Kansas City Steaks Beef Wellington Cooking From Frozen
Wheeled out for romantic dinners for two and indulgent meals, steak's higher price tag makes it fall squarely into the category of 'special'. Sadly, it's easy to get wrong, and that expensive treat can become an expensive disappointment.
Thankfully we've put together our step-by-step guide (full of top tips) to cooking the best steak you've ever eaten, including the mistake most of us make when cooking steak and how to avoid it...
Choose your steak
When buying steak, consider what it is about the eating experience that you like most, then pick accordingly…
You want a full flavour but don't mind about texture – go for rump.
Deeply savoury, rump is often one of the cheaper supermarket cuts, but can have a slightly more fibrous texture, especially if cooked beyond medium rare.
You want mild, tender meat and don't mind paying more for it – go for fillet.
Fillet has a premium price tag, but because it's a muscle that does little work, cooks to a soft, buttery consistency. The lack of fat marbling through means it has comparatively little flavour and is easily ruined by cooking beyond medium.
You want the best of all worlds – go for ribeye.
Ribeye contains a mix of different muscles and a tonne of fat rippling through. This means you get a variety of eating experiences - from flavoursome to tender – all in one steak. The fat adds extra flavour, and keeps the meat from turning rubbery, even if cooked to well done.
You want a gourmet experience– go to the butcher.
The steaks mentioned above can all be bought at the supermarket. Cuts like t-bone, bavette, flat-iron and onglet have good flavour, beautifully interesting textures, and are for the steak eaters in-the-know. They can sometimes be found in bigger supermarkets, but you're more likely to get them from a reputable butcher.
A note on sirloin: It's one of the most popular cuts because it's so readily available. However, unless it's a primo, dry-aged specimen (or cooked in a reputable steak restaurant), it's not intrinsically that flavoursome, and the texture can often be on the granular and chewy side.
Steak is a very personal thing, so the best thing to do is try a variety of them and see which you prefer.
Thickness is relative to doneness
Thickness of steak can have a big impact on how quickly it cooks and therefore how rare/well-done it is.
- If you love steak on the rarer side, opt for thicker cuts. Thick-cut fillet, rump, sirloin and onglet (make sure it hasn't been flattened out) are perfect. Rib-eye doesn't fare so well with a short cooking time as the fat needs longer to render and crisp.
- If you always have your steak medium, a regular cut of rib-eye or a thinner piece of fillet are ideal as they can stand up well to a little more cooking, but still stay tender.
- If you insist on well-done meat, you're best off with a thin 'minute' steak that will easily cook through completely. Rib-eye is also a good choice, as previously mentioned, because it doesn't go leathery, but don't choose sirloin or rump as they contain very little fat and you'll be chewing on them for days.
Ageing gracefully
Dry ageing is a technique where larger joints of meat are hung in a temperature controlled, dry environment for a certain amount of time to tenderise and develop a deeper, beefy savouriness, before being sliced into smaller cuts. Steaks that haven't been dry-aged tend to lack depth, but ones hung for over 28 days can have a very strong flavour and be more of an acquired taste. The longer they are hung for, the higher the price.
How to prepare steak
There's no need to take steak out of the fridge for 30min if you don't have time – it makes no difference to the end result.
The biggest blunder people make is not drying their steak thoroughly before cooking – it's one of the most vital pieces of prep. When you unwrap steak from its packaging, there's usually a layer of moisture on the surface that prevents the meat from browning, so the steak needs to cook for longer to drive off the water if it has any hope of getting golden. The result? Unpleasant grey meat that is overdone. Pat all over with sturdy kitchen paper until completely dry, and the steaks will brown quickly and evenly.
Don't season the meat until the very moment before you put it in the pan. Any earlier and the salt will draw moisture out of the meat and a) need drying with kitchen paper again b) make the finished steak tougher.
Top-rated pan sets
How hot should my frying pan be?
Steak is best cooked in a pan that's as hot as you can get it. Cooking steak on a low temperature means it won't brown easily, so will overcook internally before the outside is golden. Make sure the pan is heated well in advance of you putting the steak in too.
What fat should I cook my steak in?
The best fats are ones with a high smoke point that can withstand the heat – neutral oils like sunflower or vegetable work well. Some pros swear by beef dripping for flavour. Avoid using extra virgin olive oil or pure butter at this point as they will burn.
However, some chefs like to finish their steaks off with a butter baste. Once the steaks have browned but are a few minutes off being cooked, add a large knob of butter to the pan, then tilt the pan, gather the melted butter in a spoon and pour it back over the steaks. Repeat this frequently for the remainder of the cooking time.
Oil in the pan or oil on the meat?
If you're frying your steaks in a pan, the fat should be heated up in the pan. If you're griddling, grilling or barbecuing steaks, brush them with oil before cooking and then season the meat.
How do I know when my steak is cooked?
It all depends on how you like your steak.
- 'Blue' is where the very outside of the steak is seared and the entire inside is completely raw (which is deemed safe because the outside of the steak where any bacteria would be, is completely cooked, providing you haven't recontaminated it using utensils that touched the meat when it was raw).
- Rare meat is where the outer layer is cooked, but the rest of the inside is soft and uncooked.
- Medium-rare is slightly more cooked, but still a bit of redness remains in the centre.
- Medium is where the fibres of the meat are set and cooked, but the centre has some pinkness.
- Well-done is where the meat is cooked all the way through and no tinge of pinkness remains.
Some people go by timings, but because steak thicknesses vary so much, these aren't always helpful. A slightly more consistent way to gauge it is by feeling - using the fingers of the right hand - the softness of the pad of flesh where your thumb joins the palm on your left hand as a comparison to the softness of the steak. Depending on which fingertip the tip of the thumb touches, the "squidginess" of the edge of the palm changes – from soft (index finger) to very firm (little finger). Or if you're still in doubt, use a digital meat thermometer.
For rare steak
Don't touch your thumb to any finger and keep it relaxed. Using your other hand, feel the base of your thumb and how soft it is. This is how your steak should feel if it's rare (or the internal temperature will be between 30-50°C)
Medium rare
Touch the tip of your left thumb to the tip of your left index finger (or the internal temperature will be between 55-60°C).
Medium and medium well
Touch the tip of your left thumb to the tip of your left middle finger or ring finger (or the internal temperature will be between 60-69°C).
Well-done
Touch the tip of your thumb to the tip of your left little finger (or the internal temperature will be between 70°C or higher).
Once you've done this a few times, you'll be able to just press the steak and know whether it's cooked to your liking.
For blue steak, you don't need the thumb test: sear the outside in the hottest pan possible, for 1min or until each side is just golden (or the internal temperature will be less than 29°C).
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Playing with flavour
Great steak needs very little additional flavour, but if you want to get experimental, try a spiced coffee rub. Mix together good quality finely ground coffee beans with a little salt, brown sugar and spices such as chilli powder, then rub a teaspoon of the mixture on each side of a steak and cook as per the instructions above. Alternatively, you can try a post-cooking marinade in an aromatic herby oil.
The best sauces for steak
You can make one of the simplest and quickest sauces by deglazing the pan after you've cooked and removed the steaks. Add a glug of white wine, red wine, sherry or vermouth whilst the pan is still hot, scraping the bottom as it bubbles, then season and serve alongside. If you don't mind a little more effort, you can't go wrong with a classic béarnaise, or a creamy mushroom sauce. If you're after something fresher and lighter, this Vietnamese dressing is just the ticket.
How to buy steak
For the best flavour, look for a light marbling of fat throughout the meat. As for the cut, it really is better to pay for top quality.
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Source: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/food/cookery-videos/a657160/how-to-cook-steak/