Steak how done

What is the best steak doneness level , you ask? It's a dilemma that plagues us all. How do you know when your steak is done? Is it rare, medium-rare, or well-done?

There are many factors to take into consideration when cooking meat and there are no set rules for what might be the perfect steak doneness level. That being said, most chefs recommend medium-rare steaks for any cut of meat because they're juicy and tender with just enough crispiness around the edges to add some texture.

Even though each one of us has our own preferences when it comes to food, there is actually a recommended steak doneness level which most chefs recommend to cook your meat at. We have prepared a quick all-around guide and a good-looking infographic to go with it so you can get a better understanding of how to achieve the perfect steak doneness. Infographic by FuriousGrill. The main difference between all the steak doneness levels is the internal temperature. That is the real factor that tells you the correct doneness level.

These types of pan get really hot and retain their heat, making them ideal for getting that charred, smoky finish on the surface of your steak. Cook them one or two at a time and leave them to rest as you cook the rest of your batch, or cook a much thicker steak and carve it and divide the slices to serve.

Beef purists may prefer to take in the unadulterated, rich flavour of a quality steak by adding nothing more than a sprinkling of salt and a generous twist of pepper. Salt your steak in advence — 2 hrs for every 1cm of thickness.

For a classic steak au poivre peppered steak , sprinkle lots of cracked black pepper and sea salt on to a plate, then press the meat into the seasoning moments before putting it in the pan. Some people like to enhance flavour and tenderise meat with a marinade. You can add an Asian dimension to your beef with a miso or teriyaki marinade. Lots of chefs add whole garlic cloves and robust herbs like thyme and rosemary to the hot fat while the steak is cooking, which adds background flavour to the steak subtly, without overpowering it.

Flavourless oils like sunflower, vegetable or groundnut work best, and once the steak is searing you can add butter to the pan for flavour. Searing a steak until it gets a caramelised brown crust will give it lots of flavour.

For this to happen, the pan and the fat need to be hot enough. The conventional way is to sear it on one side, then cook it for the same amount on the other side. This gives good results but the second side is never as nicely caramelised as the first. To build up an even crust on both sides, cook the steak for the total time stated in the recipe, but turn the steak every minute. Our cookery team have outlined what you can expect from each category of steak.

A rare steak should be warm through the center, lightly charred on the outside, browned around the sides, and bright red in the middle. The meat should be soft to the touch, much like raw meat, but browned over the surface. Turn and continue grilling for another 3 minutes. Cook to an internal temperature of to F 49 to 55 C.

This is the recommended level of doneness for a good steak ; ask any chef how they like their steak prepared and they will almost all say medium rare. A medium rare steak should be warm through the middle with most of the center pink in color with a hint of red.

The sides should be well browned, the top and bottom caramelized to a dark brown color with good grill marks. This steak's firm surface should give a bit toward the middle it will spring back quickly. For a 1-inch steak, place steak on a hot grill for 5 minutes. Turn and continue grilling for another 4 minutes to an internal temperature of to F 55 to 57 C. If you are grilling for a large group of people, this level of doneness often pleases most everyone.

A medium-cooked steak should have a thick band of light pink through the middle but have more browned meat than pink overall. The sides should be a rich brown color and the top and bottom charred darkly but not black.

This steak will have some play through the middle, but feel firm to the touch. For a 1-inch steak, place steak on a hot grill for 6 minutes. Turn and continue grilling for another 4 minutes until an internal temperature of to F 60 to 66 C is reached. This level of doneness is for those who don't want a lot of pink in their meat. A medium well steak should have just a hint of pink in the very middle of the steak with a dark brown surface and good charring on the top and bottom.

The steak will be very stiff but still have a little squish in the center. For a 1-inch steak, place steak on a hot grill for 7 minutes. Turn and continue grilling for another 5 minutes. Cook to an internal temperature of to F 68 to 74 C. For the best steak every time, invest in a digital thermometer with a thin probe and know for sure when that pricey cut is at the peak of perfection.

The Maillard reaction is one of nature's greatest miracles. It is a cascade of chemical changes that happen when meat and other foods reach approximately to degrees Fahrenheit. At this temperature, certain amino acids and sugars react with each other to create hundreds of delicious flavor compounds and pleasing aromas. The meat also begins to turn brown as a result of this reaction. The same reaction happens in bread, vegetables, and most things we eat.

That classic "cooking" smell we're all drawn to — that's the Maillard reaction you're smelling. You do want to get the surface of your steak up to and a little bit past degrees Fahrenheit. This will initiate the Maillard reaction, giving your meat a pleasing color. This will also slightly toughen the surface of the meat, and give your steak a satisfying crunch as you bite into it.

But you don't want the inside of the steak as tough as the surface. Beneath that crust, you want a tender, warm, blast of beefy flavor. That's why we cook it over fire rather than boiling it — something that's boiling in water can never get over degrees Fahrenheit, because that's the highest possible temperature of the water.

But some people do effectively boil their steaks on the grill — by throwing them on when the surface of the meat is moist with condensation or a marinade. Grilling wet steak is like starting a race going uphill. Your grill can't cook your steak until it first evaporates the water which takes a lot of energy. Your steak can't get past the Fahrenheit marker and toward Maillard levels, until all that water is gone.

Meanwhile, the internal temperature of the steak is rising because of the ambient heat around it. You can end up with the worst of both worlds — no browning on the surface of the steak, and overcooked meat within it. Take your steak out of any wrapping it came it, set it on a plate, and let it sit, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 24 hours. The low humidity of the fridge will start evaporating the moisture, and the coolness will keep it safe. You'll want to make sure your fridge doesn't have any funky smells like last month's leftover sushi — that aroma could transfer to the meat.

Never salt the meat and let it sit for less than an hour, because during this time the salt is drawing out moisture. It needs the extra time to absorb the moisture. Pat the steak dry with a paper towel. You'll definitely want to do this if you used a steak marinade. NOTE: You may have heard the recommendation to let your steak sit out at room temperature before cooking to make the cooking process shorter. Recent food science research suggests this doesn't actually increase the temperature that much.

The heat of your Traeger grill is going to do nearly all the work whether you pull your steak right out of the fridge, or give it 30 minutes on the counter. While you're getting that Maillard reaction on the outside of your steak, and throwing off tantalizing aromas, the meat on the inside is warming up, too. The USDA says Fahrenheit is the safe internal temperature for cooked steak, but most steak lovers prefer an internal temperature lower than that.

Of course, no one wants to bite into a cold steak. That's why the lowest recommended internal temperature for steak is Fahrenheit. The inside of the steak hasn't really "cooked" but it's warm enough to be tasty. As for food safety — "almost invariably, muscle interiors are sterile and pathogen-free" according to Scientific American.

In part, because the meat inside hasn't been exposed to any surface bacteria. As the Maillard reaction happens on the outside of your steak, some exciting chemical reactions are happening inside of it, too. In well-marbled cuts of beef like rib eye, the fat inside the beef will begin melting at around degrees, adding more juicy flavor in every bite.