5 Mistakes Home Cooks Make With Steak (and How to Fix Them)

 

1. The steak is wet

Moisture is the enemy of browning. Pat the steak completely dry with paper towel before it touches the pan. Wet steak steams and turns grey.

2. The pan isn't hot enough

Heat the pan for several minutes, until it's properly hot, before the steak goes in. If you don't hear a sharp sizzle, wait. Use cast iron or heavy stainless steel, not thin non-stick.

3. It's seasoned too late (or too shyly)

Season generously with salt. Salting about 40 minutes ahead, or just before it hits the pan, both work. Salting halfway through cooking doesn't.

4. You're cooking by time, not temperature

Steaks vary in thickness, so timings are a guess. A cheap probe thermometer is the best tool you can buy. For medium-rare, take it off the heat around 52–55°C. It keeps climbing while it rests.

5. You skip the rest

Give it 5 to 10 minutes on a rack or board before cutting. Cut too early and the juices run out onto the plate.

Bonus: finish with butter

In the last minute, add a knob of butter, some garlic and thyme, and spoon it over the top.

Read next: A good steak deserves a sharp blade, so read [Best Kitchen Knives for Beginners (From a Head Chef)], and for the bigger picture on flavour, read [Why Restaurant Food Tastes Better Than Home Cooking].

A steak is simple. That's why every mistake shows.

— The Chef