Our Favorite Steak to Cook

Cooking a great steak can be tricky. High heat is needed to develop a crust and beautiful flavors (via The Maillard reaction). At the same time, the steak needs to be cooked as evenly as possible without overcooking, something that is usually achieved with slow, low temperature cooking. Successfully marrying both of these somewhat opposing requirements is the key to making a great steak.

Inevitably, the sides of a steak are going cook more than the center. In an oven, or closed grill, heat enters the steak through its entire surface (shown right). At the center, heat enters from the top and bottom. However, around the edge of the steak, heat not only enters from the top and bottom, but also from the sides. The result is that the sides take on more heat and cook more than the center.

Fortunately, some cuts have natural defenses against overcooked edges. The steak with the best fortifications is the Bone-In Rib Steak (pictured right). The ribeye is protected on all sides from overcooking. The rib bone, fat cap, and ribeye cap all do a fantastic job of insulating the ribeye from the heat coming in through the sides. This makes it much easier to get even cooking throughout the entire ribeye. The ribeye cap will cook a bit more than the ribeye itself. However, the cap is very fatty and benefits from the extra cooking. In fact, for many the cap is the best part of the steak.

Not only is the Bone-In Rib Steak easier to cook, but it’s also the cut with the most amount of fat. As we always say “Fat is flavor.” For these reasons, we prefer to cook rib steaks over other steaks. Of course, any bone-in steak with a good fat cap will also give you great results. For other cuts, the cooking may be more uneven, but there are some techniques to help minimize this. More on this in future posts.

Find the Bone-In Rib Steak in our online store: http://www.lafrieda.com/USDA_Prime_Black_Angus_Bone_In_Rib_Steaks_p/bfspbrs.htm

What is medium-rare?

What is medium-rare? Unfortunately, there is no easy way answer to this question. An internet search for medium-rare turns up a wide range of answers. Anything from a red center to brownish pink throughout seems to qualify. Instead of declaring a winner, we are going to look at a range of internal temperatures that should cover the medium-rare spectrum. The surprising result is that even within the range of what most would consider medium-rare, there are significant differences in tenderness, juiciness, and flavor.

We have narrowed down the range of internal temperatures for medium-rare to be between 125°F to 140°F. It is fair to ask what we mean by internal temperature. The temperature across a steak or roast does vary by a large amount. We always measure the center of the meat. If there is a bone, then we measure just off center towards the bone. If you are using a fast read thermometer, you’ll notice that this is typically the minimum temperature you’ll observe. (If you cook on high heat you may find the lowest temperature to be somewhere along the bone. If you use this point as a reference you’ll end up overcooking the meat.) Using a sous vide machine, we cooked prime tenderloin roasts to precisely 125°F, 130°F, 135°F, and 140°F. An image of each and our observations are shown below.

We mark flavor with an asterisk because it is somewhat subjective. We happen to associate flavor with juiciness (the amount of fat still trapped in the meat), but others may perceive it differently. However, tenderness and juiciness are not subjective. Anyone could have ranked these from most tender to least, or most juicy to least. We were surprised to see such obvious differences in as little as five degree increments.

What’s the best internal temperature for those who like medium-rare beef? It depends on how you value tenderness versus juiciness. For us, the 130°F-135°F range seems to be ideal. At these temperatures, much of the flavorful fat is still trapped in the meat and the meat is plenty tender. For those who want maximum tenderness, then 140°F would be best. If you want the most juicy steak with lots of beef flavor, then we suggest you stay under 130°F. In this case, make sure you are prepared to chew each bite a little longer.

You Need a Good Reliable Thermometer

If you want to cook the perfect steak, rack of lamb, or prime rib, then you need an accurate way to track the internal temperature of meat. The only good way to do this is with a properly calibrated thermometer. Every oven, every stove top, every grill, and every piece of meat is different. There is no set of cooking times that will work for everyone. Consistently cooking meat to the correct doneness requires us to go by temperature, rather than time.

Often, chefs and cooks suggest using the hand doneness test. There are multiple versions of this test, but the basic idea is that parts of your palm (when you flash different gang signs) feel like a steak cooked to different levels of doneness. We’ve never had much success with this method. Perhaps we lack the necessary training in phrenology (a pseudoscience that tries to relate personality traits to the geometry of one’s head) to pull it off. Also, this method is limited to steaks and will not help you with roasts or other cuts.

There is a noticeable difference in flavor, texture, and juiciness of meat in as little as five degree increments. For example, if your ideal steak is cooked to 135°F, then you may find one cooked to 130°F too tough or one cooked to 140°F too dry. In upcoming posts, we will discuss different cooking methods that help you achieve a great result. However, they all require that you have an accurate way to measure the internal temperature of meat.

A fast read thermometer with a long narrow probe is ideal for cooking steaks and roasts. Our personal favorite is the Thermapen from ThermoWorks: http://www.thermoworks.com/products/thermapen. We have found this thermometer to be incredibly accurate. In the image below, you can see us testing the Thermapen in ice water and boiling water. It was right on the money. However, at $96 it’s on the pricey side.

As a convenience for our online customers, we sell a lesser model of the Thermapen on our website: http://www.lafrieda.com/product_p/cgrt600c.htm. It’s not quite as durable as the Thermapen, but it is one fourth the cost. It is still very accurate for cooking meat. We typically use this thermometer when cooking at events.

Out of all the cooking gadgets we have tried, and we have tried many, a reliable fast read thermometer is the most essential. It will almost immediately make you a better cook. You’ll quickly learn the exact temperate that you prefer meat. With this information and knowing how to manage carry over cooking, you’ll be cooking perfect steaks and roasts in no time.