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How to cook the perfect steak
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The Seagrass Group are the experts in cooking sumptuous steaks with their restaurant, 6HEAD featured in the 2020 Good Food Guide. To help you become a Steak Master, just follow these important tips... 

 

Bring the steak to room temperature

It is very important to let the steak come to room temperature before cooking, this allows for a more even cooking all the way through. If your steak is too cold, the heat will shock the meat when it hits the pan causing the muscle fibers to tense up. Want to cook that perfect steak? Remember to get your steak out ahead of time, 30-40 minutes is usually ample if you are cooking a 500g steak. It should be room temperature to the touch regardless of size. Trust us, time and patience are your best friends when it comes to cooking the perfect steak or most meat for that matter.

 

Seasoning
 

Don't salt your steak too early! Pre-salting is a good idea when it comes to larger cuts of meat, this gives the salt more time to penetrate. However, you don't want to do that too early when you are cooking a smaller piece of steak. In fact, you only need to salt the steak right before it hits the pan or heat. Our tips on this? Be generous and use a good quality salt. Otherwise, your steak will lose the moisture too early and prevent you from getting that beautiful crust on the outside.

If you want pepper, use a coarse grind, otherwise, add it after the steaks are cooked.


If you want to add any butter or herbs, make sure you add them at the last stage of finishing cooking the steak, then use a spoon to baste over your steak. Don't add them too soon or the butter will burn.
 


Cooking method


The cooking techniques for steaks are endless, and so are the arguments on the best cooking method. At The Meat & Wine Co, we char-grill all of our meat, this gives our meat a smokiness and that perfect caramelization that everyone wants on a steak

 

For the perfect home-cooked steak, you will need a good quality, heavy-based pan, cast iron is the best based on our opinions. One of the common mistakes people make when cooking steak at home is using a light flimsy pan - this just won't hold the heat!

 

Now drizzle a little oil on your seasoned steak and rub it in with your hands. Get your pan nice and hot, then place the steak in the pan - you should get a good sizzle and a bit of smoke. Remember, it only takes a minute to overcook a steak! Cooking times are subjective and it really depends on how thick the steak is. Normally for a perfectly cooked medium-rare steak (around 1 inch thick), it takes around 4 minutes on each side. A little useful tip if you are cooking a thicker steak, you would want to start with giving your steak a little bash until it's just over an inch thick, so you get a nice and even cook. This will also help break up some fibres and preventing the steak from ballooning in the middle as it cooks. 


Rest, Rest, Rest


The most crucial step if you want to cook that perfect steak at home is to let your steak rest, this has been stressed by many but still been ignored by so many. Before you start cooking, turn your oven onto the lowest setting, place a plate inside to let it warm up. Once your steak is cooked, take the warm plate out, put the steak on there, and cover it loosely with foil, then pop it back in the oven. If you are going for a rare steak, turn the oven off just as you put the steak into rest. For medium-rare steak and above, leave the oven on, and let the steak rest inside for 10-15 minutes. This will give all of the muscle fibers in the steak a chance to relax and reabsorb any moisture, ultimately keeping the tenderness in the steak, as well as ensure your steak does not go cold while resting. 

After the steak is rested, do a quick flash in a hot pan for 20 seconds each side then you will get that perfect home-cooked steak that you always wanted!

 

 

Not quite the at home cook? Head to 6HEAD with your Good Food Gift Card, and let the experts do it for you!

 

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