Quick Tips For Cooking The Perfect Steak

Many Filipinos have a love affair with steak. 

To celebrate . . . to stress eat . . . to seduce . . . to break up — there’s a steak in there somehow! Now, you could definitely go out and hit up a nice restaurant, then have them serve you up a good one, but sometimes it’s also cool to enjoy a steak from the comforts of your own home. It’s honestly not as complicated as you think! Here are a few tips to get that steak dinner going.  

• This all begins with the meat. Get the best you can afford. Look for good marbling on the steak – streaks of thin white fat will render as you cook it, making it rich and juicy! The flesh should be a nice pink, and the surface moist, but not wet. Fresh steaks will always taste superior. 
• If it’s frozen, you can leave the steak on a plate and let it sit in your fridge overnight to slowly thaw. Bring it out around 15 minutes before you cook it, and make sure to pat it dry. Wiping moisture will help with the Maillard reaction when you put it on heat – which is just a fancy way of saying it’ll be better if you dry it up before cooking.  
• Season the steak well, and with intent! Like Salt Bae! Just kidding. Use kosher salt if you can, because it’s easier to handle than, say, granulated salt. You can be liberal with the salt. A nice thin layer is what you’re looking for, and NOT clumps. Freshly ground pepper is also recommended.
  
• If you have a heavy cast iron pan, let it heat up in your stove top until it starts to smoke. Alternatively, you could also use a regular pan, but cast iron makes for a killer steak because it heats very evenly and retains heat. That way, your steak will have a beautiful brown crust and will be cooked exactly to your liking.  
  
• After cooking your steak to your desired doneness, make sure to let it rest. DON’T poke it or anything. Resting prevents the juices from dribbling out, and ensures that it’s wonderfully moist. 
  
• Once it’s ready, scatter a sprinkling of salt flakes. It rounds off the flavor and adds a little crunch to each bite.
  

And that’s it! Simple as that. Make a side salad, and perhaps a little mashed potatoes (or who are we kidding, just bust out the garlic rice!) and you have a meal fit for a king without much effort. Time to flex those cooking muscles!