If you're looking for that perfect medium-rare interior, cooking steak can be a little intimidating, especially for the home cook. There are a few tips that make the process a lot easier and can yield the perfect steak, without the grill.
A few tips for cooking steak on the stove top:
- Turn on your vent in your microwave or hood. We're cooking at very high heat and sometimes things get smoky.
- Use a cast-iron or a grill pan, avoiding non stick pans. Cast iron may be your best option; it holds its temperature very well and does a good job at searing the meat. I use a grill pan because I just like those grill marks. They remind me of summer even if it isn't the "real" thing.
- You don't need much oil, or any really. We're heating our pan to very, very high heat, so avoid the burns and splatters, use very little oil, or avoid it completely. After a few minutes of cooking, the skin of the meat will release from the pan, so you don't have to worry about not being able to flip it.
- Get your pan as hot as it will go, and keep it that way throughout the cooking process. Theres nothing sadder to me than a piece of cooked red meat with a lifeless grey surface. High heat sears and cooks the outside quickly, and leaves the interior nice and medium rare.
- After cooking, remove your steak from the pan and let it rest on a cutting board for 5 minutes. If you cut into it right out of your cast iron pan, juices are going to go everywhere. This rest times allows the meat to reabsorb the moisture, yielding a juicier steak.
