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Cooking the perfect juicy steak at home “like in a restaurant” is the cherished dream of many. However, after several unsuccessful experiments with preparing “rubber soles” instead of soft pink meat, it is so easy to despair and abandons this venture forever. But you just need to use the tips of the professionals and take into account all the subtleties.

  1. Choose seasoned meat

Many people mistakenly believe that steak meat must be fresh. However, this is not entirely true: for the steak to turn out soft and juicy, the meat must be matured. The fact is that the muscle in a piece taken straight after slaughter is not relaxed, and the steak will turn out to be tough.

  1. Focus on the slaughter date

When buying meat in a supermarket, be guided not by the date of packaging, but by the date of slaughter, which should also be indicated. The ideal steak comes from a piece that has been aged for more than 20-25 days after slaughter. You can also check the maturity of the meat by simply pressing a piece with your finger: if at first a dent formed, which then quickly returned to its place, then such a cut is suitable for cooking steak.

  1. Consider the type of future steak

The most popular types of steak cuts are filet mignon, t-bone, and ribeye. Choose meat in vacuum packaging or visit the butcher – there they will give you competent advice and help you make the right choice.

  1. Pay attention to the thickness

A good steak is made from pieces no thinner than 2.5 centimeters. And to prepare the perfect fillet mignon from the tenderloin, which is served in the form of “hemp”, pieces should be chosen with a thickness of 5 centimeters or more.

  1. Examine fiber and body fat

The thicker the muscle fibers on a piece of meat, the tougher the steak will end up. Our choice is thin, dense fibers. As for fat, what is the best way to buy meat with thin layers of white color, which will melt during cooking and give the steak juiciness and tenderness?

Mastering the art of making juicy and mouth-watering steaks is easy. The main thing is to strictly follow several rules and remember the difficulties that both beginners and regulars of the kitchen may encounter.

  1. The steak should only be prepared with fresh, chilled meat. The meat is usually brought to room temperature before frying. If the steak has been frozen, leave it in the refrigerator overnight. Wipe the meat dry before starting the cooking process.
  2. The width of the meat is also very important. Ideally, this is a piece of 2.5 to 4 centimeters.
    If you cut the meat yourself and at home, then it is worth remembering one simple rule: cut it strictly across the fibers.
  3. For steak, use a heavy skillet or grill pan. They make it easier for you to control the temperature and the frying process in general.
  4. It is important to preheat the pan correctly. It should be very hot, but not smoke. Otherwise, the meat will burn on the outside before it can cook on the inside. The steak should sizzle as it touches the surface of the pan.
  5. It is better to start frying meat at high temperatures, and then switch to lower ones. This will ensure even roasting and prevent the meat from losing its flavor and color.
    Typically, cook a medium-rare steak for 4 minutes on each side. Meat with the blood takes 1-3 minutes.
  6. Fully fried steak is fried for 3 minutes on each side over high heat and then cooked until fully cooked for 6-8 minutes. However, you should still carefully monitor the meat, because the cooking time can vary depending on several factors.
  7. The steak can be flipped frequently. This will ensure even frying, and the edges of the steak will not dry with this technique. If you decide to turn it over rarely, only 2-4 times during the cooking process, then the final result will be a beautiful lattice pattern. However, only if you are grilling the steak.
  8. You can check the readiness of the steak with your fingers. To do this, lightly press down on the steak with your fingertip. The bloody steak is soft and pliable to the touch; well done – hard; medium roast is a cross between the two previous options.
  9. After the meat is ready, you need to remove it with special cooking tongs and leave for 10-15 minutes.
  10. If you are afraid that the steak will cool, then use food foil. You should not neglect this rule, because this is the only way to get a really juicy, mouth-watering, and delicious dinner.
  11. The steak is best served on warm plates. Knives must be sharply sharpened.

Cooking delicious, juicy steaks at home is a snap. It is necessary to learn and clearly follow certain rules. They will help to avoid the difficulties faced by both beginners and experienced chefs.

  1. Cooking a steak is allowed only from fresh, refrigerated products. If the meat has been previously frozen, it should be allowed to thaw overnight.
  2. Before you start creating culinary masterpieces, the meat is heated at room temperature for several hours. Subsequently, it will be much easier to control the uniformity and degree of roasting.
  3. The meat should not be wet, so it is wiped dry with paper towels before cooking.
  4. The width of the meat is of no small importance. The ideal piece of steak is 2.5 to 4 centimeters in size.
  5. When cutting meat yourself, you need to move the knife across the fibers.
  6. Do not place more than 2 pieces of steak in the skillet, as the more there is on the surface, the lower the frying temperature will be, and this will lead to excessive juicing.
  7. Do not be afraid to season the meat well, because exactly “that” restaurant taste is achieved precisely due to the abundance of used seasonings.
  8. The frying process is best done in a heavy pan. This will make it easier to control the process. If it is not a cast-iron product, it is better to warm it up well, but avoid the appearance of smoke, otherwise, the steak will burn before it is cooked inside.
  9. Begin to fry the meat on a high and then at a moderate temperature. This approach ensures uniform roasting, rich taste, and color of the dish. The protein on the surface of the meat curls up and prevents the loss of juice.
  10. A good cook knows how long to fry a beef steak! According to cooking rules, a medium-rare steak takes 4 minutes on each side. With blood, it will fry from 1 to 3, for medium roasting it takes about 3 minutes each, and 6-8 minutes from each side – for a full one.
  11. Do not use forks when turning the steak. This can lead to loss of fluid, so it is best to use special cooking tools.
  12. If in doubt about the readiness of the meat, you can control the process with your fingers. The softer and more pliable it is when touched, the more blood is inside. Be careful not to burn yourself.
  13. Serving meat is desirable on warm plates. In this case, the knives must be sharp.

Delicious steaks are made only from the rib and lumbar parts of the carcass. So that the meat does not deform during frying, it must be on the bone, and layers of fat are needed for the taste. The ideal option is a piece of beef from the lumbar part of the carcass on a T-bone. It is called a short loin and contains a thin edge of the dorsal muscle with a soft notch. We advise you not to waste time looking for it in stores but order it from a butcher in the market. In this case, you will have to cut the meat into steaks yourself with a hacksaw, but we think that this is a slight inconvenience compared to the deliciousness that will turn out.

  1. You can cook steaks from fresh meat, but they will turn out to be harsh and not fragrant. In steak houses, cuts are exposed for a long time, up to 4 weeks, in refrigeration chambers at low humidity, good ventilation, and temperatures close to zero. This process is called “dry” maturation. During it, meat enzymes destroy connective tissue fibers and some proteins, it loses excess moisture. As a result, completely different meat is obtained: tender, rich in flavoring, and aromatic substances. Frying it is a real pleasure.
  2. Pickled and defrosted meat is not suitable for “dry” ripening: changes have taken place in it, due to which ripening becomes impossible.
  3. Before cooking, cut off the dried “crust” if you have meat after “dry” aging, and let it warm up to room temperature: a cold steak will take longer and unevenly to grill. Cut the meat across the grain into pieces at least 2.5 cm thick. One steak should weigh between 500 and 800 g. Before frying, brush the meat with vegetable oil – it will be juicier.
  4. The actual roasting: press the piece against the wire rack for a short time so that the “classic” stripes appear on it. Fry one side for 2-5 minutes, then use tongs or a spatula to turn the meat over to the other side. To check if the steak is ready, do not poke the steak with a knife or fork over and over again to prevent the juice from leaking out. Do this once in the fourth minute, and if the meat is not tender enough, hold the steak for another minute or one and a half.
  5. When the steaks are ready, cover them with foil and let them rest. Let them get to the condition due to the internal heat.

It is not at all necessary to book a table in a steakhouse to taste a steak, because cooking it at home is not as difficult as many might think. You just need to remember a few rules for preparing this dish:

  1. The first and, perhaps, the main point is choosing the right meat. You cannot cook a medium-rare steak from pork or chicken. It is only beef. When choosing meat, you should pay attention to the breed and age of the animal. In most cases, the market sells the meat of an elderly cow that gave milk during its lifetime. Such meat is suitable only for stewing, as it is quite tough and does not have “marble” veins.
  2. For steaks, cuts of special breeds of gobies, for example, Black Angus, are suitable. These animals lead a sedentary lifestyle and are specially fed (grass or grain). The breed in combination with a special diet allows us to buy marbled beef – it is tender meat with thin layers of fat.
  3. The beefsteak must not be frozen. Ideally, this will damage the fibers of the meat during the freezing and thawing process, and as a result, it becomes less juicy. But if the beef steak has been frozen correctly (blast chilled at a very low temperature) and thawed just as correctly (in the refrigerator), then you can still make a decent meal.
  4. Don’t buy fresh meat. The cut must go through a wet or dry maturation stage, then the meat is fermented, softened and its taste will be much improved. For steaks, we recommend buying dry-aged beef.
  5. Do not cook all cuts in the same way. For example, the classic rib-eye steak does not require any preliminary intervention, while the alternative Flank steak should be softened with a marinade.
  6. Once you’ve selected and purchased the right meat, dry it off with paper towels. Before sending the cut to the pan, it must be dried so that the evaporating droplets of moisture do not transfer from the frying process to stewing.
  7. An important rule of thumb: Only cook aged beef steaks that have reached room temperature. So there will be no sharp drop and the meat will retain more juices. Salt should be immediately before cooking, or at least 40 minutes before, by including salt in the marinade. Make sure to pepper the marbled beef steak. Do not feel sorry for dry spices, as they crumble during cooking. If you are cooking a medium-rare steak in a skillet or grill pan, do not pour oil on the surface. Just brush on the cut with a cooking brush; that should be enough.
  8. The best way to cook a medium-rare steak for the first time is to get a cooking thermometer. The temperature inside the cut for medium-rare should be 55-60 ° C. The classic steak thickness is about 3 cm. It should be cooked in a hot skillet for 3 minutes on each side. If you don’t have a cooking thermometer, you can try to feel the roast by touch, just remember to wear rubber gloves to avoid getting burned. Connect the thumb and middle finger of your left hand, and with your right, feel the stiffness of the muscle on the thumb – this is how a medium-rare steak should feel to the touch.
  9. Well, after cooking the steak, he must be given time to rest, during which the juices are evenly distributed throughout the cut. Divide the cooking minutes in half and place the medium-rare steak under the foil during this time. You can put a small cube of butter on top for a delicate, creamy flavor.

A properly fried steak will become a decoration of any table, and it is absolutely not necessary to light up the grill for this, you can cook it in your home kitchen. Today we will tell you a few secrets of how to prepare this dish.

  1. The classic size of a steak is a meat tenderloin 3 cm thick and weighing 400 g, and such proportions were not chosen by chance. They are established through the experiments of many chefs, so their experience should not be neglected. The mass of a piece of meat can be more, some deviations in thickness in the range of 2.5-4 cm are also allowed. But keep in mind that the further you are from ideal, the more difficult it is to choose the time of frying.
  2. Do not cook a steak on an empty stomach. The logic of this secret is very simple if you are drooling, then keeping the meat on the fire for the right time is extremely difficult.
  3. Salt, pepper, and other spices are rubbed into the meat 10-15 minutes before cooking. If you are not a fan of a lot of spices, then just take a knife and gently peel them off the surface of the steak before you start frying.
  4. Steak is a lazy dish and likes to relax. Therefore, the meat is taken out of the refrigerator in advance, about 60 minutes before the start of cooking. And after it is cooked, do not rush to start eating, let the steak lie down for 3-4 minutes.
  5. Proper roasting implies the formation of an appetizing crust at the beginning of the process. To do this, the grill or frying pan (be sure to use special grill pans) must be very hot. To form the desired crust, the meat is fried for 4 minutes on each side.
  6. The frying formula is as follows, 8 minutes per crust, 4 times on each side. And then two times for two minutes on each side, that is, 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 to bring the meat to the desired condition. If the weight of the steak is more than 500 g, then the number of roasting cycles on each side for 2 minutes is increased by 1.5 or 2 times.
  7. The steak is tender and requires proper handling. Turn the meat over with a spatula or special tongs, no punctures or cuts. It is forbidden to press the meat against the grill to speed up the cooking. To assess the readiness of the steak, briefly press on it with the edge of the spatula, the finished meat is more elastic. You will learn this art over time, but first focus on the mass of meat and the time of frying, do not hesitate to set a timer for additional time control.

There is a culinary law: the less the steak is roasted, the juicier and tastier it will turn out. That is why medium-rare is recommended for high-quality beef with pronounced marbling. In this article, we’ll share professional tips and proven recipes on how to make a Medium Rare Steak in your home kitchen.

  1. To begin with, the classic steak is made from aged beef, which has a layer of fat. Moreover, the higher the marbling of the meat, the higher the degree of its roasting can be. Accordingly, if there are few fat layers in the meat, it is better to cook it quickly, choosing the degree of roasting no higher than medium.
  2. A medium-rare steak is not raw meat, as some people think of it. This is a properly cooked steak with a soft pink core inside and an abundance of red juice. Those who call such a steak “meat with blood” do not know that the red liquid is meat juice. Just under the influence of temperature, the protein myoglobin stains it in a reddish tint.
  3. The classic boneless marbled beef steak is fried for 2-3 minutes on both sides. Add to this time another 20 minutes for the steak to heat, and another 5 minutes for the steak to “rest” after cooking.
  4. Most chefs recommend taking steaks from marbled meat, at least 2 cm thick, optimally 2.5 cm. It is believed that this height will not allow the cut to dry out in a pan or grill. Most of the recommendations on how much to fry a medium-rare steak are based on the assumption that the steak is 2.5 cm thick. Fast frying for 4 minutes in a pan instantly seals the meat with a crust, but at the same time, it has time to warm up from the inside. The beefsteak turns out to be juicy, not overdried, and appetizing in appearance.
  5. Our tip: By lengthening the cooking time of the steak, increase the rest time as well. Use the versatile formula by dividing the cooking time in half – this is how much the finished meat will need to evenly distribute the juices.
  6. With a well-heated skillet, cook steaks 2–2.5 cm thick for a couple of minutes on each side. Steaks 4 cm thick – 6 minutes in total, and cuts over 4 cm – 8 minutes. The medium-rare roast has an internal temperature of 54-55 degrees. Another couple of degrees, the meat “picks up” when it is resting. Fully cooked medium-rare steaks have an internal temperature of 57 degrees.
  7. To prepare a classic beef steak, we recommend buying Ribeye marbled beef. Use chilled meats that are moist or dry. It is better to refuse frozen. If there are no options, take blast-frozen meat. With this method of freezing, it retains the maximum useful properties and its excellent taste.
  8. This is a very important point. Observe it if you want to get a juicy medium-rare beef steak. By allowing the meat to catch its breath, you will give it time to distribute the meat juices, which accumulate in one place during the frying process. The average “rest” time is 3-5 minutes. It is better to keep the meat under foil so that there is no sudden temperature drop.

It is important to choose steaks so that it is not a shame to lose the roast. I recommend choosing either rib eye or strip-layer – this is a thick and thin edge. They are juicy, soft, and even if you cannot “catch the roast”, it will not spoil them at all, the meat will remain tasty.

  1. You need to wait until the pan is as hot as possible over high heat. But make sure that it does not start to “burn” and smoke. How do I check if the pan is ready? The easiest way is to drip it with water: if the water starts to “jump” over the entire surface, then the pan is ready.
  2. My life hack: do not salt or pepper raw meat, because at this stage it will not affect its taste and condition in any way. As soon as the pan is ready, layout the steak and begin to fry.
  3. Each part of the carcass is fried in a completely different way, so now we are talking exclusively about striploin. Considering our thickness is from 2.5 to 3 centimeters: rare – 35-40 degrees, medium-rare 45-50, medium – 50-55 degrees. Finally, the medium-well roast is over 60 degrees inside your steak. How long to fry on each side?
  4. There are no exact rules. I like turning the meat over every 1.5-2 minutes more, thereby manually distributing the heat evenly inside the steak. And if you like a fried crust, you can achieve it at the end by holding the steak on each side for a little longer.
  5. The rest of the steak is the same fairy tale as about the “marbling” of meat. Both the first and second is a good marketing ploy, which is now customary to talk about. Once the steak is done, I usually chop, breaking the fiber structure of the meat, and then add salt or whatever spices I like.

Making the perfect steak is not difficult, if, of course, you know some of the rules and follow certain subtleties.

  1. When buying meat in a supermarket, pay attention, in addition to the date of packaging, also on the date of slaughter, it should always be indicated. Count 20-25 days from it, which will be the date from which you can start frying the steak.
  2. It is advisable not to wash the steaks, but to wipe them with a paper towel until they are completely dry.
  3. Do not put more than 2 pieces in one pan, otherwise, the temperature of the pan will drop sharply. The meat will begin to secrete juice, in which it will be stewed, and then the golden-brown crust will not work.
  4. Use the cooking tongs to turn the steaks over, not with a fork, or the juice will leak out.
  5. If the meat cannot be turned over, and it does not lag behind the pan, then a crust has not formed. Then the steak needs a little more time to fry.
  6. Another important tip: the meat for the steak is not beaten, otherwise, it will lose all juices and structure.

Today in the culinary world steaks are prepared from fish, veal, pork, and other meats, but beef is still considered a classic dish. An impeccably cooked steak can be a tough task even for a seasoned cook, as sometimes the meat comes out dry and tough, scorching on the outside before being cooked on the inside. To prevent this from happening, and the dish turned out to be correct and truly tasty, you should know some subtleties.

  1. For the steak, choose a beef tenderloin of a mature animal, but not old or young. The meat should be red or dark red in color, but not pink or burgundy. It is advisable to choose parts of the carcass with fewer tendons and powerful muscles, with fat evenly distributed throughout the piece.
  2. You can determine the softness of the steak with your finger by pressing on the raw meat – the finger is easily immersed, leaving a deep hole, which, after pressing, returns to its original position. If this happens, then the meat is good. If the hole does not expand, the meat is not fresh enough, and if it is difficult to press on it, the steak will be tough.
  3. For a tasty steak, the meat should be properly prepared – remove the film and upper tendons. Cut a piece that is not too thin, and at least 7 cm long. Otherwise, the meat will lose moisture, shrink and become dry. Then, in the center of the piece on the side where the fibers are located along, an incision is made to the middle of the thickness, and the meat is opened like a butterfly.
  4. The steak is marinated from 12 to 48 hours, and before going to the fire, it is well dried with a paper towel. The traditional marinade mixture is vegetable oil, soy sauce, wine vinegar, salt, and seasonings.
  5. The frozen stack is thawed in the refrigerator for 12-14 hours. After that, it is wiped dry and left for 20 minutes before marinating, so that it warms up to room temperature. It is not recommended to defrost the steak in the microwave. Since the top layers of meat are already starting to cook in defrosting mode, the middle remains cold. Subsequently, it will be difficult to get an even roast. Also, it is not advised to defrost meat at room temperature and in warm water.
  6. Meat is fried exclusively in a well-heated heavy frying pan or grill pan. In this case, the pan should not smoke, otherwise, the steak will burn on the outside, but inside will not have time to cook, which will turn out tough. During frying, the protein quickly curls up on the surface of the piece and prevents the liquid from escaping, so the steak is first fried over high heat for 1 minute on each side. This will “seal” the fibers and the meat will retain the juice, which means the steak will be juicy and soft. Next, the dish is brought to the desired degree of roasting at a lower temperature.
  7. The finished meat should be left to lie down for a while. During this time, the juice will be distributed inside the piece, the temperature inside and outside will equalize, and the steak will become warm, tender, and juicy everywhere.
  8. Serve the steak on warm plates, then it will not cool down so quickly. For use, you need sharp knives without chipping so that you can even cut the meat.