Cooking steak can be daunting. Once you've mastered it though, there are few meals that are easier or more impressive. Fillet and sirloin are favourites, and rib-eye is super tender and full of flavour. Whichever cut you choose, go for well-aged beef that is deep red in colour to maximise your chances of achieving the best results. If you're just starting out, follow these tips to learn how to cook the perfect steak.
Temperature Matters
If you're like me, remembering to take your steak out of the fridge in advance can be a little challenging. It's worth it though. Allowing your steak to sit out on the counter for up to an hour will bring it closer to room temperature, and help achieve more even cooking.
Even more important is the temperature of your pan. Take your pan of choice (I like to use a cast iron griddle pan) and heat it until it's super hot. You want the steak to sizzle and begin to caramelise as soon as it hits the surface of the pan. I'm not known for my patience, but even I can wait a few minutes for the pan to heat up before cooking my steak. If the pan is too cool you may end up stewing your steak, and there's nothing good about that.
Dry and Salty
Sounds like I'm describing the desert, right? Don't worry, I'm still talking about steaks. Pat your steaks dry before you cook them, and then oil them lightly and season them generously with salt and pepper right before they hit the pan. 'But isn't oil wet?' Good question! When it comes to steaks, oil is good and water is bad. A dried (but then oiled) steak will caramelise quicker than a steak that hasn't been patted dry with some kitchen paper. Your steak will spend less time evaporating water and more time developing a gorgeous crust.
Take a Break
Mastering your timings (see below) will all be in vain if you don't give your steak a chance to rest. Think about it as a particularly heavy exercise session. You give yourself a break to catch your breath and rehydrate between sessions, right? Your steak needs the same break to allow it to reabsorb some of the lost juices, leaving you with moist and tender meat. Two or three minutes will do, but the steak will stay warm for up to 10 minutes covered loosely with foil.
Know the Time
This is where things get a little tricky. The easiest way to tell whether a steak is cooked to your liking is to use an instant-read thermometer. You don't want to prod the meat too much, but once or twice won't result in any lost juices. If you don't have a thermometer, you can time your steak based on the result you're trying to achieve. This is a little less foolproof, as your timings will differ based on the thickness of the steak. The timings below are based on a 2cm thick sirloin.
The third method takes a little practice. Hold your non-dominant hand flat, relax it and using the index finger from your other hand, press gently on the fleshy part of your hand under your thumb. This is what raw meat feels like. Then simply join your thumb with each finger on your non-dominant hand and repeat the test to find out what rare, medium-rare, medium and well-done feel like. Check your hand, and then carefully check the steak. (You won't burn yourself, but be careful all the same.)
Steak Recipes
If you're still a little unsure or need some inspiration, chef Paul Flynn's recipes will help you cook the perfect fillet, rib-eye and striploin.
Are you ready to cook your first steak? Let us know how you get on. Or if you're already a master at cooking steak, do you have any tips to add? We'd love to hear from you in the comments and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Happy cooking!