Even for an experienced chef to cook the perfect steak is not an easy task. Small meat pieces can be too quickly fried and burned, large ones - will fry outside, but remain moist inside. It is very important to control the temperature if you are cooking beef steak. The degree of meat roasting also varies. It is worth understanding the question in more detail.
Degrees of roasting meat
There are six degrees of roasting meat that you should know if you want to please guests and family. No cook will advise you to cook a barbecue or a festive dinner in haste. Before cooking, it is better to find out from guests and relatives what kind of meat someone likes. So, let's try to understand how the different degrees of roasting of beef steak differ. The names, cooking time, juice color and meat condition are different for each degree. Let's get it right.
Blue rare
This type of steak is quite rare, but there is a place to be on the list. This is a raw piece of meat, which is placed on the grill for a couple of seconds in order to form the thinnest corrugated crust. Inside the meat is raw, with blood and plentiful red juice.
Rare
This kind of steak, as they say, is not for everybody. It is almost raw meat. This degree of roasting beef steak will require only one and a half minutes. A golden crust appears on the meat, but inside there is a red layer. This is a raw, juicy "bloody" steak, but not cold.
Some cooks, after 1.5 minutes of cooking, still give the meat a couple of minutes to reach even when the fire is off. Some are immediately removed from the stove and served. When cutting such a meat piece will exude a lot of juice. The internal temperature of the meat is 45 degrees.
Medium rare
This type of roasting is considered one of the most popular. It is chosen by most culinary specialists, and most visitors to restaurants and cafes order it. The medium rare beef steak will be browned, but very juicy inside. There will be a lot of juice, but the meat will already be more pink in color than in the previous version, where it is almost red.
Cooking time also increases. Such a piece of meat will be cooked for 2-3 minutes, after which they give him another five minutes to rest. When cutting, the juice will flow out not so abundantly, it will not be red, but pink. The internal temperature of the meat is 55-60 degrees.
Medium
This type of meat roasting is perfect for people who have some dietary restrictions. Let's say they are not fans of raw meat, or according to the testimony they cannot be too fried pieces. The juice of such a dish when cut will be light pink. A medium-level beef steak is cooked for three to four minutes, on each side. After cooking, turn off the gas and give the piece a little rest - for 4-6 minutes. The internal temperature of the meat is 60-65 degrees.
Medium well
This is almost completely fried meat. When cutting, you can see that the juice in the piece is practically absent. The pink color of meat is no longer visible, the shade has become much darker. It is important to remember that if you decide to cook beef steak, the degree of roasting, the cooking time and the “rest” time of meat are the most important points. Medium well is cooked in 5-7 minutes. But on vacation there is much less time than in the first three cases. Meat with such a degree of roasting rests only a couple of minutes.
The internal temperature is 65-70 degrees. When cut, the meat is already pinkish-white. Juice becomes completely transparent. Medium well-cooked beef steak is not considered popular. Perhaps it is suitable for those who do not like very crispy dry meat, but also do not accept even a hint that it may be damp inside.
Well done
The last, but quite beloved by many, is the degree of meat roasting. Well done - this is a fully prepared beef steak. The degree of cooking (photos can be seen in the article) are different, but everyone has one favorite. Someone loves raw meat, and someone is crazy about what tastes like soft soles.
It takes ten minutes to cook such a steak. The internal temperature of the meat is 80-100 degrees. After frying, it is brought to readiness in the oven or under the lid. When cut in a piece, juice is completely absent, the meat is dry.
Perfect Steak Features
Cooking a steak does not begin with the inclusion of a gas stove, but with a trip to a butcher's shop. The selection of a quality, good meat piece is an important and responsible task. It’s better to start a workout in frying steaks with cutloin and ribeye cuts. This kind of steaks is quite soft in itself, so even a beginner will succeed. Having missed the time of roasting, you will not spoil the dish, it will still turn out soft and juicy.
Moments such as meat thickness and marbling are very important. An ideal piece will be 2-2.5 centimeters thick. Marbled meat is an indicator of the proper distribution of fat in a piece. It should be all over the steak. So during cooking, it will be evenly saturated with fat and it will turn out tasty and juicy.
It is important to remember that it is strictly forbidden to fry freshly thawed meat. If you bought a fresh steak - perfect. If you have chosen a frozen version, then before you start cooking it should be thawed, wiped dry and only then proceed with cooking.
Professionals do not use any extra seasonings and sauces. They say that it’s important to know only what the client wants beef steak, the degree of roasting, the recipe and stock up on a good mood, without which it is simply pointless to start any business.
To make the perfect steak, you will also need vegetable oil and salt. Oil should be coated on both sides with a piece of meat and a little salt. The pan on which the meat will be grilled should be sufficiently heated, but not smoke. To check, you can drip a little water. They should remember that the perfect steak will turn out in a semi-dry pan. Pouring too much oil into it should not be. Coat a piece of meat - it will be enough. Although beef is not fatty meat, it has enough of its own juices.
Depending on the degree of roasting of meat, the time is chosen. If you are a beginner, it is better to stock up with a special thermometer with which you can check the internal temperature of the meat. Each type of frying has its own temperature indicator. Professionals can determine the readiness of a steak by pressing a finger.
Recipe. Beef Steak with Red Wine
To prepare an amazing beef steak with red wine, you will need meat (1-2 pieces), dry red wine (a glass of 250 grams), a sprig of thyme, a small onion and vegetable (olive) oil.
Prepare the ingredients in advance (peel and chop the onion, tear off a sprig of thyme) and preheat the pan, oven to 180 degrees. Each piece should be slightly treated with oil and salt. Fry in a pan on each side for a couple of minutes. Then the meat is placed in the oven. Reaches a piece in ten minutes.
During this time, you can cook a delicious and simple sauce. In a frying pan, fry the onions, add a little salt and pour a glass of dry red wine. We evaporate the mass in half and add a couple of sprigs of thyme. In conclusion, you can add a few small pieces of butter.
We take the steak out of the oven and wrap it, as if in a blanket, in foil. A piece should be cracked for five to ten minutes. Having taken out the foil steak, the accumulated juices should be added to the prepared sauce. After that, the meat can be served by adding a couple of teaspoons of sauce.