Cooking the Perfect Steak
September 7th, 2011
The first step in cooking the perfect steak is to pick the right cut.
The juiciest and most full of flavour steaks are usually well marbled and come from part of the cow’s body that hasn’t been toughened up by exercise.
So cuts from hardworking muscles such as shoulder and thigh, are obviously more connective tissue based. Yes, they are full of flavour, but they are much more chewy.
Weaker muscles on the other hand, such as the tenderloin are more tender, but they are more bland tasting as they lack the fat marbling.
So what’s the best cut? Rib eye. Simply because it has more marbling than tenderloin, but it’s also a less-worked muscle than the shoulder or thigh.
How do you cook the perfect steak?
One of the best kept secrets is to ensure you cook your steak slowly at a very low temperature.
This will activate certain enzymes that soften the meat. Try something completely different. Don’t just throw your steaks in a pan, but instead put them in plastic bags and cook them gently in water. Only then can you sear them quickly till they are brown.
Get a large pot and fill it three-quarters full of water and then use a digital thermometer just on the inside edge. Adjust your cooker’s heat to raise the water temperature until it’s between 118° and 122°F (that’s between 47.5 and 50°C)
No need for seasoning yet, just place each steak inside its own large resealable bag like a Ziploc. Squeeze all the air you can out of the bag and seal it. Now cook the bagged steaks in the water for 30 minutes. Then turn up the water temperature to between 136° and 140°F (that’s 57.5 to 60°C ) and let the steaks cook another 15 minutes.
Then take the bags out of the water and put them on paper towels to soak up the excess moisture. The steaks will look greyish pink because they are not seared yet. Brush the steaks with vegetable oil and sear them in a hot pan for just 20 or so seconds on each side.
Now it’s time to finish your steak
First, you have to let the steaks rest for 15 minutes. Myhrvold and Young have proven that if you let the meat rest before you serve it, you’ll dramatically improve how juicy it is.
“Resting doesn’t redistribute juices that have been squeezed from the centre of the meat,” Young says. “Instead, letting the protein-rich juices cool slightly helps them thicken.” Then slice the steaks thinly across the grain then salt it.
Try sea salt as its bigger crystals carry more flavour and a little extra crunch when you bite into your steak is delicious too.
Enjoy.
6 Responses to “Cooking the Perfect Steak”
Leave a Reply
Tags: cooking steak, seared steak, steak, steak in bag
Posted in Articles, Cooking Tips, Featured, Food Preparation | 6 Comments »
Your Basket
Quality Meat
We use centigrade nowadays and so do my thermometers!
Good point
Hey Peter,
That’s an excellent point! I have added conversions to the article and will try and remember to make sure I add both in future.
Query on resting steaks,, if left for 15min which seems to be the average, when it comes time to plate up, how do you (re) heat them without overlooking? For example rare or medium rare steaks?
hi, I’ve been readng with interest this suggestion of cooking in the bag befire searing, only I was wondering, won’t it kind of boil the steak?
I appreciate the ‘science’ behind it, but wouldn’t like to spoil my best steks…
so, is there anyone who actuslly tried this and could share the results/comments?
Hi Cristina,
I have tried it two times now, cooked for slightly less time though, and I wasn’t happy with the end result, it may be due to the fact I didn’t follow the instructions to the letter, but I just felt the cooking times were too long.
The steaks, (on one occasion were the American ribeyes and last night was the Aussie 100 day matured sirloins, so both very good cuts), were cooked at 48 degrees C for 30 min, then rested for 15 min in the bag out of the water, before searing on a hot griddle for around 45sec on each side. I must point out that I do not slice my steaks before serving, I prefer to keep them whole.
The steaks were cooked too much for my liking, but they were reasonably juicy and tender, but as this was the first time for me to cook using this method and use these cuts, it’s hard/unfair to make a judgement call as to whether the method is good or not.
I am having another Aussie sirloin for lunch today, and will cook it ‘my usual’ way and update!