Can't cook steak!

[lilacclaire]

I have 2 slabs of 21 day matured sirloin steak in my fridge that I am planning to cook for me and dp tommorow.
Everytime I cook steak you could sole your shoe with it.
Could I sear it in a pan then pop it in the oven?
Please help me so I am not chewing for 2 hours

NO NO NO! Don't ruin it in the oven!

You need a griddle pan. Let it heat up to smoking hot with no oil in it.

Season your steaks and brush lightly with oil.

Flash fry for 3-4 minutes each side. More if you want it medium to well but if you do then you shouldn't be allowed to buy steak in the first place

God no - don't put it in the oven!

How rare do you like it?

Best results I find it to put it on a griddle or panfry.

Heat the pan til v hot. Coat both sides of the steak with olive oil and season.

Fry for 2/3/4 mins each side depending on how thick/how well done you want it.

Leave to rest in a warm place for a few mins before serving.

Yum yum - enjoy

deloola how spooky

Me too reality it's all about the rare in our house! The kinda steak that, with a good vet, could be brought back to life

Noooo don't put it in the oven!!

I use my Le creuset griddle pan, however before that I just used my old crappy frying pan.

If rump I bash the steaks with a can of beans or something (don;t do this with fillet). Then put a bit of oil, and lots of black pepper and some sea salt.

Wait til the pan is smoking hot (if you use a griddle prepare for serious smoke and for teh house to smeall of steak for a few hours) and then put on. LEAVE IT ie don't prod or poke and then turn it over after 2 mins. Then cook on the other side for as long as you want, god knows how long as we only have rare steak in this house and only cook it on second side for 1-2 mins (less if thinner).

Then leave it on a warmed plate for 5 mins or so before devouring.

Spooky indeed

MIL likes steak well-done (sacrilege), so ex-chef BIL cooks it CTHWTB rare for her, explaining that you cannot taste it properly if it is well-done,
(CTHWTB = Clip-the-horns-wipe-the-bum)

Mince it up - Steak Tartare!!!

Dp will not touch it if its got any blood in it (weirdo), I will bash with rolling pin and season and cross my fingers !

Please don't put salt on it before you cook it - salt draws moisture out (which is why you sometimes salt certain veg, eg aubergines) which is the opposite of what you want. Salt it before you eat it - before you cook it, olive oil and pepper are all you want. Also, it will continue to cook after you take it off the heat so always slightly under-do it, but do heat your plates or it will go cold too quickly.

There is a test for how well done a steak is that means you don't need to hack it to pieces in the pan to check: press it with your finger, and if it is springy to the touch it's rare, if it's firm it's well done, and if it's in the middle it's medium.

I just use my frying pan. Bash it a bit first, season, heat groundnut oil in pan until really hot. 2 mins on 1 side, turn over, small bit of butter in pan and 2 mins on other side. Then I normally put it on a warm plate to rest for a couple of minutes while I make the sauce.

We had steak last night- was lovely.

Hang on, once or twice I've pan fried fillet steak on TOO HIGH a heat so it becomes blackened on the outside but red raw inside. That's after allowing the steaks to rest in some olive oil and pepper first. How is everybody frying on the highest heat and not having black and blue steak like me?

I have to turn the heat down a little after a few moments moment and turn the steaks every couple of minutes.

thisxgirl, I think you have answered your own question when you say you have to turn the steaks every couple of minutes. It should ONLY have a couple of minutes on one side, followed by less than that on the other. Also, a ridged griddle will lift the steak off the bottom of the pan over at least half the surface; that may make a difference.

Thank you silver. Is that so for fillet steak though? I've always followed the advice on the back of the packet and it's about 8 minutes total for rare-ish? I've made it perfectly once or twice with this method (pink almost throughout but not raw) but it's not failsafe. I appreciate a thinner steak barely needs to be in the pan before it's out.

Definitely going to get the griddle out from now on!

I love my steak rare, my other halve does his and it ends up like your's, I do mine in the George Forman

do the 'finger to thumb' test..index to thumb = rare , middle to thumb = medium , ring to thumb = well done...feel the fleshy bit beneath your thumb and it gives you an idea how the cooked meat should feel..and it actually works too