The best way to cook a perfect steak is to pan-sear it and finish it in the oven. It's a great and super easy method. We're partial to a dry-aged top sirloin that's at least 1 1/2 inches thick, but you could cook a perfect steak with pretty much any cut. Thinner steaks don't need to be transferred to the oven.
The number one spot goes to grilling, the classic method for cooking your steak. While great grilling isn't quite as precise as sous-vide, it leads to the best, purest-tasting steaks out of non-sous vide methods. This is because grilling uses the steak's natural fats and juices for flavor.
The oven is a much gentler form of heat, cooking the meat evenly on all sides and allowing you to control the temperature more easily. Since cooking happens more slowly in the oven, there's also less risk of overcooking and burning your dinner!
The Chef's Way of Cooking A Steak
Just let it go. Once your steak is on your pan, let it sear and simmer down. It is very tempting to constantly check it and/or flip it – but don't. This is how a nice dark char is formed, and this is the correct pathway to your chef's steak.
Cooking Steak In The Oven. Making steak in the oven is quick and easy, no grill needed. Just choose your favorite steak, season it simply with salt and pepper, sear in a skillet, and move into the oven to finish.
How long does it take to cook steak in the oven? For thicker cuts of meat, in your 450° oven, you should expect about 10 minutes after searing on the stovetop. For thinner cuts of meat, under the broiler, it's about 6 minutes per side. (Flip it on the sheet pan halfway through.)
Most fine restaurants age their beef to intensify the flavor and improve the tenderness of the cut. Wet aging is done by vacuum packing the meat and letting it age in its own juices. Wet aging is done by more than 90% of fine steakhouses.
Should I Flip Steak in the Oven? Oven-cooked steak also gets a more even cook through the meat than steak cooked in a pan, so flipping it just once should suffice. This is true if you're using the regular oven's heat or the broiler.
Adding butter to steak adds extra richness and can also soften the charred exterior, making a steak more tender.
Hot and Fast: Anytime you are planning to use a thinner meat cut like skirt steak, chuck, or flank or even thin sirloin, rump steaks etc., cooking it fast on high heat will yield the best results. With a thin cut, any slow cooking method will overcook the meat and leave it with a chewy, rubbery texture.
Your steak probably tastes better at a steakhouse because we use lots (and lots) of butter. Bonus points when it's compound butter! Even the dishes that aren't served with a pat of butter on top are likely doused with a ladle of clarified butter to give the steak a glossy sheen and a rich finish.
Preheat the pan on medium and brush with oil. Using just 1/2 Tbsp oil reduces splatter. Sear steaks – add steaks and sear each side 3-4 minutes until a brown crust has formed then use tongs to turn steaks on their sides and sear edges (1 min per edge).
According to a YouTube video, the chef states that he does not eat well-done steak, as the cooking method deprives quality beef of its inherent flavor. Despite his hardline stance, Ramsay is happy to prepare steak at any doneness to meet the needs of the customer.
Pounding
Using a meat mallet (or kitchen mallet) to pound steaks helps soften and tenderize the meat. Simply place the meat in between pieces of plastic wrap or wax paper and pound it prior to cooking. If you don't have a meat mallet, you can also use a heavy kitchen tool such as a skillet, saucepan or rolling pin.
In Chinese cooking, proteins like beef, pork or chicken are velveted first before stir-frying them. There are several ways to velvet, but at its most basic level, it involves marinating meat with at least one ingredient that will make it alkaline. This is what tenderizes the meat, especially cheaper, tougher cuts.
On The Grill
Season the steak one hour before cooking, using extra virgin olive oil, fresh ground black pepper, and kosher or sea salt. Leave it at room temperature until cooking. Brush each side with 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil.
Fillet / Rib Eye / Sirloin / Rump
Pre-heat the oven to 180 – 190 0C / 350 – 375 0C / gas mark 5 and cook for 10 minutes for rare, 15 minutes for medium and 20 minutes for well done.
For reverse seared steaks, you start with a 200 degree oven and room temperature steaks. Put the steaks in the oven until they reach 110 to 115 degrees internally. This will take about 20 - 40 minutes, depending on the thickness of your steaks.