The Definitive Guide to Steak

The Definitive Guide to Steak

If I'm asked one question more than any other it is what is the best way to cook a steak.

It is in fact very easy. Make your way to a remote hillside in northern Spain. Fashion a fire pit by collecting some rocks, and set a fire with local fruit wood. Allow the fire to burn down slowly to hot embers, whilst you enjoy a bottle of the local Rioja. And now the cooking shall begin!

Joking aside, this is a topic that can thrill many, but can also intimidate some. There is a host of information available in books and online, and particularly on social media these days, however much of this can be contradictory, and in my opinion vastly overcomplicate simple techniques which have been around for centuries.

Below is my definitive guide, garnished from learnings from many of the best steak chefs across the world and right here in New Zealand, tested and perfected on the thousands of steaks that I have cooked over the years.

There is of course a wide variety of steaks. I'm up to about 24 that I've cooked over the years, including a range of the more obscure cuts! So we will deal with them not as one, but celebrate that variety, and I hope the information below will assist.

Selection of Steak

A good steak starts well before it hits the pan! The 'classic' steaks which I would consider to be the scotch, sirloin, rump, eye, bone in ribeye and t-bone need thickness! A thick steak allows for creation of the Maillard reaction, and the development of a beautiful caramelised crust, whilst allowing for a beautiful pink blush within. It is impossible to cook a skinny steak and develop a crust without overcooking the interior. So some size is your friend.

I don't obsess about marbling. Good grass fed beef should have light marbling, good intermuscular fat seams (where applicable), good colour in both the flesh and fat. We age for twenty one to twenty eight days (both dry and wet age dependent on cut) which I believe to be a nice 'sweet spot' for a conventional steak. A lean steak (such as an eye fillet, flatiron or bavette) should still be a very tender steak, without a high fat component! Another personal comment — make sure if you're purchasing a T-Bone, you've a reasonable amount of eye fillet attached!

I am interested in where the animal has come from of course, as the more I know about its provenance, the more confidence I will take in its quality. The best steaks come from the best animals on the best farms, well raised, properly processed, beautifully butchered. That will always be the focus of the steaks sold at Heritage Meat.

There is a food science component to this too. PH levels in beef will dramatically affect the eating quality. Animals well raised, processed with minimum stress will present with lower PH levels than those animals not as fortunate. Dark, as opposed to cherry red meat is the tell tale sign.

Tempering

This is bringing your steak to room temperature, taking it from the fridge for some time prior to cooking. The theory is that going from cold to hot forces fibres to contract and tighten, and that this is lessened by bringing the temperature of the steak up before cooking.

The theory is sound. I would say however that if somebody held a gun to my head and said that you have to skip one step, this is the one. I've been in a lot of busy kitchens in restaurants and steakhouses, and it is rare to see piles of steaks on a bench tempering. They more often than not come from the cold drawer and onto the hotplate. Resting at the other end of the process is far more vital.

Salting

There are only two methods of salting a steak. Long before you cook it (as in the morning or night before), or immediately before. There is NOTHING in the middle.

The former is known as dry brining. A well salted steak will be placed on a tray in the fridge for at least twelve hours prior to cooking. Initially that salt will pull a lot of moisture to the surface, and some will drip away. Then science really kicks in, with Osmosis pulling the saline solution back down into the steak, effectively seasoning the steak throughout.

Even if I have dry brined, I will still apply salt immediately prior to cooking. Salt at this point is not simply about seasoning, but can assist us in the Maillard reaction, and the formation of a beautiful crust. This is immediately prior to hitting the heat. Ten minutes or more in advance will pull moisture to the surface of the steak, and moisture is the enemy of caramelisation and crust. Fine salt is the key, generously coated on all sides, evenly spread. Flaky salt can be used to finish and serve, but will create an uneven crust if used prior to. I follow the Spanish thinking — no pepper prior to cooking, it burns, becomes acrid to the taste.

Cooking

Different steaks cook differently, and require different approaches. But there are most certainly some common themes.

1. Heat – A hot pan is a given. But not a furnace. Gently smoking is ideal. We are looking to create Maillard reaction, crust and caramelisation over the cooking period of the steak, not to cremate it. But here's my exception. Picanha and Sirloin are two steaks with a beautiful fat cap. We want that fat to be a pleasant eating experience. Because our steaks are cut with some thickness, I start those two steaks fat cap down on a COLD pan (or barbecue plate). Then turn the heat on, but only to a medium level. We want to see those fat caps slowly rendering down, creating a beautiful golden and crispy cap which is fabulous to eat. You will notice as that process develops the rendered fat will start to pool on the plate. When you are happy with the fat cap, simply increase the heat, then effectively you will be frying the steaks in their own fat (tallow).
2. Oil – Steaks with a fat cap need no additional oil — they generate their own. However, a lot of the leaner steaks, and I would include scotch/ribeye in this category, need some oil to assist. I prefer to oil the steak right before I salt it. A high smoke point oil is ideal. Beef Tallow is supreme. If you save any fat trimmings in the freezer, throw some into the pan prior to. Canola and Rice Bran Oils are perfectly acceptable. Do not use nut oils, the flavour is all wrong. Do not use Olive Oil (too low a smoke point), and definitely do not use butter — it will burn! If you're keen to baste with butter, garlic and thyme, judge when the steak is nearly where you want it in terms of the cook, then remove the pan from the heat, and allow some cooling before you go in with your butter. Burned butter is not a nice flavour profile. I prefer to make a compound butter and garnish the steak with that just prior to serving.
3. Turning – You will no doubt have heard that a steak should be turned once. Nonsense. Your steak will cook, but it will be an uneven cook, undoubtedly with the 'grey line' of overcooked steak on the first side, and with an uneven crust. I turn every minute. The steak moves around the pan finding the heat, the surface contact changes each time. I build a crust steadily over the whole cook, and I ensure an even cook across the whole cut. This is particularly important with eye fillet — no grey line, perfect pinkness from edge to edge, dark crispy crust all over!
4. Time – I've seen so much instruction suggest four minutes per side or something similar. But that person suggesting time doesn't know how thick your steak is, or how hot your pan is, so how can a time be recommended! Judgement based on experience over time is your greatest friend, but confidence is key. After five or six turns, begin to push with your thumb, lightly, and assess the texture. A rare steak will be very soft, a well done steak very firm. I look for give, with just a little tension in that give — that to me is a steak somewhere between rare and medium rare, that will come up to a medium rare after resting.

Meat Thermometers

A meat thermometer is certainly a tool that can assist, and that can instil confidence. I admit that I don't use one — I trust my judgement built up over my time, and my thumb is my gauge. It's not complicated: too spongy is too rare, too firm is medium, or worse…

However, there is a catch. Most temperatures indicated for varying degrees of 'doneness' indicate the ideal temperature at the point of serving. The key temperature is the temperature at which you remove it from the heat, as when that steak rests, it will continue to cook, and its internal temperature will continue to rise.

If you pull a Sirloin from the heat at 55°C, seeking medium rare, by the time your steak has rested properly, a thick cut steak can come up another four degrees easily, and will in fact be served medium.

Note: Thicker steaks continue cooking more than thin steaks, so pull thicker cuts at the lower end of the pull range.

Resting

Absolutely as important as cooking, no question. A steak can rest far longer than most people realise. It is essentially still cooking at the point it comes from the heat — the rest allows that process to slow down over time, with the fibres relaxing as that occurs. You can comfortably rest a steak for the same length of time you've cooked it for. If you feel it's cooled too much, give it a quick flash in the hot pan for a minute a side just to increase the temperature.

Slicing

This is really only relevant to some of the steaks, and some of the lesser known ones predominantly. Bavette, Flank, Skirt, Merlot, and to some extent Flat Iron and Picanha all have fibrous systems running through them — literally the fibres of the relevant muscle. We must cut across these fibres, cut 'against the grain'. This is literally slicing those fibres into small sections so that they become a tender and enjoyable eating experience. Cutting with the grain will create a very chewy piece of steak. All of the steaks mentioned where cutting against the grain is relevant are BIG on flavour. That's the payoff!