Originally Posted By: The Critic
Just moved into an apartment (which is why I've been AWOL for the last few days) and I need to start learning how to cook. Earlier tonight, I bought a big pack of sirloin steaks from the local supermarket. What's a good way to cook these?
Thanks!
There are a million ways to cook a steak and 99% of the time, I go for quick and simple. It depends on whether I'm grilling it or cooking on the stove top. Either way, the prep is the same for me.
Preparation
- Put a light coating of olive oil on the steak.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Push seasoning into steak with the back of a serving spoon.
- Let steak sit on counter for ~20 minutes or until slightly below room temperature.
Stove Top
- Set burner to medium or medium low and let cast iron skillet heat up for about 10 or 15 minutes (you can use olive oil or butter). Avoid the urge to turn the heat up too high, or it will just smoke.
- Cook for four minutes uncovered, flip and cook for another four minutes.
An alternative recipe calls for using an oil with a high burn point. You try to get the pan as hot as possible (it will probably smoke) and then sere the outside of the steak for about a minute on each side and then put the pan and steak into the oven (set to broil) for about 4 or 5 minutes. This makes for an awesome steak but take a lot of practice.
Grill
- Turn all of the burners on high, close top and max out the temperature.
- Put steak on grill for about two minutes and flip it.
- Let other side cook for two minutes.
- Turn off unused burners and turn down to medium.
- Cook steak(s) in covered grill for about four minutes.
One of the tricks for cooking steaks is to remember that they will continue to cook for about a minutes after you take them off of the heat source. Try to take them off of the grill or skillet when they are slightly pinker than desired. Also, when cooking beef, it's a good idea to not just pull it out of the fridge and throw it onto the heat source. Grilling cold food is a good way to excessively burn the surface, while attempting to bring the center to the correct temperature.
I also highly recommend investing in a digital instant read thermometer. The dial thermometers work fine too but you have to remember that the sensor is about two inches from the end, so you have to puncture the meat on the side and stick it fairly far into it. The digital thermometers typically have the sensor at the very end.