Cook The Perfect Steak

A good steak is the epitome of summer eating. Some cooks vow that once you get the right technique going, you can eat steak every day without getting bored. While we may not recommend, artery wise, going for the perfect steak on a daily basis, it is true that mastering some pro-chef techniques can make getting the steak you want at home -- whenever you happen to want it -- a lot more doable.

general cooking techniques

Choosing the right cut

Your choice of steak will depend on a number of factors; the biggest one being whether you’re a flavor person or a texture person. If you like flavor, it’s easier on your wallet, but harder on your cooking -- you’ll need to marinate and be careful about overcooking. And if you’re a texture person, you’re the other way around. Either way, follow these guidelines.

Buy steaks more than one inch thick.

Look for a marbled steak if you’re grilling.

Try to get steaks of even thickness.

Chuck and round cuts are the really tough guys and need to be marinated a long time. Rib and loin are more suited to the grill , and will be more tender.

Look for bright red meat with creamy white fat. There should be thin streaks of fat running through the meat as well.

A perfect ending

You can use many cooking techniques on your steak, but key to any of them is learning how to gauge the "doneness" of your meat. A common method used to determine the doneness is to check the internal temperature of the meat. Take this reading with a quick-read thermometer. You may want to aim for a few degrees lower than the recommended finishing temperature when taking the steak off the grill or out of the oven as the meat will continue to cook for a few minutes afterward.

Levels of doneness

Very rare: Hot on the outside, raw on the inside and the meat will be sort of wobbly. Final temperature reading should be 100F.
Rare: Red, cool to warm center and the meat will be soft and spongy. Final temperature reading should be 120F.
Medium rare: Red, warm center and the meat will have a springy firmness. Final temperature reading should be 126F.
Medium: Hot, pink center and the meat will have a less springy firmness than medium rare. Final temperature reading should be 135F.
Medium well: Slight color, cooked throughout and the meat will feel firm. Final temperature reading should be 145F.
Well done: The meat is gray-brown throughout and very firm and unyielding. Final temperature reading should be 160F.

Grilling

It can take some practice when learning to grill the perfect steak, but it is worth it. Here are some steps to get you started.

Let your steak reach room temperature before grilling.

Trim the steak of excess fat. Any strips of fat should be about ¼-inch thick. Also, cut through the fat strip at 1½-inch intervals.

Season your meat . Salt and pepper is fine.

Preheat the grill. Proper heating of the grill is vital -- put two-thirds of the bricks on one side and one-third of the bricks on the other to create a hot area for searing and a cool area for cooking. Adjust the heating to one layer of ashy white coals or a similar setting for gas stoves for the hot area.

Oil the grill that you will be cooking on.

Now it's time to grill. Place each steak on the grill for one minute. Then, turn them and grill on the other side for an additional minute. After, turn the meat and rotate 45 degrees and grill for half the remaining cooking time. Make sure you turn them again. If you do this right you will get a nice diamond pattern of grill marks on the steaks and a well-rounded complete cook. Note that the biggest mistake most grillers make is to continually prod, flip and pierce the meat while grilling. This drains the flavor and toughens the meat. Touch it as little as possible. Some cooks go so far to say that you should only flip the steak once.

Last but not least: Cook. Move the meat to the cooler spot, and/or close the grill to roast. Check the internal temperature of the meat with the quick-read thermometer and remove the steaks when they have reached their desired temperatures.

Make sure that you let the steaks rest for two to three minutes before serving. This will let the juices flow out from the center, and finish cooking.

sear roasting

This is an old restaurant method and a practically foolproof way to make sure your steak is not overcooked. It works particularly well with a two-inch thick, boneless steak such as filet mignon .

Sear the steak on one side in a hot, oiled pan on the stove top over high heat. This will create a nice, brown crust that locks the juices in.

Flip the steak over, then place the pan in a 425F oven to finish cooking. Roast the meat to your desired doneness (about five minutes for rare, seven minutes for medium rare and nine minutes for medium), depending on the thickness of the meat.

Let the meat rest for five minutes, to redistribute the juices, before serving .

pan searing

This technique works well if you want to dirty the least amount of dishes and other equipment. Plus, it tastes great.

In a heavy frying pan, over medium-high heat, add two tablespoons of olive oil to the pan.

Place the steaks in the pan to sear them, moving them with tongs a little so they don't stick to the bottom, for five to six minutes per side. Use a meat thermometer to test for doneness.

When the steaks are crusty-charred and done to your liking, remove them from the pan and cover them loosely with aluminum foil, letting them rest for five to 10 minutes before serving. During this time, the meat continues to cook (the meat temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees after it is removed from the stove) and the juices redistribute.

Add the juices that have accumulated from the resting steaks to any sauce you are making. Serve the meat whole or slice thin and fan onto individual serving plates.

slow roasting

Slow roasting is great for thinner and/or tougher cuts. This method can produce a steak that’s red, yet cooked right through, and it can also produce a steak that stays juicy and is as easy to cut through as warm butter. Slow roasting is best for medium-rare to medium. Here’s a recipe for hanger steak; you can modify this to match your cut (skirt steak is also a good option, only the timing will vary; start checking doneness after 10 minutes as directed).

If you’re using hanger steak, ask your butcher to remove the gristle running through the center and trim all the silver skin and outside fat. You’ll end up with two cylindrical muscles -- a thick one and a thin one.

Let the steak sit at room temperature for approximately 45 minutes. This will help it cook more evenly.

Preheat the oven to 250F.

Cut the steak into pieces that will fit comfortably into the skillet. Then, thoroughly dry the steak with paper towels.

Set a heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat until the pan gets very hot -- at least three minutes. Add canola oil. As soon as it starts to smoke, place the steaks into the skillet in one layer without crowding. Cook without moving the meat for one minute. Then flip and cook without moving for one more minute.

Remove the steaks to a plate and take the pan off the heat. Cool the steaks and pan for 10 minutes. The steaks will release lots of juices -- you can reserve them for making the sauce.

Season the steaks generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Return the steaks to the skillet and place in the oven for 12 minutes for an average hanger steak, otherwise check doneness after 10 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the oven and test steaks for doneness. When the thermometer registers 125F, the steak is medium-rare. If the steak is not done, return it to the oven and test every two minutes.

Remove steaks to a warm plate. For a nice flavorful touch, top the meat with a dollop of garlic-herb butter then cover with foil. Let the meat rest for three minutes. If you want to make a simple pan sauce, you can deglaze the pan, set over high heat, with steak juices, red wine , broth or water. After taking this reduction off the heat, swirl in a dollop of butter and voila, you're done.

sous vide

Sous vide is a traditional French technique that has had widespread use in North American resto-kitchens since the '70s. The method entails cooking the meat to its appropriate doneness “under vacuum” in hot water and then grilling or searing the outside to create a perfect brown crust. Note that this technique is handy when cooking steak for a crowd, as you can cook a batch to a certain temperature first and then grill or panfry quickly to finish.

Put your meat in a heavy plastic bag, like a freezer bag. Only one or two pieces per bag works best.

Add any spices you like (salt and pepper are fine).

Heat a pot of water to the desired temperature, which will be the same as the internal temperature of your desired doneness of steak (140F is a good place to start, and can be checked with a water thermometer). Place the plastic bag with meat in the water. Cover with a lid to reduce heat loss. Leave the meat in for 30 minutes -- this will be longer for a thicker cut.

Heat a frying pan -- add a fat of your choice; butter, olive oil, etc. -- remove the meat from the plastic bag and brown both sides of meat in the pan. Since the meat is already largely cooked and hot, browning is very fast.

Sous vide at 140F gives the meat a pink interior and is succulent and juicy -- frying the meat gives it a nice browned crust and chewing resistance. Enjoy!

steak cooking defnitions

Chicago

Chicago-style steaks, are done to order on the inside and charred on the outside. Top chefs say that whether you’re grilling or frying, the secret is dipping the steak in a combination of butter and oil, coating it with a generous layer of kosher salt and cracked black pepper and searing it over the hottest possible fire. Basically, you can’t have too much salt on a steak; it just makes for a great crust. Use any of the cooking styles above and go for it.

Pittsburgh

Also known as a Black and Blue Steak, it’s rumored that this dish is named for the Pittsburgh steelworkers who, given raw pieces of meat in their lunch boxes, would slap them against the side of a furnace to produce the resulting charred-on-the-outside, surprised-on-the-inside effect. In more technical terms, this steak is seared black on the outside and cold and red at the center. It will be slippery soft in texture, and roughly 80F. This is a classic "texture" food -- it is less about flavor than the contrasting textures of the crispy outside and the soft, squishy middle. To make this with strip loin, fry seasoned steaks in butter over high heat for three to four minutes each side.

grill 'em good

T'is the season for hot summer nights and cool barbecue parties. You want to be known for the best steaks in the neighborhood, so take the time to try some of the above techniques and make sure you have the right equipment for the job . Opt for fresh meat from the butcher instead of freezer-burned grocery-store meat -- your guests and your taste-buds will thank you. So, grill away my friend, grill away.