A Better Steak

Even after working as a line cook at a restaurant, it took me forever to figure out how to cook a great steak at home without a flame.

First, dry-aging a steak for a few days inside the fridge will encourage better flavour. Before cooking, let the steak reach room temperature so it cooks evenly.

One of the most important steps to a delicious slab of beef is to let your steak sit underneath plenty of salt for an hour or more. Kosher salt, or other large-grained salt is ideal and you should possibly use more than you are comfortable with at first; steak tends to need more salt per square inch than other meats.The meat tenderizes as the salt breaks down something inside it, draws out water (which you should soak up with a paper towel), and instills a great flavour. To further add to that flavour, I mix together a little garlic butter: minced garlic, parsley and butter.

Should you choose to use a frying pan as I often to when cooking inside, keep the heat somewhere between medium and high, try to flip only once about halfway through, and use the garlic butter mix instead of oil.

When you feel the steak is cooked to your liking, let it sit for 5 to 8 minutes: try to keep it warm under a cover on a warm plate in the microwave, or anything else you can do to keep the steak warm during this time. Cutting the steak right after cooking does not allow the juices to soak back into the meat.

You may now salt and pepper the steak to your liking.