Monday, 25 February 2013

High Steaks Cooking



Steaks, the big question are where we can find a good one. Well it’s not that difficult. Don’t grab the car keys yet you’re not going anywhere. There is only one place that serves a steak like you want it. Be it medium with mushroom sauce or well done with salt and pepper. At this place they do not judge how you eat your steak and they serve it with your favorite drink. This place is your kitchen. Well after you read this it should be.

Don’t be scared of cooking this piece of meat. Some people fear cooking steak and they have good reason. Somewhere in your life you probably had a steak that you could wear while running the Comrades or so raw that you swear it just made a sound. That’s what we have as a reference and so we are afraid to cook it because we know how much we hated that person that served us those steaks and don’t want our friends to feel the same towards us. (If this is the point where someone says: “They won’t hate me because they are real friends and real friends love each other” then I dare you to give you friend a tough piece of steak.)

Like I was saying don’t fear it because one of the most feared Chef in our universe has made it easy for all of us.
This recipe comes from Gordon Ramsay’s F Word and he also used it on his cook along show. If you want watch the video at the end of this post all this information is in there as well.

Gordon says “don’t be afraid to cook a steak on the big night. If you follow these simple rules, it will be easy. Let the pan get nice and hot. If there’s no heat in the pan, there’s no color. If there’s no color, there’s no flavor”. Make sure the steak is relaxed, meaning it’s at room temperature. A relaxed steak will cook quicker, and won’t be stone cold in the center. Ingredients needed to cook a perfect steak couldn't be simpler, so grab a steak next time you’re at the market, and treat yourself to a delicious meal.

Keep in mind, stove cooked steaks can produce lots of smoke while cooking. Open the windows before you start, and turn on the exhaust fan.
Ingredients:
  • New York Steak (or your preferred cut)
  • Salt
  • Freshly Cracked Pepper
  • Butter
  • Vegetable oil (not olive it starts to burn quicker)
Directions:
Use a generous amount of salt and pepper to season the steak, and gently press it into the meat with your fingers. The thicker the cut of steak, the more salt and pepper you will need.

Use a heavy pan for cooking steak. Cast iron pans work best for this particular meal. Get the pan nice and hot, and then add the oil. Wait for the oil to heat up; it should just start to smoke before adding the steak. Add the steak and push it down in the center with your fingers to ensure the entire steak is touching the bottom of the pan.

It’s very important to only flip the steak once during cooking. Moving the steak around while cooking it will only drain it of essential juices and lead to a less than desirable result. For rare, cook 2-3 minutes on the first side, then flip the steak. About 1 1/2 minutes into the second side, melt butter into the pan. Spoon the butter over the steak, ensuring to cover the entire steak. When the steak is just about finished, turn it onto its back, fat side down. Cook for about 30 seconds to reduce and soften the strip of fat. Remove steak from pan, and baste again with butter from the pan. Leave to rest, and then slice if desired
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You can test doneness of the steak by comparing the firmness of the steak to parts of your hand. Rare is on your thumb muscle, near your palm, medium is near the outer edge of your thumb, and well-done is where your wrist meets your hand. Watch the video for a visual explanation of firmness.  

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