Cooking Steak In Frying Pan

ar2020 [OP]: Deal Fanatic; Jan 27, 2014; 5508 posts; 2527 upvotes

Dec 29th, 2014 2:53 pm

HELP: Cooking steak in frying pan for first time

So for New Years I want to cook steak at home.

1) What thickness should I get the steak? I am going to try cooking it medium rare. 1.25 inches or 1.50 inches?

2) What setting should I be cooking it on the stove? Highest heat possible right?

3) Cook it for around 4 minutes each side for medium rare with that thickness of meat?

4) If I want to eat the steak Wednesday, December 31st when should I buy the meat? Should it be day before (Tuesday)? Do you wash the meat? Or just put it straight in the fridge overnight? I'm really confused on how long you should keep the steak in the fridge before cooking it and therefore not sure how much in advance I should buy the meat.

Will just put salt on my steak hour before cooking them. After cooking it I will put black pepper. Nothing else. Will ask further questions if I have any as they come to me.

Please help me cook the perfect steak!

Dec 29th, 2014 3:30 pm

C_C: Deal Addict; May 4, 2010; 1860 posts; 579 upvotes

Dec 29th, 2014 3:30 pm

Sear the steak in a pan to get color on the outside, and then into a hot oven to finish off.

Dec 29th, 2014 3:33 pm

trane0: Deal Addict; Jun 8, 2005; 3097 posts; 564 upvotes; Toronto

Dec 29th, 2014 3:33 pm

How far in advance you buy the meat doesn't matter, as it matters when the animal was dispatched. Since it's NYE, you should splurge and get a nice 40 day dry aged piece anyways.

Bring the meat to room temp before cooking, however long that takes (an hour or so outside of the fridge).

What kind of pan is it? Stainless steel? Cast iron? If it's cast iron, you can sear on the stove and then move to hot (500) oven to finish.

Dec 29th, 2014 3:42 pm

Supercooled: Deal Expert; Dec 4, 2010; 19500 posts; 2202 upvotes; Quarantine Bubble

Dec 29th, 2014 3:42 pm

�� wrote: ↑How far in advance you buy the meat doesn't matter, as it matters when the animal was dispatched. Since it's NYE, you should splurge and get a nice 40 day dry aged piece anyways.

Bring the meat to room temp before cooking, however long that takes (an hour or so outside of the fridge).

What kind of pan is it? Stainless steel? Cast iron? If it's cast iron, you can sear on the stove and then move to hot (500) oven to finish.

Qeustion for you. How long before a steak starts to turn / spoil at room temperature? I keep reading/hearing about the experiement where if you pour a can of coke over a meat that's spoiled (and I don't mean visibly spoiled, but may be 1-2 days without the slimy film) you will start to see worms come out of the steak.

I personally like it medium to well done. I tried eating it bleu or whatever they call it, but it's just too much blood for my eyes.

The way I do it is I buy the thin cuts so if there's some blood running it's ok as long as 75-80% of the steak is browned and cooked. Oh, none of that VH sauce non sense; salt and pepper all day long.

Tried compound butter but it just wasn't my thing.

Dec 29th, 2014 4:28 pm

trane0: Deal Addict; Jun 8, 2005; 3097 posts; 564 upvotes; Toronto

Dec 29th, 2014 4:28 pm

Supercooled wrote: ↑Qeustion for you. How long before a steak starts to turn / spoil at room temperature? I keep reading/hearing about the experiement where if you pour a can of coke over a meat that's spoiled (and I don't mean visibly spoiled, but may be 1-2 days without the slimy film) you will start to see worms come out of the steak.

I personally like it medium to well done. I tried eating it bleu or whatever they call it, but it's just too much blood for my eyes.

The way I do it is I buy the thin cuts so if there's some blood running it's ok as long as 75-80% of the steak is browned and cooked. Oh, none of that VH sauce non sense; salt and pepper all day long.

Tried compound butter but it just wasn't my thing.

None of that is blood really, as blood congeals soon after slaughter and is drained from the carcass. It's mostly water / meat juice.

I have no idea how long it needs to stay out before "worms" emerge. And unless there were parasites in the meat already, those worms are most likely larvae from a fly that laid its eggs, after the steak was put on the counter. Assuming any of that is true (e.g. the coke test).

Let's put it this way: when you dry age a steak, you're taking a cut piece of meat and leaving it out at temp/humidity controlled environment at a temp somewhere between your fridge and room temp. There won't be worms coming out if you pour coke over it.

Dec 29th, 2014 4:29 pm

No Frills: Deal Fanatic; Dec 3, 2009; 5903 posts; 1227 upvotes; Toronto

Dec 29th, 2014 4:29 pm

What kind of steak are you frying?

Remember to be an RFD-er and NOT a degenerate.

Dec 29th, 2014 4:43 pm

gh05t: Deal Fanatic; Sep 16, 2004; 9744 posts; 1998 upvotes; Toronto

Dec 29th, 2014 4:43 pm

Never fried a steak but seen them do it on TV and some popular steak restaurants like Ruth's chris seem to do it as well.

They often pat the steak dry with paper towels, season with salt and sear on both sides in a shallow pan on high heat before finishing in the oven. Length of time for each step depends on your required level of doneness.

Remember your steak may still be cooking after you take it off the heat or from the oven, so take this into consideration in maybe taking it out a bit earlier to prevent overcooking.

Once it's overcooked it can't be reversed, but if undercooked, it can still be cooked further if needed.

An important part is leaving the steak to rest before serving, cutting etc so all the juices inside get absorbed into the meat and you don't lose it when you cut.

I imagine the touch test to figure out doneness if you don't have meat thermometer would be your resort.

Dec 29th, 2014 4:55 pm

ar2020 [OP]: Deal Fanatic; Jan 27, 2014; 5508 posts; 2527 upvotes

Dec 29th, 2014 4:55 pm

No Frills wrote: ↑What kind of steak are you frying?

Sirloin or t-bone.

Dec 29th, 2014 4:59 pm

ak-47: Deal Addict; Apr 23, 2006; 3026 posts; 1038 upvotes; Toronto

Dec 29th, 2014 4:59 pm

This is what I do for ribeye, t-bone, and strip steaks I get from Metro/Loblaw - usually 1-1.5" thick.

- I take it out from the fridge two hours before cooking to warm up to room temp.
- Season with salt right before cooking.
- heat my stainless steel pan on the stove top at level "6" with peanut oil.
- As soon as it starts smoking, I put the steak on the pan, usually 2 minutes per side flipping only once for medium rare, 2.5 minutes per side for medium.
- Let the meat rest for 5-10 minutes.

with t-bone, at the end of 5-6 minutes, I like to stand the meat vertically bone side down on the pan for an additional half a minute so the bone would cook more thoroughly.

The cooking time will vary between different thickness, the temperature of the steak before it was cooked, and how hot your pan is. You can do the 'finger test' to gauge how cooked the steak is. http://www.asweetpeachef.com/cooking-10 ... s-of-meat/

Dec 29th, 2014 5:04 pm

Piro21: Deal Expert; Nov 15, 2004; 19849 posts; 3831 upvotes; Toronto

Dec 29th, 2014 5:04 pm

ar2020 wrote: ↑2) What setting should I be cooking it on the stove? Highest heat possible right?

3) Cook it for around 4 minutes each side for medium rare with that thickness of meat?

Don't do this, you'll just burn it.

I don't eat beef, but my girlfriend does, and I cooked a pan steak for her a while back. I poached it with wine and butter, and served it with the sauce. It sounds like you're mainly aiming for a dry cook method right now, but you may want to look into moist heat methods in the future.

You should check out the links below to get a better idea of what you're doing before you start:
http://www.thehealthybutcher.com/cooking_guide.html
http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/cookin ... tmoist.htm

Dec 29th, 2014 5:16 pm

LNahid2000: Deal Fanatic; Jul 10, 2003; 7726 posts; 3196 upvotes

Dec 29th, 2014 5:16 pm

Make sure to get a steak at least 1 inch thick. You can cook it on as high as possible for 2 minutes per side to get the sear and then finish it in the oven.

Dec 29th, 2014 6:19 pm

JAGpilot: Deal Addict; Jun 22, 2006; 4170 posts; 176 upvotes; North York

Dec 29th, 2014 6:19 pm

Worms coming out of meat is utter nonsense.

http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/porkworm.asp

If you drive dangerously I hope you get caught and lose your license/car/dignity!

Dec 29th, 2014 7:50 pm

Andex: Deal Addict; Mar 8, 2009; 1420 posts; 109 upvotes

Dec 29th, 2014 7:50 pm

I would certainly take it out about 1 hour before cooking to get to room temp. Just cover it with tin foil, plastic wrap or another plate.

Then I would sear both sides quickly to lock in the juices and favour and then cook over a lower heat or place it in the oven.

Dec 29th, 2014 8:09 pm

AudiDude: Deal Guru; Mar 1, 2004; 12862 posts; 1475 upvotes; Pickering

Dec 29th, 2014 8:09 pm

Andex wrote: ↑I would certainly take it out about 1 hour before cooking to get to room temp. Just cover it with tin foil, plastic wrap or another plate.

Then I would sear both sides quickly to lock in the juices and favour and then cook over a lower heat or place it in the oven.

No...

The video is just one example. I can slow cook a steak at 225 degrees and have it waaaaay juicier than any hot seared steak. High temps cause the meat to constrict and squeeze juices out.

I let the meat reach room temperature and seasoned. Get the pan hot, but not too hot. It will brown without having to hit it with really high heat and then finish in the oven (if you are using cast iron). Either that or I cover it in the frying pan and keep the heat low.

Dec 29th, 2014 10:42 pm

UrbanPoet: Deal Expert; Jan 27, 2004; 46996 posts; 10161 upvotes; T.O. Lotto Captain

Dec 29th, 2014 10:42 pm

Dec 30th, 2014 8:51 am

nalababe: Deal Guru; Dec 31, 2005; 13306 posts; 738 upvotes

Dec 30th, 2014 8:51 am

Not needed with a good steak. And if not knowing what you are doing, if you put butter in a hot pan you can easily burn the milk solids.

Dec 30th, 2014 8:58 am

ar2020 [OP]: Deal Fanatic; Jan 27, 2014; 5508 posts; 2527 upvotes

Dec 30th, 2014 8:58 am

Do I have to transfer it to the oven? Can I just cook it all in the frying pan? This will be my first time cooking and I do not want to complicate things.

Dec 30th, 2014 9:21 am

trane0: Deal Addict; Jun 8, 2005; 3097 posts; 564 upvotes; Toronto

Dec 30th, 2014 9:21 am

ar2020 wrote: ↑Do I have to transfer it to the oven? Can I just cook it all in the frying pan? This will be my first time cooking and I do not want to complicate things.

You don't have to transfer to the oven, but it makes it easier. If you cook it in the pan, there's a chance you could burn the outside before cooking the inside to the temp. However, you lose the ability to do this:

Dec 30th, 2014 9:48 am

ar2020 [OP]: Deal Fanatic; Jan 27, 2014; 5508 posts; 2527 upvotes

Dec 30th, 2014 9:48 am

Thanks. So I can buy the steak just before cooking, leave it outside for an hour and then cook it away? No need to store it in the fridge or wash it right?

Dec 30th, 2014 10:27 am

No Frills: Deal Fanatic; Dec 3, 2009; 5903 posts; 1227 upvotes; Toronto

Dec 30th, 2014 10:27 am

I'll suggest to get the steak today....they can last days in the fridge. Reason I say this is retail stores are closing early tomorrow and most places will be selling down their fresh meat cuts for the holiday closures.

Remember to be an RFD-er and NOT a degenerate.