Making a delicious steak at home is easy. And the truth is, the ability to make great, mouth-watering steak at home, in the comfort of your own kitchen, is like a superpower of sorts. Seriously. The next time you have friends (or your significant other) over for dinner, try the procedure listed below and watch their reaction. You'll suddenly be a hero to all you know!
It's a weird thing, too, because it really is easy. It's a little more involved than just throwing a piece of meat in a non-stick pan and turning it when the meat turns a terrible shade of gray. But it's still very easy, and the fun part is that you don't have to tell your friends just HOW easy it is. You can just pretend that you've learned the secrets of steakcraft from generations of knowlege passed down through your family tree, or something along those lines.
Anyway, this is important. Of all the world's great foods, steak is the best, and today I'm going to show you how to cook it so that it's delicious.
THINGS YOU NEED
- Steak. I usually buy the best cut available from the butcher (some type of USDA Prime Aged), but even cheap cuts will taste great when you use the salting method I list below. If you buy great meat, you don't need the salting method, though.
- Leave-in thermometer. You can buy these from Amazon or just about anywhere, but don't skimp and get the cheapest one you can find. Buy a good one and it will serve you well. The leave-in thermometer should be an integral part of every kitchen, unless you are a trained chef that can tell exactly what temperature meat is just by looking at it and feeling it. And if that's the case, why are you reading my steak cooking method?
- Cast-iron skillet. This is another thing every kitchen should have. They are inexpensive and you can find the Lodge models nearly everywhere.
PREP
- One hour prior to cooking time, pull meat out of fridge and set it on the counter on a plate or on a butcher block. You want the meat to come to close to room temperature, because this ensures even cooking.
(Optional, for crap meats) - Cover the steak on the top side liberally with sea salt. After 45 minutes, wipe all the salt away. During the previous 45 minutes, the steak's fibers opened up and pulled the salt into the meat, tenderizing everything and making it more flavorful.
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
- Before placing steaks in oven, dry them off completely with paper towels. Insert meat thermometer and place steaks on a rack above a pan or cookie sheet.
COOKING
- Place steaks in oven. Set an alarm on your internal thermometer for 120 degrees.
- As your steaks begin to heat up, put your cast iron skillet on your stove and turn it to medium high. The cast iron needs to be hot. Like, HOT hot, because you're going to use it to sear the steak for one minute per side, and it has to be hot to get the reaction we want from the meat.
- When your skillet is hot and when your steaks reach 120 degrees in the oven, pull them out and allow them to sit for three minutes. Then place each steak in the cast iron skillet, searing each side for one minute. The extreme heat will create a perfect sear on the outside, resulting in a crunchy exterior that immediately gives way to a soft and juicy interior.
Using this method results in a great sear on the outside, but it's the inside that counts: it's a perfect edge-to-edge medium rare steak, juicy and just the right shade of pink/red. Once cooked, pull steak from the skillet and put some butter and cracked pepper on top. Serve and watch the delighted faces of your guests as they freak out over your delicious steak!
What do you think?