell organic angus beef. make sure when you buy your steak that it is from a beef animal that has been well-hung, best is 21-24 days. therefore steak and all other beef should have a chocolate brown-purplely shade, rather than the cartoon red of most meat in shops. anyway, best of luck, regards, jackie

Beef is a meat with a long tradition in Irish cookery, due to its unique warming and robust flavours.It is fair to say that a generous layer of external fat, as well as good marbling, occurs in beef that grows naturally, slowly and predominantly out of doors. Fat in general gets a bad press – as most
butchers know, it is fat in meat that gives flavour and texture. If you are ultra- diet conscious, you don’t have to eat the fat but please don’t trim the fat off the meat before you cook it as it reduces flavour, moisture and texture in the meat. If you really don’t want to eat it, then remove it after cooking.

STEAKS

There is nothing as satisfying as a really good juicy steak but I am only going to ask you to do one thing fry it !! Do not grill or barbecue steaks as inevitably doing so will dry out the meat and make it tough, otherwise you will have to use a ridiculous amount of oil to keep it moist. Steaks were made for frying, not for grills, barbecues or heaven forbid those electric plug-in
wonder grills that everyone loves now. Dust down that frying pan that you have consigned to the cupboard and I guarantee you that you will enjoy the simple pleasure of cooking a steak exactly to your liking.

Have steaks ready at room temperature, not straight from the fridge. Choose a heavy frying pan that isn’t going to stick and don’t try to cook more than 2 steaks at a time. Start with steaks that take longer cooking times (well done or medium) – those who like very rare steaks will be done in a few
minutes.

Heat the pan and then rub a small knob of fat (clarified butter, lard or beef dripping NOT vegetable oil) over the pan to grease the surface. The pan should be hot but not smoking. Lay the steaks in the hot, greased pan and do not move them for at least 30 seconds. Then give the pan a shake and after a minute turn each steak – regardless of how long you are planning to cook it.

This will tell you how quickly it is cooking. It should already be well browned. Season the cooked side with a little salt and black pepper. After another minute, a very rare (bleu) steak is ready. Just flip it once more and then season the other side and flip again. This gives the steak a nicely seasoned surface. A steak served bleu or rare is literally raw in the middle.

Longer cooking times for less rare steaks can be gauged roughly as follows (for a steak around 3cm thick at room temperature). I give an approximate overall cooking time, rather than minutes per side, because I don’t think you should leave a steak for a the whole of one side’s cooking time without
turning it. It’s better to flip it every minute or so, seasoning each side lightly before you flip it.

Rare – 3 to 4 minutes, Medium-Rare – 5-6 minutes, Medium – 6-8 minutes, Well-Done – 10 minutes.

Transfer each finished steak to a warmed plate at once and let it rest for about 3 minutes before serving. This is the equivalent of resting a joint. It doesn’t take long but it does make a difference. Serve with chips and horseradish sauce and a green salad. After cooking the steaks it is worth deglazing the pan with a splash of red wine. This juice is delicious trickled on to the meat, chips or salad.

Alun

I was always taught to only season meat with pepper while frying or grilling it and to only salt it afterwards. Something to do with salt drawing out moisture from the meat. Not sure whether it really makes any difference though.

I echo the bit about not moving it for at least 30 seconds though. This is a very common mistake people make, thinking that the steak has "stuck". It will move when it's ready, not before.

catspring

mmm...
i want steak for dinner now, unfortunately the student budget doen't allow this kind of luxury...

QC

I like to season my steak beforehand with sesame oil, salt, pepper and some hot paprika. Gives the steak a mildly spicy seasoning, without overpowering the beef too much. Also the sesame oil means you don't really have to use any more fat or oil when cooking, maybe just a little olive oil if you really need it. That's my special and not-so secret any more patent stake seasoning (at least the family seems to like it ). Oh and the beef needs to be good and well hung, not any of that supermarket stuff, good steak should not look that red.

liamo

My ultimate steak is as follows :

Crush some peppercorns
Press the steak - each side - into the crushed peppercorns
Put a knob of butter and a little bit of olive oil into the frying pan.
Cook to your preference.
Remove the steaks and place in a warm oven

This is the best part ....

There shouldn't be much fat in the pan. If there is, soak up most of it with kitchen towel.
Put the frying pan back on the heat and get it pretty hot (smoking is ok)
Remove from heat
Pour a shot of brandy into the pan
Light the alcohol fumes from the brandy (you'll have to be quick. And be prepared for a 2 foot high flame)
Stir the contents with a wooden spoon until the flames extinguish (it only takes a few seconds)
Pour in a 1/4 pint of double cream (it must be double cream, not single or whipping cream)
Place back on low heat and keep stirring until the mixture reduces somewhat.
If any juices have leaked out of the steaks, pour these in as well.

You just can't buy that sauce!!!

tk123

i just put some seasoning on, chop up some onions and mushrooms and then bung it all on the health grill for 5 mins

bonkey

jackie g wrote:

we have a mixed organic farm and among other things sell organic angus beef.

Where??

Do not grill or barbecue steaks as inevitably doing so will dry out the meat and make it tough,

Riiiiight.....

Sorry, but thats just utter rubbish.

jc

jackie g

mixed farm is in north tipperary - sell produce in farmers markets in dublin every weekend.

most people make a botched job of grilling of barbecuing steak as they tend to over-do it hence dried out meat ie. burnt to a crisp. if you know what you are doing fine but my chef brother advised me just to fry is the easiest thing to do.

memphis

I used work as an assistant/comi chef in a local restaurant, and the head chef always said that the correct way to cook steak is medium-rare. Really donno why, but thats what I was told.

Also, from what I hae seen cookinga steak is best done by frying it briefly, turning just once, so both sides are browned, this keeps in the juices, and allows it to be cooked throgh. Finally, place the pan into the oven and bake the steak for a minute or two.

Yummmmmmmmmm!!!!

Blub2k4

memphis wrote:

Finally, place the pan into the oven and bake the steak for a minute or two.

Yummmmmmmmmm!!!!

The oven is a typical chefs trick cos it is slower and easier to prepare rather than having to have a steak ready a la minute.
I used to be in the business for years.

jesus_thats_gre

Cook the steak on a bed of garlic and onions.. Holy Lord its good..

Where does really good fillet steaks out by stillorgan/blackrock.. Superquinn do good ones but they are not hung properly i think..

tk123

we get stiploins from the butchers at the weekend and freeze them for during the week. The always go nice and tender after they have been frozen and then defrosted...

*me*

In responce to the last point made about freezing steak, I'd recommend you avoid this practice as commercial freezing (as opposed to industrial freezing) is a very slow process. As the water content (essentially the juices and much flavour) freezes it expands causing damage to the cell wall, therefore on defrosing the juice melts and runs off hence the pool of liquid that could be confused for being blood.(So avoid freezing unless making carpaccio, yummy)

I also notice there have been comments relating to the issue of 'sealing to keep the juices in'; I believe Harold McGee has disproved this theory in his book 'On Food & Cooking', he demonstrated conclusively that meat loses about the same amount of juice during cooking whether it is seared or not.
However I agree whole heartedly that is is necessary to begin cooking a Steak on a hot pan, griddle etc. as this process impacts on the flavour. by a chemical reation known as the Maillard reaction. Basically the reaction occurs when the amino acids (protein) and sugars in meat
are subjected to heat, which causes them to combine and many different flavour compounds are created.
Also a brief word on the degree of cooking meat; obviously many people take issue with eating meat not cooked 'fully' - well done, once again linking to science it has been demonstrated that cooking meat to the internal temp. required for med-well effectively results in all the 'juice= flavour' being squeezed out, easily observed if you consider the size of two steaks (same size pre-cooking), the one cooked rare or med-rare will be significantly larger than the well done option.

Happy Eating!

shoegirl

I don't know if there's anything scientific about what I do but here goes-

I use very little fat (olive oil or groundnut oil) on a very good quality anodised frying fan
I heat the steak at a high temperature on both sides until browned (about a minute or so each side)
Then I turn the temparature really low and cook it to taste
Finally I transfer straight to a warmed plate and leave to rest for a couple of minutes (sometimes in an oven at a low temperature)

I like the tiniest bit of pink (note pink and not red in the middle) but my partner loves it well done, and somehow I seem to get it right. Nice and tender, and properly cooked but not overdone.

pickarooney

Not steak-steak, but if you want to make crunchy-juicy streak strips for burritos or Chinese-style dishes, slice the steak into finger-size pieces, rub cornflour into it and leave for 10 minutes. Then heat a pan with a tiny amount of vegetable/sesame oil until it's almost smoking. Lower the heat and add the strips, about 10-15 per panload, frying for 45 seconds on each side or until dark brown. The inside stays slightly pink and very juicy.

bonkey

jackie g wrote:

if you know what you are doing fine but my chef brother advised me just to fry is the easiest thing to do.

That, I agree with whole-heartedly...

jc

Zascar

Thanks for all the great tips guys. Since posting the question I've cooked loads of steaks absolutely perfectly. BBQ or pan, either one. I only turn the steak once, cooking for between 2.5 to 3 minutes on each side (for Meduim-Rare), or just until the juices start to rise on the top. mmmmmm....

I got a few friends over and had them all very impressed with my new cooking ability, so i'm delighted.

LoneGunM@n

Dear God ... I'm starving now!!

I've tried cooking steak on the ole George & found that I can get a great tasty medium steak each time!!

I rather the frying pan though, 'cause Onions & Mushrooms taste better when fried in the juices of the steak!!

hargo

This has always worked well for me, mix a spoon each of olive oil, rice wine and soya sauce a clove of garlic well crushed and plenty of crushed pepper corns and a few drops of tobasco. Marinade the steaks and cook quickly over a hot barbecue.