How to cook steak properly?

[zEmini]

I am pretty sure Alton Brown knows what he is doing. You can make a rare steak on just the stove top but if you desire a ribeye medium then it will be hard too keep cooking it on a skillet without burning the outside.

[Vizardlorde]

I prefer my cow slices still bleeding

[Ornerybear]

OP here is my recipe and it never fails to please the crowd.

Purchase Rib Eye steak. Bone in or out doesn't matter much.
You can find it on sale for $6 a pound, but usually it is $9 a pound.
If you have a good mix of people thickness does not matter. Med steaks use this method at 1 inch thick. Med Rare use this method for 1.5 inch thickMed & Med rare will cook the same amount of time. The thinner steaks will be usually turn out medium.

Let your steaks come to room temperature. Avoid putting cold meat on a BBQ.
Coat the steaks with a thin layer of Olive Oil on both sides.
Rub the steaks with salt and pepper only on both sides.
Let you BBQ get as hot as possible. I mean like 600 degrees if you can.
Open the BBQ and keep it open. Lay your steaks down and set the timer. (4-5 minutes on first side)
Dont touch them and dont check them. BBQ may flame up a little because of the oil...let it.
Flip them and let them cook 2-3 minutes.
Pull them off and let them rest 5 minutes.

Make sure you have all your other sides ready to go after they have rested.
Once you cut open a Med-Rare steak it will get cold fast.

Try it. I have been using this technique for 5+ years

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My buddy told me to try Grape Seed oil because it burns at a higher temp.
Might try avocado oil...thanks

cool! ill try that too...supposedly the avocado oil has one of if not the, highest smoking temps

[Stacyrect]

Any suggestions for cooking thin flank steaks? They had a sale at piggly wiggly 1.11 for per steak and I bought all 29 of them

[Powerogue]

In my last attempt, the steak has transformed into a stone.

On the bright side, you've taken your first steps to harnessing the power of alchemy.

[ringpriest]

When in doubt about cooking, ask Alton Brown and you will seldom (if ever) go wrong.
http://www.marcelsculinaryexperience...st-iron-steak/

Or if you want to use a grill instead of a pan, he's got a unique recipe for that, too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5y2voEWJ6U

[Hooked]

I like my steak well done and the fat crisp. I prefer pan frying then broiling instead of the grilling method. I like to use the rendered fat and steak juices to make fried rice or something else to go with my well done steak. I still grill my steaks half the time, but I prefer pan fried and then broiled or finished off in the oven.

Even just using the juices and rendered fat to make a red wine reduction to pour over the steak is also possible only if not done on a grill.

[apepi]

Here you go.

This is where I go for all my grilling/bbq needs.

[Kuntantee]

Okay, the result was much better. Seasoned with salt and set the counter to 40 min, then in last 15 mins, seasone with pepper and some quality olive oil. I then seared each side 1 min for two rounds. So that's total of 4 mins on the pan. I added butter and some garlic in last 1 min. I used my meshed cast-iron pan for searing. Then let it rest for 5 mins.

Some places were medium and others were, unfortunately, a bit above medium and some even well done. I think this was due to the thickness of the meat, which is 1cm. I still have some of the same meat left, I will try to cook it 1.5 min for the next time.

I also do not have unprocessed sea salt and unprocessed black pepper, I had to use regular poor quality salt and pepper.

Thank you for your help guys. Much appreciated.

[Pterodactylus]

First off, a good steak starts with a good hunk of meat. That is a topic on its own, so let's just assume you have a quality slab of meat.

Pull your steak and let it get to room temp. Cover it in salt and pepper - more than you think you need, and then let it sit for 20 mins. Next put it in a 250 F (120 C) oven until your thermometer reads 140F (60C). Pull it, and let it sit 10 mins. Get a dry cast iron nice and hot then give each side a nice hard sear and serve immediately.

Enjoy.

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Any suggestions for cooking thin flank steaks? They had a sale at piggly wiggly 1.11 for per steak and I bought all 29 of them

Time for carne asada!

Take some orange/lemon/lime juice w/minced garlic, soy sauce, chipotle pepper, chili powder, ground cumin, paprika, dried oregano, and black pepper and mix with olive oil for a marinade. Then grill it!

[Osmeric]

Any suggestions for cooking thin flank steaks? They had a sale at piggly wiggly 1.11 for per steak and I bought all 29 of them

Cook's Illustrated is my go-to place for recipes. I've made this one and liked it:

https://www.cooksillustrated.com/rec...d-chive-butter

[Felya]

Do not marinade your steak, unless the meat is of low quality or contains a lot sinew. Marinades are used to enhance flavor and tenderize the meat. Both things you should not be doing with a steak...

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If you pan fry it, or pan fry anything really, use butter. As the meat cooks, remember to lean the pan at an angle, so you can spoon the draining fat over the steak as it cooks. There is a word for it, but it's not coming to me at the moment.

Baste... That's what it's called...

[enragedgorilla]

Meat Quality MATTERS...get cheap...you will eat cheap unless you marinade or tenderize (beat the shit out of it) the meat before.

Fat is flavor dont get a steak so lean you can't see the fat on it...that ...is pointless.

Best trick I was ever taught for steaks ,
take your thumb and touch it to your index finger, poke/touch the "meat" between those 2 digits....that is what rare should feel like on your steak.(poke the steak and see if it feels similar to the finger test)
Do the same with your thumb and middle finger,that feel is medium.
Ring and Thumb ...Medium well
Pinky and Thumb WELL .(why you would do this ...I have no clue)

the rest is, Fire, Salt , Pepper and maybe using butter on the last 2-3 min of cooking.

[dd614]

[Fencers]

I am planning to cook it tomorrow. Hope you guys can share some marination recipes and cooking method. I have a traditional oven. It's not something sophisticated but I do have a mesh iron pan (not flat, it's meshed, perhaps bad for sealing?) and granit pan.

Just looking at the cut of steak should tell you what cut it is without having bought it, OP.

Steak needs to be just under room temperature before cooking. Needs to be about an inch to an inch and a half thick at the least. Anything else is not appropriate for the method of cooking being attempted and you should abort immediate.

When your steak is about room temperature (but still cool to the touch), pat it dry with a clean paper towel. Moisture is the enemy of appropriate pan searing. Get the oven to 250F.

Get the heaviest pan you have at home really hot. How hot? Hot enough that when you sprinkle a little water in the pan it immediately forms little bubbles and sizzles for a second before evaporation.

Kosher salt and cracked black pepper MUST be applied to the raw steak before cooking. Anything you want to add extra is fine, but you MUST (and without few exceptions) apply Kosher salt and cracked black pepper to the meat raw before hitting the hot pan. If you do not this, throw the steak away. It is ruined and not suitable for eating.

This should never be a thing one forgets in cooking ever. It is your golden rule when cooking.

Add a neutral oil (Like Canola) to the pan and a tiny amount of unsalted butter (less than a teaspoon) to coat the pan very thinly. Lay the seasoned steak in the pan and sear with a light mesh splash guard for about 3 minutes on each side or until evenly seared. Do not flip or fiddle with the steak. ONLY TURN OVER ONCE.

However, do gently nudge the steak as it sears with your thongs. Just a little shake to relax the meat and ensure a even sear.

Place in the oven after turning the steak over in the pan. 12-13 minutes or 130F internal temp, whichever comes first.

Remove steak when done, transfer to plate gently and lightly tent with aluminum foil. Allow steak to rest while preparing pan au jus.

Pour in about 1/3rd cup of beef stock and about 1/4 a cup of water into the pan you just cooked the steak in. Turn the heat on high and use a flat wooden spoon or rubber whisk to loosen all the stuff stuck to the pan. Don't stop stirring for long. Add a few pats of unsalted butter midway, stir those in. Cook till it's at the thickness desired- if too thick, add more water. Don't burn the au jus- it will smell burned if you do and you need to throw it all away if you do burn it.

Spoon the au jus onto to steak (remove tent of course). Eat.

[wholol]

Don't cook it in the oven for 30 minutes.

Get the steak out the fridge a couple hours before and let it get to roomish temperature, season it and rub a little oil on it, get a pan screaming hot, throw it in for a few minutes on each side. There are guides and pictures kicking round the net comparing parts of your hand to the firmness of the steak and roughly how cooked it is.

Fattier cuts should be cooked a little longer to medium, to allow the fat to melt, other wise it can be a little sinewy. More tender cuts like fillet can be seared and eaten like that.

Make sure you rest the meat for half the time it has been cooked. 4 minutes on the pan - 2 minutes rest.

This is the most accurate reply in the room, not that I disagree with marinating the meat, it's not a needed process to make a steak ( it simply makes it tastier/ softens the meat).

So ye , don't do steaks in an oven, frying pan over low flame is the ideal method.

The most basic form of steak is simply putting a bit of oil or butter( I use butter for meat instead of oil as it gives a better after taste most of the time ), heat the pan so the butter melts and spread it over the entire pan, put the ( room temperature ) raw meat in the pan ( low heat always ) and add salt/ spice.

Tip: if you wish to keep the core pinkish ( aka medium rare / rare variant ), you should flip the steak once every 30 seconds, this process cooks the outer layer faster and doesn't let the heat permeate into the core fast enough, which usually leads to rarer meat.

If you wish to cook the core ( aka well done ) you should refrain from flipping the meat to only once per side, as in very low heat ( lowest possible ) and keeping it on one side until it looks golden brown, then swapping to the other until it has the same colour.

PS: adding salt while you are cooking the meat will harden it , some people add the salt afterwards for softer meat.

As for Marinades, I find that marinating meat gives a more pleasant taste, the most basic form is to dip the entire meat ( while its raw) into a bowl that is filled with alcohol ( whiskey is my preference ),and keep it for several hours , This will make the meat more tender and is not a needed method to make steak, simply preference.

After that process you bring the meat out of the fridge and wait until it becomes room temperature then follow the first steps above.

This is pretty much the most basic form of steak making, more advanced methods involve making sauces out of the residue of the meat itself after cooking it, but I guess you don't want to go into advanced steak recipees.

Enjoy.

Edit: everyone here is giving you their method of doing steak which isn't wrong , just simply preferences tbh, what you need to understand is basically how to cook the meat to your preference, so understanding which way you like your steak is what you should be looking into, any extras additives are for flavor, first learn how to control heat to achieve the rarity variant that you like.

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It just popped in my head but I think we should open a cooking mega-thread with recipes about any/all dishes people want to make and we can share recipes and come up with more ideal meals

[Ciddy]

I like my steak well done and the fat crisp. I prefer pan frying then broiling instead of the grilling method. I like to use the rendered fat and steak juices to make fried rice or something else to go with my well done steak. I still grill my steaks half the time, but I prefer pan fried and then broiled or finished off in the oven.

Even just using the juices and rendered fat to make a red wine reduction to pour over the steak is also possible only if not done on a grill.

Huh, I never thought about doing fried rice that way. I'll keep that in mind next time I cook a steak with a pan. I pretty much otherwise cook a steak the same way you do, although I prefer using a charcoal grill when I can. Using a pan is my next favorite way when I don't feel like dragging the grill out.

[Cerus]

I cook fillets every week for myself and my dad.
I use a nonstick pan wit a fire stove.
I season them with salt and black pepper
Medium heat whole time.
Heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the pan.
About 6 minutes a side for medium rare steaks.

Never ever preheat a non stick pan. They get way too hot which breaks down the coating and releases all sorts of nasties. Most non stick pans reach this stage at around medium heat after a few minutes.

They just aren't the right pans for searing steaks which need a preheated surface. Use either a SS pan or preferably cast iron.

Place the cast iron pan in the oven and set it as hot as you can get it. Take the pan out and toss on a room temp steak that's been seasoned with salt and pepper. (Note: Do not put salt on a steak until you're ready to cook it. Salt draws out moisture and will dry it out. Same goes for burgers - never mix in salt when making the patties.) 1-3 mins each side depending on thickness and you're done with a really nice char.

Steaks like burgers and many cuts of meat should be cooked hot and fast. They do not have enough fat to be cooked low and slow. Learn to test for doneness by feel. Poking a thermometer into a hot steak will only dry it out. For medium rare it should be just slightly firm with a little bounce back.

You can always toss it back on the heat if it's underdone but you can't uncook a steak.

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First off, a good steak starts with a good hunk of meat. That is a topic on its own, so let's just assume you have a quality slab of meat.

Pull your steak and let it get to room temp. Cover it in salt and pepper - more than you think you need, and then let it sit for 20 mins. Next put it in a 250 F (120 C) oven until your thermometer reads 140F (60C). Pull it, and let it sit 10 mins. Get a dry cast iron nice and hot then give each side a nice hard sear and serve immediately.

Enjoy.

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Time for carne asada!

Take some orange/lemon/lime juice w/minced garlic, soy sauce, chipotle pepper, chili powder, ground cumin, paprika, dried oregano, and black pepper and mix with olive oil for a marinade. Then grill it!

Great way to ruin a good steak. What part of hot and fast is so hard to understand? Salt has been used as means of meat preservation for centuries. Covering a steak in salt and letting it sit will just dry it out. Cook the fucker hot and fast and be done with it.

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Kosher salt and cracked black pepper MUST be applied to the raw steak before cooking. Anything you want to add extra is fine, but you MUST (and without few exceptions) apply Kosher salt and cracked black pepper to the meat raw before hitting the hot pan. If you do not this, throw the steak away. It is ruined and not suitable for eating.

This should never be a thing one forgets in cooking ever. It is your golden rule when cooking.

/sigh This might be your golden rule but that's about it. You can season after if you choose or not at all. Considering some people are even allergic to pepper.... I guess by your advice they can never have a steak eh? Also - salt is salt. All salt sold in stores comes from the same place made in the same way. Kosher salt is nothing special except that it's kosher. Coarse salt is preferable though. You seem to have fallen for the sea/kosher salt marketing fad like most people. Unless it's actual raw, natural salt harvested and sold as such, it's all the same thing.

Ps. Super hot pan+butter=burned butter. There's no point in putting butter in a super hot pan unless you like burnt butter flavor. The moment it turns brown it's toast.

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This is the most accurate reply in the room, not that I disagree with marinating the meat, it's not a needed process to make a steak ( it simply makes it tastier/ softens the meat).

So ye , don't do steaks in an oven, frying pan over low flame is the ideal method.

The most basic form of steak is simply putting a bit of oil or butter( I use butter for meat instead of oil as it gives a better after taste most of the time ), heat the pan so the butter melts and spread it over the entire pan, put the ( room temperature ) raw meat in the pan ( low heat always ) and add salt/ spice.

Tip: if you wish to keep the core pinkish ( aka medium rare / rare variant ), you should flip the steak once every 30 seconds, this process cooks the outer layer faster and doesn't let the heat permeate into the core fast enough, which usually leads to rarer meat.

If you wish to cook the core ( aka well done ) you should refrain from flipping the meat to only once per side, as in very low heat ( lowest possible ) and keeping it on one side until it looks golden brown, then swapping to the other until it has the same colour.

PS: adding salt while you are cooking the meat will harden it , some people add the salt afterwards for softer meat.

As for Marinades, I find that marinating meat gives a more pleasant taste, the most basic form is to dip the entire meat ( while its raw) into a bowl that is filled with alcohol ( whiskey is my preference ),and keep it for several hours , This will make the meat more tender and is not a needed method to make steak, simply preference.

After that process you bring the meat out of the fridge and wait until it becomes room temperature then follow the first steps above.

This is pretty much the most basic form of steak making, more advanced methods involve making sauces out of the residue of the meat itself after cooking it, but I guess you don't want to go into advanced steak recipees.

Enjoy.

Edit: everyone here is giving you their method of doing steak which isn't wrong , just simply preferences tbh, what you need to understand is basically how to cook the meat to your preference, so understanding which way you like your steak is what you should be looking into, any extras additives are for flavor, first learn how to control heat to achieve the rarity variant that you like.

- - - Updated - - -

It just popped in my head but I think we should open a cooking mega-thread with recipes about any/all dishes people want to make and we can share recipes and come up with more ideal meals

How about no. Where on earth did y'all learn to cook? Cook hot, cook fast and FFS don't keeping flipping it. All you're doing is extending the cooking time and ruining any chance at a good charred crust.

[-Skye]

Reverse sear is what I've found most success with, and when working in a very established professional steakhouse they did basically the same thing but with a water bath

http://www.weber.com/weber-nation/bl...e-reverse-sear

also pls never put pepper on a steak before searing as the pepper burns and goes bitter, i see so many people doing this

[Fencers]

/sigh This might be your golden rule but that's about it.

Food cooked before seasoning does not have the same flavor as seasoning after cooking. There is no work around that I would consider acceptable. As I am relying my advice, that is the only point of view necessary to hold.

One should choose not to eat the steak if no seasoning is being used prior to cooking in the method of the OP here.

Kosher salt is shorthand in the US for coarse salt- as it is the most commonly sold variety of coarse salt. With many US grocery stores not even carrying coarse salt other than Kosher salt.

Adding the steak to the pan will lower the temperature of the pan, which if you have have a neutral oil with a decent smoke point will disperse the milk solids in the butter (which is what burns) and allows you to cook the steak without burning the milk solids.

I worked in steak houses professionally; Gibson's & Quartino's for the Gibson Group and Prime for the Myles Group. As I described a steak preparation is how we made steaks for guests every night.