The Expert Level Touch Technique
Cooking a Perfect Medium Rare Steak in 15 Minutes! | MasterChef Canada | MasterChef World
The final technique when it comes to grilling the perfect steak to medium-rare perfection can require a bit of trial and error. In the long run, however, mastering the touch technique to steak doneness can not only create a perfect medium-rare cut every time, but it also looks pretty darn impressive to friends and family.
When it comes to execution, a medium-rare steak will have some squish or give when lightly pressed on with your finger. If a steak is rare, it will be all squish and will hold an indent from where its been pressed. A medium steak, or one cooked even longer, wont give at all, or only minimally. It may take some time, trial and error to perfect the touch method, but weve found this is undoubtedly the best for ensuring the perfect level of medium rare doneness time in and out.
You can use this method as you cook steak to gauge doneness. First, hold your hand up and touch the tip of your middle finger to your thumb. With your other hand, poke the fleshy part of your palm underneath the thumb. What you feel is how your steak should feel for medium-rare.
After youre done searing steak, hold the steak with a pair of tongs. Then, poke the thickest part of the meat with one finger. Does it feel like the fleshy part of your palm did in your test? If so, your steak should be medium rare!
The Wrap Up
How To Buy Steak
You’ll see these terms in supermarkets, at the butcher’s or on restaurant menus here’s what they mean.
Grass-fed beef: Grass-fed cattle get to walk around and graze on pasture, which means the meat is leaner with a richer, gamier flavour that tastes of the environment it was reared in. This is why Scottish grass-fed beef will taste different to Irish.
Marbling is the fat found interlacing the inside of a cut of meat. As the meat cooks, the marbled fat melts without this, the meat would be dry and flavourless. Meat with a lot of marbling mostly comes from the back of the animal where the muscles get little exercise.
Wagyu: Wagyu is a generic name for four breeds of Japanese cattle. They are fed foraged grass and rice straw, then supplemented with corn, barley, soya bean, wheat bran and, in some cases, even beer or sake. Wagyu cattle produce meat with heavy marbling but this comes at a hefty price.
Ageing: The ageing process improves the taste and tenderness of meat. There are two methods: dry ageing, which is the traditional process where carcasses are hung in a cool place for 30-60 days to intensify the flavour and cause the meat to shrink, while wet ageing is when the meat is butchered and vacuum-packed, which stops the meat from shrinking.
Do you have any foolproof techniques when cooking your steak? You’ll find more inspiration in our recipe collection, too.
How To Select The Right Temperature For Sous Vide Steak
The doneness of a steak is by and large determined by the maximum internal temperature it reaches during cooking. For instance, so long as a strip steak does not rise above 130°F , it will never cook beyond medium-rare. With traditional cooking methods, there is a very short window of time during which your meat is perfectly cooked. A minute too long will mean overcooked meat. With sous vide cooking, on the other hand, that window of time is stretched into hours, which means your steak will be hot and ready to go whenever you’re ready to sear and serve it.
Temperature can have a major impact on the juiciness and texture of a steak. Here, I’ve collected juices expelled by three nearly identical steaks cooked to different temperatures:
The one cooked to 160°F lost more than 10 times as much juice as the 120°F rare steak. Additionally, with the well-done steak, you can see a distinct layer of rendered fat floating on top of the juices. I recommend cooking steak in the rare-to-medium range, so that you minimize juice loss while also keeping those fats inside the steak where they belong, adding flavor and juiciness to each bite.
Here’s a rough breakdown of how steaks feel at different degrees of doneness.
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Tips And Variations For Perfect Steak
- Room Temperature: Have your steaks for the best results.
- Spacing: Avoid overcrowding the air fryer so the air can circulate evenly around the steaks.
- Rest: Remove the steaks and let rest on a plate so the fryer doesnt continue cooking the steaks.
- Seasonings: You can use so many different spices and seasonings to your liking and desire.
- Medium Steak: Set the time to 12 minutes and flip the steak at 6.
- Medium Rare: For a medium-rare steak, cook the steak for 10 minutes and flip it at 5 minutes.
- Well-done steaks take a good 12 to 15 minutes.
Why Air Fryers Are So Amazing
- Healthy: Air Fryers make everything so easy and so much healthier than traditional methods. It can cut the time in half as well as the fat without sacrificing flavor.
- Frozen: Frozen food can be cooked in the fryer, youll just have to adjust the cooking time.
- How It Works: They work by circulating heat all around the food so its practically fool proof.
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Why Do You Tie A String Around Filet Mignon
Gordon Ramsay, the British chef and restaurateur who has made a name for himself with his highly rated English cuisine, is known for his medium-rare fillet steak. He uses a wide variety of spices and cooking methods to get that rare, juicy steak to perfection.
Gordon Ramsay, the British chef and restaurateur who has made a name for himself with his highly rated English cuisine, is known for his medium-rare fillet steak. He uses a wide variety of spices and cooking methods to get that rare, juicy steak to perfection.
What Is The Best Way To Cook Steak Indoors
The answer to this question is not as clear as either some people or some chefs would like you to believe. While there are many different ways to cook steak indoors, some of the most popular and successful methods include grilling, baking, and broiling.
Whether youre looking for a quick and easy meal or something that will take a little more time, these three methods should give you plenty of options to choose from.
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How Many Minutes Should I Cook A Steak On Each Side For Medium
Cooking a steak at medium-rare is often thought of as being around 160 degrees Fahrenheit. However, many chefs recommend cooking the steak to an even more carefully registered temperature of 175 degrees Fahrenheit.
This will ensure that the steak is cooked through and not overcooked.Cooking a steak at medium-rare is often thought of as being around 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
However, many chefs recommend cooking the steak to an even more carefully registered temperature of 175 degrees Fahrenheit. This will ensure that the steak is cooked through and not overcooked.
What Is Medium Rare Steak Anyway
How To Make Perfect Medium Rare Steak at Home | Cast Iron Series
Medium rare steak is the perfect balance between the two extremes of steak cooking. You get the flavor of a medium steak with the tenderness of a rare steak. It’s the best of both worlds! To get the perfect medium-rare steak, you have to cook the meat to a temperature of a maximum of 130 to 135 degrees Fahrenheit . An ideal medium rare steak will have a nice pink hue to it, with the center of the steak still slightly pink.
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How To Check For Medium
Now that you are armed with the what and why of a medium-rare perfectly cooked steak, its time to talk application. If you dont know how to check the level of doneness of a steak, you might end up with a medium cooked or a medium well steak, despite your best intentions of cooking a steak to medium-rare.
Because cutting into a steak while cooking to assess the appearance of its insides will allow juices to escape and leave you with something resembling steak tartare, we recommend checking doneness in other ways to preserve your steaks texture and flavor. When it comes to knowing how to cook steak or grill a steak medium-rare, there are a few tried and true techniques to choose from.
It All Starts With A Great Steak
The key to cooking a delicious steak is starting with a quality piece of meat. Whether its rib-eye, sirloin, filet mignon or t-bone, you get what you pay for.
If you have access to organic, humanely raised beef all the better. Its a more ethical choice, and the flavor and quality of the meat are usually far superior.
Youll also want to be sure that your steak is at least 1 to 1.5 inches thick with some fat around the edges and some good marbling on the inside.
If its thinner, youll need to shorten the cooking time.
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How To Season Steak
Beef purists may prefer to take in the unadulterated, rich flavour of a quality steak by adding nothing more than a sprinkling of salt and a generous twist of pepper. Contrary to popular belief, seasoning your steak with salt ahead of time doesn’t draw out the moisture but actually gives the steak time to absorb the salt and become more evenly seasoned throughout. Salt your steak in advance 2 hrs for every 1cm of thickness. For a classic steak au poivre , sprinkle lots of cracked black pepper and sea salt on to a plate, then press the meat into the seasoning moments before putting it in the pan.
Some people like to enhance flavour and tenderise meat with a . Balsamic vinegar will reduce down to a sweet glaze, as will a coating of .
See our easy steak marinade to use on a variety of cuts.
Lots of chefs add whole garlic cloves and robust herbs like thyme and rosemary to the hot fat while the steak is cooking, which adds background flavour to the steak subtly, without overpowering it.
How Long Do You Cook Steak In The Oven At 375
Heated ovens are great for cooking beef, poultry, and pork. However, the large temperature differences make it difficult to cook steak at a consistent temperature throughout the entire cooking time. To ensure that your steak cooked evenly and reached its peak juices and flavor, cook it in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 12-14 minutes.
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How To Cook Steak Well
Well-done steak has gotten a bad rap, with some chefs even refusing to cook the meat to this doneness. It may seem well-done would be the easiest to cook, but in actuality, it is the hardest as cooking until the meat is no longer pink and not drying it out is a challenge. The secret is to do it low and slowthe only way to prevent burning while fully cooking it through the middle.
This steak should not be burnt on the outside. While there is not the faintest hint of pink in the middle, it should be browned through, not burnt through. This steak will feel solid to the touch.
For a 1-inch steak, grill over medium heat between 10 and 12 minutes per side. It should reach an internal temperature of 170 F or higher.
Why Sous Vide Your Steak Because It’s The Most Reliable Way To Get Perfectly Cooked Meat Every Single Time This Guide Covers Everything You Need To Know From Temperature Guidelines To Faqs To Searing And Serving Tips
Steak is one of the most popular foods for first-time sous vide enthusiasts to cook, and with good reason. Cooking steak the traditional way, in a cast iron skillet or on the grill, leaves lots of room for error, and an over- or undercooked steak is a big mistake to make when there’s a prime-grade dry-aged ribeye on the line. Sous vide cooking takes all of the guesswork out of the process, delivering steaks that are cooked to precisely the temperature you like each and every time. Not only that, because sous vide is such a gentle cooking process, you’ll be able to achieve steaks that are more evenly cooked from edge to edge than what you’ll find in even the best steakhouses in the world.
That’s right: Sous vide cooking allows you to cook better than the best steakhouse. We recently reviewed the best immersion circulators on the market, so you can pick one up to use at home right now.
Of course, this information should prove useful to anyone who owns a functional sous vide device, or even someone hacking it with a home rig or a plain old beer cooler.
With traditional high-heat cooking methods, hitting that perfect medium-rare sweet spot is about as tough as bull’s-eye-ing a womp rat in a T-16. A moment too short or too long on the fire, and your steak will come out under- or overcooked. Sous vide precision cooking methods solve that issue completely.
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How Do You Make Steak Juicy And Tender
Cooking a steak in the oven is a popular option because it is faster and less trouble. However, there are some drawbacks to this method.
First, it can be difficult to get the steak cooked evenly. Second, the cooking time may be too long for some customers. Finally, ovens often contain high levels of gas which can potentially damage meat.
Stove-based cooking methods are more liquid andible, making them faster and easier to cook. They also tend not to contain as many harmful chemicals, making them better choices for those who are looking for a healthier meal.
How Many Times Do You Flip A Steak
How to cook Sirloin Steak in the pan – Medium Rare
Cooking steak indoors can be a great way to get that delicious and tender meat we love. There are a few different ways to cook steak indoors, but the best way to do it is by using a grill or oven.
Here are a few tips to help you choose the right method for you:
-Grill steak under direct sunlight on a medium-high heat until browned and cooked through.-Oven steak can be cooked in an oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes.-Grill steak on an indirect grilling temperature, which means that it will be cooked over indirect heat before being served. This helps keep the steak juicy and well done.
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The Simple Trick To Making Medium Rare Steaks Even Better
- Now were going to making medium rare steak even better. The trick is in the oil. You want to use a hot-enough pan and only add enough oil spread on that meat so that it has a nice sheen, but doesnt burn. Left on too long, the meat dries out too quickly.
- Otherwise when you flip your steak or grill your steak youre cooking it from both sides at the same time which makes for uneven and often burnt steaks. This also means a lot of fat dripping off your steak as this happens leaving you with a greasy mess that will not look very good at all.
- Cook the steak for about a minute on one side, then flip it and cook for about 30 seconds on the other. As your steak cooks you want to flip it as little as possible so that the meat will cook evenly.
- When youre flipping your steak take care not to move the pan and make sure you dont touch your skillet or grill because oils will transfer to you, if not handled correctly this is when burnt bits of meat transfer from the pan or grill onto your plate. Even after taking all this caution there are those people who are still disappointed with their results because they didnt get their steak cooked perfectly.
How Do You Know A Filet Mignon Is Done
Salt may help to improve the flavor and texture of filet mignon, but its not necessary to cook it this way. Some chefs agree that cooking filet mignon without salt can result in a more tender, juicy steak.
Salt may help to improve the flavor and texture of filet mignon, but its not necessary to cook it this way. Some chefs agree that cooking filet mignon without salt can result in a more tender, juicy steak.
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How Does Gordon Ramsay Cook Medium
Gordon Ramsay, one of the most popular and successful chefs in the world, is known for his amazing medium-rare fillets steak dishes. He uses a variety of techniques to cook these steak dishes, including pan-searing, roasting, and grilling.
His process is simple and efficient, making his medium-rarefillet steaks perfect every time.
Frequently Asked Sous Vide Questions
Q: What are the downsides to cooking steak sous vide versus using a more traditional method?
None! Just kidding. Sous videâstyle precision cooking is a technique, another tool in your arsenal, and, as with all techniques, there’s a trade-off. Here are a few of the most immediate:
- It takes longer. A traditionally cooked steak goes from fridge to plate in 15 to 20 minutes . A sous vide steak will take an hour or more, though, with sous vide cooking, this time is almost 100% hands-off.
- You will not achieve the exact same sear. Flag-waving sous vide zealots may claim otherwise, but the rapid sear you achieve after cooking sous vide will not be as thick or crusty as the sear you get from a traditional cooking method. Some folks prefer a thicker sear others prefer the thin sear achieved after sous vide cooking.
- It requires more equipment. Cooking a steak sous vide requires a precision cooker and a plastic bag or vacuum sealer, in addition to all the tools required for more traditional methods. Chances are, if you’re reading this article, you already have those extra tools.
Remember this: Sous vide is not a silver bullet, or a panacea meant to solve all of your cooking problems or to replace more traditional methods. It’s a tool meant to expand your options.
Q: Can a sous vide steak get a good crust?
Sure can! I mean, just look at this baby here:
Q: When should I season my steak?
Q: Should I put olive oil or butter in the bag?
Q: Can I add a spice rub to my steak?
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