How Do Restaurants Get Steaks So Tender
Many restaurants use an electric heating element under the cooking surface to quickly and evenly cook steaks.
You can do this at home by using a pan with a non-stick coating on the bottom.
This will allow you to quickly cook your steak without any oil or butter because the hot pan will create enough lubrication for your food.
How To Cook Steak On The Grill
- Set up the grill at least 15 minutes before you start grilling. Start with clean grill plates to prevent steaks from sticking when flipping.
- Preheat grill or barbecue Your grill needs to be HOT! At least 450°F to get a good sear and a crispy edges. Find the hottest areas by carefully and slowly waving your hand 6 inches above the grill plates.
- Lightly oil Using tongs, lightly grease grill plates with a folded paper towel dipped in oil.
- Pat steaks dry Let steaks sit out at room temperature for at least 15 minutes, then pat dry with paper towel to ensure the perfect sear. Season with salt and pepper, plus anything else you like: paprika, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, etc.
- Flip with tongs Use a pair of tongs instead of a barbecue fork to avoid piercing holes in the meat and releasing crucial juices. Flip only once during cook time to give them time to form that beautiful crust. Youll know they are ready when they easily lift off the grill.
- Drizzle steaks with a little browned butter.
The Type Of Salt And How Much To Use
If youre seasoning a steak for the grill, put away the table salt and grab kosher salt or coarse sea salt!
The larger granules in these salts dissolve slower and make it less likely that the meat will be too salty. Salt draws out moisture, but as the steak air dries , that salty moisture is reabsorbed, softening the proteins and seasoning the meat all the way through.
To season a 1 1/2-inch thick, bone-in steak, use 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt or coarse sea salt and 1 teaspoon ground pepper.
Pat the steak dry with a paper towel and used your hands to press the salt and pepper on the front, back, and sides of the steak.
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How To Season A Steak
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A great beefsteak with a crispy outer crust and tender interior starts with the right seasoning. Steak seasoning technique involves accurate timing and even meat coverage. To achieve a flavorful coating, use a blend of spices and oil.
How To Make Steak Seasoning
If you run out of your favorite spice blend or Montreal steak seasoning, you can create your own spice blend for steaks at home with a stocked spice rack. Heres a quick and simple recipe to make your own yummy mixture to season steak with:
- 2 tablespoons Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
Combine all ingredients well. Brush olive oil all over the steak, then sprinkle the blend on both sides to season steak.
An even easier way to make steak seasoning isto not make it at all! Instead, grab some Chicago Steak Seasoning the next time youre placing your online order from Chicago Steak Company. It includes salt, garlic, paprika, and a blend of other spices to make a perfectly seasoned steak, every single time.
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How Long Do You Cook Steak On A Grill
Grill the steaks until golden brown and slightly charred, 4 to 5 minutes, according to taste. Be sure the steaks have cooked 2 to 3 minutes medium-rare and are ready to grill. Steaks to 175 degree F are cooked 5-8 minutes, steaks to 140 degree F are cooked 5-10 minutes, and wells to 150 degrees F are cooked 8-12 minutes.
Dont Forget To Let The Steak Rest
Cooking the steak to ten degrees below your desired temp and then resting it allows for the collagen in the meat to thicken the juices as it cools slightly, says Prentiss. This creates a way juicier steak than just cooking straight to temp.
Sharp agrees. Let it rest. This is crucial, he says. Just because the steak is out of the pan doesnt mean it stopped cooking. Keep it in a warm placeyou don’t want a cold steakand rest it for about as long as you cooked it.
Chef Carlos recommends allowing the steak to rest for half the cooking time before servingso if your steak takes 10 minutes to cook, youd let it rest for five.
If youre not able to keep the steak warm while it rests, or you want to eat it quite hot, Prentiss recommends returning the steak to the grill after its rested and bringing it up to the internal temperature of your preference before eating.
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How To Season A Steak For The Grill
One lesson youve certainly taken away from watching your parents cook is that seasoning is everything. And if theres one step that can truly take your steak to the next level, its seasoning your meat with intent and generosity.
Why have a good steak when you can have a perfect steak? While it may seem obvious, adding a few common seasonings to your steak can truly elevate the meat’s already delicious flavor. The best part about this step is it only takes a few minutes.
After properly defrosting your steak and heating up your grill, brush the meat with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. While those toppings may seem basic, theyre really all you need to make your steak delicious. Adding enough salt to a steak is one of those steakhouse secrets only the experts know.
However, if you want your steak to have a little extra kick, feel free to add some paprika and garlic to it as well. After seasoning your steak to perfection, toss it onto the grill. For more tips and tricks to grill the perfect steak, click here.
Grilled Steak With A Browned Butter Sauce
Whether your grilling tender eye fillets, or Skirt Steak, any wet ingredient you baste your steak with on the barbecue will usually end up running over your steaks and through the bars on your grill plates. Of course this depends on how runny your sauces or marinades are.
With steaks seared in a skillet, its so easy to keep all of the browned butter surrounding your steak in the same place .
However, not so much browned butter can happen on a grill. This is where this recipe comes in!
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Best Steak For Grilling:
While the type of steak you should use is dependent on your personal taste, I find fattier cuts like bone-in ribeye or New York Strip to be the best steak for grilling. The steaks you see in this post are bone-in ribeye.
Aim for steaks that are thick. This makes it easier to achieve an adequate crust on the steak without over cooking the center.
The risk we take with grilling thinner steak is we dont get a nice sear on the outside while the inside is just right, OR we get the sear but the inside is overcooked. Or both.
If you have a favorite cut of steak, go for it! Remember, dry brining really brings out all the wonderful attributes of steak so even leaner cuts will work if youre okay with not getting those crispy melt-in-your-mouth bites of fat.
The Food Lab’s Definitive Guide To Grilled Steak
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Summer’s here and I’ve got a brand-new backyard to grill in, so now seems like as good a time as any to reexamine some of the things we know about grilling beef.
Sure, we can all agree on what our goal is: A perfect steak should have a crusty, crunchy, well-browned exterior surrounding a core of perfectly pink, juicy, tender meat that spans from edge to edge. A perfect steak should have a nice contrast between the smoky, almost charred exterior and the deeply beefy interior. A perfect steak should be chin-drippingly juicy and melt-in-your-mouth tender.
We all know where we want to go. The real debate is, what’s the best way to get there? You’ve just dropped $50 on some prime aged beef, and you’re rightfully nervous about screwing it all up. After all, there’s a lot at… ahem, wait for it… steak.
Want to know how to grill a steak? Here’s my advice: Do not do it the way they do it at steakhouses. It seems counterintuitive: Surely a restaurant with years of experience cooking hundreds of steaks a day knows a thing or two about how it’s done, right? Well, yes. They know how to cook a steak in a steakhouse setting, where their goal is consistency, quality, and, more importantly, speed. Hungry customers don’t want to have to wait for their meat, and a steakhouse has equipment and techniques designed to meet those needs.
Ready to dive in? Let’s go!
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Why Do Restaurant Steaks Taste So Good
There are some secrets to cooking the perfect steak, and once youve mastered this technique, you will always be able to impress your guests. If youre looking for a new take on this classic dish, then check out these expert tips!
Try the correct type of meat Ribeye steaks are among the most popular types of steak because they are flavorful and not too tough. Other good options include T-bone or Porterhouse. A bit more tender but still with plenty of flavours is filet mignon.
How To Make My Steak Juicy And Tender
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Can I Use Just Salt And Pepper To Season Steak
Absolutely! In fact, this is what many people even top chefs sometimes choose to do with steak. A steak seasoning isnt always necessary, but its one way to switch up the flavor of steak a bit.
The most important tip to keep in mind is to use salt. Even if you dont want to add anything else to your steak, still use salt. Itll help break down the meat fibers to make a more tender steak while giving the beef extra flavor.
How To Grill Top Round Steak
Trying to master how to grill top round steak? No worries! We have got you covered!
Grilling a top-round steak is not as difficult as it may seem. In this blog post, we will walk you through the process step-by-step so that you can grill your steak to perfection.
We will provide tips on seasoning and marinating your steak, as well as advice on cooking times and temperatures. So, whether you are a seasoned griller or a novice, read on for all the information you need to make the perfect top-round steak!
Contents
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Remove Your Steak From The Grill
Once your steak has reached its desired internal temperature, its time to take it off of the grill. Make sure to let it rest for about five minutes before slicing into it. This will give the juices a chance to redistribute and ensure that your steak is nice and juicy.
And there you have it! Your very own guide on how to grill a top-round steak. I hope you find it helpful.
Happy grilling!
How Long To Leave Steak Out Before Cooking
When grilling, steaks should be removed from the fridge at least 20 minutes before cooking. This will allow them to come to room temperature. A cold steak is hard to sear and will cool down the pan when you put it in. This will make the final product tough to eat. After 20 minutes, flip it over and cook the other side. Let it rest for another 5 minutes and serve. Now, the question may be: how long should I leave a steak out before cooking?
The official time to leave food out is 4 hours, but that number is still subject to error. There are some exceptions to the rule, and you should always be cautious. A steak can safely be left out for an hour. It should be kept out for up to an hour after it is cooked. But you should only leave it out for two hours if it is perishable. The reason for this is because perishable foods such as fish and vegetables can become unsafe if left out for more than two hours. Moreover, the Danger Zone is a temperature between 40 degF and 140 degF, which is where bacteria can grow rapidly.
Steaks should be rested for two to five minutes after cooking. The sear temperature in a restaurant is higher than the ones used at home, and this means that your steak can be overcooked and set off the smoke detectors in your home. The longer it rests, the better it will be, and the steak will taste better. So, when you decide to serve steak, take a few minutes to let it rest.
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Dont Use The Wrong Kind Of Salt And When In Doubt Oversalt
True sea salt is always the way to go when seasoning a steak, Prentiss says. We use Jacobsen’s Kosher Salt from Portland, Oregon. The grains are medium sized and have a pleasant minerality that lends itself perfectly to grilled beef. Any true fleur de sel or sel gris type sea salt will work well for good beef. Avoid table salt, iodized salt or small fine-grain sea salts as they have more weight to volume than larger grain salts and you can easily over season with them. Just think medium grain, true sea salt.
Cervantez is a fan of kosher salt, which is, according to experts, virtually identical to sea salt. Cervantez is a fan of pepper, as well, and recommends combining both in equal quantities.
And when you do, Always overseason your steaks a bit, adds chef Christian Ragano. Hes the executive chef at Cindys, the rooftop restaurant at the Chicago Athletic Association. When you think it’s enough, always add a little more. A lot of salt and pepper always falls off during the cooking process and doesn’t always penetrate the meat.
Jayawardena of FireLake Grill House & Cocktail Bar in Bloomington, Minnesota, agrees. Now is not the time to be shy about seasoning, he says, adding that salt is the most important ingredient you could ever add to a steak. Do this before you let the steaks rest so the seasoning has time to work its way deep into the meat.
Selecting The Right Cut
First, a definition. Steaks are basically any piece of meat that falls under the category of “fast-cooking” cutscuts that are low enough in connective tissue that they don’t require the long cooking times that “slow-cooking” cuts require. The difference between a steak and roast essentially comes down to size. Any good roast can be cut into individual steaks .
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Choose Your Steak Of Choice
Thick cut steaks consist of:
- Ribeye: This steak is. well marbled and full of flavor. It comes from the middle of the cow in the ribs section. It has high fat content which gives it extra flavor. You will need to trim the fat to avoid flare-ups.
- Strip Steak: Also known as New York Strip Steak, it is tender and a little chewy coming from the rear of the cow. This is my steak of choice and easy to grill with no potential flare-ups.
- T-Bone: Shaped like a T, it brings together two steaks. The tenderloin and a chewier strip steak.
Thin Cut Steaks Consist of:
- Flank Steak: This steak comes from the belly of the cow and is rich in flavor. Always serve the flank steak sliced and cut against the grain.
- Hanger Steak: This comes from the belly of the cow, the part of the cow that hangs down. It has a strong beefy flavor and is great for marinating.
- Skirt Steak: The skirt comes from the diaphragm of the cow. It is a thin cut with plenty of fat and works well with a high heat searing. Should. also be sliced against the grain.
