How To Cook A Steak In 15 Easy Steps By Mark Schatzker

28 April 2017

To celebrate the release of his new book Steak- Mark Schatzker tells us how to cook the perfect one.

Mark Schatzker

Step 1

Find a source of tender, juicy and, above all, flavourful steak (by far the most difficult step in this recipe). Frozen steak is fine, as long as it’s good frozen steak.

Step 2

Decide on a cut.

There is a rather large selection to choose from, as you will have noticed: strips, flank steaks, rump steaks, tenderloins, rib-eyes and so forth. And don’t forget about those rare “butcher’s cuts”. At least once a year, every men’s magazine will run a story on steak that tells you, in the coolest language the writer can muster, that these are the cuts that steak insiders eat, and that by putting a skirt steak, hanger steak or flatiron steak on your grill, you will distinguish yourself from the strip-loin-consuming masses and attain the dude-simple purity of a cattle rancher or an old-time New York butcher.

My guess is that you’ll like a rib-eye most of all. But here’s a little secret for you: they’re all good. As long as you follow Step 1, that is. Every steak cut is delicious, and some of the “braising” cuts are, too. Try them all. Get to know each cut as intimately as your pillow. If you follow Step 1, any and every cut you get will be eminently palatable. But follow Step 1.

Step 3

Choose a thickness.

Don’t fall into the trap of believing that bigger steaks are always better. Thin steaks are plenty good, too. You just need to cook them properly, on a very hot surface, so that you can brown the outside without overcooking the middle.

Step 4

Examine the steak.

Prod it. Poke it. Pick it up in your hands, or with tongs, and waggle it. Try to memorize the suppleness of the flesh. You’ll understand why when you reach Step 12.

Step 5

Choose a cooking surface.

It can be a grill or it can be a pan. Both are fine. That’s right, both are fine. If you’re cooking with a grill, you might prefer wood or charcoal to gas, because they impart a subtle but enjoyable flavour to the meat. However, gas is fine, too – as long as you follow Step 1.

Step 6

Let the steak warm to room temperature.

Don’t cook a cold steak on a hot grill or pan. And never cook a frozen steak.

Step 7

Wipe the steak dry.

Pat both sides of the meat dry with a paper towel. A dry piece of meat will form a better crust. A wet steak, no matter how it’s cooked, may end up tasting like it was boiled, and that would be terrible, especially if you’ve followed Step 1.

Step 8

Salt the steak.

Take a pinch of whatever salt is currently trendy – anything other than standard iodized salt is fine, although even that is acceptable in a pinch – and sprinkle both sides of the steak. You’ll need one to two pinches per side, possibly more if it’s a thick steak. Only experience will tell you how much is enough, and it’s always better to err on the not-enough side, because too much salt is a disaster. Salt five minutes before cooking, unless your steak is less than a quarter of an inch thick, in which case don’t salt it until it’s cooked, because the salt will draw out moisture.

Step 9

Decide how you want it cooked.

Don’t be one of those people who run around uttering bombastic statements such as: “I have no respect for anyone who eats a steak over medium rare.” Roughly three-quarters of all Argentines eat steak well done, and they probably eat more steak than you do. My own preference is for medium rare, although on certain days I crave rare. But that doesn’t matter to anyone but me. What matters is your preference. Figure it out. Stand by it.

Step 10

Cook the steak.

Make sure your pan or grill is hot. You want to brown the exterior of the steak, but you don’t want to burn it. Browning happens when heat causes chemical reactions to take place on the surface of the meat. This starts at 70°C (158°F). Burning happens at much higher temperatures. A charred crosshatching from the grill is nice – a bitter hint of the fire over which the steak has cooked. But a black steak will taste bitter. A black steak is what happens when rich men with big barbecues – loudmouth types, usually – cook thick steaks on a torrid grill for too long.

Step 11

Flip the steak.

After the first side has browned, which could take anywhere from one minute to eight minutes, flip. If you’re cooking a very thick steak and the first side browned quickly, turn down the heat – after you flip it – because you’re well on your way to a burned piece of meat.

Step 12

Assess doneness.

Examine the steak again. Poke the surface with your index finger. (It’s not that hot.) As a steak cooks, it becomes firmer, so you should start to feel some resistance. Pick up the steak with your tongs and waggle it. It should show signs of beginning to stiffen. When little droplets of red liquid start to form on the surface of the steak – I call this beading – the steak is approaching medium rare. If you poke your steak and find that it feels like a cutting board, you’ve overcooked it, in which case you might try moistening it with the tears dripping off your cheek. But that probably won’t help, so revert to Step 1 and begin again.

Incidentally, don’t expect this method to work the first time you try it. But by the tenth time, you should have the hang of it. I hope.

Step 13

Rest the steak (optional).

Resting allows heat from the exterior to radiate inward and cook the meat in the centre, releasing the all-important steak juice. Resting also lets the exterior of the steak cool, allowing the meat fibres to reabsorb juice – so when you cut into your steak you aren’t left with a large, red puddle and dry meat. The technique works particularly well in restaurants, where the ambient temperature is often above medium-rare, but for home chefs using cold cutting boards and countertops, a rested steak often means a cold steak. However, by the time most home chefs get a steak plated and on the table, it will already have rested for several minutes. If your one true desire is for a steak with an evenly cooked interior, turn the heat down after you’ve seared both sides.

As long as you follow Step 1, the steak will be delicious whether it’s rested or not.

Step 14

Resist the temptation to smother your steak in a sauce or rub. Steak sauce is like crystal meth – habit forming and ruinous. There’s no point following Step 1 if you’re going to cover your steak in intense seasoning and smother it in a sauce so tangy as to make ketchup seem refined. Some sauces – particularly those from France – celebrate a steak’s flavour without masking it. But if you’re dealing with good steak, then the flavour of steak will be the best thing on your plate.