Steak does not tolerate compromise. Therefore, in order to properly prepare it (fragrant, soft and moderately fried), you should follow the basic rules. Let's talk about this and talk about it in this article.

In the photo there is a ready-made steak of medium rare (Medium rare)

The content of the article:

Steak was first invented in the distant times of Ancient Rome. Millennia later, in the 15th century, it became famous in Great Britain, and was published by one of the books in 1460. Well, then, the technology of its preparation began to spread throughout Europe. Nowadays the Americans have popularized the steak and raised it to the rank of the national dish. Although it is used and loved in all countries of the world.

Nowadays, many people mistakenly call a steak a whole fried piece of meat. In fact, a real steak is a whole algorithm of actions that allows you to truly enjoy the original meat dish. This is a piece of meat that is cut across the grain and roasted on a grill or pan. Steak meat is suitable for those areas of the carcass where the muscles have not been actively used to move the animal. Of the whole carcass of an animal, no more than 10% is suitable for cooking steaks, and this is the main reason for the high cost of the dish.

Today in the culinary world steaks are prepared from fish, veal, pork and other meats, but beef is still considered a classic dish. An impeccably cooked steak can be a tough task even for a seasoned cook, as sometimes the meat comes out dry and tough, scorching on the outside before being cooked on the inside. To prevent this from happening, and the dish turned out to be correct and truly tasty, you should know some subtleties.

• For the steak, choose a beef tenderloin of a mature animal, but not old or young. The meat should be red or dark red in color, but not pink or burgundy. It is advisable to choose parts of the carcass that have fewer tendons and powerful muscles, with fat evenly distributed throughout the piece.
• You can determine the softness of the steak with your finger by pressing on the raw meat - the finger easily sinks, leaving a deep hole, which, after pressing, returns to its original position. If this happens, then the meat is good. If the hole does not expand, the meat is not fresh enough, and if it is difficult to press on it, the steak will be tough.
• For a tasty steak, the meat should be properly prepared - remove the film and upper tendons. Cut a piece that is not too thin, and at least 7 cm long. Otherwise, the meat will lose moisture, shrink and become dry. Then, in the center of the piece on the side where the fibers are located along, an incision is made to the middle of the thickness, and the meat is opened with a "butterfly".
• The steak is marinated from 12 to 48 hours, and before going to the fire, it is well dried with a paper towel. The traditional marinade mixture is vegetable oil, soy sauce, wine vinegar, salt and seasonings.
• The frozen stack is thawed in the refrigerator for 12-14 hours. After that, it is wiped dry and left for 20 minutes before marinating, so that it warms up to room temperature. It is not recommended to defrost the steak in the microwave. Since the top layers of meat are already starting to cook in defrosting mode, the middle remains cold. Subsequently, it will be difficult to get an even roast. Also, it is not advised to defrost meat at room temperature and in warm water.
• Meat is fried exclusively in a well-heated heavy frying pan or grill pan. In this case, the pan should not smoke, otherwise the steak on the outside will burn, but inside will not have time to cook, which will turn out tough. During frying, the protein quickly curls up on the surface of the piece and prevents the liquid from escaping, so the steak is first fried over high heat for 1 minute on each side. This will "seal" the fibers and the meat will retain the juice, which means the steak will be juicy and soft. Further, the dish is brought to the desired degree of roasting at a lower temperature.
• The finished meat should be left to lie down for a while. During this time, the juice will be distributed inside the piece, the temperature inside and outside will equalize, and the steak will become warm, tender and juicy everywhere.
• Serve the steak on warm plates, then it will not cool down so quickly. For use, you need sharp knives without notches so that you can evenly cut the meat.

How to roast beef steak?

Making the perfect steak is not difficult, if, of course, you know some of the rules and follow certain subtleties.

• When buying meat in a supermarket, pay attention, in addition to the date of packaging, also on the date of slaughter, it should always be indicated. Count 20-25 days from it, which will be the date from which you can start frying the steak.
• It is advisable not to wash the steaks, but to wipe them with a paper towel until they are completely dry.
• Do not put more than 2 pieces in one pan, otherwise the temperature of the pan will drop sharply. The meat will begin to secrete juice, in which it will be stewed, and then the golden brown crust will not work.
• Use the cooking tongs to turn the steaks over, not with a fork, or the juice will leak out.
• If the meat cannot be turned over, and it does not lag behind the pan, then a crust has not formed. Then the steak needs a little more time to fry.
• Another important tip: the meat for the steak is not beaten, otherwise, it will lose all juices and structure.

How much to fry a beef steak?

The degree of roasting of steaks can be varied to your taste by increasing or decreasing the cooking time. According to the American classification system, there are 5 degrees of roasting. Here are examples of the approximate cooking time for steak 2.5 cm thick. For thicker pieces, the cooking time must be increased, and vice versa.

• Very rare (raw) - a piece can only be stewed on each side for 10-15 seconds.
• Rare (with blood) - cooked on each side for 1-2 minutes, then rest for 6-8 minutes.
• Medium rare - cooked on each side for 2–2.5 minutes, rest for 5 minutes.
• Medium (medium roast) - cook for 3 minutes on each side, rest 4 minutes.
• Well done - cooked on each side for 4.5–5 minutes, rest for 1 minute.

It will also be useful to fry the edges of the steak, holding them on the sides for a short time the first time you turn it over. It is convenient to do this with special tongs designed for meat. Also, for different degrees of roasting, certain types of meat are needed. For frying from medium rare to medium well, you need fatty steaks, from rare to medium - with a low fat content (for example, filet mignon).

It should be noted that the most accurate determination of the degree of roasting of meat can be done with a thermometer, which will allow you to achieve the ideal consistency and taste of the steak. An electronic thermometer will pierce the surface a little and indicate the temperature of meat readiness.

• Rare (with blood) = 120 ° F (48.8 ° C)
• Medium rare = 130 ° F (54.4 ° C)
• Medium = 140 ° F (60 ° C)
• Medium well = 150 ° F (65.5 ° C)
• Well done = 160 ° F (71.1 ° C)

4 recipes for making beef steak

And now that we are familiar with all the cooking rules, let's cook a delicious steak at home.

1. Recipe for beef steak in a pan

• Caloric content per 100 g - 190 kcal.
• Servings - 2
• Cooking time - 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• Selected beef steak - 2 pcs.
• Vegetable oil - for frying
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Spices "French herbs" - 1 tsp. and at will

Preparation:

1. Coat the meat around the perimeter with medium-ground pepper and season with salt.

Spread the spices generously with your hands and pat them into the meat.

Brush the prepared steak on both sides with vegetable oil.

Pour oil into a cast iron skillet and heat well.

Place the steak in a skillet and cook for 1 minute, then quickly turn over and cook for 1 minute.

Then, turn the piece over again and fry until tender.

2. Recipe for cooking steak in a ribbed grill pan

Well, for now, let's cook a steak with a beautiful "mesh" at home on a ribbed grill pan.

Ingredients:

• Beef steak (boneless portions, 3-5 cm thick) - 2 pcs.
• Salt and pepper to taste

Step by step cooking:

1. Wipe the pieces of steak on both sides with a mixture of salt and pepper.
2. Heat a cast-iron ribbed grill pan well without adding oil until a slight smoke forms.
3. Place the steaks in a skillet and fry for 1.5 minutes. Then, turn 90 degrees clockwise and fry for another 30 seconds.
4. Then turn it over to the other side and follow the same procedure.
5. Place the fried steaks in a baking dish, wrap them in foil and place them in an oven preheated to 190 ° C for 10-12 minutes. If you want a stronger roast, then hold them for 15 minutes.
6. After this time has passed, remove the steaks from the oven and, without removing the foil, leave them on? minutes.

3. How to cook beef steak?

Contrary to loud ridicule from the lips of "professional" chefs: they say, it is impossible to cook a delicious and tender beef steak in a pan at home - we will prove the opposite.

Ingredients:

• 2.5 cm steak - 1 pc.
• Salt, pepper - to taste
• Cooking fat - for frying
• Butter - 2 tablespoons

Preparation:

1. Salt the steaks and leave for 40 minutes to come to room temperature. The salt will draw moisture to the surface, where it will settle in puddles. During this time, the salt will soften the meat, break up the protein and, drawn out by the salt, will begin to be absorbed back into the steak. This technique will make the meat tender and juicy.
2. Place cooking fat in a well-heated skillet and let it smoke a little.
3. Lay out the steak, fry it on both sides for 1 minute and season with pepper.
4. Then, bring it to the extent that you want to get it.
5. 1 minute before the end of cooking, put 2 tablespoons in the pan. butter, it will fill the steak with a rich flavor.
6. Before reaching 2 ° C to the desired temperature, remove the pan from the heat and leave the steak to rest. During this time, it will reach the desired temperature, because will continue to cook in the switched off hot skillet.

Nowadays, many people mistakenly call a steak a whole fried piece of meat. In fact, a real steak is a whole algorithm of actions that allows you to truly enjoy the original meat dish. This is a piece of meat that is cut across the grain and roasted on a grill or pan. Steak meat is suitable for those areas of the carcass where the muscles have not been actively used to move the animal. Of the whole carcass of an animal, no more than 10% is suitable for cooking steaks, and this is the main reason for the high cost of the dish.

Today in the culinary world steaks are prepared from fish, veal, pork and other meats, but beef is still considered a classic dish. An impeccably cooked steak can be a tough task even for a seasoned cook, as sometimes the meat comes out dry and tough, scorching on the outside before being cooked on the inside. To prevent this from happening, and the dish turned out to be correct and truly tasty, you should know some subtleties.

• For the steak, choose a beef tenderloin of a mature animal, but not old or young. The meat should be red or dark red in color, but not pink or burgundy. It is advisable to choose parts of the carcass that have fewer tendons and powerful muscles, with fat evenly distributed throughout the piece.
• You can determine the softness of the steak with your finger by pressing on the raw meat - the finger easily sinks, leaving a deep hole, which, after pressing, returns to its original position. If this happens, then the meat is good. If the hole does not expand, the meat is not fresh enough, and if it is difficult to press on it, the steak will be tough.
• For a tasty steak, the meat should be properly prepared - remove the film and upper tendons. Cut a piece that is not too thin, and at least 7 cm long. Otherwise, the meat will lose moisture, shrink and become dry. Then, in the center of the piece on the side where the fibers are located along, an incision is made to the middle of the thickness, and the meat is opened with a "butterfly".
• The steak is marinated from 12 to 48 hours, and before going to the fire, it is well dried with a paper towel. The traditional marinade mixture is vegetable oil, soy sauce, wine vinegar, salt and seasonings.
• The frozen stack is thawed in the refrigerator for 12-14 hours. After that, it is wiped dry and left for 20 minutes before marinating, so that it warms up to room temperature. It is not recommended to defrost the steak in the microwave. Since the top layers of meat are already starting to cook in defrosting mode, the middle remains cold. Subsequently, it will be difficult to get an even roast. Also, it is not advised to defrost meat at room temperature and in warm water.
• Meat is fried exclusively in a well-heated heavy frying pan or grill pan. In this case, the pan should not smoke, otherwise the steak on the outside will burn, but inside will not have time to cook, which will turn out tough. During frying, the protein quickly curls up on the surface of the piece and prevents the liquid from escaping, so the steak is first fried over high heat for 1 minute on each side. This will "seal" the fibers and the meat will retain the juice, which means the steak will be juicy and soft. Further, the dish is brought to the desired degree of roasting at a lower temperature.
• The finished meat should be left to lie down for a while. During this time, the juice will be distributed inside the piece, the temperature inside and outside will equalize, and the steak will become warm, tender and juicy everywhere.
• Serve the steak on warm plates, then it will not cool down so quickly. For use, you need sharp knives without notches so that you can evenly cut the meat.

How to roast beef steak?

Making the perfect steak is not difficult, if, of course, you know some of the rules and follow certain subtleties.

• When buying meat in a supermarket, pay attention, in addition to the date of packaging, also on the date of slaughter, it should always be indicated. Count 20-25 days from it, which will be the date from which you can start frying the steak.
• It is advisable not to wash the steaks, but to wipe them with a paper towel until they are completely dry.
• Do not put more than 2 pieces in one pan, otherwise the temperature of the pan will drop sharply. The meat will begin to secrete juice, in which it will be stewed, and then the golden brown crust will not work.
• Use the cooking tongs to turn the steaks over, not with a fork, or the juice will leak out.
• If the meat cannot be turned over, and it does not lag behind the pan, then a crust has not formed. Then the steak needs a little more time to fry.
• Another important tip: the meat for the steak is not beaten, otherwise, it will lose all juices and structure.

How much to fry a beef steak?

The degree of roasting of steaks can be varied to your taste by increasing or decreasing the cooking time. According to the American classification system, there are 5 degrees of roasting. Here are examples of the approximate cooking time for steak 2.5 cm thick. For thicker pieces, the cooking time must be increased, and vice versa.

• Very rare (raw) - a piece can only be stewed on each side for 10-15 seconds.
• Rare (with blood) - cooked on each side for 1-2 minutes, then rest for 6-8 minutes.
• Medium rare - cooked on each side for 2–2.5 minutes, rest for 5 minutes.
• Medium (medium roast) - cook for 3 minutes on each side, rest 4 minutes.
• Well done - cooked on each side for 4.5–5 minutes, rest for 1 minute.

It will also be useful to fry the edges of the steak, holding them on the sides for a short time the first time you turn it over. It is convenient to do this with special tongs designed for meat. Also, for different degrees of roasting, certain types of meat are needed. For frying from medium rare to medium well, you need fatty steaks, from rare to medium - with a low fat content (for example, filet mignon). It should be noted that the most accurate determination of the degree of roasting of meat can be done with a thermometer, which will allow you to achieve the ideal consistency and taste of the steak. An electronic thermometer will pierce the surface a little and indicate the temperature of meat readiness.

• Rare (with blood) = 120 ° F (48.8 ° C)
• Medium rare = 130 ° F (54.4 ° C)
• Medium = 140 ° F (60 ° C)
• Medium well = 150 ° F (65.5 ° C)
• Well done = 160 ° F (71.1 ° C)

4 recipes for making beef steak

And now that we are familiar with all the cooking rules, let's cook a delicious steak at home.

1. Recipe for beef steak in a pan

• Caloric content per 100 g - 190 kcal.
• Servings - 2
• Cooking time - 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• Selected beef steak - 2 pcs.
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Spices "French herbs" - 1 tsp. and at will

Preparation:

1. Coat the meat around the perimeter with medium-ground pepper and season with salt.
2. Spread the spices generously with your hands and pat them into the meat.
3. Brush the prepared steak on both sides with vegetable oil.
4. Pour oil into a cast iron skillet and heat well.
5. Place the steak in a skillet and cook for 1 minute, then quickly turn over and cook for 1 minute.
6. Then, turn the piece over again and fry until tender.

2. Recipe for cooking steak in a ribbed grill pan

Well, for now, let's cook a steak with a beautiful "mesh" at home on a ribbed grill pan.

Ingredients:

• Beef steak (boneless portions, 3-5 cm thick) - 2 pcs.
• Salt and pepper to taste

Step by step cooking:

1. Wipe the pieces of steak on both sides with a mixture of salt and pepper.
2. Heat a cast-iron ribbed grill pan well without adding oil until a slight smoke forms.
3. Place the steaks in a skillet and fry for 1.5 minutes. Then, turn 90 degrees clockwise and fry for another 30 seconds.
4. Then turn it over to the other side and follow the same procedure.
5. Place the fried steaks in a baking dish, wrap them in foil and place them in an oven preheated to 190 ° C for 10-12 minutes. If you want a stronger roast, then hold them for 15 minutes.
6. After this time has passed, remove the steaks from the oven and, without removing the foil, leave them on. minutes.

3. How to cook beef steak?

Contrary to loud ridicule from the lips of "professional" chefs: they say, it is impossible to cook a delicious and tender beef steak in a pan at home - we will prove the opposite.

Ingredients:

• 2.5 cm steak - 1 pc.
• Salt, pepper - to taste
• Cooking fat - for frying
• Butter - 2 tablespoons

Preparation:

1. Salt the steaks and leave for 40 minutes to come to room temperature. The salt will draw moisture to the surface, where it will settle in puddles. During this time, the salt will soften the meat, break up the protein and, drawn out by the salt, will begin to be absorbed back into the steak. This technique will make the meat tender and juicy.
2. Place cooking fat in a well-heated skillet and let it smoke a little.
3. Lay out the steak, fry it on both sides for 1 minute and season with pepper.
4. Then, bring it to the extent that you want to get it.
5. 1 minute before the end of cooking, put 2 tablespoons in the pan. butter, it will fill the steak with a rich flavor.
6. Before reaching 2 ° C to the desired temperature, remove the pan from the heat and leave the steak to rest. During this time, it will reach the desired temperature, because will continue to cook in the switched off hot skillet.

4. How to make a juicy beef steak

Despite the widespread belief that frying a steak is a very difficult task that requires a certain skill, everything is not so scary. You can cook it quite tasty, you just need a good recipe.

Ingredients:

• Beef pulp - 500 g
• Vegetable oil - for frying
• Salt and black pepper to taste

How to prepare a juicy steak step by step:

1. Prepare the beef - peel it off the film, wash and pat dry with a paper towel.
2. Cut the meat into steaks 2-3 cm thick across the grain.
3. Rub the pieces with pepper, coat with vegetable oil and leave for an hour.
4. Preheat a skillet over high heat and add the meat.
5. Grill the steaks for 30 seconds on one side, then on the other. Then turn the meat over again, turn it on medium heat and fry for another 4 minutes. Then turn over again and cook for the same amount of time.
6. Remove the pan from the stove, cover and leave for 10 minutes.

Many people dream of cooking a good steak, but not everyone succeeds. Meanwhile, the cooking process is very simple. You just need to know some of the nuances and secrets.

If you are using regular beef, then the only option that works for a steak is tenderloin.

If you take marbled beef, then there are more options. In general, manufacturers of marbled beef supply already cut and cut steaks in a vacuum package to stores. In addition to premium cuts like Ribeye, which is a thick rim, and Striploin, which is a thin rim, and fillet Mignon, the carcass of a marble goby is rich in a variety of pieces of excellent meat, suitable for frying in a pan and grilling. The main differences between premium marbled meat and alternative parts of the carcass can be considered the ease of processing and cutting of the steak, the softness of the resulting steak.
The steak should be thick, the thicker it is, the easier it is to cook. If the steak turns out to be thin, then you need to be a professional to catch the marbling, not to let the fat leave the meat, not to overcook it. So about 2 to 2.5 cm thick is a normal steak. For thinner steaks, reduce the cooking time.

Do I need to fight back?
The steaks are not beaten. Even if they are made from regular beef, from tenderloin. Its upper, thickest part goes for steaks and does not need to be beaten off. They beat off the tenderloin closer to the tail, but here they already make not steaks, but splints, for example.

Blue - the so-called raw roast (no more than 2-3 minutes), the meat inside has a temperature of no higher than 39-40 ° C.

Rare is practically uncooked meat (only 3-4 minutes to cook). However, there are many connoisseurs of just such steaks, fried on the outside and red on the inside. t ° of meat in this case is 45-48 ° C

Medium rare is a lightly fried meat with juice that has a deep pink color. (It will take 5-6 minutes to cook), the temperature of the meat will be about 48-53 ° C

Medium - medium-rare meat, the most preferred degree of roasting, in which the meat retains the light pink juice inside. (It will take 6-7 minutes to cook), the temperature of the meat will be 53-57 ° C

Medium Well is normally fried meat with clear juice inside (it will take 8-9 minutes to fry), meat temperature is about 57-62 ° C

Well Done is a well-done meat that has a grayish to brown color without red and pink interlayers, practically without clear juice. It will take about 10 minutes or more to cook, and the meat temperature will be 65 ° C or more.
What to fry on
A cast iron skillet works best. Grill pan or grill pan with grooved surface. It removes excess fat, and the meat is fried well, a crust forms on it.
How to fry the right steak?
- The thickness of a traditional steak, at which you can accurately determine the cooking time and get an excellent result of at least 2.5 cm.

Taking out meat from the refrigerator, wash, dry with a towel, leave it to lie on a plate for 20-25 minutes, at least. The meat should be at room temperature. The fact is that cold meat behaves differently when heated and you risk spoiling the taste of the dish.

The pan must be heated as much as possible before frying.

You can put your favorite vegetable oil on the steak itself, or you can spread it on the pan (I always grease the steak with olive oil, I don't grease the pan). When sending meat to the grill, you do not need to grease it. Do not salt or pepper!

Fry the steak on each side to the degree you need, an average of 3 minutes (for a 2.5 cm steak), then reduce the heat slightly and brown the meat a little more on each side.
I fry steaks for the Medium degree of doneness, 2 cm thick, for 1.5 - 2 minutes on one side, then on the other, then for another 1.5 minutes on each side, I do not reduce the heat.
I fry steaks 1-1.5 cm thick for 1.5-2 minutes on each side, do not fry again.

Place the steak on a preheated plate and let it rest for a short time. The warmth of the plate and a few minutes of rest will keep the meat warm and fully reveal its luxurious taste and juiciness.

Season with salt and pepper. You can put a piece of butter.
There is another cooking method:
Heat a dry frying pan and put the meat on it. You don't need oil, but we have a piece of meat greased with olive oil. The meat must be fried until golden brown. 30 seconds on each side, no more. And then bring it to readiness in the oven.

Your steak is ready! Bon Appetit!

Today we will cook medium beef steak. Medium is a medium-rare steak. If you do everything exactly with the recipe, then the dish will turn out even better than the chef from the most expensive restaurant.

The beef steak you cook will meet the criteria: juicy, satisfying, tempting.

For cooking we need:

• Beef meat (back muscles, tenderloin)
• Olive oil
• Coarse black pepper

Beef steak recipe:

Of course, you need to choose the right one beef steak meat... For cooking, soft back muscles are suitable. Of course, you can cook from the thigh, but since it is much tougher, you will first need to marinate the beef.

For the marinade, you can take: lemon juice, vinegar, kefir, yogurt. One kilogram of meat will use 500 ml of kefir or yogurt. But all exactly the consistency of meat will not be as ideal as that of meat from the back.

Cooking Medium Beef Steak

It is important that the meat for the steaks is marbled. The photo shows thin white streaks. The more such veins, the more ideal such beef is suitable for steaks. When frying, this fat melts, and the meat becomes juicier.

Another important detail - in restaurants, steak meat is not used fresh, but is allowed to ripen. In the refrigerator under special conditions, it is up to 20 days. But you can't do that at home, so so that the meat matures a little, and all the muscles in it relax, we wrap it with parchment paper or a linen towel and send it to the refrigerator for 2 days.

After this ripening, the steak will be juicy and soft. Therefore, for proper cooking - the meat must be bought in advance. But, and if your meat was frozen, then transfer it from the freezer to the refrigerator for a day. It will gradually melt without losing its juiciness. Before cooking, the meat should be at room temperature.

The minimum thickness of a beef steak should be 2.5 cm. But the thicker the better. Therefore, I advise you to cut pieces of about 4 cm. We take the cooked meat and cut it into portions. It is better to take a long knife to cut in one, even piece.

The fat layers on the sides should never be cut off; they will give the steak a good taste.

Before frying, the pieces of meat should be greased with olive oil and just a little salt. They salted, sprinkled a little oil, and massaged the meat so that everything was absorbed evenly.

To find out the temperature of the frying pan, you need to drop a couple of drops of water into it. If the drops evaporate immediately, then the pan is hot enough.

Put slices of chopped meat on a hot and dry frying pan, and the layers of fat will prevent the beef steak from burning.

We spread the pieces away from ourselves, so that splashes of fat will not fall on you.

For a medium steak, each side should cook for 6-7 minutes, so be patient and do not turn over often. Ideally, no more than 3 coups. Do not pierce the steak with a fork, or the juice will leak out. If you see that the juice starts to come out, it's time to turn it over. Turn with tongs or two scoops or spoons.

You can use a cooking thermometer to check if your beef steak is done. It needs to be stuck into a piece of meat, but not completely, otherwise it will show the temperature of the frying pan, not the meat. The temperature of the steak to be roasted should be 55 ° C.

Well, you can still check the readiness of the steak without a thermometer. Experienced chefs test the meat with finger pressure. There is also a secret for this.

Bring your thumb and ring finger together on your hand - when you press on the pad, you will feel elasticity. This is the same firmness that a cooked medium should have on a beef steak.

Stir-fried steaks - season with coarse pomelo pepper on both sides. Cover the plate with foil and leave for 10 minutes. The steaks will come off and have a very soft crust.

Bon appetit, everyone, share the recipe with your friends by clicking the social media buttons.

Beef steak in a pan

There are different. Let's understand the nuances of cooking.

Varieties of steak

Before talking about how to cook beef steak in a pan, you need to understand what types of steaks are.

Steaks are distinguished by the degree of doneness. Let's name the most basic of them:

Of course, ideally, steak doneness should be measured with a cooking thermometer. However, in everyday life it is not very convenient and hardly anyone will do it. As a rule, the readiness of the dish is determined by eye.

When choosing which roast you want, remember that when cooked heavily, the meat loses its juices and becomes tough and dry. Very rare amateurs consume meat with blood, but the bulk of people prefer a stack with uniform roasting, when pressed, pink juice is released.

Side dishes are also served with the steak. As a rule, these are grilled vegetables, or salads with fresh vegetables.

Food preparation

Speaking about how to cook a beef steak in a pan, you first need to find out what kind of meat is suitable for a given dish. So, for a real steak, you need to take only beef pulp without bones and veins, ideally it should be paired, this is the only way to get a fragrant and juicy dish.

The meat is cut into pieces three centimeters thick. If you still cook meat from frozen, then it is better to defrost it in the main compartment, of course, it will take a long time, but the meat will retain its useful properties. To make the process go faster, you can put the packaged meat in cold water. In no case should you defrost it in a microwave oven, even when using a special mode, or in warm water.

And one more piece of advice. Never beat a steak before cooking, it will lose all of its juices and texture.

In addition to meat, we need a set of spices and vegetable oil (olive or sunflower). Remember that the steak is not salted before cooking; this is done before serving.

Preparing dishes

For cooking meat, we need a steak pan. This can be a regular cast iron cookware, but ideally a grill pan is a good idea. You will also need a special steak knife. This is what the masters use in this matter. If you do not have such a tool, then use an ordinary sharp knife that can cut meat well. The pieces should be nice and even. Beef steak is not that hard to make at home.

Butter steak

Let's cook a beef steak in a frying pan. There are many recipes, let's look at some of them. When you choose the right meat, cut it up and roast it well, you will have the most delicious steak ever.

Ingredients:

1. Butter - ¼ pack.
2. Ground pepper.
3. Beef - 0.8 kg.
4. Salt.

The beef tenderloin should be rinsed, then towel-dried, and cut into three centimeters thick pieces. Next we need a steak pan. We put it on fire and melt the butter.

Pepper only one side of the meat and put a piece with it in the pan. Next, pepper the other side and turn the steak over. The cooking time is determined, first of all, by your preferences, what degree of roasting the meat you like.

If you only want the steak to brown a little, then frying it for three minutes on each side is sufficient. If you want to get a good crust on the outside and pink pulp on the inside, the time will have to be increased to four minutes on each side.

Well, if you want to eat well-done meat, then you need to cook it for five minutes on each side. And don't forget to salt before serving.

Cooking steak in the oven

If you want the beef to be soft, you can cook it in the oven. First, the meat is fried in a pan, since the resulting crust prevents the juice from flowing out of it. That is why such a steak turns out to be juicy, tender and aromatic, especially when using spicy mixtures.

Ingredients:

Marinate the chopped steak in herb oil for an hour. Next, we send the meat to a hot pan, frying for two minutes on each side. You should get a crust.

Then we put lightly fried steaks in the oven and cook for another fifteen minutes.

Steak with red sauce

If you are still undecided on how to cook a beef steak in a pan, then perhaps you will like the recipe for meat from This dish for true gourmets. It is served with grape juice, pepper, red wine. The result will exceed all your expectations.

Ingredients:

1. Meat (beef) - 1 kg.
2. Butter - 2 tbsp. l.
3. Flour - 3 tbsp. l.
4. Red wine - 70 g.
5. Broth - 300 g.
6. Currant juice - 70 g.

Rub the steaks thoroughly with pepper and lightly fry them for three minutes on each side. Then bake in the oven for another fifteen minutes.

In the meantime, we begin to prepare the sauce. In a frying pan, melt the butter. Then fry the flour on it until golden brown, add the broth, stirring constantly, bring to a boil and boil for ten minutes. Next, pour in the currant juice and red pepper and wine, bring it to a boil again and turn it off immediately. Such a delicious steak is served with potatoes and sauce.

While talking about how to cook a steak in a pan, I would like to mention the little nuances that will help you prepare an unforgettable dish.

So, the meat needs to be cut across the fibers, this makes it easier for heat to penetrate into the middle of the piece.

If you feel like experimenting, try grilling the steak over charcoal. To do this, first fry the meat to obtain a crust that will prevent the juice from flowing out, and then continue cooking on the charcoal, alternately turning the pieces over.

Before cooking, the pan is heated over high heat, but not allowing the oil to smoke. Otherwise, the steak may burn and not cook properly. Cooks assume a pan is ready to cook if it sizzles when meat is placed on top of it.

Once cooked, the steak should just sit for ten minutes. Then the meat will become softer.

To determine the readiness of the steak, press it with your finger. Meat with blood should be soft. Thoroughly fried steak has a firm texture. And medium-rare meat is somewhere in the golden mean between two borderline states.

What kind of meat should I take to cook a steak?

To make the right beef steak, you need to choose good meat.

We said earlier that steak is best prepared with fresh meat. You need to take only beef. Pieces are cut into pieces, the thickness of which is not less than two and a half centimeters, but not more than four.

The best is the marbled steak. It is prepared from Australian. You can search for domestic counterparts if you wish.

Japanese steak

Ingredients:

1. Beef - 0.6 kg.
2. A tablespoon of honey.
3. Onions - 2 pcs.
4. Wine (preferably dry white) - 90 ml.
5. Grated fresh ginger.
6. Two cloves of garlic.
7. Soy sauce.

Grate ginger, chop garlic and onion. Next, we make the marinade. Mix the following ingredients: onion, sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, wine. Place the prepared pieces of steak in the mixture and leave to marinate for several hours. Turn the meat periodically.

Next, preheat the oven to a temperature of one hundred and eighty degrees. If you have a grill function, then you can use it and fry each steak for five to seven minutes on each side, not forgetting to sprinkle with marinade.

Bring the rest of the mixture to a boil and then cook for ten minutes to make it thick enough. The finished steaks are laid out on a plate and poured over the prepared from the marinade.

In principle, you can cook a steak using a more traditional method. To do this, the meat is marinated for several hours in olive oil with a mixture of Provencal herbs. Then they are fried a little in a completely dry frying pan, and only then they are brought to readiness in the oven for another ten to fifteen minutes.

Why do you think, in almost all recipes, the meat is first fried over high heat, and only then brought to readiness? Everything is very simple. When heat-treating meat, the protein curls up immediately on the surface of the piece. Thus, it blocks the exit of the liquid. It is for this reason that the meat is first processed at a high temperature, and only then cooked at a more gentle one. This technique makes the steak very juicy.

As soon as the meat reaches a temperature of forty degrees, proteins are destroyed, and after fifty degrees collagen is compressed. And already at seventy degrees, the steak does not retain oxygen and becomes gray. Therefore, it is better to cut the steak across the fibers, this will ensure the passage of hot streams through the meat.

Even eminent chefs disagree about how quickly to start eating a finished dish. Some believe that the meat needs to lie down for ten minutes and reach the correct state, while others recommend eating it right away. Of course, it's all a matter of taste. So experiment and decide which option suits you best.