the bird on fire

Hungry? This article will leave you yearning for a steak. Ike the Food Dude will break down the various ways to cook a steak. While some methods are easier than others, all sound delicious, and all are worth a try. Get cooking. — Roman Rickwood, Editor

By Ike Spry, Food Dude

Since the dawn of time, we humans have asked questions. Why are we here? What is the meaning of life? And, most importantly, how do I cook a steak? 

Well, I have the answers (to at least one of those questions). Whether you like your steak still mooing, or tough as leather, there are a few basic cooking principles that will get you a perfect steak. It seems like nowadays everybody cooks steaks differently: grilled, front seared, reverse seared, pan seared, smoked or even sous vide. At the end of the day, a lot of methods work, and I’m not here to say which one is best for you, although I think a pan-seared steak is probably the most consistent. There really is no perfect steak for everyone, but these tips can work for any cooking medium and any preferred temperature.

Probably the most important aspect of a great steak is your control of the internal temperature. Experienced home cooks can tell the temperature of a steak just by touching it. But, that takes a lot of practice. That’s why I think it’s important to invest in a meat thermometer. I definitely don’t promote poking a one-inch thick steak full of holes every 20 seconds to see if your steak’s cooked. But, if you’re making a thick steak or roast, these things come in really handy. Also being able to “predict the cook” on your steak can relieve a lot of stress for your Sunday dinner. Going back to feeling a steak by touch, especially for those smaller steaks, I recommend getting a feel for it. Some chefs tell you to relate the touch to the give of different parts of your body–like cheeks, forehead, or chin. But if you really want to be consistent, just start touching your steaks. A more rare steak will have less give, a medium/ medium rare steak will feel sort of springy, and well done will feel a lot tougher. My best advice is just to get the feel for touching steak, and it shouldn’t take long to really nail down what the temperature is. It is also worth noting that this technique can work with other proteins like chicken or fish.

Another really important tip is to SEASON YOUR STEAK. I don’t mean you need to bring out the whole spice rack; I mean don’t be afraid to generously coat your steak with salt. At the end of the day, any spice/rub is optional; the only thing that isn’t optional is salt. Use more than you think. You could have a perfectly cooked golden brown steak, but if you didn’t add enough salt, it’s gonna taste bad. Even some steak rubs don’t have enough salt in them, as weird as it sounds taste the rub, the rub should almost be as salty as salt itself. You definitely shouldn’t make your steak oversalted, but be generous with it. You’re most likely not using enough.

My third tip is the heat of your cooking medium. I find it pretty rare for someone to prefer a boiled and grey steak to a golden brown one. If you cook your steaks on too low of a heat, they will probably be overcooked with a thick grey band, and usually no crust. Especially if you’re cooking your steak in a pan or skillet, really crank up the heat, wait for your oil to start shimmering–almost smoking–and probably turn off your fire alarm. Or, if you’re grilling a steak, get your ambers or grates really hot. You also want to leave the steak alone, you should not be flipping it every 30 seconds, but at the same time if you don’t flip it enough it will probably have a grey band around the steak and be overcooked. If you’re cooking the steak in a pan (usually my go-to depending on the steak), be wary of adding too much oil or something like butter in too early, you should always be using a high smoke point oil, like canola, avocado, or grape-seed; don’t use olive oil or butter because it will burn. Also be cautious of using too much oil because it will boil the steak, and stop you from getting a good crust.

My very last tip is super important, but also the easiest. You need to let your steak rest. Depending on the size of the steak, you could let it rest as long as you cooked it. Just make sure it’s for at least 5 minutes. If it doesn’t rest, it will lose a lot of its juices, and the center will probably be undercooked (if you’re going for mid-rare). Resting the steak not only makes a juicer steak, it will continually cook the inside of the steak, leading to less of a grey band and an overall juicer steak.

At the end of the day, people like their steaks differently, and you should respect their opinion. But if you keep some of these basic principles in mind, you’ll pretty much be certain you have a good steak. Another thing worth mentioning is to be consistent. If your steaks are sometimes amazing and sometimes not as good as last time, you should probably be more consistent with one or more of these principles. Thank you for reading this post, and good luck with the next time you cook a steak.

*P.S. These principles are designed for cuts like New York strip, ribeye, and filet. They will also work for other cuts on a broader scale, but these are the benchmarks.