The perfect steak

The perfect steak

A slight crust on the outside, soft and juicy on the inside – that’s what a good steak should be like. We explain how.

The most important requirement for a good steak is good meat, preferably organic. For quick frying, the parts of the animal with short muscle fibres are best, as these do not work as hard and are delicately marbled with fat. The juiciest and most tender cuts come from the back (rib-eye, sirloin and fillet) and the inside of the leg. If you like a more meaty steak, choose a cut from the haunches or topside.

The steak should be the same thickness throughout (three centimetres is ideal) and have no connective tissue, sinews or silverskin. Do not cut off any fat as it will stop the meat from drying out during frying and improve the flavour. Take the meat out of the fridge an hour before cooking to allow it to reach room temperature. This means that it will not cool the pan down as quickly when you are browning it. Rinse the steak under cold running water and pat it dry with kitchen paper. In principle, good quality steak needs no seasoning. But if you prefer your steak seasoned, then always follow this rule: add salt before frying and pepper afterwards, otherwise the pepper will burn in the pan and become bitter. You can also fry garlic cloves or sprigs of oregano, rosemary or thyme with the steak to add flavour.

The best steak pans are made from steel or cast iron and have a thick, flat base. Non-stick pans are not suitable because they do not reach a high enough temperature.

And now you’re ready to start by heating the pan. When it is really hot, add a little fat or oil with a high smoke point. Ideal choices include clarified butter, palm oil, lard, peanut oil, rapeseed oil or special frying oil. Put the steak in the pan and fry it on both sides for between two and eight minutes (see below). Then take the meat out of the pan and leave it to rest on the grill rack in the oven at a temperature of 50°C for three to four minutes. Now is the moment to sprinkle your steak with pepper, another freshly ground spice or finely grated orange or lemon zest. Enjoy your meal!

Cooking times for one steak, 2–3 cm thick, around 200 g, on each side

Rare (very red), 2–3 min.: Only the thin outer layer of the steak is browned. Inside it looks bloody and the juices when you cut it are dark red in colour.

Medium rare (red), 2.5–4.5 min.: The meat has a crispy crust and is bloody in the middle. The juices are reddish.

Medium (partially cooked), 3.5–5 min.: The steak is still pink in the middle and the juices are pink coloured.

Medium well (cooked almost through), 4–6 min.: The meat is consistently pink and the juices are pale pink to grey in colour.

Well done (cooked through), 4–8 min.: The steak is consistently reddish-brown throughout and the juices are light grey to clear.

Please note that the meat juices are not blood! The red colour comes from myoglobin in the cells. It contains iron and the red pigments responsible for the colour of the meat and turns greyish at temperatures above 65°C.

Text: Rainer Meier