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Cooking steaks for newbies

2K views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  retiredbaker 
#1 ·
Hey I am not so good at cooking steaks and I wanted to know if someone could answer 3 questions I have to maybe improve at cooking steaks, I have done some research but I would still love some help from others.

My 3 questions are
  • What are some condiments to cook a better tasting steak?
  • How to prepare a grill to cook steak to be medium rare?
  • Should the fat be trimmed before or after cooking the steak?

Thanks so much for the help, I appreciate it a lot and I hope you have a great day.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Cooking a steak is more of a technique than a recipe. Each method of cooking a steak, frying, grilling, broiling, sous vide, baking, each have their "do's and don'ts". So, knowing how you intend to cook your steak is important information.

However, regardless of how the steak is prepared, there are some universal "do's and donts." Here they are in no particular order:

1. Do not salt the steak just before cooking. The salt draws out moisture and that can hinder the searing process.
2. Salting the steak is a good idea but, do it at least 30-45 minutes before cooking. 1-2 hours before is ideal;
3. Always bring your steak up to room temperature before cooking;
4. Never cut the steak while its cooking. It will give up its juices and that can make the steak dry;
5. Always let the steak rest after cooking. How long it rests depends on the size. Bigger = longer resting period.
6. Steaks tend to favor slower cooking methods. While hot and fast has its place, generally speaking, a good sear followed by indirect heat tends to work well (or vice versa aka "reverse sear).

Here are the answers to your questions:

What are some condiments to cook a better tasting steak?

If by "condiments" you mean seasoning, that depends on the method of cooking. If you're frying the steak, powdered seasonings tend to burn in hot fat and when they burn, they can taste bitter or otherwise detract from the flavor of the steak. So, salt the steak as I mentioned above. Fry the steak in a screaming hot pan for about 2-3 minutes per side, depending on the thickness. Towards the end, add a few nobs of butter, fresh crushed garlic and a sprig or two of rosemary and don't forget the baste the steak with that delicious butter.

How to prepare a grill to cook steak to be medium rare?

Light the coals as you would any other time and let them become red hot with little to no black color left in the coals. Place the steak over the hottest part of the grill and cook for about 1-3 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the steak and whether or not it has a bone. The thicker the steak or it it has a bone, the more towards 2-3 minutes for rare - medium rare. Remember, when the steak rests, it will continue to cook. So, if you want an internal temp that's medium rare, remove the steak when it reaches about 125'f to 128'f. As it rests, the internal temp will continue to rise another 3-5 degrees or more depending on the size and thickness of the steak.

Should the fat be trimmed before or after cooking the steak?

This is generally not something that needs to be done if the steak has been purchased already cut. Some like to trim the fat even more than they do at the store or butcher shop. But, that's a matter of personal preference. For your purposes considering that you're new to this, you should forget about trimming the steak yourself until you know what you're doing and understand more fully what value fat has in the cooking process and how it effects the flavor of the steak.

In terms of things like seasonings etc, play around with different seasonings and cooking methods to see for yourself what works and what doesn't. What may work for you may not work for someone else due to differences in preference.

Good luck. :)
 
#5 ·
wipe the grill with an oiled kitchen towel, plonk the steak down, wait until blood shows then flip, when blood shows again its very rare, or blue.
For further cooking I prefer au four on a sizzle platter and you just have to learn how to feel the steak.

Its hard to beat bordelaise or bearnaise sauces, or pull the steak from the pan, pour the fat off, sweat some diced shallot and deglaze with a splash of cider vinegar, finish with a blob of butter.
 
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