How To Cook The Perfect Steak

As my friends know, Bonnett Family Friday Steak Night is a bit of a tradition in my house. Mum and Dad are in charge of the funding and purchasing of the steak while I am the chef for the night. If I may say so myself, I think I have become a bit of a steak master so I thought I would share with you my guide to what I think is the Perfect Steak.

1) BUYING THE STEAK
Personally from the most common four steaks you can buy in the super market I order them like this:

Fillet (The Best)
Ribeye
Sirloin
Rump

However, due to the fact that fillet is ridiculously expensive my parents tend to buy us Ribeye. Look for a piece with some nice ripples of fat throughout.

2) PREPARING THE STEAK
This is the bit most people leave out. They think that plonking the steak in a pan with some fat will taste just as good but believe me preparation is SO IMPORTANT.
Firstly, make sure you cook your steak from room temperature. Cooking straight from the fridge can dry out the outside and take longer for the heat to hit the middle.
Secondly, you need to tenderise the meat with something like a meat mallet. This also evens outs the steak to make it the same thickness all over so that it cooks evenly. Just go a bit crazy on either side of the steak and beat it until you feel satisfied.
Then, put a little pile of olive oil and salt onto the steak and give it a good massage to flavour and tenderise it a bit more. I like to put the oil on the steak instead of in the pan to make sure everywhere is coated and to spread the salt about.

3) COOKING THE STEAK
In my opinion, cooking a piece of steak anything longer than medium rare just destroys it. All you chickens who can't stand blood then please don't waste my beloved steak. Why eat something if you aren't going to eat it properly?
The absolute key to steak cooking is to get the pan (preferably a griddle) as hot as can be. I leave mine to heat up on high heat for nearly 10 minutes. I also only ever allow one steak per pan as I don't want the heat to be shared.
Slap your steak on and don't be tempted to move it around, let it sit so you get the nice cooking lines in it.

If, like me, you like yours rare (or blue) then just cook for 2 mins either side but if you want it pink in the middle then I flip it the minute you see any pinkish juices coming out the top side then just cook on the other side for 2 minutes.
Serve with garlic or sweet potato chips and a salad. Also try with horseradish sauce for something a bit different.

Who knew there was so much to cooking steak!? But trust me, its worth it! Happy Steak Cooking!

Alex x