Cooking steaks - What are your best methods?

[Kanifee]

If the steak has a thick back of fat hold that down in the pan first to melt that to a golden brown, the flavor it puts into the pan is like a beautiful butter the steak cooks itself in.

The reasoning behind turning only once is a far more accurate way to cook each side giving more control over the final result of rare/medium rare and so on, all this turning just makes it harder for any one not used to cooking the steak to get their desired results. personally i turn once, i see no benefit turning multiple times and the less interaction between me and the steak means i do not force out the juices.

Room temperature and salt, pepper can be added after so it does not burn in the super hot pan, you leave it to rest for five minutes so pepper immediately this will allow the juices that are drawn back into the steak while it rests (the whole purpose of resting) to pull in the flavor of the pepper. rub a little olive oil on the steak, don't over do it as i find excess oil will burn in such a hot pan and impart some flavor to the meat.

If you have a lot of marbled fat you need to cook the steak a little longer at a slightly lower temp, the fat needs to melt to reach its full potential otherwise you just end with a grisly piece of meat instead of a sublimely buttery melt in the mouth cut of kings meat.

And probably the most important point, Rare if you can, medium rare if you cant, medium if you have a menstrual cycle and own a pair of straighteners and NEVER well done!

 

[pitchfork]

I really don't see the point in this method, despite its many advocates.

Surely, if logic is brought into play, the steak should be brought up to the correct temperature in the oven first and then seared in the pan to get a nice crust?

Doesn't popping the steak on a warming plate in the oven lose that texture completely?

Nope, not at all.
Provided you sear the steak correctly it is the best method.

 

[Stan_Lite]

If the steak has a thick back of fat hold that down in the pan first to melt that to a golden brown, the flavor it puts into the pan is like a beautiful butter the steak cooks itself in.

The reasoning behind turning only once is a far more accurate way to cook each side giving more control over the final result of rare/medium rare and so on, all this turning just makes it harder for any one not used to cooking the steak to get their desired results. personally i turn once, i see no benefit turning multiple times and the less interaction between me and the steak means i do not force out the juices.

Room temperature and salt, pepper can be added after so it does not burn in the super hot pan, you leave it to rest for five minutes so pepper immediately this will allow the juices that are drawn back into the steak while it rests (the whole purpose of resting) to pull in the flavor of the pepper. rub a little olive oil on the steak, don't over do it as i find excess oil will burn in such a hot pan and impart some flavor to the meat.

If you have a lot of marbled fat you need to cook the steak a little longer at a slightly lower temp, the fat needs to melt to reach its full potential otherwise you just end with a grisly piece of meat instead of a sublimely buttery melt in the mouth cut of kings meat.

And probably the most important point, Rare if you can, medium rare if you cant, medium if you have a menstrual cycle and own a pair of straighteners and NEVER well done!

Can't really find any fault with this post

We should have a pint some time dude (I live in South Shields).

 

[TheDean]

We should have a pint some time dude (I live in South Shields).

Small world. My Mrs works in South Shields...will likely be moving Whitley Bay area this year as well!

"OHHHHHH....I do like to live beside the Sea-Side......"

 

[Freefaller]

disagree re flip regularly, I turn iit just once

Agreed. I always start off with browning the fat first too - I like a bit of crispiness to my fat (because I like to eat it! ). Then I let it rest in a warm (not hot) oven.

 

[DiCe!]

I am hearing "OcUK Steak Club"

 

[f00b4r]

Water bath at 55C for beef and then either a quick sear using a pan/big a** blowtorch or a 30 second frying dip in hot oil.

For the more tender steaks it is not such a huge difference but when you pick up e.g. skirt steak or chuck and it comes out as tender a fillet but with loads more flavour it can be quite awesome.
It also has the advantage that you can get e.g. skirt steaks for almost nothing and prep 10 at a time ready for reheating and searing later (fantastic for BBQs).

EDIT: NB this was not that well seared as i used it in a Thai curry.

 

[Kanifee]

Can't really find any fault with this post

We should have a pint some time dude (I live in South Shields).

Haha yes indeed, steak and a pint though it will have to wait as im off the drink at the moment, have been for about 6 weeks, its killing me but something i have to do, not easy steering clear of temptation though not long now untill i can have a decent glug again. ( though i did get drunk on Christmas day but ssshhhh dont tell any one )

None of my friends eat steak the way it should be eaten and most refuse to believe they are juices and not blood, i get so sick of explaining my dining options now i just don't eat steak with them any more!

 

[Kanifee]

Ignore, mouse fart!

 

[Stan_Lite]

Haha yes indeed, steak and a pint though it will have to wait as im off the drink at the moment, have been for about 6 weeks, its killing me but something i have to do, not easy steering clear of temptation though not long now untill i can have a decent glug again. ( though i did get drunk on Christmas day but ssshhhh dont tell any one )

Sounds good to me. I'm away on the rig until 25th January anyway then I'll be home for 4 weeks and then away again. How long are you off the drink for?

Maybe we can get a few others interested?

 

[vcl_X1]

Post some pictures up someone, i'm craving a steak right now but it's half 12 at night!

Here you go...

 

[Kanifee]

The steak looks fantastic and that fat just looks sublime, like butter!

 

[ganesh]

Just out of interest, does anyone rate the Heston blumenthal method of drying out steaks in the fridge for 48 hours prior to cooking? I've done it for 24 hours and the outer layer was much dryer which gave the steaks a really nice crust when seared, browned off much faster than usual.

Will have to give the full 48 hours a go sometime.

 

[vcl_X1]

The steak looks fantastic and that fat just looks sublime, like butter!

Oh it was fantastic...well aged Angus, cut just over 2" thick so about 16 oz in total, thus I cut it in half and had the other half cold in a baguette with some wild rocket the next day in work. One of the benefits of cooking sous vide is the effect it can have on fat/connective tissues but 57.5 degrees was realy quite low to make the fat so buttery, it's just a great piece of meat...always start with good ingredients and you can't go wrong if you cook them well. My griddle pan was smoking like you would not believe and it had no oil on it to cause this, I press the steak hard down onto it, as it's only there for 20 seconds then turn through 90 degrees for the same again each side plus a quick sear round the edges it really doesn't do any harm. Time for another I think....Lunch tomorrow is going to be good!

 

[ULP]

Rest over a spoon.

 

[Andr3w]

The rules I follow for cooking steak how I like it:

1) Oil the steak not the pan
2) Once the steak is in the pan DO NOT MOVE/FLIP IT. Only flip it once after around 1minute 30.
3) OM NOM NOM

 

[oli collett]

We really should have a "how you cook steak" sticky so everyone can debate it in that - got to be honest but I'm a bit bored of these threads, everyone contradicts eachother and it goes around in circles!

 

[glitch]

The reasoning behind turning only once is a far more accurate way to cook each side giving more control over the final result of rare/medium rare and so on, all this turning just makes it harder for any one not used to cooking the steak to get their desired results. personally i turn once, i see no benefit turning multiple times and the less interaction between me and the steak means i do not force out the juices.

The thing is though, it isn't a more accurate way of cooking each side.

As you allude to, it's simply what most people are accustomed to and therefore comfortable with, which in turn helps promotes more confident cooking and better results.

Regularly turning a steak whilst cooking is the best way of ensuring a even cook and a fantastic crust, as you not only keeping each side on the heat for just as long as necessary but also stop the other side from cooling down too much. End result - even cooking.

But it's not essential, and the single-flip method works perfectly fine in the majority of cases.

leave it to rest for five minutes so pepper immediately this will allow the juices that are drawn back into the steak while it rests (the whole purpose of resting).

Resting a steak doesn't allow it to draw moisture from outside the meat back inside.

It's about allowing the moisture that's already there to distribute itself more evenly amongst the muscle fibres and stopping those at the centre of the meat from being overloaded and spilling out their precious cargo when cut into.

Just out of interest, does anyone rate the Heston blumenthal method of drying out steaks in the fridge for 48 hours prior to cooking? I've done it for 24 hours and the outer layer was much dryer which gave the steaks a really nice crust when seared, browned off much faster than usual.

No, because it doesn't really do what it's purported to.

To dry age a steak you need somewhere that's both temperature and humidity controlled. A typical domestic fridge is not one of those places - at least not if you keep opening the door.

You can however draw some of the moisture out of the steak and allow the natural enzymes in the meat to help tenderise it during this 'ageing' process. But you'd get much similar results from salting the steak well before cooking it.

We really should have a "how you cook steak" sticky so everyone can debate it in that - got to be honest but I'm a bit bored of these threads, everyone contradicts eachother and it goes around in circles!

The thing is, we already know the two biggest factors in cooking steak - the quality of the meat and allowing it to rest after cooking.

Everything else is there to be discussed, debated or simply argued about, which is hopefully what these threads are for.

And while they do tend to result in people putting forward a mixture of opinion and conjecture as fact and then arguing the toss about it, is that necessarily a bad thing?

 

[Kanifee]

Resting a steak doesn't allow it to draw moisture from outside the meat back inside.

It's about allowing the moisture that's already there to distribute itself more evenly amongst the muscle fibres and stopping those at the centre of the meat from being overloaded and spilling out their precious cargo when cut into.

I stand educated, either way it makes the world of difference to the final product though i will continue to pepper as soon as it leaves the pan, i find that works well for me.

 

[glitch]

I stand educated, either way it makes the world of difference to the final product

Absolutely so. It's the most important step behind cooking a good steak.

though i will continue to pepper as soon as it leaves the pan, i find that works well for me.

To be fair to you, some of that pepper may well get distributed amongst the moisture on the outside of the steak and find its way into the little cracks and crevices in the crust.

But the overall result is probably more down to the fact that you choose to pepper the steak after cooking, giving it a different flavour than if it were introduced before or during the cooking process.

An interesting notion, which I will have to try for myself!