How Can I Make My Steak Juicy And Tender
8 Simple Ways to Make Tough Meat TenderPhysically tenderize the meat. For tough cuts like chuck steak, a meat mallet can be a surprisingly effective way to break down those tough muscle fibers. Use a marinade. Dont forget the salt. Let it come up to room temperature. Cook it low-and-slow. Hit the right internal temperature. Rest your meat. Slice against the grain.
Is Medium Rare Steak Safe To Eat
When you see the pink part in the steak you get concerned about your health. You take it as if it is not properly cooked. The next thing you think after seeing pink meat in steak is that if it is still having bacteria. Medium rare steak is sometimes mistaken with rare steak. It is having an easily identifiable red color. You should know that medium-rare steak is not the same as rare steak or raw meat.
A medium-rare rib rack wont hurt you if it is stored safely before cooking and well cooked. The average medium rare steak is cooked at a safe temperature. It is not further cooked when the temperature reaches 135- and 140-degrees Fahrenheit. Then it is let to sit for few minutes so that juiciness and flavor are distributed properly.
During this time, the temperature of the steak rises slightly because the heat continues to cook the steak. Hence, the average medium-rare steak should be at 145 degrees Fahrenheit. It is then safe to eat.
Cooking Steak On The Stove/oven
If you’re cooking a steak indoors, the best method is one that has gained popularity over the last few years the reverse sear. The reverse sear is when you cook the steak rather slowly in the oven, then finish by searing it on the stovetop. The benefit of this method is that you’re less likely to overcook the steak, and you have more control over the sear.
Preheat your oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit, and put the steaks in the oven on a baking sheet. Cook them until the internal temperature is 110 degrees Fahrenheit which will take about an hour.
Just before you take the steaks out, drizzle oil in your heaviest skillet and set it over high heat. Take the steaks out, and put them in the pan. Sear them on both sides and finish by searing the edges.
You can also do the searing process outside on the grill – but then, why would you want to miss out on the ease, consistency, and wood fired taste of cooking your steak on a pellet grill? Makes no sense.
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How Do I Cook A Steak Medium Rare
HOW TO COOK THE PERFECT STEAK Rub the steak all over with a good lug of olive oil and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Add the steak to a hot pan, then cook for 6 minutes for medium rare, or to your liking, turning every minute. For more flavour, try one or a combination of the following
Expert Level Touch Technique
The final technique for grilling the perfect medium-rare steak requires trial and error. However, in the long run, mastering the touch technique of cooking medium-rare steak cut every time but also you can impress your family and friends.
When you want to execute this practice, the medium-rare steak will squish or sag when it is slightly squeezed with your finger. If the steak is rare, it will be more squished or it will have an imprint where you have pressed it with your finger. A medium steak or even more cooked steak will not give out at all or might be very little.
It will take time for you to perfect the expert touch method. You can do so by touching the thumb with your middle fingertip. Now touch the fleshy part of your palm under the thumb. What you feel is how your medium-rare steak will be.
When you have seared the steak, hold the steak with a pair of tongs. Now poke the thickest part of the steak with one finger. If it feels like the fleshy part of your palm, it means the steak is medium-rare grilled.
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If You Like Your Steak Medium
Medium-rare is the most-requested doneness at Capa where Massip’s personal favorite is the 12-ounce bone-in filet. For medium-rare, aim for an internal temperature of around 130 degrees. For a 1-inch thick steak, this should take about 7 minutes of cooking on each side. Let the meat rest for up to 10 minutes before serving. Massip says stick with leaner cuts if you like your steak cooked medium-rare and recommends a hanger or strip steak.
How Do I Know When My Steak Is Done With A Thermometer
Test for doneness using a meat thermometer or instant-read thermometer. Insert thermometer through side of cut, tip in the center, not touching bone or fat. Remove steaks and burgers from heat when thermometer registers 5°F lower than desired doneness. Rest your steaks. Temperature will continue to rise.
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Cooking Steak On A Charcoal Grill
Grilling steak over charcoal can be tricky. It’s difficult to know the exact temperature of the cooking surface, and that temperature can vary depending on the type of charcoal you used and how evenly you spread the charcoal.
Briquette charcoal can give you temperatures of around 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Lump charcoal may be able to generate higher temperatures. You can check for a high temperature on your charcoal grill using the hand test. Hold your hand at grate level, and if you can only keep it there for 2 to 3 seconds before it gets too hot, you have a 400 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit surface to grill.
If you’ve got that heat, you can grill using the timing instructions above. But beware your charcoal grill may have hot or cool spots that can affect the cooking time. You’ll have to keep a close watch and you won’t be able to set it and forget it like you can with a Traeger.
For wood smoke flavor, you can use wood chips. Typically, you add wood chips directly to charcoals, but this can affect the heat you’re generating.
If you add dry wood chips, they could flare up and burn your steak. If you add soaked wood chips, they will cool down the charcoal. A foil pack added before cooking is probably your best bet.
Internal Temp Of Steak
To check the internal temp of steak use an instant-read thermometer. Insert it into the thickest part of the steak. Here are the temperature ranges to look for :
- Rare : 120 130 degrees
- Medium-Rare : 130 140 degrees
- Medium : 140 145 degrees
- Medium-Well : 145 155 degrees
- Well-Done : 160 degrees
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Moisture Is The Enemy
The Maillard reaction gives grilled steak its irresistible aroma.
That’s why we cook it over fire rather than boiling it something that’s boiling in water can never get over 212 degrees Fahrenheit, because that’s the highest possible temperature of the water.
But some people do effectively boil their steaks on the grill by throwing them on when the surface of the meat is moist with condensation or a marinade.
GRILLING WET STEAK IS LIKE STARTING A RACE GOING UPHILL.
Grilling wet steak is like starting a race going uphill. Your grill can’t cook your steak until it first evaporates the water which takes a lot of energy. Your steak can’t get past the 212 Fahrenheit marker and toward Maillard levels, until all that water is gone. Meanwhile, the internal temperature of the steak is rising because of the ambient heat around it.
You can end up with the worst of both worlds no browning on the surface of the steak, and overcooked meat within it.
Here are a few ways to banish moisture from your steak:
How To Evaluate Grill Temperature
Temperature of the grill is the next important variable to evaluate. I find it essential to be able to use your hand to evaluate the temperature of your grill.
I use the method where you hold you hand 1 inch over the grate and start counting. The amount of seconds that pass before you need to remove your hand is the value you’ll use to assess your grill temperature.
For example if you can hold your hand 1 inch over the grate for 2-3 seconds you have a perfect high heat for grilling a steak.
If you can only hold your hand there for 1 second or less you have a way too hot high heat and I advise not cooking just yet.
Holding your hand for 3-4 seconds is about a medium heat and 4-5 seconds is a medium low-low heat.
This method works for Great for charcoal but this Method also can be used for the Best Natural Gas Grills as well. Just use the same tips and time considerations for gas or charcoal.
These are all estimates but the key here is that once you get a feel for your own grill setup you will be able to know how long YOUR hand can stay over top of YOUR heat source to grill a perfect steak.
Essentially you’ll be calibrating your own temperature measurement system. The numbers that I give above are relative to MY hand over top of MY heat source.
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How Do You Know If A Steak Is Discreet
How to control your steak temperature without a raw thermometer. Feel the palm just below the thumb. Raw. Now take your thumb to the index finger and touch the same part of the palm again. Underdone. Touch your thumb with your middle finger. Medium. Move your thumb to the ring. Well done. Now press the little finger with your thumb.
Cooking Steak On The Grill
Once the meat fillet has spent a few good hours in the , it is time to pop it over the grill. The duration of cooking a steak on the grill is totally dependent on two factors the first is the thickness of the meat fillet. Another factor is the type of steak that you want. The different types include rare, medium-rare, and well done.
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The Expert Level Touch Technique
The final technique when it comes to grilling the perfect steak to medium-rare perfection can require a bit of trial and error. In the long run, however, mastering the touch technique to steak doneness can not only create a perfect medium-rare cut every time, but it also looks pretty darn impressive to friends and family.
When it comes to execution, a medium-rare steak will have some squish or give when lightly pressed on with your finger. If a steak is rare, it will be all squish and will hold an indent from where its been pressed. A medium steak, or one cooked even longer, wont give at all, or only minimally. It may take some time, trial and error to perfect the touch method, but weve found this is undoubtedly the best for ensuring the perfect level of medium rare doneness time in and out.
You can use this method as you cook steak to gauge doneness. First, hold your hand up and touch the tip of your middle finger to your thumb. With your other hand, poke the fleshy part of your palm underneath the thumb. What you feel is how your steak should feel for medium-rare.
After youre done searing steak, hold the steak with a pair of tongs. Then, poke the thickest part of the meat with one finger. Does it feel like the fleshy part of your palm did in your test? If so, your steak should be medium rare!
The Wrap Up
How To Cook Medium
My favorite way to cook a medium-rare steak is in a smoking-hot, cast-iron skillet. If you prefer char-grilled flavor or youre cooking a bone-in steak, take the steak outside and cook it on a preheated gas or charcoal grill. Either way, it should take about 4 to 5 minutes per side for a 1-inch steak. If youre cooking a thicker steak, one of our favorite steak-grilling secrets is to use our foolproof indirect heat method.
For the ultimate medium-rare experience, you can sous vide your steak. Simply vacuum seal your steak, set the temperature to 130°F and cook for about 90 minutes. Then, take the steak out of the bag, pat dry with a paper towel, season liberally with salt and pepper and reverse-sear on all sides in a hot cast-iron pan. Enjoy!
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Whats Wrong With A Well
Although the cooked steak is hard, dry and tasteless, there will always be those who insist that the steaks are cooked in this way. The result is that the inside of a well-cooked steak has a uniform gray color, and the steak itself is tough, tough, tasteless and dry. This is not cooking its a murder fire.
How To Check For Medium
Now that you are armed with the what and why of a medium-rare perfectly cooked steak, its time to talk application. If you dont know how to check the level of doneness of a steak, you might end up with a medium cooked or a medium well steak, despite your best intentions of cooking a steak to medium-rare.
Because cutting into a steak while cooking to assess the appearance of its insides will allow juices to escape and leave you with something resembling steak tartare, we recommend checking doneness in other ways to preserve your steaks texture and flavor. When it comes to knowing how to cook steak or grill a steak medium-rare, there are a few tried and true techniques to choose from.
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Cooking Steak In A Sous Vide
Your sous vide will get your steak exactly to your desired doneness temperature. However, it takes a lot longer than cooking on a grill probably about an hour.
MAILLARD REACTION CAN’T HAPPEN IN A SOUS VIDE AS THE TEMPERATURE OF THE WATER ISN’T HIGH ENOUGH
Also, that important Maillard reaction above can’t happen in a sous vide as the temperature of the water isn’t high enough. Experienced sous vide cooks recommend searing the steak first, then beginning the sous vide process.
Grilled Medium Rare Steak
- 4 8 ounce Top Sirloin Steaks
- 1 tbsp Chicago Steak Company Seasoning
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
See below for more information about temperatures and cook time based on the thickness of your sirloins.
Top Sirloin Steaks Cooking Chart
| Thickness |
|---|
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Important Things To Keep In Mind
An important thing to keep in mind is to cook the steak for a few minutes over direct heat before moving it to indirect heat.
Another crucial factor is to let the steak rest for a few minutes after removing it from the grill. If you slice the steak immediately after removing it from the grill, it will not be as juicy.
To ensure that your steak is perfectly cooked, juicy, and not dry, make sure to only use tongs and not poke any knife into the meat fillet while it is cooking.
Adding the marinade to the meat fillet with a brush while it is on the grill ensures that your steak is juicy and full of flavors.
Just What Is Medium Rare Anyways
Medium rare is a shorthand term used to describe the degree of doneness of a cut of beef. While the broad definition is fine and dandy, calling a steak cut medium-rare doesnt convey much without a few key points of reference. Heat wise, the temperature of a medium-rare steak cut will reach a maximum of 130-140 degrees Fahrenheit. Visually, a medium-rare steak will have a medium pink to red center and will be warm to the touch. Contrary to popular belief, the cut will not be red meat, undercooked meat, or raw meat, but rather, have a light pink center thats safe to eat.
The benefits of cooking medium-rare steaks are numerous. The temperature of a medium-rare steak is just hot enough to allow the marbling, or fat, to melt into the meat and distribute flavor and juiciness. Cook steak to medium or well-done, and youll most likely get a tough piece of meat that will give your jaw muscles a workout. Cook a steak less than medium-rare, and the fat doesnt have the same opportunity to distribute not to mention, you will also be jamming a hunk of cold squishy beef in your mouth.
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How Do You Tell If A Steak Is Medium Rare Without Cutting Into It
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Chefs know exactly how long to cook a steak in order to bring out the natural juiciness. Cooking a restaurant-worthy porterhouse, T-bone or fillet requires perfect timing and heat. Medium rare is often considered the best compromise between the natural taste of the meat and a seared crust.
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