How to cook a delicious steak at home: detailed instructions

How to choose meat

Today, steak is called fried pork, fish, and even cabbage. But originally this word meant only beef. Meat can be taken from different parts of the animal carcass, with or without bone. Total exists about 20 types of steak. Most Popular:

• ribeye - a soft and fatty piece from the subscapular part of the carcass, the easiest to cook.
• Striploin or New York Steak, - fillet from the lumbar part with a strip of fat along the perimeter and its low content inside; the most fragrant.
• filet mignon - a steak from the narrow part of the tenderloin, that is, the psoas major muscle. Contains less fat, is considered the softest.
• Chateaubriand - a steak from the wide part of the psoas major muscle.
• tibon - a piece of meat with a T-shaped bone. Combines two types of steak: striploin and tenderloin.

Three criteria will help you choose high-quality meat in the store: appearance, aroma and tactile sensations. Visually, the meat should be raspberry (or pink if it is frozen) with white layers of fat. A yellowish color indicates that the animal was old - the steak may turn out to be too tough. But you should not be afraid of fat: it will make the meat juicier and softer.

The smell should be only neutral. Any pronounced aroma (sweet or sour) is a sign of staleness. The same can be said for the smell of ammonia.

Before buying, it is also worth touching the meat. Slightly press on it and remove your hand: a fresh steak will quickly return to its original form. And the fingers should not stick to the meat.

How to choose the degree of roasting

Exists six cooking options. They differ in the temperature of the meat inside the steak, its appearance in the context, texture and taste.

1. Raw / Blue Rare / Extra Rare. The meat is fried only on the outside, and inside remains raw. The temperature in the center is from 38 °С. It cooks faster than others - about a minute and a half on each side.
2. Rare. The center is already warmer - from 48 ° C and above, but still not fried and red. The fat here does not have time to melt, so this roasting is more suitable for lean types of steak.
3. Medium Rare. Temperature - from 52 ° С. The shade of the steak in the center becomes pinker. The fat is already melted, but does not have time to flow out, so the meat is especially juicy.
4. Medium. The center is pink, the meat is warm - from 58 ° C, while still juicy and aromatic.
5. Medium Well. Such a steak in the context is almost completely gray-brown, there is a light pink tint only in the very center. If there is little fat in the meat, it may be dryish. Temperature - from 63 ° С.
6. well done. Fully grey-brown center, meat can be tough and dry. Temperature - from 72 ° С.

The first two options can be dangerous from a sanitary point of view. Therefore, it is better not to use them if you are not sure about the quality and origin of the meat.

You can control the degree of roasting during cooking using a needle thermometer. And if it is not there, the hand will save. Raw and Rare are similar in density to the muscle at the base of the thumb in a relaxed state. Medium Rare - the same muscle, but in light tension. To achieve it, squeeze the tips of your thumb and forefinger. To simulate medium frying, connect the thumb already with the middle one, for Medium Well - with the ring finger, for Well Done - with the little finger.

How to prepare a steak for frying

1. cut the meat. The pieces should be thick enough - from 2.5 to 5 centimeters. It is better to hold the knife perpendicular to the fibers - it will be easier to cut.
2. Wait for the meat to come to room temperature. Then it will cook evenly. Take the steak out of the refrigerator at least an hour before cooking. And if there is no time, you can wrap it with cling film and hold for a minute under running warm water.
3. Pickle. But only if desired. You can cook without spices at all: this will preserve the natural taste of meat, for which the classic steak is valued. Salt and pepper is best just before frying or even before serving. If salt is added earlier, it can draw moisture out of the meat. Then the steak will be tough.
4. Dry the meat. With a regular paper towel. This is necessary to avoid sudden cooking of the steak.
   Let him rest. Let dry meat lie for half an hour on the kitchen table. During this time, a thin crust will appear around the edges, which will help keep more juice inside.

How to cook a steak in a pan

First of all, it is important to choose the right dishes. The uniformity of roasting, the juiciness of the meat and the beautiful color of the crust largely depend on it. The pan should have a dense thick bottom - this keeps the desired temperature for a long time after heating. And it’s better that it is also ribbed: then the flowing juice will accumulate in the recesses, and the meat will just fry, and not languish. Ideal steak pan material counts cast iron: it has high thermal conductivity and natural non-stick properties. When the dishes are found, you can proceed to cooking.

1. Heat up the pan. So that a drop of water that falls on the surface instantly evaporates. This usually takes 10 minutes, but you can hold the empty pan on the fire longer to be on the safe side. If you put a steak on a cold or barely warm dish, it will begin to languish.
2. Brush the meat with a thin layer of oil. This will help the temperature evenly distribute throughout the steak. But if the surface of the pan is non-stick and the steak itself is fatty, you can skip this step.
3. Fry until crispy. Place the steak in the skillet and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side. During this time, a caramel-colored crust should appear. It will "seal" the moisture inside, and the dish will turn out more juicy.
4. Reduce heat and bring to a boil. You need to fry the steak, constantly turning it from one side to the other. About once every 15 seconds. The maximum frying time is 7 minutes on each side. A thermometer or a finger will help control the readiness. But it is better to put the fork or knife aside: piercing meat is fraught with juice leakage.
5. Add flavors. If you want to make the taste of meat more multifaceted, put butter, garlic, a sprig of rosemary, thyme or any other combination of herbs and spices to taste in the pan half a minute before cooking. This step is especially useful if the steak is low-fat, such as filet mignon or chateaubriand - fragrant butter will make it juicier.

To simplify the preparation of a steak in a pan will allow the oven. In it, you can evenly heat the meat before frying or bring it to the desired state at the end. In the first case, set the oven to 90 - 95 ° C, put the steak on a baking sheet and leave to brown for half an hour. Then take it out and cook according to the classical scheme.

In the second case, the oven must be strongly heated - up to 230 ° C. Quickly sear the steak in the pan until crispy, then transfer it to a baking sheet or dish and put it in the cupboard. By the way, if the pan is made of cast iron or other material suitable for baking, you can leave the meat in it. Keep in the oven for 4-14 minutes: the maximum time corresponds to a well done roast.

How to cook a steak on an electric grill

Here the process is faster. There is no need to maintain a constant heat temperature and turn the meat over - the device itself will handle everything.

1. Fire up the grill. Set the temperature to 200-270°C and wait for the panels to heat up.
2. Lay out the steak. You can even two pieces at the same time, if the size of the grill allows.
3. close the lid. So the meat will be fried on both sides at once. Accordingly, the cooking time can be reduced. In 7 minutes, the steak will be cooked on both sides to the degree of Well Done.
4. twist the meat. An optional step that will help give the steak a restaurant look. About halfway through cooking, open the lid and move the meat so that the grill strips are at a different angle - as a result, a lattice should form on the crust.

How to prepare a steak for serving

1. Let the meat rest for a few minutes.. During this time, all parts of the steak will be soaked with juice, and not just the core. It will become softer. It is better to spread hot meat on a wooden board or a warm plate - this way it will cool more slowly.
2. Add spices. While the steak is resting, you can season it with salt and pepper. A sprig of rosemary, thyme or oregano will also help diversify the taste: put them directly on the meat - it will absorb all the flavors.
3. Warm up a serving plate. Steak should be eaten hot. To prevent it from getting cold, it is better to heat the serving utensils as well.