The first time I saw my husband sear a Rib-eye, I was both fascinated and intimidated. On one hand, pan-cooking a big steak was a simple, straight-forward dinner. It didn’t require tons of extra ingredients, prep work, or cooking time. A little salt and pepper, a little oil, 10 minutes: instant main course. On the other hand, dropping that slab of steak into a ripping hot cast iron skillet was terrifying. How were you supposed to know when to flip it over or when to take it out? What if you over-cooked it and ruined it?
“It’s not hard,” my husband said. “You just have to practice.”
Two years and several steaks later, I now understand how to cook a piece of meat. Along the way, I’ve tackled chicken and salmon as well. These days, I’m often the one cooking my husband’s dinner, but I can still definitely relate to a friend of mine, who recently told me, "I can't cook meat at home. I always screw it up."
I too have shied away from dropping a piece of steak in a ripping hot pan. I’ve been scared of undercooking the chicken, of drying out salmon so that it tastes like cat food. But I chose to face my anxiety and overcome it, and now I have a whole new range of quick-cooking meal options that infinitely broaden my weeknight dinner game. I can also take my new cooking knowledge and apply it to other vegetarian ingredients, including tofu, cauliflower, and squash.
This series of posts is meant to empower anyone who has ever felt uncertain or nervous about cooking proteins on their own, who loves to eat fish or beef or chicken in a restaurant but thinks that it’s much too hard to cook in their own kitchen.
You’ll find techniques and tips on everything from buying your protein to successfully cooking it to the correct temperature, and even suggestions for what to serve alongside them. And if dropping a ribeye into a ripping hot cast iron pan is nerve-wracking for you in the beginning, tough through it: once you’ve conquered that fear and gained some confidence, you’ll be a culinary bad-ass.
Stove-Top Steak
The Cut:
Most grocery stores have a cold case stocked with store-packaged cuts of meat available on Styrofoam trays. Fancier stores might even have a serviced meat counter where you can ask the employees to butcher and wrap a cut for you on the spot. Either way, the best cuts to cook in your skillet are the Porterhouse, the Rib-eye, the New York strip, or the T-Bone. These cuts are well-marbled with fat, which helps ensure that the finished steak will be tender and juicy. Avoid the tenderloin, which is extremely lean and will dry out easily, as well as the flank steak, skirt steak, and top sirloin, which are very sinuous and may become tough.
The Pan:
To get a great sear on a steak, you’ll need your pan to be ripping hot; therefore a cast iron pan is ideal. An aluminum pan will also work. Avoid using a non-stick skillet at all costs! It will not properly sear the meat and you’ll miss out on the delicious caramelized flavors.
The Prep:
Allow the meat to come to room temperature before cooking; this will ensure your meat cooks evenly. Generously salt and pepper the meat on both sides.
When you are ready to cook, preheat the pan on medium high—you want it very hot so that the meat will sizzle and start searing immediately upon contact—and coat the bottom of the pan with a thin, even layer of vegetable oil. Do not use olive oil or butter: the high heat denatures the olive oil and will definitely burn the butter, which has a lower smoke point.
The Cook:
Gently lay the steak in the ripping hot pan (it should start sizzling immediately), and leave it for at least two minutes. You may be tempted to flip it, nudge it, or peek under to check on the cooking, but just leave it alone! It’s important for the steak to be in contact with the pan, undisturbed, to achieve that caramelized crust. After two to four minutes, flip using a pair of tongs and leave to cook until the meat has reached the desired temperature.
The Temp:
You can absolutely use a meat thermometer to take the steak’s temperature (130 degrees for medium rare, 140 for medium, 160 for well done). However, I prefer to approximate the temperature by gently touching the center of the steak and comparing the softness of the meat to the softness of the flesh on my thumb pad when I stretch my thumb to meet my various fingers. This is an old trick that many professionals use to determine the doneness of steak. The general rule is as follows: index finger to thumb equals rare, middle finger to thumb equals mid-rare, ring finger to thumb equals medium, and pinkie finger to thumb equals well done.
This part of the cooking process seems to unnerve people the most. Don’t fret! Just go with what seems right to you, and remember, the steak will continue to cook for a bit after you take it out of the pan, so it will probably end up slightly more done than it felt to you when you took it out!
The Finish:
You can choose to just pull the meat out of the pan when it feels done. However, if you like, you can finish the steak by basting it with butter. Simply turn off the burner, throw a tablespoon of butter in the pan, and start spooning the butter over the steak as it melts. This creates a delicious, glossy finish!
For even more flavor, you can smash a clove of garlic and add that to the pan when you put the steak in (move it to on top of the steak if it started to over-caramelize). You can even throw in a sprig of thyme with the butter and allow its flavors to infuse into the steak as you baste.
The Serve:
I love steak with a side of roasted or sautéed cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli or brussels sprouts. A baked sweet potato, seasoned with a little salt and garlic powder or paprika is also delicious!
Originally posted October 27, 2019.
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