The Secret Behind Cooking A Perfect Steak

Most people – or at least meat-eaters – love to eat a good steak. It is arguably one of the most delicious foods out there, and it's definitely one that you are going to want to consider learning how to cook well. Many people wonder about how to cook the perfect steak, and there does seem to be a variety of opinions around this. But as it happens, there are some simple things you can bear in mind which will help you to do much more easily and effectively. Let's take a look at some of the secrets behind the perfect steak.

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Sourcing Good Meat
The first thing is one of the most obvious, and that is to make sure that you are working with good-quality meat. The main barrier to doing this for most people is money – it can cost a lot to find good meat to use for steaks. However, when you do find a good source, it can be wonderful, and if it is a rare treat then it is certainly worth the extra money. You can also look out for other signs that it's probably good meat, such as being dry-aged for a long time. Check out this info on What is Dry-Aged Steak? for more on this and why it makes such a huge difference.

Seasoning
It's amazing how many people forget about seasoning their steaks, and yet this is such a vital and basic part of making sure that your steak is as delicious as possible. The seasoning just needs to be salt and pepper, but there is an important consideration here, which is this: you need to add quite a bit more of the salt and pepper than you might assume. That's because most of it melts away in the first instance of adding the steak to the pan. After you have added it to one side, put the steak in the pan and add it to the other. That should suffice.

Timing
This is the part that most people seem to struggle with, though in truth it shouldn't be all that hard. The important thing to be aware of with timing is that it's much more important to play it by ear than to simply adhere to a fixed predetermined time. The best way is to learn how to know when a steak is cooked to the degree you are hoping for. In other words, you should make sure it is feeling right – and this is just one of those things that can take a bit of practice to learn. Once you have mastered it, however, you'll find it makes a huge difference.

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Resting
You will often hear chefs talk about resting steaks and other types of meat – but is this really important? Well, the answer is yes – it makes a huge difference to the taste. That's because, when it rests, the proteins combine more and more, which leads to a deeper texture and taste than you would have otherwise. Rest your steak for five minutes before serving – it will help.