Gordon Ramsay’s 10 tips for the best steak
Gordon Ramsay teaches us how to cook steak, and when the master speaks, we listen. With these ten tips, it can hardly go wrong with your steak!
As the owner of several steak restaurants around the world, Gordon knows a thing or two about cooking steaks, we dare say, and besides all the other cooking tips he likes to share with us, he also has some very useful steak tips up his sleeve. These are His Fury’s 10 tips for the best steak:
Tip 1: Not too cold
Make sure your meat hasn’t just come out of the refrigerator when you start preparing it. Place it on the counter at least ten minutes before cooking; half an hour is fine too.
Tip 2: Salt and pepper and salt and pepper
Season it generously. According to Gordon, you lose thirty-five percent of your salt and pepper as soon as the meat comes into contact with the hot pan. So first sprinkle it with salt and freshly ground pepper, rub that well into the meat, and just before cooking, season it with salt and pepper once more.
Tip 3: Away from you
When you place the meat in the pan (we recommend using tongs), do so away from you. So if you hold the steak slightly upright, let the bottom point touch the pan first, then place it away from you, with the top facing away from you toward the back of the pan. This gives you more control. If you place it toward you like a little roof, you risk splashing hot butter and oil toward yourself, right onto your forearms. Obviously, you don’t want that!
Tip 4: Oh, I sear
You really want a substantial seared crust on one side before turning it over, so don’t be afraid to turn up the heat. No color = no flavor, according to Gordon.
Tip 5: Color and aroma
And after achieving that beautiful color on both sides, you can now build up the aroma. Choose aromatic additions such as garlic, thyme and rosemary. Fry a peeled garlic clove along with the steak, add a few sprigs of thyme and rosemary to the pan, and spoon them over the steak with some butter.
Tip 6: Butter bath
Just before taking the steak out, add a small knob of butter to the hot pan. Let it melt and spoon it over the steak again and again (as it drips off). That wonderfully browned butter gives your steak the unique, nutty flavor of caramelized butter.
Tip 7: Let it rest
Remove the steak from the pan and let it rest for a while. Gordon firmly promises that if you can leave your steak alone for a little while, it will become much juicier. Your patience will be rewarded!
Tip 8: Nice thick slices
When slicing the cooked steak, don’t cut the slices too thin; keep them at least half a centimeter thick. That way, you won’t lose the juiciness you’ve waited so patiently for.
Tip 9: Feel your pulse
Gordon says he considers this the most important tip: estimating the desired temperature/doneness. Two fingers on the pulse, he says, quite literally. That spot on the inside of your wrist feels exactly like a perfectly cooked medium-rare steak when you press it. It gives a little, is slightly firm, and according to Gordon has precisely the softness that indicates your steak is perfectly medium-rare.
Tip 10: Better together than alone
And finally, the tenth tip: you eat the perfect steak together. ‘Make sure you’ve got someone to share it with’… Yes, there you have it – Gordon’s inner teddy bear. Enjoy!
And if you want to watch Gordon Ramsay’s 10 tips for the best steak, check out the video below on his own YouTube channel:
Also read:
- 7 British classics every home cook should know
- Gordon Ramsay is a boss
- These famous chefs have served time
