You may know how to cook the perfect steak, but there's still a good chance
you believe at least some of the most pervasive steak-cooking myths out there.
These are the common myths about steak that are actually false.
One aspect of eating a steak that can really turn some non-red meat-lovers off is the
pinkish-red liquid that oozes out of a juicy steak. It can be unsettling, because, yes,
it does kind of look like blood. In fact, we often call a very rare steak "bloody."
"How do you want that cooked? Burnt to a crisp or bloody as hell.”
“Bloody as hell."
However, you won't find blood even in the rarest of steaks. The liquid coming out of
a cooked steak is actually called myoglobin, and it's a protein in animal tissue. Myoglobin
serves to deliver oxygen to the muscles of an animal. Luckily for every steak-lover out there,
it's safe to eat and doesn't have anything to do with blood. The myoglobin in a steak will darken
as it's cooked, which is why a rare steak looks a lot "bloodier" than a more well-done steak.
All that juiciness is part of what makes a well-cooked steak so enjoyable, so embrace it.
We've all heard it for years: Eating meat that's "too raw" or rare is dangerous.
"This steak is completely raw. What kind of sick, twisted restaurant is this?"
In many cases, this is true. You certainly wouldn't want to eat chicken or turkey
that's still pink in the middle for risk of getting sick. And it is important to make
sure meat and animal products are heated to a certain temperature before consuming.
But eating a rare steak, while it can pose some health risks,
is not quite as dangerous as consuming other types and cuts of rare meat.
The majority of the bacteria that can make you sick from raw meat is on the surface
of the meat itself, which is why most cooks don't want pink-in-the-middle ground beef:
Grinding the meat can introduce bacteria into the whole of the product. On the other hand,
a steak doesn't have that problem, as most of the bacteria will remain on the surface.
If you want just about any meat to be more flavorful, it's a good idea to salt it before
you start cooking it. Most people know this, yet the myth that it's bad to salt your steak before
cooking is still pervasive. However, there's generally not a lot of information about exactly
why steak should supposedly be salt-free before it hits the skillet or the grill.
Perhaps that's because there's no good reason not to salt your steak. Not only does the salt
bring out more flavor from the meat, but salt is also important for a process called dry brining.
Generally speaking, it's best practice to salt your steak about 40 minutes to
two hours before you're ready to start cooking it. If you forget to plan ahead,
you can also sprinkle some salt onto the steak right before you put it in the pan.
One mistake you don't wait to make, though? Salting your steak five
to ten minutes before you start cooking. At that point, the salt will have brought the
moisture to the surface of the steak, but it won't have had enough time to dry out.
It seems to be common knowledge in the kitchen that there's a specific
number of times you're allowed to flip a steak.
"Just say it out loud: One time."
No good cook would dare to flip a steak more than once, right? Turns out that's a myth.
Flipping a steak multiple times can actually prevent it from drying out too much.
There's also less of a chance that the meat will end up being overdone
on one side or the other. But if that's the case, where did this myth even come from?
Perhaps it's because many cooks want that beautiful crosshatch pattern on their slab
of meat, in which case, flipping only once is essential. But as chef and
food celebrity Samin Nosrat notes in her Netflix special Salt, Fat, Acid,
Heat, those pretty crosshatches you see on steaks in TV and commercials may look good,
but they actually probably don't taste as good as a steak that's been cooked more evenly.
"They're all about the grill marks and the perfect 90-degree
crosshatches. Those people are missing out on flavor. Because browning is flavor."
This myth makes a lot of sense at first glance. The reasoning behind it is this:
Sticking a fork in your steak before it's on your plate only lets the juices run out of it — juices
you want to be "sealed" inside. Yes, of course, you might lose some of those juices when you
stick a fork in it, but it's not going to make a difference when it comes to taste or tenderness.
Want to flip your steak with a fork? It may not be conventional, but we don't judge,
and it's not going to ruin your steak.
Not only is stabbing your steak with a fork before you sit down to eat not a sin,
but you may even want to take it a step further. While you can
never truly know if your steak is fully cooked without using a meat thermometer,
checking the color of the inside of your steak by cutting it open can give you an idea of how long
you need to leave it on the heat. It may not result in the prettiest, most flawless steak,
but it can help amateurs get a feel for how to cook a steak specifically to their liking.
Everyone seems to have an opinion about the best cut of meat to get
if you want a top-quality steak, but fillet is always a top choice. Some,
in fact, believe it's the only kind of steak you should even bother with.
"This is a $54 steak."
"Congratulations. It looks really good."
"Yes it does."
But if you adopt this attitude, you're going to miss out on a lot of variety — and some amazing
culinary experiences. Fillet is more tender than other cuts, which is a big bonus. But cuts like a
ribeye or a sirloin are going to offer a fattier, richer taste since they have more fat marbling.
The benefits of branching out and trying different cuts of meat is manyfold.
First of all, fillet is the most expensive kind of steak,
so if you opt for something different from time to time, you may save some cash.
"When you're young it's all fillet steak but as
the years goes by you have to move on to the cheaper cuts."
If you're passing up the grill for your skillet when it's time to cook your steak,
you may wonder what kind of fat you should be using to sear your piece of meat.
Simple oil is a popular choice here, as is butter. These options can be delicious,
but they aren't the only options out there. Those who really want to give
their steaks a kick of extra flavor might want to opt for an alternative: beef fat.
"Wait, the secret ingredient in the beef is...beef?"
When your pan heats up, you can add a bit of rendered beef fat to the bottom.
Just keep in mind that you don't want to use too much fat at the bottom of your pan,
or you may end up boiling your steak. Instead, it's possible to simply brush
beef fat directly onto your steak. And yes, that tastes just as delicious as it sounds.
One very common steak myth is that it's essential to sear a steak
as soon as it hits the heat to lock in all the juices that might otherwise escape.
The idea behind this is that the seared side of the steak acts as a barrier,
creating a barrier on the outside of the steak the juices can't get through.
This is a complete myth, though, as juices can still easily escape a seared steak.
Cooks who truly want that brown, delicious crust on the surface of their steak might want to try a
different method. It may sound unconventional, but heating a thick steak gently at first
and then searing it can actually produce better, more delicious results. This is
because the cooking element will begin to dry out the steak when it's on low heat,
and it also cooks the cut of meat more evenly. By the time you're ready to sear,
your steak will be ready to take on that beautiful dark brown color.
Not long ago, putting sauce on a steak wasn't the crime that it is today.
Catching a glimpse of an A.1. Steak Sauce bottle at a steakhouse wasn't grounds to
leave the restaurant entirely — it might even be expected. But times have changed.
It's generally accepted that a good steak should under no circumstances find itself
smothered with sauce, taking away from the true taste of the meat.
Consumers have rejected traditional steak sauces for good reason.
These sauces can largely mask the taste of a high-quality steak instead of bringing out
its true flavor. But that doesn't mean you should ditch the sauce entirely.
An alternative to heavier sauces is a light chimichurri sauce. Chimichurri hails from
Uruguay and Argentina, where a beef-heavy diet is common. Rather than covering the taste of steak,
a nice chimichurri will highlight all its strengths. Now that's a reason to celebrate.
"Come on, I'll buy you a steak."
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