To ask for tips on how to cook the perfect steak?

[FluffyT]

DH wants steak on Friday and I am already worrying that I will mess it up. The last two times I have cooked steak it was overcooked and he couldn’t eat it so please could you offer me tips to cook the perfect medium rare steak so we can have a nice dinner?

Do you really need a thermometer when cooking steak? Give it a prod and you can tell by touch how cooked it is.

Always cook is for less time than you think. It continues cooking itself after you take it out of the pan.
Don't be afraid to cut into it to check if it's done how you want.

Thankyou for the tips. I will do all those things.

It will be nice ribeye steaks from the butcher. I think that’s what’s stressing me out because I know they’re going to be expensive so don’t want to ruin them.

was overcooked and he couldn’t eat it

LTB tbh

I'm adding another tip!
Practise practise practise!
No one gets things right if you only do it once a year.
It's just an expensive hobby!
We have fillet. Lovely!

Room temperature, oil and season the meat and not the pan. 2 Mins each side for medium rare in a hot pan. Finish with a knob of butter and a garlic clove spooned over. Rest for at least half the time it was cooked - turning half way through so the juices are evenly distributed.

Also season your steak a good half hour at room temp, the salt draws moisture out
Why would you want to draw the moisture out, do you not want a juicy steak?
Seasoning should only be done after you start cooking for this very reason.

The most important thing is the quality of the meat.

@ScribblyBaller
Well I always used touch, it was fine. Bought a meat thermometer for roasts. Tried it on a steak.
Perfection EVERY time
Go 4 degrees lower than the temp you should be aiming for, and rest for 5-7 mins. It will keep cooking a bit on residual heat.

Can I add to the excellent tips above my top tip:

Open all the windows and close all doors between the kitchen and any smoke alarms.

Or is that just me?

Local butcher told me:

Allow steak (fillet on this occasion) to sit out till it’s room temp.
Heavy skillet hot enough to ‘spit’ when liquid is dropped on it.
Brush of mayonnaise on both sides of the steak.
Into the pan, sear a minute each side to lock in the juices.
Cook according to preference; rare, medium, well done, rare is ‘bouncy’ to the touch, medium less so, well done even less so.

If they’re thick steaks, get a meat thermometer (I have a great Bluetooth one that links to my phone and alarms) and use the reverse sear method. Absolutely genius - you cook on a low temp in your oven until the middle is the temp for how done you want it. Then you sear the outside.

I’m partial to reverse searing. Works best with thick cut.
Leave steak out to reach room temp, and season.
Set oven to low heat (120c) and leave in till the steak reached about 50c (for medium-rare)

Fire up the frying pan with some melted butter till it’s hot as hell, put the steaks in and about 45 sec on each side and the edges. And done.

Never fails, always super tender, only way I’ll eat them now

I usually do steaks on the gas grill outside so that it can be properly smoking hot before I put the steak on the grill.

So love a good well cooked steak but it's a bit smoky indoors. Plus I always fancy steak when I've just polished up my stainless steel hob.

If I do it indoors I use a LC cast iron griddle.

Cut some of the fat into small pieces and fry in a hot pan. No need for oil this way and all the flavour goes into the steak.

Such a good idea! I'm doing steak tomorrow and will remember this.

These are great tips. I often use gia garlic purée on both sides of the steak, as well as lots of salt. Really nice!

With rib eye it’s super important to get the pan hot as you’ll want to be able to make sure that you render all that lovely fat without cooking the steak. Agree with pps that if you need all your windows open and door shut then you’ll know you’re on the right lines with pan heat - don’t be afraid if it starts smoking!

@violetbunny

Step 1- Hand steak to DH Step 2 - DH cooks his own damn steak

This with fairy lights on. However when I'm cooking sirloin for me and the children I follow top tips from an Argentinian chef Steak left out of fridge to get to room temp while sat on kitchen roll. Flip into new kitchen roll after about 40 mins and leave for the same time. Season with salt only. Black pepper will burn. Red hot pan with a smidge of oil and a dollop of butter (the oil stops the butter burning) Seal on both sides quite quickly then let it cook to your desired 'doneness'. Helpful pic above. Anything more done than medium rare at a push you might as well have a burger Use tongs and lift the steal off the pan and use a cooks blow torch to blast the fat. This will stop the steak cooking any further but gives the lovely crispyness of the fat but keeps the juicyness of the steak

It will take much longer than 15 mins to relax before cooking.(come to room temp)
You can add to the umami steaky-ness by adding a little butter.

Dry the steak with kitchen roll. Melt some butter in a glass bowl in the microwave and then add oil, mustard, plus garlic Rosemary, lemon zest or whatever you fancy. Shove the steak in and cover it in your marinade and ignore it till you are going to cook it (I do it before the school run for evening).
If you can make the mash/potatoes and prep the veg all the better.

The warning about opening the windows is good. Really hot really heavy pan, fry on both sides (I don’t turn it round and round because it goes more boiled and less seared that way). How long on each side really depends how thick it is. Ask the butcher if you are worried.

Don’t draw the moisture out

After it has rested pour the juices over the meat once it is on the plate

DH will be getting them and bringing them home so I won’t see the butcher.
I am making notes to try and do it properly. I don’t really have a heavy pan though, just a normal frying pan. I may ask if we can get a new one maybe.
Thanks all.

While it’s resting, bring the heat up on the pan and toss in a glass of wine. The cold liquid on the hot pan will lift all the lovely meaty flavour. Add some knobs of butter and let it reduce and you’ll have a lovely sauce.

Leave it to rest for 5 minutes before serving

I don't do any faffing around with my steak (I'm a chef) and the only real tip/prep you need to do is buy good quality meat, bring to room temp before you cook, make sure the pan is very hot as it needs to sear and finally rest before serving

If you get it from a butcher get them to cut it thick at least an inch thick and closer to 2 inches is better. Any less and you need a very very hot pan otherwise it just go medium grey.