How To Cook the Perfect Steak
With so many different ways to cook steak, getting it perfect can be a challenge. If you’re looking for a melt-in-the-mouth triumph, follow these tips on how to cook the flawless steak.
2 minute read
Choose the right meat
Ribeye is our favourite. With its rich flavour and high fat content, ribeye is a very popular steak choice for great results.
Cost
The more you spend on a steak, the better it will be. Spend as much as you can afford on your piece of meat and try to choose cuts full of marbling. The fat has a low melting point and helps keep steak tender.
Room temperature
Leave the meat out of the fridge for up to an hour before cooking – frying steak which starts at room temperature does wonders for the flavour.
Seasoning
Keep it simple with black pepper and salt. Press the steak gently into a plate sprinkled with salt and pepper, immediately before cooking. Seasoning with salt too early will draw the moisture out of the steak and risk it becoming dry.
The pan
Preheat a large frying or griddle pan with a splash of oil on a medium to high temperature. You’ll want your pan as hot as possible or you risk a tough steak.
Timings
These timings are for each side of the steak. Only flip steaks once, so that all the juices are sealed in:
- Rare to Medium rare: 1-2 minutes
- Medium: 3 minutes
- Well done: 4-5 minutes
Resting
Resting a steak lets the meat juices move evenly throughout the whole cut and allows for the tenderness and flavour to develop. Place on a rack to rest for approximately as long as you cooked it, covered with foil to retain heat.
Look and feel
- A rare steak should look dark red with some juice. There will be some resistance when you press the meat but it should still feel soft and bouncy
- A medium rare steak will have pink meat and juice and will feel springy, soft and spongy
- A medium steak will only have a slight amount of pink in the middle and will feel firm
- A well-done steak will have hardly any pink and the meat should be bouncy and feel firm
