How to cook a perfect steak… every time.

Though I grew up on a cattle farm, we actually didn’t eat a lot of steaks growing up! Most of the beef we ate was ground, with an occasional roast in the dinner-time mix. I remember the heavenly scent of a roast cooking at my grandmother’s house for big family dinners. She always managed to cook it to fall-apart-mouth-watering tenderness, and there were never any leftovers! Honestly, the only other beef dishes I remember were things like spaghetti with meat sauce, hamburgers, and vegetable beef stew (made with ground beef, not chunks of stew meat). But steak? The only time we had steak was on a rare trip to a restaurant or sometimes at Christmas.

After we got married, my husband and I started looking at steaks as a treat and wanted to try cooking them for special occasions at home. We tried a number of recipes but often just ended up with a tough steak, masked by sauces and sides.  When my husband and I moved our family back to the farm, we began looking into how to cook a great steak, without sauces or extras. I mean, a great steak should be able to stand on its own at the table, right?

Here’s what we landed on and, so far, we’ve had nothing but great steaks.

Ideally, your steak will be at least 1” thick. If it’s frozen, allow plenty of time for it to thaw in the fridge… no microwaving, please! Once it’s thawed, open the package and pat the steak dry with paper towels. Place your dried steak on a rack set in a baking sheet. Now— don’t skimp on this— sprinkle the steak generously with salt on all sides. And now the magic: place the steak back in the fridge, uncovered, for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours. This allows the salt to draw out moisture from the meat fibers, dissolve, and reabsorb as a brine.

After the meat has brined in the fridge, take it out, pat it dry, and let it come to room temperature, about 30 minutes. This will ensure that the center of the meat cooks to your desired level. Meanwhile, heat your grill or skillet to medium-high heat.

Rub the steak with oil (instead of oiling the grill or skillet) and sprinkle the meat with your favorite seasonings— or leave it as is. Place the steak on the grill. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes then flip to the other side and cook until it’s done. HINT: use a meat thermometer to decide if the steak is done! For medium-rare steak, the temperature should be around 135 F; medium steak should be around 145 F. And don’t forget to let the steak rest for 5-10 minutes before you cut into it.

That’s it. Top the steaks with compound butter, if you like (scroll down for an easy compound butter recipe). Pair with your favorite sides and enjoy!

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Perfect Steaks

Prep time 2-24 hours, plus thawing time

Cook time 10-15 minutes

What you’ll need:

• Steak (such as NY Strip, Filet Mignon, ribeye, or sirloin), 1-1 ½ ” thick

• Kosher salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• Cooking oil (I like olive oil)

• Seasonings (optional)

• Compound butter (optional— see Tips below)

What to do:

1. Thaw the steak in the fridge. Please don’t use the microwave to thaw your steaks!

2. At least 2 hours before you’d like to cook the steaks, remove them from the packaging and pat dry with paper towels. Set the steaks on a rack in a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with 1/2 - 1 teaspoon kosher salt on each side. Put the steaks back in the fridge, uncovered, for 2-24 hours.

3. When you’re ready to cook, remove the steaks from the fridge and pat them dry again. Let the steaks come to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Rub the steaks with oil and sprinkle with any seasonings you’d like to use (or leave them as is). Meanwhile, preheat the grill or skillet to medium-high heat.

4. Place the steaks on the preheated grill. Cook for 2-4 minutes on each side, depending on how well-done you like your steaks, and how thick they are. Using a meat thermometer to check doneness is best.

5. Transfer the steaks to a platter. Add a dollop of compound butter to each steak. Loosely cover the steaks with foil and let them rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Tips

Temperature

You’ll need to plan ahead to allow time for the steaks to brine with the salt in the fridge, as well as be sure to let them come to room temperature, before you cook them. If they are cold when you put them on the grill, the outside will cook too fast for the inside to be properly done.

Doneness Temperatures

Rare = 125 F

Medium-rare = 135 F

Medium = 145 F

Medium-well = 150 F

Well-done = 160 F

Compound Butter

There are lots of flavors you can make for compound butter. Here’s one that we like:

In a small bowl, combine 4 T softened butter, 1/8 t. salt, 1/8 t. pepper, 1 t. garlic paste, and 1/2 t. fresh chives. Mash everything together with a fork, until the add-ins are uniform throughout the butter. Store in the fridge until ready to use. Top hot steaks, baked potatoes, etc. as desired.