The fact that you are not a professional chef and you do not have a grill is not a reason to leave your loved one without juicy, tasty meat. We assure you that you can get the perfect steak even in a frying pan, if you remember our tips and apply them in practice.
First of all, let’s figure out what ingredients are needed for a classic steak:
meat (beef, cut into pieces no thicker or thinner 3-5 cm);
salt, pepper, spices;
oil (sunflower or olive)
Actually, this is all that is needed for a basic recipe that can be modified depending on your taste. At first glance, both the list of ingredients and the cooking process seem simple enough, but this is not at all the case. This is exactly the case when the devil is in the details.
Defrosting meat
In no case should you defrost the meat in the microwave: as a result of this manipulation, the edges of it will begin to cook, and the middle will remain frozen. This will prevent you from controlling the process of roasting the steak. The best option is to place the meat in a vacuum package in cold water.
Preparation
Sprinkle the meat with pepper around the entire perimeter (fatty beetroot), and then salt and add spices. Then – grease the steak with butter on all sides: this will contribute to better thermal conductivity, which will allow the middle to fry evenly around the edges. Do not under any circumstances beat the meat, otherwise, it will lose its structure and release all the juice.
Cooking
Heat a skillet without oil over high heat and place the meat on one side. After two and a half minutes, turn the steak over and fry on the other side. Repeat the same manipulations one more time (on each side again for two and a half minutes). Juicy steak – ready. Tip: when roasting meat, take into account the desired degree of doneness.
Frying a real steak is not an easy task. The chef shared the subtleties of the recipe: with this approach, the steak will certainly turn out to be juicy and very tasty.
It’s worth starting with the choice of meat. The shoulder blade, neck and outer thigh of the hind leg do not fit. The edges should not be unnecessarily thin or thick.
The ideal choice is tenderloin. This muscle is located under the ribs of the animal and almost does not move, the meat will be exactly soft and tender. A common mistake is not to peel the clippings before frying. This must be done, otherwise it will pull off the steak when frying.
A thin piece of steak will not make the right steak. The height is not less than 2.5 centimeters, if you like to fry to the state of meat in the Tatar way, you can take a thicker one.
When frying, rush will be in the way. You need to cook until medium rare. And when serving, it is customary to salt the meat already at ease – a steak is a dish of aesthetes.
Meat is the most common food cooked and eaten in all countries. But how to make sure that the meat is not dry, or how not to forget about it and then not be content with “coal”? What is better to serve as a side dish and what sauce to season?
Always cook meat at room temperature – let it rest for an hour after the refrigerator, then the meat will be juicier and the roasting will be more predictable.
The dishes are simple: a frying pan or a grill – it doesn’t matter. This also does not affect the taste. But it is still very important – the dishes must be heavy enough so that the pan can gain maximum energy and heat. If we use a very light frying pan, then it keeps little heat and as a result, when we spread the steak, it loses its power very quickly, and we get low-quality frying: the meat can give juice, and then we get not a fried steak, but its likeness!
Heat the pan: the first smoke from the pan will be the signal for cooking. If you have one, you can proceed.
Well-cooked meat goes well with a sauce based on ripe tomatoes, garlic, and cilantro. As a side dish, we offer boiled basmati rice with butter and a salad of fresh cucumbers and tomatoes with fragrant cilantro, red onion, and olive oil. Also, potatoes fried with onions go well with meat.
But everyone’s favorite side dish for meat is vegetables fried over an open fire: eggplants, zucchini, tomatoes, and bell peppers.
Is it possible to cook perfect steaks at home while being self-isolated? It is possible, and even necessary.
Choose the fattest meat. Do not be afraid of white layers, they have all the taste. For example, striploin: is moderately fatty, has a rich meaty flavor, and is cheaper than a ribeye.
After buying Dry Aged meat in a store, keep it in a vacuum or store package for another five days. The meat will then exactly “reach” the desired condition of softness. Do not be afraid if you have everything in order with the temperature in the refrigerator, nothing will happen to the meat.
Remove the steaks an hour before cooking, cut 2.5-3 cm, cover with cling film, preferably gauze and let them reach room temperature.
Take not a ribbed frying pan, but an ordinary solid one – heavy, cast iron, with a thick bottom, which holds and transmits heat well.
If you have a regular electric stove (0-9), steaks should be cooked for 8. Heat a frying pan and pour butter: 50/50 oil and butter, quite a lot, 30 grams each. Next, put a sprig of thyme or rosemary, a couple of cloves, crushed by hand, garlic.
Salt the steaks just before frying. Not in 10 minutes – we do not need marinated meat, we need the salt to react with the meat and give a perfect crust
Put the steaks and add the temperature. Fry for 2 minutes on each side, uncovered. Otherwise, instead of steak, you will get a piece of stewed beef. If you want a higher degree of roasting, lower the temperature and increase the time, but in the end, still, give a boost for the crust.
Let the steak rest for 5 minutes and you can serve. The perfect side dish is vegetables: broccoli, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms – anything!
Steaks are in great demand in restaurants because for some reason everyone thinks that it is much more difficult to cook them at home than other dishes. In fact, it is not that difficult. It is enough just to know some subtleties and follow some tips.
By the way, these tips concern not only the cooking process itself but also the correct choice of meat. Any chef will tell you that the right choice of meat is 80% of success.
For the steak to be tender, the meat must be aged. If you fry a fresh meat steak right after slaughtering, the steak will be tough. This is due to the fact that the muscle in the piece of meat is not relaxed. When you buy meat in a supermarket, look not at the date of packaging, but at the date of slaughter (it must also be indicated), count 20-25 days from it – this will be the date from which you can fry the steak. Of course, we are talking about pieces of meat in vacuum packaging – for example, marbled beef.
The steak should be no thinner than 2.5 cm.If you are preparing steaks from the tenderloin (filet mignon), cut it into pieces at least 5 cm thick.
Leave the meat at room temperature for two hours before frying the steak. This will make it much easier for you to control the process and the degree of roasting.
To grill the steaks, use a cast iron ribbed grill pan that you heat until a light haze appears. Do not add oil to the pan. Firstly, this will make the steak “dry”, and secondly, this way you will avoid smoke in the kitchen.
The surface of the steaks must be perfectly dry. Use paper towels to dry the meat. And do not try to wash the steaks! They can only be wiped off.
Just before placing the steaks in the pan, season them with salt and pepper on both sides and then begin to fry. Don’t put more than two steaks in one pan. This will cause the temperature inside the pan to drop sharply, and the meat will begin to stew in its own juice instead of frying, forming a golden brown crust that reliably keeps all the meat juices inside the steak.
Sear the steaks for 1.5-2.5 minutes on each side. If you want a nice mesh on each side, fry one side for 1.5 minutes in a grooved grill pan, then turn clockwise 90 degrees, fry for another 30–45 seconds, and then turn to the other side.
Before turning the steak to the other side, make sure that the first side is sufficiently browned and the steak is beautifully colored. If the meat does not lag behind the pan, then the crust has not yet formed and you need to give the steak a little more time.
Use tongs to turn steaks, never with a fork. The fork pierces the meat, causing all the juice to drain out.
When the steaks are fried on both sides, place them in a baking container, cover the container with foil and place in an oven preheated to 190 degrees for 10-12 minutes (filet mignon 5 cm thick) or for 7-8 minutes (ribeye / striploin) … If you want a more pronounced frying, you can for all 15 and 10 minutes, respectively.
After this time, take the steaks out of the oven and, without removing the foil, let them “rest” for a minute, then boldly serve.
To prepare a delicious juicy steak, you need two things – good meat and knowledge of a dozen nuances. We share the secrets of how to fry the most perfect steak.
The steak should be no thinner than 2.5 cm. If you are preparing steaks from the tenderloin (filet mignon), cut it into pieces at least 5 cm thick.
Before frying the steak, let the meat stand at room temperature for 1-2 hours. This will make it much easier for you to control the process and the degree of roasting.
To grill the steaks, use a cast-iron ribbed grill pan that you heat until a light haze appears. Do not add oil to the pan to avoid smoke in the kitchen.
The surface of the steaks must be perfectly dry. Use paper towels to dry the meat. And do not try to wash the steaks, you can only wipe them off.
Just before placing the steaks in the pan, season them with salt and pepper on both sides and then begin to fry. Do not put more than two steaks in one pan, otherwise, the temperature inside the pan will drop sharply, and the meat will begin to stew in its own juice instead of frying, forming a golden-brown crust that reliably keeps all the meat juices inside the steak.
Fry the steaks for 1.5-2.5 minutes on each side. If you want a nice mesh on each side, fry it for 1.5 minutes in a grooved grill pan, then turn it clockwise 90 degrees, fry for another 30-45 seconds, and then turn it over to the other side.
Use tongs to turn the steaks only, and never with a fork, so that the juice does not leak out.
Before flipping the steak to the other side, make sure that the first side is sufficiently browned and the steak is nicely colored. If the meat does not lag behind the pan, then the crust has not yet formed, and you need to give the steak some more time.
When the steaks are fried on both sides, place them in a baking container, cover the container with foil, and place in an oven preheated to 190 degrees for 10-12 minutes (filet mignon 5 cm thick) or 7-8 minutes (ribeye/sirloin steaks). If you want more pronounced frying, you can for all 15 and 10 minutes, respectively.
After this time, remove the steaks from the oven and, without removing the foil, let them “rest” for a minute, then boldly serve.
Brussels is a delicious city. There are a lot of cafes, restaurants and bars in the city center and in its remote areas. The most different. There are also exquisite restaurants shining with Michelin stars, where unique dishes are born especially for you. There are places with a simpler, but no less magical cuisine. The words “common” or “simple food” here mean, for example, mussels, rabbit meat in beer, asparagus. The interior and atmosphere are different in each restaurant. Somewhere – sophisticated modern, but somewhere – simple rustic comfort. In short, choose! Following the dictates of your own taste, you will surely find a restaurant in Brussels that you love. Here are some tips.
Belga Queen
At the “Queen of the Belgians” food is adapted to today’s sophisticated taste of the visitors. Here you will be offered a light version of national cuisine dishes prepared with a sensory addition of beer. Original, high quality products are selected with the utmost care by local craftsmen. The richest wine cellar is replenished by Belgian suppliers, as well as the famous Ponti coffee. Coffee beans from different continents are roasted directly in the restaurant. All these characteristics make the brasserie “Queen of the Belgians” a true ambassador of the “Made in Belgium” brand. A place where taste, touch, hearing, sight and smell are stimulated during a business lunch or just meeting with friends. Bon appetite! Address: rue Fosse-aux-Loups, 32 B-1000 tel +32 2 2172187
Comme Chez Soi
Comme Chez Soi is the most titled restaurant in Brussels, which is rightfully recognized as one of the best. This is a restaurant with a memorable Art Nouveau interior, where you will be offered dishes in the best traditions of Belgian and French cuisine, brought to perfection, and exquisite service will impress even the most discerning customers. The restaurant opened in 1926 and was called then “George’s”, after the name of the founder – Georges Couvelier, a former miner. The modern name of the restaurant, translated into Russian, means “Like at home”. According to legend, this name arose when one of the most respected guests expressed his respect to the owner of the restaurant, noting that the food here is as tasty as at home. Today, however, this name sounds rather ironic. There are hardly many gourmets who constantly enjoy gourmet dishes of lobsters, crabs, and snails, cooked at home, but at the level of a restaurant, which has a couple of Michelin stars. Address: Lionel Rigolet 23 place Rouppe B-1000 Bruxelles Tel: +32 (0) 2 512 29 21
La Quincaillerie
La Quincaillerie is a large French restaurant located on the ground floor of an elegant historic building. They do not seek to surprise with endless culinary surprises, but they guarantee excellent French cuisine and excellent quality products. The main thing in the philosophy of La Quincaillerie is special attention to the freshness and environmental friendliness of products. One of the unique characteristics of the menu is the exclusive fish dishes. The interior is traditional, typically French, in a retro style. If you want to not only have a good time enjoying food and drink but also meet some celebrities, then La Quincaillerie is perfect for that. A business lunch, a romantic dinner or a meeting in a large company – you will like everything in this restaurant. Address: Rue du Page, 45 B 1050 Bruxelles Tel: +32 (0) 2 533 98 33
Chez Lion 4
Chez Lion is a classic restaurant, one of the largest in Brussels, located on the famous Boucher street, next to the Saint Hubert gallery and not far from the Grand Place. This establishment has been run by the same family for generations, maintaining high standards of service and attention to detail. The dishes prepared at Chez Lion are sure to please those who admire Belgian cuisine. The most famous Belgian deep-fry in Brussels is prepared here, and the restaurant’s specialty is French fries with mussels. In the small and cozy rooms of the U Leon restaurant, you are guaranteed a cheerful and warm atmosphere, created with the help of bright colors in the interior decoration in a simple country style. It is often visited by VIP-guests and celebrities whose portraits adorn the walls of the establishment. And since the restaurant is over a hundred years old, many celebrities have been here. Address: Rue des Bouchers 18 B-1000 Bruxelles
L`huitriere 5
L`huitriere is a restaurant with an excellent location in the city center, specializing in seafood dishes. Would you like some smoked eel with foie gras and black radish? Or roasted halibut in rosemary juice? We guarantee that it will be delicious here! And don’t forget to complement your meal with a cup of Irish coffee, which is especially good here. Connoisseurs will also appreciate the good selection of wines offered at L? Huitriere. Address: Quai AUX Briques 20 1000 Brussels Tel: +32 (0) 2 512 0866
La Truffle Noire 6
La Truffle Noire is a stylish restaurant with an excellent reputation, sophisticated classic interiors and a romantic atmosphere accentuated by the dominant light pink color. If you appreciate real gourmet French cuisine, you have made the right choice: it is believed that this type of cuisine and at this level in Brussels will only offer you this restaurant. The Michelin star in La Truffle Noire says this very convincingly. There are many creative dishes on the menu, including culinary masterpieces made from truffles – the specialties of this status restaurant. Address: Boulevard de la Cambre 12 1000 Brussels Tel: +32 (0) 26404422
Medicis 7
Medicis is a restaurant located in an elegant old villa, which will surely appeal to connoisseurs of a personal and warm atmosphere. Neat decor, friendly atmosphere – everything here is very reminiscent of a cozy room, where you feel like a guest of the hospitable, open and helpful owners of a beautiful house. You will be treated here accordingly. A truly inimitable gourmet French cuisine, creative and seasonal dishes made from the freshest ingredients. Undoubtedly, you will appreciate the professionalism and attentiveness of the staff here. Address: Avenue de l’Escrime 124 – 1150 Bruxelles Tel: +32 (0) 2 779 07 00
Kelderke 8
Kelderke is a restaurant in the center of Brussels, located on the Grand Place in the basement of the famous house of the Dukes of Brabant. The magnificent façade of this building, with elements of classical architecture combined with Flemish tradition, cannot be confused with anything. The atmosphere in the restaurant is created by the basement vaults: intimacy, comfort, and friendliness – what you feel immediately, as soon as you find yourself in this place. If you prefer an open space, the restaurant has an area overlooking the square. Kelderke is renowned for its attentive service and excellent traditional Brussels cuisine. And all this at affordable prices. Address: Grand Place 15 – 1000 Bruxelles Tel: + 32 (0) 2 513 73 44
The interior and atmosphere are different in each restaurant. Somewhere – sophisticated modern, but somewhere – simple rustic comfort. In short, choose! Following the dictates of your own taste, you will surely find a restaurant in Brussels that you love. Here are some tips.
Colonel
The Colonel restaurant is, first of all, real meat, which is cooked literally in front of your eyes, and only then an institution with a large assortment of so-called “colonial” dishes. Only here you can try a rack of lamb with pomegranate juice, and then smoothly switch to one of the desserts “from the chef”.
One of the features of the restaurant is the unusual serving of the dish. All deli meats are served in a large cast iron skillet, which is set on a wooden base. The interior design of the Colonel restaurant is based on a collaboration of several styles, dominated by modern hi-tech with traditional Flemish influences.
Address: Rue Jean Stas, 24, at the intersection with Rue Dejoncker.
Working hours: from 12.00 to 14.00 and from 19.00 to 22.00.
Aux paves de Bruxelles
The restaurant “Aux Armes de Bruxelles” opened its doors back in 1921 and since then a folk path has not overgrown to it for a day. The institution has long become for the townspeople and guests of the city truly dear and homely warm.
The Aux Armes de Bruxelles is designed as a royal hall for the reception of distinguished guests. Gilded chandeliers, bas-reliefs on the walls and ceilings, laconic flowing curtains – all this creates an inexplicable atmosphere of comfort that you want to enjoy indefinitely. Among the many dishes of Belgian cuisine, author’s mussels in white wine and beef stewed in beer deserve special attention.
Address: Rue du Marche aux Fromages 1/3.
Opening hours: from 12.15 to 14.15 and from 19.15 to 21.15.
Weekends: seven days a week.
Meet meat schuman
At Meet Meat Schuman, you will experience the culture of Argentinean steaks. Steak in Argentina has acquired the same national significance as in North America, but the recipe for its preparation has a special national flavor.
The institution enjoys well-deserved popularity. It is difficult to have lunch or dinner in it without prior ordering.
In addition to the grilled steak, you will be offered a wide variety of Argentinean and European cuisine. The meat is divine, the service is excellent.
Address: Rue Stevin, 124.
Opening hours: from 12.00 to 14.30 and from 19.00 to 22.00.
Days off: Saturday, Sunday.
Chumadia
This restaurant is very family-friendly and is expected and served as if you were having dinner with friends. The restaurant is warm, you have a direct view of Pietro’s cuisine and has a beautiful large covered terrace.
You have the opportunity to discover traditional Serbian meat dishes such as chachelik (beef and lamb on a spit) and chevaptichi (small sausages made from beef and lamb).
Address: Rue d’Ecosse, 32. Opening hours: n / a. Days off: Saturday, Sunday.
Brussels grill
This typical Brussels restaurant has an amazing meat menu. Visitors can choose from grilled chicken, beef and lamb.
Brussels Grill is like a fast food establishment. There is also a good selection of wines, a huge assortment of beer, which is famous for Brussels, Coca-Cola, juices.
Pizza is an ideal meal for a company: family dinner, get-togethers with friends, big party. First, everyone loves her – well, almost everyone. Second, pizza is a lot of fun to make. It’s very simple and you can experiment along the way. And the result is guaranteed to be delicious. In this article, we will reveal the secrets of making real Italian pizza and share the tips of professional chefs.
Homemade pizza starts with the dough. Of course, you can buy a ready-made semi-finished product in a store. But it’s much more interesting to make it yourself. By the way, it takes a few days for real pizza makers to make pizza, and it’s the dough that matters. They knead it and leave it to rise for a few days. You will say – but I want pizza here and now. Well, there is a special life hack for this. To make the dough rise faster, you can heat it up in the oven. Heat the stove to 70 degrees. Then cool for 10 minutes and place the dough in the oven. Make sure that the temperature is not higher than this mark, otherwise, the yeast will die. You can put a tray with warm water under the baking sheet – then the dough will be even more tender and fluffy.
Is the dough ready? Remove the rolling pin! This is not a joke: Italian chefs do not roll out the dough with a rolling pin, but knead it with their fingers and then unwind it, thanks to which the cake takes on the look we are used to. By the way, perfectly round pizzas are the prerogative of fast food. It is difficult to achieve the shape of the correct circle by hand, so the pizza from the hands of a real pizza maker can be a little uneven – this is a sign of its authenticity. Well, if you don’t have a special round board, it doesn’t matter. Homemade pizza is good because it can be anything – even round, even rectangular, in the shape of a baking sheet.
The thickness of the dough according to the classic recipe of Italian pizza is 3 mm in the center, up to 2 cm at the edges.
As you know, all people are divided into two categories: those who eat the pizza crust, and those who leave it on the plate. Personally, we think crisp is the tastiest thing in dough! She is also needed to hold a piece and not get your hands dirty. Therefore, when you smear the dough with sauce and spread the filling, do not fill the whole cake – leave 1.5 – 2 cm around the edges. Here’s how to make the crust really crunchy. Turn the baking sheet upside down. Cover it with parchment and sprinkle it with cornflour. And put the pizza on top. Then we put it in the oven for 10 minutes, and voila: the crunch is no worse than in the best Italian pizzeria.
By the way, it is also better to reheat yesterday’s pizza in the oven. In the microwave, it loses its crunchiness, becomes dry and hard. And if you put it on the same parchment and put it in the oven for 5 – 8 minutes, it will be just as tasty as yesterday.
There are many recipes for pizza dough. We offer classic – easy and quick to prepare. You will need five ingredients: flour, yeast, olive oil, salt, and water. The main thing here is flour: we advise you not to skimp on it and take a good, Italian one.
Dissolve a bag of yeast in 125 ml of warm water. Pour flour in a slide into a deep bowl, season with salt. Make a small indentation in the center of the slide and carefully pour the water and yeast into it. Stir the mixture with a fork. Then, when the dough begins to turn out, knead it with your hands. Add flour, if necessary, until it becomes one piece. Pour olive oil into a bowl and knead for another 10 minutes. After that, the dough will become elastic and smooth. Wait for it to rise and you can cook.
Italians, as everyone knows, are considered to be the true connoisseurs of filled round yeast cake. But any gourmet is not averse to treating himself with such a delicacy, no matter how different his food preferences from the standard ones. Pizza will conquer with its versatility because there are hundreds of thousands of recipes for vegetable, fruit, meat, and cheese open pies. But becoming a real pizza maker is not so easy, you need to have valuable knowledge about making the perfect dough for your favorite snack – Italian pizza.
The final taste of the dish depends on the dough. Therefore, the base is prepared from several varieties of wheat (ordinary and coarse grinding) and spread on a hot baking sheet.
True pizza makers knead the dough very quickly but leave it to rise for a couple of days. Their movements are smooth but confident, they try to knead every fold, fill the dough with oxygen, make it soft and elastic.
A true master will never use a rolling pin. He works with the dough with his hands, stretches it, throws it into the air, twists it, thinning his “canvas”.
The thickness of a classic Neapolitan pizza is exactly 3 mm in the center and 1-2 cm at the side. This strict rule is followed in all restaurants.
To keep the dough from getting wet, you can brush it with extra virgin olive oil.
You should not stock up on freshly prepared dough for future use; after defrosting, its delicate texture may be disturbed, and you will not be able to achieve an ideal result with maximum effort.
A semi-finished product is baked at high temperatures in stone ovens on hot stones that serve as a baking sheet. For a short time in the oven, the ingredients have time to cook without losing their useful properties, the crust becomes perfectly crispy.
If you want a flat base, then preheat 2 trays in the oven at different levels. You will need them to properly bake the dough. Put the dough on the upper tier, the heat from the lower one will rise upward, evenly heating the 1st baking sheet. This will cook the pizza in half the time.
Kneading. This is the most delicate process. The secret lies in the patience and experience of the master. Do not use rolling pins, knead the dough with your hands, feel how it becomes pliable, do not tear when stretched. Do this lovingly, without too much fuss, preferably in a warm room.
