To cook a steak right you need to begin by buying the right cut of meat. Try to buy the best quality meat that you can afford. USDA Prime Aged Beef is your best bet followed by Choice, which is the next grade.
The steak should feel firm and look a pale cherry color. It should not be deep red in color. Opt for steaks that have marbling. Marbling refers to the fine fibers of fat that are present in meat and give it added flavor.
While choosing steaks, pay attention to their thickness rather than their weight. Good steaks are between an inch and inch and a half in thickness. Very thin steaks are likely to be dry.
Before starting to cook steaks, bring them to room temperature. If your steak is too cold, the meat will contract when it comes into contact with heat. This will cause the meat to toughen.
Ideally you should take your steaks out of the refrigerator at least an hour before you plan to start cooking. Using paper towels, pat them dry. The steak should be as dry as possible before you cook it.
Never add salt to your steaks before cooking them. Salting meat ahead of cooking makes it moist and you just end up steaming it instead of actually cooking it. Add salt after cooking the steaks, just before you serve them.
If you insist on slating your steaks, makes sure you use sea salt or kosher salt - not table salt. Sprinkle salt on both sides of the meat. Allow the steak to rest for an hour at room temperature. The next step is to rinse the steak with water so that any excess salt gets washed away. Pat the steak with paper towels till it is completely dry and then begin cooking.
The secret to getting your steaks right is to use a meat thermometer while grilling. You should take the steaks out from the grill five degrees ahead of reaching the desired temperature. As a rule, to cook your steaks rare, you should cook at a temperature of 120 degrees F, at 125 degrees F for medium rare and at 130 degrees F for medium. For best results, buy a digital meat thermometer.
You should always allow the steaks to rest for ten minutes before serving them. This is because the meat keeps cooking even after you remove it from the grill.
If you are planning to cook your meat in a pan, make sure you use a heavy pan over a moderate heat. Heat olive oil in the pan, add the steaks and sear them while moving them around using tongs. Normally cooking for about 5 minutes on each side is sufficient. Check to see if the meat is done by inserting a meat thermometer. Once the steaks are done to your satisfaction, take them off the pan and cover them with aluminum foil. Let the steaks stand for ten minutes before serving them. You can either serve the steaks whole or you can slice them thinly.
0 ความคิดเห็น:
Post a Comment