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No matter what you preference in a steak, maintaining good moisture
should always be your goal. When searching for a good cut of beef,
look for a cut with good consistent marbling. Fat equals flavor
so very low fat content in meat will tend to dry it out and have
much less flavor. You should not have to coat a great piece of meat
with sauce just to get flavor, in fact you should avoid using a
sauce at all. You want to see visible grains of fat running through
the meat but not large pieces of fat. If you do see larger pieces
simply trim them off. As you cook your steak the fat will melt and
naturally tenderize the meat.
After removing the meat from refrigeration seasoning the meat with
generous amounts of salt and pepper. Many other herb and spice combinations
can be added to your taste just be sure you have plenty of salt
and pepper in addition to any other seasonings. Allow the meat to
come to room temperature before grilling.
When grilling your steak first make sure that you have your grill
nice and hot. This will give the outside a nice crust and will also
help seal in its natural juices. If you fire flares up at any point,
move the meat off the flame. While you want a hot grill, you do
not want direct flame on the meat for any extended time period.
The worst mistake that most grillers make is to continually flip
the meat time and time again. Continually flipping the meat does
nothing but cause the meat to dry out. Flipping the steak over and
over does not make you a grill master, doing it right, does. In
the end you will flip your steak 3 times which will mean you have
cooked both sides twice for 3 minutes on each side. For cross-hatch
marks on your meat simply turn it 45 degrees when flipping. Total
cooking time should be roughly 12 minutes. This will achieve a medium
rare steak depending on how hot your grill is. Because every grill
it different you will need to experiment to get the desired results.
There is no exact way to tell when the steak is done. Without cutting
the meat open and risking the release of its juices, the best way
is to either press the meat to judge its tenderness or use a meat
thermometer. If you choose not to press the meat, you can use you
hand as a guide. For instance if you take you index finger and touch
the fleshy part of your palm right under your thumb, that is what
rare should feel like. Conversely if you touch you pinky to that
same part of your palm that is the consistency of well done. So
from finger to the next starting with your index finger and ending
with the pinky it would be: rare, medium-rare, medium and well done.
Herb rub:
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons mustard powder
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon onion
Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a bowl. Brush the steak lightly
with olive oil and rub in herb rub.
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