You'll Never Guess the Secret to Perfect Steak Every Time (2024)

FAQs

How to make perfect steak every time? ›

Sear steaks in the hot pan for 2 to 3 minutes per side. If the steak has a side of fat, turn the steak onto its side and render the fat by searing it for 2 to 3 minutes as well. Slide the skillet with the seared steaks in it into the oven to finish cooking.

Alternatively, a baking soda mixture generally takes between 15 and 20 minutes to tenderize the cuts of meat. It also carries less risk of harming the meat should the cuts sit in a baking soda for longer. As a result, a baking soda wet brine can be more forgiving and foolproof than a traditional saltwater brine.

Salting. Most cuts of steak benefit from being salted up to an hour in advance of cooking, but especially tougher cuts. In addition to seasoning the steaks, salt helps break down proteins and make the meat more tender.

Rare (125°-130°F)

A steak cooked to “rare” is very different than a “raw”. The chef will season the steak and place it on the grill. The steak will become brown on the outside, but still remain very soft on the inside. The center will still be cool to the tongue.

Add the steak and then some garlic, butter, rosemary, and thyme. Sear evenly on each side. Depending on your preference, for a 2-cm thick steak, to cook to: blue, 1 min per side; rare, 1½ mins per side; medium-rare, 2 mins per side; medium, about 2¼ mins per side; well-done, about 4-5 mins per side.

How does Texas Roadhouse tenderise their steaks? Season each side of the steak well with the seasoning and set aside to rest for about 40 minutes. This causes the salt to infiltrate the surface (through osmosis) and actually aids in the breakdown of muscle fibres, resulting in more tender meat.

Regular or apple cider vinegar, wine or beer, lemon or lime juice, buttermilk or yogurt contain tenderizing acids. As well as acid, enzymes found in fruits like pineapple, kiwi, mangoes, and papaya disrupt the molecular structure of meat's connective tissue.

The Aging. Most fine restaurants age their beef to intensify the flavor and improve the tenderness of the cut. Aging is done by letting the meat sit (in very controlled conditions) for several days or weeks.

What tenderizes steak the most? ›

Tenderizing The Steaks

The first method, and arguably the fastest, is using a fork. Just go over the entire steak, puncturing holes all over. Then flip and repeat. The idea is that opening lots of holes helps moisture escape during cooking.

Meat tenderizing powder is made up of a mixture of salt, dextrose, bromelain, and calcium silicate (with bromelain doing most of the work). Bromelain is an enzyme that helps break down connective fibers in foods like steak (it's also found naturally in fruits like pineapple).

A useful guideline for resting a steak is to let it rest for approximately as long as you cooked it. Another guideline is to let it rest for 5 minutes for every inch of thickness. (The perfect steak is 1 1/2 inches thick.) Some cooks talk about resting meats 10 minutes for each pound of meat.

Well-done meat is the “most cooked” on the menu. In general, it's fairly tough to chew through and has no pink in the center, although an excellent chef will make ordering well-done a flavorful and enjoyable experience.

Leaner cuts — think tenderloin, flat iron, flank, strip, filet mignon, and hanger cuts — should be ordered rare or medium-rare, as less cook times let them stay tender, and cooking them well-done will cause the steak to toughen up. However, for marbled cuts, like ribeye and the Denver steak, medium tastes best.

Place the steaks on the grill and cook until golden brown and slightly charred, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn the steaks over and continue to grill 3 to 5 minutes for medium-rare (an internal temperature of 135 degrees F), 5 to 7 minutes for medium (140 degrees F) or 8 to 10 minutes for medium-well (150 degrees F).

Remove Steak from the Refrigerator 30 Minutes Before Cooking. To ensure that your steak cooks evenly and all the way through, remove your steak from the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to cooking. If the steak is too cold, you risk overcooking the outside and undercooking the inside.

The best way to season steak is to add a generous amount of salt to both sides about 45 minutes before cooking. Then, just before cooking, add your other spices, like black pepper and garlic powder, ensuring that you cover both sides of the steak.