Steak Cooking Tips: How to Cook a Steak? (2024)

Y.O. Ranch Steakhouse Blog

  • August 24, 2010

Tips for Making a Great Steak

By Chef Tony Street

Here are some insider tips on making a great Y.O. style steak at home.

The Grade

Selecting a good cut of beef is just as important as the way you prepare it. The best steakhouses and restaurants in the United States serve up the most expensive grade of beef known as USDA prime beef. Prime grade beef accounts for about 3% of all beef production in the U.S., and most of our beef at the Y.O. The demand for this high quality beef makes it hard for you and I to just pick up at the corner grocery store. If you can’t find Prime grade, look for Choice grade – the next best thing.

The Aging

Ever heard the terms dry-aged, wet-aged? Have any idea what they mean? Most fine restaurantsage their beef to intensify the flavor and improve the tenderness of the cut. Wet aging is done by vacuum packing the meat and letting it age in its own juices. Wet aging is done by more than 90% of fine steakhouses.

Dry aging is done by letting the meat sit (in very controlled conditions) for several days or weeks. This is a difficult process to perform because the risk of spoilage and food poisoning can be very high. You can however, check with your local meat markets to try and find a source for dry aged beef. If you can’t find it, don’t worry because very few palates could tell the difference between the two.

The Seasoning

Great steaks need little seasoning. This goes back to our first rule: If you start with high quality ingredients, you won’t need much else.

However, every great steakhouse seasons the steaks they cook. Typically a steak is seasoned with coarse ground black pepper, sea or kosher salt, garlic, and some type of signature spice. In addition to the seasoning most steakhouse’s use a marinade, butter, or some type of baste or finishing liquid.

Here at the Y.O., we finish the steak as soon as it’s done with a liquid mixture of red wine, red wine vinegar and soy sauce. This helps to lock in all the flavor and moisture, giving your cut the succulent flavor you love.

Cooking method

Most big steakhouses broil their steaks, using overhead, infrared broilers that produce incredibly hot temperatures to cook steaks. Don’t worry though, you don’t need to go out and invest in one, but the principle is the same. You need incredibly high heat in direct contact with the meat.

A basic, inexpensive cast iron pan or griddle is the steak’s best friend. Heavy, dense and able to hold a lot of heat, cast iron pans make the perfect steak. Only by having contact with that intense heat can you cook the steak hot enough and fast enough to make it perfect.

The basic process is to preheat the pan as hot as you can get it. Drop in the steak for two minutes. Flip, add and cook for 3-4 more minutes depending on how you want your steak done. When the steak is at the temperature you like it add your butter or finishing liquid. Be prepared – this is a smoke-filled process, but it can be done on your side burner on your grill without flooding the house with smoke.

Bon Appetite Y’all

Tony Street

Steak Cooking Tips: How to Cook a Steak? (3)Texas native Tony Street brings his Lone Star upbringing to downtown Dallas with Y.O. Ranch Steakhouse. Tony honed his skills in the heart of cattle country before opening his acclaimed steakhouse in 1996. Y.O. Ranch Steakhouse earned “Best Steakhouse in DFW” from the Dallas Morning News year after year, as well as national recognition from Food Network as one of the best steakhouses in America. Tony handpicks premium, locally-sourced Texas beef from the Y.O. Ranch and infuses southern cuisine influences into the menu, creating an authentic dining experience found nowhere else in downtown Dallas.

Make your Dallas restaurant reservations now and be wowed by my perfected dry-aged steaks, seared on a hot grill to lock in the juices and flavor. A cut above the rest!

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Steak Cooking Tips: How to Cook a Steak? (2024)

FAQs

Steak Cooking Tips: How to Cook a Steak? ›

As a general rule, however, a steak that's about one-and-a-half inches thick needs roughly 10 minutes of total grill or stovetop cook time for rare, 12 or 13 minutes for medium rare. Using a meat thermometer is always a good idea. An internal temperature of about 120 degrees for rare, 130 degrees for medium rare.

How are steak tips usually cooked? ›

As the perfect grilling selection, the steak tip is also versatile enough for indoor cooking. Grilling, braising, and searing are the three common methods used. No matter which option you choose, a steak tip is best served medium-rare.

What is the best way to get your steak cooked? ›

Steaks should always be cooked on high temperatures to sear the outside and trap the juices and flavor inside. Steaks should almost always be cooked on a grill or in a pan on high heat: all cooking guidelines below are for one-inch thick steaks. Rest your steak for five minutes under aluminum foil before eating.

How do you cook a steak so it's not tough? ›

During cooking, aim to cook your steak medium-rare to medium – any more and you'll be left with a tough piece of meat. Turning it every minute or so will make sure you get a really even cook. After cooking, leave it to rest and rub with a little extra virgin olive oil or butter for an incredible, juicy steak.

What is the secret to cooking a good steak? ›

Top 5 Secret Tips For Cooking Perfect Steak Every Time
  • Buy Meat From Quality Sources.
  • Season Generously - More Than You Probably Think.
  • Use High Heat To Get That Perfect Sear.
  • Don't Overcook Your Steak.
  • Be Sure To Let The Steak Rest After Cooking.
Aug 30, 2020

How can I make my steak juicy and tender? ›

7 Ways to Tenderize Steak
  1. Pounding. Using a meat mallet (or kitchen mallet) to pound steaks helps soften and tenderize the meat. ...
  2. Salting. Most cuts of steak benefit from being salted up to an hour in advance of cooking, but especially tougher cuts. ...
  3. Marinating. ...
  4. Velveting. ...
  5. Slow Cooking. ...
  6. Enzymatic Application. ...
  7. Scoring.
Oct 18, 2022

How do you get the most tender steak? ›

By adding salt to your steak, you will help pull out moisture from the meat, enriching the flavor of your steak while tenderizing it in the process. Salt will act as a natural brine and can be added up to 24 hours before cooking, instilling deep, rich flavors and tenderness to any cut of beef.

How do chefs recommend cooking steak? ›

Add the steak and then some garlic, butter, rosemary, and thyme. Sear evenly on each side. Depending on your preference, for a 2-cm thick steak, to cook to: blue, 1 min per side; rare, 1½ mins per side; medium-rare, 2 mins per side; medium, about 2¼ mins per side; well-done, about 4-5 mins per side.

How do you cook steak without drying it out? ›

If desired, use some aluminum foil to tent over your steak in the oven. The foil will lock in moisture to prevent it from escaping your steak to prevent it from drying out while it reaches your ideal doneness.

How do restaurants make their steaks so tender? ›

The Aging. Most fine restaurants age their beef to intensify the flavor and improve the tenderness of the cut. Aging is done by letting the meat sit (in very controlled conditions) for several days or weeks.

What does Texas Roadhouse do to make their steaks so tender? ›

How does Texas Roadhouse tenderise their steaks? Season each side of the steak well with the seasoning and set aside to rest for about 40 minutes. This causes the salt to infiltrate the surface (through osmosis) and actually aids in the breakdown of muscle fibres, resulting in more tender meat.

What is the secret ingredient to tenderize meat? ›

Whether hosting a holiday cookout, serving up some stir-fry or tackling game meats, baking soda is the go-to meat tenderizer to help make your steak, chicken or turkey silkier, juicier and yummier.

What is the best technique for cooking steak? ›

Sous vide is one of the best methods to use to ensure that your steak comes out juicy and tender. This is an especially handy method to use for tough cuts of steak, like chuck or brisket, that require slow, even cooking to tenderize.

What to season steak with? ›

There are many spices available for seasoning a steak, with salt and pepper topping the list. However, other spices, like thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, and minced onion, are also good options to enhance your steak's flavor. Or, use a one-and-done approach with Chicago Steak Seasoning.

What is the order of cooked steak? ›

If you want your steak to be seared on both sides with a bright red middle, ask for “rare.” If you want it to be “medium,” it will have lots of brown outside and a pink center. “Medium well” results in a small amount of pink in the center, while “well done” means no pink and a firmer final product.

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