For fans, there is nothing like a well-cooked steak, with a crispy crust and a tender, moist centre.
Work is needed to prepare it right so do your homework then just try making one yourself, says Sebastian Junge, a leading organic chef from Hamburg.
What does he do to ensure he gets it right each time? Here are some of his insider tips:
Good-quality meat is a must for professional chefs. Only buy your steak from places where you can get advice as well such as about the breed of cattle. Personally, he swears by rib-eye steak, for example from an Angus-Wagyu crossbreed.
"Fat carries flavour, and the intramuscular marbling in the centre makes the whole thing juicy and full-bodied," he says. "For me, it offers a far greater flavour experience compared to a lean cut."
The slice of meat should have a certain thickness, the chef says. "Generally speaking, it’s not much fun to cook a steak that’s less than a thumb’s width thick.”
If your meat is on the thinner side, it may can cook through too quickly. On the other hand, a piece of meat that’s too thick makes it harder to reach the desired core temperature.
"Anything between one and two thumb’s widths is fine,” says Junge.
It’s essential to take the meat out of the fridge in good time - at least 30 minutes before cooking - and allow it to come to room temperature, says Junge.
"Otherwise, a frying temperature of 300 degrees is fighting against a fridge temperature of 2 degrees.”
That could lead to the outside of the meat being cooked through while the centre is still completely cold.
If you have a charcoal barbecue you probably want to use this method to prepare your steak, Junge says.
"But you can also achieve good results in a cast-iron or grill pan.”
But he warns cooks against using a non-stick pan - particularly if it has been in use for a while and has an uneven base.
Rare, medium or well done, it's always handy to have a meat thermometer, especially when it comes to the finer details.
Junge has his own tip for getting a rough idea of whether the steak is ready - using a meat skewer. You insert it right into the centre of your steak.
"Then hold it against your lower lip and check whether it’s slightly warmer than body temperature,” he says.
Once the steak is nicely browned on one side, keep an eye on the raw top side.
"If meat juices are already forming there and the side is starting to glisten, then turn it,” says the chef.
As a rule, you’ll then need to cook the meat for another 1 to 2 minutes. – dpa
