Cooking A Juicy Steak To Perfection
Steak Perfection
Spring and summer are coming and that means it’s time to get the barbeque in shape for the weekend barbeque parties. Of course the fan favourite is always cooking a nice thick and juicy steak, but it doesn’t always turn out the way you planned, does it?
Follow these tips and you won’t go wrong this summer.
Find a piece of meat that has a lot of marbling in it. Not the big thick veins of fat, but the small ones. They will melt as the steak cooks giving lots of flavour and tenderness to the meat. I prefer striploin steaks at about 1.5 inches thick.
Season the steaks with salt and cracked black pepper. Let them sit while your grill heats up. Turn the grill up as high as it will go. This will create a searing affect on the outside of the steak while leaving the inside tender and juicy.
Once the grill is hot lay the steaks down and cook for 3 to 5 mins on each side depending on how you want the steaks done. Give the steaks a quarter turn halfway through the cooking time to give them some nice grill marks.
To figure out if the steaks are done to your liking you can use a meat thermometer or use your finger.
Poking the fleshy part of your hand under your thumb, while your thumb is touching one of the fingers on the same hand or none at all will feel the same as your steak at certain levels of doneness.
- thumb + no finger = rare steak
- thumb + index finger = medium rare steak
- thumb + middle finger = medium steak
- thumb + third finger = medium well steak
- thumb + pinky = well done steak
Try these tips out and find the seasoning that suits you best. Watch out for flare ups and try to get the same cuts of meat each time you cook steaks so that your results will be consistent.
That’s a great tip for testing for doneness! I’ll have to remember that one!
Man this picture made me hungry now….let me go and get a steak with pepper sauce….and great tip on level of doneness
Can’t wait for BBQ season to begin. Hmm… maybe I’ll have a steak tonight.
That steak is absolutely look yummy…you have great blog here..and thanks for the visit and do come back again.
Thanks, I’m starving now.
I don’t get the finger testing
You know I was just watching a cooking show on BBC America called ‘The F Word’ with Gorden Ramsey, who shared that the flesh on different parts of your face are the same consistency as Steak in the different stages of toughness. He started by touching his fleshy cheek and report “Rare”, then the flesh of his chin which turned out to be ‘Medium’, and lastly his forehead which was ironically was ‘Well-done’. I thought it was a really neat little trick that I won’t soon forget the next time I’m cooking a sirloin on the bbq.
Awesome tip on ‘well - doneness’ (if that is even a word). I had been to a BBQ with a pro-chef once who kept touching the meat - now I know what he was ‘feeling’ for!
Now that summer’s nearly there - I guess there will be a lot of barbecue parities on the way. Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Do you also offer vegetarian recipes
???
Thanks for your visit and comment..
Love your header (it really does look like Ontario in the summer)
Wishing you a wonderful Easter week-end..
yeah vegetarian style dishes would be great too!
I wish I knew how to cook, I know I’m pathetic haha. But I know I like my steak well done.
You know, of course, that you can use an old-fashioned iron skillet all year round to grill a steak the same way you describe a barbequed steak. Heat up the skillet (frying pan, actually) good and hot, then do the same thing you describe. Great steak in December or any other time of year.
I write to you from Bangalore India, where our ’steak’ actually walks down the street. Cows wander free all over. I see one or more just about every day. Since they’re considered holy, no one kills them, so no steak here. (Actually, the meat Americans eat is bull, not cow, for the most part.) Visit my blog at newyourdudeinindia.blogspot.com Catch ya.
I’m eating my breakfast as I read this and I STILL have an urge to go out and buy steak and charcoal.
steak for breakfast.. thats what everyone needs
Great tips! Mmmm, that steak looks delicious.
I love to cook but have never been able to do a steak the way they do at the fancy restaurants—-thanks for giving this tip—–
mmm.. i love steak.. thanks for the tips!
We are just heating up the BBQ now and boy am I hungry after seeing that steak!
Sounds great, and BBQs are really healthy too! Approval from me!!!
wow, this is post is very delicious…
Looks like I’m going to have to put more pictures of steaks in my articles! Thanks for all the comments. BTW I’ll look for a good vegetarian recipe. I’ve got a few veggie friends that can help me out.
Very interesting post!! I love my steaks but they have to be medium…mmmmmmm
Medium-rare is key here. A nice marination never does wrong either.
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[…] Everyday Weekender relates cooking a good steak to the tenderness of your hand in “Cooking A Juicy Steak To Perfection“. […]
I love steak. that steak looks so yummy!
Oh man! That steak looks so good! I take mine medium rare. I think I am going to cook steak very soon, thank you for the neat tips!
few mushrooms on top would be perfect.
I love steak and my thermometer just broke. I’ll have to give this finger poke test a try. If it doesnt work and my steak is lousy I’ll have to come back and complain.
Have it with a glass of red wine and I’m sure it’ll be fine.
No entiendo la receta, pero la foto da para pensarlo. Tenés a alguien invitado para cenar?
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Quickly searing the steak on both sides as soon as you put it on the barbie will seal in the juices.
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A good way to cook stakes, is when your ready to cook them, take it/them out of there packing and let them bloom for a few (let them oxidize) minutes.
Then lightly cover them in your choice of seasoning. A good way to do this is to get a tub or bowl, put some oil in and then add your herbs, garlic, pepper or whatever and dip the steak(s) in it.
Once you’ve done that put your steak(s) on the hottest part of your grill. Which should be centre left or centre right to seal them. Seal both sides and then move your stakes down the girll and further towards the centre (depending on how well you want to cook it/them).
You should really only turn your steak(s) 4 times and preferrably diaganolly (to get that nice diamond pattern). The finger testing is the best way to tell, you can cut into your stakes if your not sure but it doesnt look as nice then.
You should only let your stakes breathe for 2-5 minutes before consumption, thats long enough, anymore and your losing the juiceness.
If you have never seasoned your stakes, then your really should try a piece unseasoned the try a seasoned piece. The taste is so much more richer and succulent.
If you are going to pan-fry your stakes (incase you dont have a grill on hand). you should heat up your pan then pour some salt into the pan, lightly tossing it around then add a little oil, keep moving the oil round then wipe it away with some cloth. This will help stop your stakes and other items sticking (even for a nonstick pan). Then when ready add oil and seasoning and away you go.
As EW said before Red wine is a classic and goes well with any steak, but to get the best taste out of a steak you should taste it with a relatively dry mouth, so you can actually taste it. Drinking anything fizzy or fruity or with a strong aftertaste will deminish that important first taste.
Anyway I hope you all have some nice steaks.