John Torode on how to cook a great steak
Whether it's grilling or frying, celebrity chef John Torode shows you how to serve up the perfect steak
I suggest frying the more delicate cuts such as fillet and maybe young sirloin, and grilling the bigger, tastier, fattier ones like the rump, rib or anything on a bone, such as côte de boeuf or T-bone. It is hard to say how long to cook a steak because each one varies in thickness and structure. But generally, for medium steak, I'd sear for 2 minutes on each side, then cook a minute extra for each centimetre of thickness - so a 2cm-thick sirloin served medium will take about 6 minutes total. If there is a bone, it will be more like 2 minutes extra per centimetre.
Pan-frying
1. Use a solid pan that will hold the heat well - nothing flimsy. A black cast-iron pan is perfect. Always heat the pan for a long time, and if your steak is really thick, heat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6 for a good 15 minutes before you start to cook it.
2. Rub the steak with ample oil - vegetable oil, nothing stronger, as the steak tastes great itself. Season with salt and pepper after it is covered with oil or the salt will start to eat into the meat and dry it out. Open a window and a door to get fresh air because you are going to
have lots of smoke!
3. Drop the steak into the pan when it is so hot it is hard to put your hand close to it. Don't touch the steak for 2 minutes. Then turn it over and, if it is not sizzling, add some more oil but keep that heat high. Sear for 2 minutes more and then turn again (unless If it is really thick, say 5-7.5 cm). Put the pan in the oven for around 4 minutes, depending on how you want it cooked. You won't ever need to leave it in for more than 8 minutes; if you do it will be cremated!
4. Take the steak out and leave it to rest for 5 minutes before you serve. Remember the steak will continue to cook while it is resting. Drop a huge blob of butter in the pan before you set it aside.
Griddle
1. Put a ridged cast-iron plate over a high heat for 10 minutes before you even think about cooking. Rub the steak with oil and season it with salt and pepper on both sides. Open the window so the smoke can escape!
2. Lay the steak on the griddle and leave it for 2 minutes, then flip and do the same. Cook as long as you need, then take the steak off and leave it to rest.
3. As with the pan-fried steak, if the meat is really thick, put it in the oven while it is still on the griddle plate.
Grilling over coals
1. To cook steaks over coals, follow the same principles as when using a griddle plate but keep an eye out for yellow flames. This
means the fat has caught fire - and you don't want the taste of burnt fat on your meat! So move the steak to another part of the grill.
Top tip: Cooking steak is a joy because it is a terrific piece of meat with great flavour whether grilled or fried, and really there are no rules. Apart from this: eat the steak cooked the way you like it and tell steak snobs to rack off - we all have personal taste!
This recipe is taken from John Torode's Beef, available from Amazon, priced £12.
More recipes:
Pepper steak
John Torode's meat ragu
John Torode's stew and dumplings
Where to next?
Ask John Torode his best tips on cooking with beef
John Torode on how to make perfect roast lamb
More celebrity chef recipes
Send us your recipes and we'll publish the best!
Save money on food with our coupons. Simply cut them out and take them to the shops with you.
By Jennifer Shepherd
