Few meals are as celebrated as a good steak dinner. But a number of things can go wrong when even the most knowledgeable cooks approach steak. Steak mistakes include everything from shopping to seasoning to slicing, and all of these can impact the flavor and texture of your finished meal.
The good news is that every one of these errors is easy to correct once you know how. Read on for the simple fixes that will help you make the most of your steak every time.
The Mistake: Buying the Wrong Cut
Why It’s Bad: Not all steak is created equal, nor are all steaks meant to be cooked the same way. Chuck steak and round steak, for instance, are typically not tender enough for quick grilling. And other cuts like skirt steak and flank steak will benefit from marinating first.
Next Time: Know your recipe and buy the recommended cut. Looking for a steak to just season and throw on the grill or sear? Reach for fatty, marbled cuts like shell steak (strip steak), ribeye steak or Porterhouse, or try lean but tender filet mignon.
The Mistake: Going Too Lean
Why It’s Bad: Fat is key to the flavor and texture of just about all steak. Marbling, the interior veins of fat that run through beef, is essential to some of the tastiest and juiciest cuts. As the steak cooks the fat melts, creating a rich, juicy piece of meat. Even the fat around the edges of your steak has a purpose: a thin layer helps keep the exterior of the steak moist and flavorful.
Next Time: Look for steaks with good marbling for tender results. If your butcher hasn’t done so, trim the fat on the edges of your steak to about 1/4 inch; leaving some on will help it cook up deliciously. One exception to this fat-is-good rule is filet mignon: This extremely lean cut is one of the very tenderest and has almost no visible fat; it’s the cut to buy if you want minimal fat but still enjoy a juicy steak.
The Mistake: Cooking Steak Cold
Why It’s Bad: Steak is almost always best when cooked quickly and evenly, and a cold piece of beef isn’t great on either count. Even aficionados of very rare steak don’t want the center cold.
Next Time: Take your steak out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking it, a few minutes less if the air temperature is very high. If you forgot to take your steak out or are in a rush, remember to adjust your cooking time — a cold steak may need a few minutes longer to reach doneness.
The Mistake: Not Patting Steak Dry
Why It’s Bad: Steak will have at least a little surface moisture when you take it out of the fridge. If the steak hits the grill or a hot pan with this moisture still on it will begin to steam, inhibiting the formation of that all-important browned, seared crust.
Next Time: Pat your steak gently dry with a paper towel before seasoning it. If the steak has been marinating, let the marinade drip off and then pat it to remove any excess. Want a really dry, grill-ready steak? You can place your steak on a wire rack set over a plate and refrigerate it, uncovered, for up to a day: The extra-dry surface helps it take a sear particularly well.
The Mistake: Underseasoning
Why It’s Bad: The bold flavor of steak needs very little to shine through, but it does need one thing: salt, and a generous amount of it. An unseasoned steak will taste flat, and even sprinkling it with salt after cooking won’t save it. A proper layer of salt (and pepper too, if you like) also helps steak form the kind of browned crust that’s important texturally.
Next Time: Good seasoning is one of the main reasons steakhouse cuts taste so good, so learn to do it at home. Use kosher salt since its large crystals are easy to control and sprinkle the steak on both sides liberally — it should look like a fine layer of frost has settled on the meat. About half that amount of freshly ground pepper is an excellent addition as well.
The Mistake: Not Cleaning Your Grill
Why It’s Bad: Dirty, grease-encrusted grill grates can cause just about any food to stick, even steak. And a buildup of grease and soot elsewhere on the grill can result in acrid smoke that gives food unpleasant flavors.
Next Time: Use a wire brush to clean the grates thoroughly both before and after grilling. Bits of food and grease are easiest to remove when the grates are hot, so try to do it after you’ve preheated the grill and then again as soon as you’ve finished cooking. And give the grill an all-over cleaning at least once a season, more often if you use it frequently: Your food will taste better and your grill will last longer. For more information, check out our step-by-step guide, How to Clean Your Grill.
The Mistake: Not Taking the Temperature of Your Steak
Why It’s Bad: Nothing will ruin your steak experience as thoroughly as under- or overcooking your meat. Undercooked steak can be rubbery and even cold inside, and overcooked meat will be dry and will have lost a lot of flavorful juices. Cutting into the meat to check its doneness is time-consuming and causes those all-important juices to leak out.
Next Time: Long experience allows some cooks to judge a cut’s doneness by look or feel, but for everyone else, there’s the instant-read thermometer. Poking it into the center of your steak will give you an accurate assessment of its doneness in seconds, no guesswork required. To learn the best temperature for your steak, read our guide, How to Tell When Steak Is Done. Remember that “carryover cooking” means that even when the steak is removed from the heat the internal temperature will continue to rise 5 to 10 degrees, so be sure to factor that into the temperature you cook to.
The Mistake: Cutting Steak Before It Rests
Why It’s Bad: It may look and smell absolutely perfect when it’s hot off the grill, but slicing into just-cooked steak will cause a flood of juices to pour out. The result will be a steak that’s less than perfectly moist and flavorful.
Next Time: Resting allows time for the juices to redistribute themselves throughout the meat, resulting in less moisture loss when you cut into it. Thin steaks should rest for at least 5 minutes; rest thicker steaks for about 10 minutes.
The Mistake: Slicing Incorrectly
Why It’s Bad: Steak is made up of muscle fibers, and the direction these fibers run is sometimes called the “grain.” Slicing with the grain — in the same direction the fibers run — will give you a tougher, chewier bite.
Next Time: Look at your meat and see which way the fibers are aligned, then cut across the grain, shortening the fibers. Angling your knife slightly is also helpful for making long, thin slices for easiest chewing.
The Mistake: Not Using Steak Knives
Why It’s Bad: There’s a reason that steakhouses always provide their customers with sharp, heavy knives: By definition, even the best cuts have a meaty texture. The wrong knife will leave you sawing and tearing the meat rather than gracefully slicing it.
Next Time: Invest in steak knives so you can really enjoy your steak at the table. A good knife should be sharp but sturdy, with a comfortable handle. And opt to wash steak knives by hand, not in the dishwasher, to keep them at their sharpest.
