Cooking the Perfect Steak

Cooking the perfect steak is a question that is often asked and invariably receives a different answer from each chef that is asked. The answer is that it depends on the meat, equipment available, the technique used, and the skills of the chef.

 

I think it's suffice to say that most of you will be at home, using a pan or barbeque. So I won't go into chargrills, silex grills or mirror grills.

The pan must be hot, so a heavy skillet style pan is preferred rather than a thin cheap fry pan from the supermarket. The reason is simple, a heavy pan will take longer to heat, which means it takes longer to cool, thus giving a sustainable heat. If cooking on a BBQ, hot coals in the middle, to seal the meat and cooler coals at the edge for finishing. Add the oil to the hot pan and wait until the smoke begins to rise.

 

The steak must be allowed to breathe. Don't cook a steak straight from the fridge, allow it to get to room temperature. Meat is built up in fibres, so allow it to relax. This is known as resting, and is done both before and after cooking.

 

Your steak must be seasoned, and there are many ways to do this. The standard is to use salt and pepper, you can go sea salt and cracked black pepper, or maybe a la cart, where you use table salt and ground white pepper and finish with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Some say that using different oils, such as peanut oil or sesame oil can give a richer flavour, or using animal fat. Using fat or oil to flavour is a technique to enhance what is known as the Maillard reaction.

When the meat hits the heat of the pan, the amino acids and sugars are heated and interact with each other in a process known as the Maillard reaction. The molecules of the amino acids and sugars combine, thus creating the cooking aromas and flavors. The Maillard reaction is also responsible for the brown colour of cooked foods, or caramelisation.

 

 

I was taught by an old school chef who would say to me 'Cooking steak is about salt, fat and acid'

He taught me that a marbled steak has enough fat in it to cook evenly and caramelise beautifully. He would oil and season, then allow to warm for a couple of minutes, sometimes he would sear the meat and let it rest for twenty minutes, and they would be dressed with lemon juice and oil before serving.

Some steaks can carry quite a lot of fat, such as large rib-eye. Some chefs like to use a rub on such steaks, especially if it's a 16oz or even a 32oz. 

 

When the pan is hot, it will start to smoke, a little oil in the pan or on the meat, and place it in the pan, don't be too eager to turn the meat, it should sizzle nicely, and be allowed to caramelise to a fine crust. Gently lift the edge of the meat to inspect, and after a minute or two, turn your steak. At this point you want to press on the meat with your finger to see how soft it is. Different steaks have different density and fat content, so by doing this, you can monitor the steaks progress. As the heat is penetrating, the more the meat is cooking, and the will become firmer.

I'm not going into cooking times here, I'll just give a rule of thumb to give you a frame of reference. A bleu steak is when the meat has been heated to kill bacteria, sealed, but essentially, almost raw, and very soft indeed. A bleu can be as little as 30 secs to a minute on each side and seal the edges

Rare is about 1 – 1 ½ mins each side. Red in colour with a fair amount of juice. There will be some resistance when you press the meat but it should still feel soft and tender.

Medium Rare is about 2 mins per side. Pink meat with juices. Soft and spongy

Medium is 2.5 mins per side. Steak is mostly cooked with some pink in the middle. The steak will feel quite firm, but tender.

Steaks shouldn't be cooked beyond a medium in my book, but if you have to, Well-done is 4 to 5 mins. Cooked all the way through and the meat should have a bouncy, firm feel.

When ready, remove the steak and rest on a plate in a warm place before serving

If you want to check out a few different styles, then here are some video links to check out.

Gordon Ramsay - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmC9SmCBUj4

Jamie Oliver's mate Pete - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5gcJjOSDv4

Gennaro Contaldo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3bz3gmePTs

Raymond Blanc - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqVHwVk6cOQ

Theo Randall - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbVek_IClzU

Aussie Griller - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzaW_RKSBDE

Aussie Griller - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik-CyY6zEvU

AllasYummyFood - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQo86r54xOg

cooking any meat is basically experience, so try different types of steak, and different types of meat, such as lamb steaks, gammon, mutton chops, etc.

visit your butcher, see what's available and have fun.