Cooking Steak Isn't So Steak-phisticated

Understanding how to properly cook a steak is as important as knowing when to file your taxes to avoid tax evasion. I’ve never filed taxes before, but I know the IRS tax deadline is Monday, April 15. I also can cook a heavily marbleized New York Strip to a temperature of 130-135 degrees fahrenheit with the only temperature marker being my hands. So, Dua Lipa, if you’re reading this, I might be a college freshman at the tender age of 18 but I’m financially sufficient and can cook a New York Strip steak better than Rachel Ray. If you’re free Friday maybe you could come up to my dorm. We could talk geopolitics, hold hands, drink inexpensive wine out of dixie cups, maybe even consensual kiss on the cheek. But romantic celebrity aspirations aside, cooking a steak is easier than filing your taxes or Martha Stewart wouldn’t have spent five months in jail.

Your choice of cut for the proper steak can vary. Porterhouse, considered by many the “king” of steaks, features a New York Strip and on the opposing side of bone, a hefty filet mignon. For a cheaper cut of meat look for the flank or skirt steak. Colombians refer to the flank as sobrebarriga or "over the belly" because of the flanks positioning near the groin of the cow. Compared to that of say a porterhouse, a significant amount of connective tissue collects. Don’t let this dissuade you as when cooked with care it’s not a concern.

The tenderloin is another cheap cut in which the name speaks for itself in respects to its succulence. With its low fat content, stuffing it with a mixture that instills what it does not have in fatty tissue, whether that be a pork product or dairy product, is a solid move. Cuts to avoid when looking to prepare a steak would be anything with a lower fat content that stems from a region in which muscular development is quite high. Some of the toughest cuts on the cow include chuck, brisket, and ribs, which all are still delicious in their entirety but require other methods then high heat searing for best result.

You’ll hear the argument of bone-in versus no-one too often and it’s annoying. Those who favor cooking a steak with the bone present claim that it imparts a great deal of flavor and, well I don’t really care what else they say. For a beginner, cooking a bone-in steak to a said temperature evenly is ridiculously difficult. My father, being one of these offenders, is one that thinks it’s just more masculine to cook a steak bone-in. Cooking a steak bone-in and having it vary in even temperature will not make you look masculine in the least bit. Stick to boneless meat for now until you’re able to cook a New York Strip like Mario Batali or uhh, maybe more like Bobby Flay.

There is only one way to objectively cook a steak and I’m not talking grill. A seasoned cast iron pan, one particularly with leftover particles of unknown food still attached, is your best vesicle for crust development. To start the undertaking of cooking a steak, one of the most overlooked steps includes bringing your steak to room temperature. This should be done by taking a kitchen plate, heavily surround your hunk of meat in an obscene amount of paper towels to draw moisture, and place on your countertop.

Steak cooking is riflied with an adherent amount of absolutism, so again, this is completely my take on what has worked for me in the past. Getting your cast iron as hot as possible while using around a tablespoon of high smoke resistant oil is essential. Salt and pepper grain size is another aspect of meat cookery generally overlooked. In my experience, using a larger sized salt flake and more coarse pepper ground leads to better crust development. Once the cast iron reaches a heat in which when one drop of water placed upon it threatens to give you third degree burns, place your meat. Here comes another annoying steak debate of whether or not leaving your meat stagnant or continuous movement leads to best crust and caramelization development. Stagnation for me has always been successful and I advise you to follow. Depending on how thick, cooking time will vary. Three to four minutes on each side is a good indicator for when it comes to flipping the average steak.

Once flipped, the process of basting or in other terms, continuously slathering with butter by using a spoon, further imparts flavor. By adding garlic or heat resistant herbs such as rosemary to the basting butter, your dinner guests will think you had Mario Batali, or I mean Bobby Flay cooking for you. Removing the steak five or so degrees before the required temperature while letting it rest five to seven minutes before cutting into is crucial. If the step of resting is ignored and the steak is sliced, all of the necessary precautions taken to achieve the task of cooking a proper steak will be proved wasted.

If you were to cook a flank steak, the following slicing procedure would be slicing against the grain or against the muscle fibers to create a tender piece of meat. In the case of a New York Strip, you do not have to abide by against the grain slicing. In other words, just slice, arrange in a semi symmetrical order, and finish with a pinch of flake salt to feel as accomplished as Salt Bae. If legal, pour a glass of some form of red wine, preferable Cabernet Sauvignon, and consume like the intrepid cavedweller you didn’t know you had in you.