The Biggest Mistakes Everyone Makes When Cooking Steak

steak looks like simple fare just a lump of cow exposed to high heat but state can be tough or just underwhelming if you don't treat it right and it's more complicated than you might think you've probably messed it up somehow in the past but that's alright we'll fix that now and let you know what mistakes to avoid if you want to eat like royalty there are lots of things that can go wrong to ruin your steak dinner you can under cook the steak over cook the steak under seasoned it over season it have a few too many drinks and forget about it entirely the list goes on but don't worry about all that just yet in order to eat a good steak you first have to buy a good steak while it's easy to empty your wallet on the more fashionable cuts like sirloin ribeye and filet with a little knowledge you'll find that other bits of the cow come with delicious flavor but not the premium price tag so if you want steak but struggle with the price instead of those classic but expensive cuts try throwing a hanger steak a tri-tip or short rib on the grill since they are likely to have more connective tissue or naturally be a little tougher they may require a little more attention to cook just right but if you make the effort you definitely won't be sorry when giving a choice between lean and fatty most people will err on the side of lean this is understandable if you're looking to cut calories but otherwise you're probably better off buying a smaller fattier piece of meat this is because the fat often adds flavor and juiciness to the steak especially when the fat is marble throughout good marbling is an indicator of high quality meat and it is one of the things USDA inspectors look at when deciding on the rating an even distribution of fine marbling is the best choice and will earn the meat a USDA rating of frying for the best cuts those are so high on the scale they're the ones sold in hotels and fancy restaurants but the choice label meats is still a pretty decent piece of meat finally they're select which are leaner cuts that have a little less flavor if you go below select you're getting into generic store brand plastic wrap meats and although they offer financial advantages for the budget conscious consumer you'll probably incur enough flavor losses if you go this route so as it goes this far just in more flavor it just melts in your mouth delicious while the USDA rating system is an easy shortcut to choosing a great piece of cow there is really no substitute for years of experience to help you get the most for your money that isn't to say you should struggle through years of hit and miss meals before you earn that experience for yourself although supermarkets and plastic wrap meat are convenient there are other places you can go for your meat where good advice is included in the price per pound expert advice is invaluable and good places to go for that our butcher shops farmers markets or the occasional supermarket with an actual in-house butcher not just a local teenager wearing a bloody apron the advice they can provide goes beyond the immediate questions like flavor and price and can include information on the origin of the meat that way you can go home actually knowing what you're about to throw on the fire rather than accepting a prepackaged fiction that can hide a whole host of culinary and ethical sins with many of the other animal products that you probably have in your refrigerator or freezer you'll typically want to get them to room temperature before you cook them when it comes to steak though having the meat start out on the cold side will work in your favor here's an example of just why this is so important the internal temperature of a rare steak is around 125 degrees so if you're cooking it from room temperature say 72 degrees the grill only needs to raise the internal temperature 53 degrees to hit that mark but if you leave your steak in the fridge at around 35 degrees and throw it on the grill at that temperature the grill now has to raise the inside temperature 90 degrees to get to the same place the extra time required to heat the steak to the ideal temperature makes it easier for you to hit the window of perfect doneness and it also gives the outside a little extra time for the mired reaction to take effect that's the complicated chemical reaction that will get you that nice exterior char and produce that mouth-watering grilled flavor you're totally thinking about right now this goes for frozen steaks too cooking steaks straight from frozen is better than thawing them before cooking because it results in more retain moisture and less overcooking there are two ways your steak gets wet it either comes out of the package covered in the natural glistening steak runoff comprised of myoglobin and water or you decide to rinse it under the top rinsing any meat is just a bad idea because while you think you're removing harmful bacteria and making the world a safer place you're actually spreading it around your kitchen and into places you'll never think to hose down with bleach since you won't be rinsing your meat anymore there's just myoglobin left to consider and those juices that look so much like blood aren't really a problem however if they're on the steak when you throw it on the grill they'll get in the way of the mired reaction the mired reaction really gets going around 300 degrees which is easily achieved by most any grill however if the surface of your steak is wet when you start to cook it the temperature of the state will plateau at 212 degrees until the water boils off and only then can heat above the 300 degree threshold required for exquisite flavor to appear but since the steak is also cooking while it's sitting at 212 degrees boiling off water there won't be much time left for making flavor when it finally drives itself out give your steak a few good blasts with a paper towel before cooking to ensure this isn't a problem it goes without saying that you should season your steaks before you cook them but are you seasoning them enough maybe you give them a light sprinkling and call it good you'll find that although the light sprinkling seemed like just the right amount on the surface of meat it totally failed to take into account the iceberg nature of steaks in general most of the meat is below the surface when you season your steak you should apply a generous helping of kosher salt and pepper and rub it into the surface you can't really go wrong with salt and pepper and it's a completely legitimate way to start if you're feeling adventurous though you can take it much further there are endless recipes for steak rubs and marinades to get your mouth watering but a simple one to start with is made simply by adding garlic powder and onion powder to salt and pepper be warned that using exotic rubs and marinades might overpower the more subtle flavor of meat but that might be a good thing if you only have access to a so-so cut a sneaky rub might make all the difference to your meal you're cooking a couple of classy steaks that cost you most of a day's wages so you're going to do it right and cook them in some equally classy extra-virgin olive oil right wrong extra virgin olive oil might be the best choice for a lot of cooking but it isn't cut out for the heat throw it on a nice salad and it's right at home but throw it on a grill at 500 degrees and it will cut and run and leave bad flavors in its wake extra virgin olive oil has a low smoke point of around 320 degrees and butter is a bit higher around 350 degrees if you use either of these or any other oil with a similar smoke point the oil will start smoking apart from the aforementioned bad flavors the oil will leave behind the smoke may contain toxic chemicals better choices for grilling or frying steak include peanut oil canola oil and extra light olive oil all of which have smoke points of above 400 degrees choosing the right oil will help you make tastier steaks and when you fry steaks inside in the middle of winter you won't turn your house into a really big meat smoker common wisdom would have you fling the steak on the grill or in the pan and flip it once halfway through the cooking time and it would be hard to make a claim that this method doesn't work because a million tasty steaks have been cooked this exact way but just because it works doesn't mean it's the best way this method is trying to prevent unnecessarily removing the steak from the heat because it needs all the searing hot fire it can get during its brief time on the grill however extra flipping might be just with a doctor ordered if the doctor was invited to dinner frequently flipping the steak actually helps it cook more evenly the brief period of cooling let's excess heat escape and prevents the meat near the surface from overcooking and it also helps the meat cook faster because although there is a small amount of heat loss the temperature doesn't get down far enough for the cooking process to stop thus flipping about every 30 seconds effectively cooks the meat from both sides at once and can shorten cooking times don't worry this technique doesn't change the flavor much from the single flip method look at it this way if you're engaged in a particularly interesting conversation or if you would rather give your attention to a certain dinner guests than a charring hunk of meat you won't harm your reputation by reverting but if you want faster food or just an excuse to stop talking to a dinner guests for a few minutes start flipping if you've ever had a conversation about steak you've probably heard of the poke test according to this method you can tell whether a steak is rare or well done simply by poking the steak with your finger and comparing its squishiness with different parts of your hand or face or whatever the additional benefit of this method is that you avoid puncturing the steak with a meat thermometer and releasing the juices there are two things immediately wrong with this first the difference in temperature between a medium-rare steak and a rare steak is less than 10 degrees if you can accurately tell the difference between the two by touch please go on one of those reality TV shows that showcases weird talent second a steak is not a water balloon sure poking it with the meat thermometer will release some juice but unless you've already severely messed up and cooked the steak virtually dry the amount of liquid won't be noticeable to anyone who isn't mechanically designed to measure such things the only real and honest way for an average non-professional stake player to accurately distinguish the differences is with a decent meat thermometer besides a meat thermometer looks totally pro and your guests actually don't want you poking their food with your fingers just before you slap it on their plates steak is pretty awesome and you can't be blamed for wanting to immediately shove it down your throat once it's off the heat this is a mistake as meat is cooked the fibers start to shrink and any water they contain is squeezed out and into the spaces between the higher the temperature the meat achieves the greater the effect if you cut into the meat immediately after it comes off the grill much of that liquid will run out onto your plate however if you cover the meat in foil and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes the fibers in the meat will have a chance to relax and let some of the juices back in and here's one final word of advice you should relax to cooking a quality steak can be a stressful experience for you as well as the steak what with all the heat spitting oils charring meat and short cook times so if you don't give yourself a chance to chill and enjoy the process you will have turned the chance to eat like royalty into nothing more than a medieval chef's simulator check out one of our newest videos right here plus even more mass videos about your favorite foods are coming soon subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit 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Channel: Mashed

Views: 1,431,053

Rating: 4.1961422 out of 5

Keywords: mashed, mashed food, steak, steak cooking, steak cooking tips, steak cooking tricks, steak cooking tip, steak cooking trick, steak cut, steak cuts, best steak cut, best steak cuts, perfect steak cook, perfect steak cooks, perfect steak temp, perfect steak temperature, steak poke, steak poke test, steak tip, steak tips, steak trick, steak tricks, steak season, steak seasoning, steak 101, how to cook steak, how to cook perfect steak

Id: qz5-0mVldeE

Length: 10min 2sec (602 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 26 2019