Putting the perfect steak on a plate is not as simple as it seems at first glance. Cooking beef can be difficult if you do not follow some simple tips or tricks. In addition, it is a shame to superficially treat a perfectly matured and marbled piece of meat. Read below a list of the most common mistakes you make when cooking beef and what happens if you mess it up.
You do not choose the right meat assortment
The quality of the final preparation depends on the ingredients used, so the first step towards a delicious meal starts at the butcher's shop. Finding the best product is almost always the hardest part of cooking a delicious steak. For a classic steak, you only need three ingredients: Black Angus beef, salt and fire.
The fat is what gives flavor to the steak, so look for a superior assortment and thus avoids one of the most common mistakes when cooking beef. The perfect steak should be bright red and have a marbled appearance. For the grill, the perfect thickness is about 2 cm, so you will get a delicious crust on the outside, without overheating the inside.
If you do not choose the right assortment of meat for the type of cooking, you will not highlight the special flavor of the meat, and the preparation will be of poor quality.
You put the meat from the fridge directly on the grill
One of the most common mistakes when cooking beef is the rush to put the meat on the fire directly from the refrigerator. The best chefs recommend that the steak stays out of the fridge for at least an hour, until it reaches room temperature.
If you forget this important aspect, the meat will burn on the outside, and the heat transfer to the inside will be difficult. The result sounds quite familiar: the steak looks great on the outside, but the inside remains raw. There is only one exception to this rule, when the piece of meat is thin. In this case, if you put it on the fire directly from the refrigerator, a kind of "buffer zone" will be created between the heat source and the interior, the risk of having an overcooked steak being eliminated.
Use little and always insufficient salt
Coarse sea salt is always a safe choice when seasoning beef steak. The great chefs of the world use kosher salt, an assortment of unrefined sea salt with a large grain.
In terms of quantity, the basic rule is very simple: when you feel like you've put enough salt in, add a little more. The same rule applies to pepper.
Lack of spices is one of the most common mistakes when cooking beef, especially in the case of an assortment as special as Black Angus. Remember that a large part of them is lost during cooking and does not end up being absorbed in the steak. The outcome? A steak that looks great but tasteless.
You flip the steak more than once
Even if the temptation is great, be sure to turn the meat over several times. To convince you that we are right, we can tell you about the "Maillard reaction", a sophisticated name for the chemical process that takes place when we heat a food. But because we are not in chemistry class and because you are determined not to make frequent mistakes when cooking beef, we will leave the amino acids and saccharides for another time.
Flip the steak once, respecting the cooking time depending on the desired result: rare, medium or well-done. If you decide not to play ping-pong with the steak that you have struggled so much to choose, you will have a culinary treat: caramelized and crunchy on the outside, juicy on the inside.
Also, after you take the steak off the fire, don't throw yourself at it like a barbarian after 10 years in exile. Let the meat "rest" on the plate and don't forget that the cooking process continues for a few minutes after you turn off the heat. During this time, the delicious beef juices will stay there, thanks to the collagen inside that will thicken them. Look at the good part: you have 10 minutes to marvel at the result and post it on Instagram. DOOH!
Treat the piece of meat in front of you with respect, add a recommended wine and it will reward you with a delicious and very healthy culinary experience!
