Is cooking the perfect steak super easy?

Yes, of course… as long as you know how to do it! It is certainly not enough to heat a griddle, throw the meat on it, wait a bit, turn it over and season it. There are rules to know and respect and mistakes to avoid, which also change depending on the meat and the type of cooking.

In this article, therefore, we will deal exclusively with beef, dry-roasted on a griddle or in a pan in the kitchen of a normal home, even ours. We will not talk, therefore, about meat roasted in the oven, on the grill, on a spit or on a barbecue. Nor will we delve into more scientific topics - which would also be important to fully understand the cooking mechanisms of a steak. Our aim, now, is only to give simple practical advice on the precautions to follow to roast a perfect steak at home ... or almost. A real dinner saver: fast, satisfying, simple and appeals to all meat lovers .

Choosing the right meat

If you really want a perfect steak, the meat must be tender, with little connective tissue, but “marbled”, that is, with small infiltrations of fat spread throughout the muscle mass. It must also not be too low and of uniform thickness.

Using the right tools

Avoid non-stick pans and aluminum pans. You need materials that retain heat for a long time, so cast iron griddles, grill pans, and skillets are ideal. Old iron and steel pans are also good, as long as they have a thick bottom. Griddles, grill pans, and skillets should be heated to the maximum: over 150 °C. If you let a drop of water slide off your fingers and fall onto the heated plate, it should evaporate practically instantly.

It is preferable not to grease the cooking surfaces. This is to avoid the risk that – given the high temperatures needed to cook the meat – the fats used for greasing may burn where they are not covered by the cooking meat. However, if you think you need to grease your grill, you should not do so with butter or extra virgin olive oil. If necessary, use simple olive oil or peanut oil, which degrade at higher temperatures.

Cooking to perfection

The meat to be cooked must never be cold from the fridge, but at room temperature or even a few degrees higher. But above all it must be dry. The drier, the better. So before cooking it, let it dry in the air or dry it yourself with kitchen paper. If this doesn't convince you, consider that some starred chefs use - literally - a hair dryer!

This point is important for roasting a perfect steak: if you put a steak in boiling water you make a boiled meat, not a roast! But even the moisture retained by the meat is water. So if you place a moist steak on the grill, the surface of the meat itself will prevent the moisture from evaporating quickly, creating a vapor cavity that will tend to lower the temperature of the plate and counteract the caramelization of the sugars in the meat, which is essential for a good steak.

The steaks should be placed on the cooking surface when it is already very hot, after which the heat should never be lowered. Furthermore, while they are cooking, the steaks should not be in contact with each other. If you have to cook more than one, adjust the time so that there is enough space between them to allow the liquids to evaporate. Once placed on the cooking surface, the steaks should not be moved: to turn them, wait until the crust has formed and they come off the plate on their own. Once cooked, place the meat on a plate and cover it with aluminum foil for a couple of minutes before eating it: by doing so, you will allow the internal juices to redistribute and rehydrate the dry parts.

What is the right height for a perfect homemade steak?

There is no rule to follow, it depends on your taste. However, a “perfect” steak cannot be too thin, otherwise it risks drying out internally or not roasting externally. Generally, for an excellent home-cooked rib eye steak, the ideal height is more or less 2 cm. You can get up to 2.5 cm, but not more. For taller steaks, such as Florentine steaks, it is advisable to rely on those who have adequate professional tools (kitchens or barbecues).

Season the steak before cooking, right?

Better not, according to the “true” lovers of roasted meat. That is, according to their tastes, according to which the perfect steak should be roasted with nothing but its own fat and only then seasoned with a little salt and possibly a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

However, if you - like many of us - prefer to season it while it's cooking, you can do so, as long as you don't moisten it. So no marinades: if you like marinated meat, let it marinate for a long time, so that the aromas penetrate the internal fibers, but then you still have to dry the external surface well before cooking it.

To flavor the meat during cooking, it is best to use a few finely chopped, dry aromatic herbs. You can, however, add salt. Popular advice that forbids adding it, because otherwise the meat will dry out while cooking, is wrong. These are ancient “urban legends” that arose because meat was preserved by drying it with salt! And it is true that salt dries out meat (just ask the cod!) but over long periods of time: weeks and months. In the few minutes of cooking the meat, it has no chance to do anything other than add flavor.

And finally, the Chef's trick!

As strange as it may seem, the best seasoning is made from the “brown” fat and the burnt lumps that remain on the cooking bottom. Don't throw them away, but deglaze them: a technical term that basically means to dissolve and bind. Deglazing is done at the end of cooking by adding a very small amount of wine, or other acidic liquids of your choice: beer, lemon or orange juice, etc. Then heat over a very low flame and, using a spatula, use the added liquid to dissolve and mix the fat and the leftovers from the cooking bottom. This creates a real “meat nectar” that should be distributed hot on the steaks and that many consider essential for a truly perfect steak.