Imagine having the whole family together on a supposed steak
grill expecting to chow down on mouth-watering, juicy steaks
only to gather around the grill weeping over burnt steaks that
are hardly distinguishable from charcoal. Welcome to the
Imperfect Steak Grillers club! So, you want out from the club?
Cook perfect steaks and leave the club behind! It really is
possible with a few cooking tips and a whole lot of gusto for
steak!
1. Choose the perfect meat parts. First of all, perfect steaks
start off at the supermarket. So, to cook the perfect steak, you
first have to choose the perfect steak parts. The following
parts are perfect for cooking- oyster blade or barbecue steak,
T-bone, rump, sirloin or tenderloin or eye fillet.
2. The Perfect Pan. Donít use enamel or stainless steel pans
when cooking your steaks. Meats tend to stick to them when you
do so. When cooking meats and steaks, use those heavy, cast iron
grillpans or barbeque grills.
3. The Perfect Procedure. Heat the pan really hot before even
contemplating cooking. Donít start cooking on a half heated pan.
Just before the pan hits the critical amount of heat immediately
season the meat with both salt and pepper. You should not do
this ahead of time instead of just before the pan if fully
heated because if you do so, the salt will suck the moisture
from the steak, thereby ruining its taste.
Now, brush on some oil on to the pan. Use herbs to do so because
brushes tend to burn in the heat, and you do not want your steak
ruined by burnt nylon. For the process, you could use olive oil,
or vegetable oil.
After applying the oil, wait for the pan to get really hot. When
it has reached this temperature, put a steak on the pan. Keep
cooking the bottom part until it is brown and crispy. When this
happens, apply some oil to the uncooked side of the steak and
turn the steak over so that the uncooked side gets its turn to
be cooked. It is very important to make sure you turn the steak
over only once. If you keep turning the steak over, you run the
risk of overcooking the sides resulting in a dry burnt surface
on your steak.
Cooking time is hard to estimate and is dependent on the
thickness of the steak and the type of pan you are using. If you
would like a thumb rule to know if your steak is rare,
medium-rare, and well-done, here are a few tips
a. Rare ñ pinch the thick pad of your left thumb with your right
hand (you could do it vice-versa if you want to). This is how a
rare steak should feel.
b. Medium-Rare ñ put your thumb and index finger together to
make a circle. With your other hand pinch the thick pad of the
thumb to get a feel for what a medium-rare steak should feel
like.
c.Well-Done ñ do the same as step b, but use more pressure when
you make the circle. This will make the thick part of the thumb
a little stiffer. This is how a well-done steak should feel like.
Use this method with tongs instead of piercing the steak.
Piercing the steak make it lose some of its juice.
4. Perfectly Keeping Your Steak. After cooking your steak, place
it on a warm spot before you serve it. You may want to use a
just-turned-off oven to do this. You have to make sure you keep
your steak well or else it will lose much of its juices and its
flavor. Now, you donít want to work awfully hard to cook the
perfect steak only to lose out because you werenít able to rest
your steak well.
With these tips and a little practice, you are sure to treat
your family and friends to grade-A, certified juicy, delicious
steaks. After a few tries, you should be able to sizzle everyone
with steaks that taste straight out of a restaurant. All you
have to do now is break out the Worcestershire and the knives
and forks and get some serious steak session happening. Good
luck and happy cooking!
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