Whether your preference is a butter-soft fillet steak, flavour-

packed sirloin or thriftier cut like bavette, rump or onglet, quick-cooking and constant
attention should be paid when cooking your beef. With only a few minutes leeway between
rare and well-done, timing is key. We've put together some tips to help you from start to
finish.
Choose your steak
The cut of steak you use is down to personal preference and budget. Different cuts will
deliver different levels of tenderness and flavour. Our handy steak infographic shows you
what to expect from each cut and gives advice on how best to cook it.

Sirloin: Considered to be a prime steak, like fillet, but has more flavour. Best served
medium-rare.

T-bone: To make sure everything cooks evenly, it's best finished in the oven. Great for
sharing.

Bavette: Cheap cut that is best served no more than medium and is great for barbecuing.

Fillet: Prized as the most tender cut and the most expensive. It has little fat, and is best
served as rare as you like.

Rib-eye: There are two cuts to note: rib-eye, boneless and usually serves one, and rib on
the bone, also known as côte de boeuf.

See our classic recipes for sirloin, rib-eye and fillet steak or check out our full steak recipe
collection.
Best pan for steak

For indoor cooking we recommend frying your steak, although you can grill it if you prefer. A
heavy-duty, thick-based frying pan will achieve the best results, as will a heavy griddle pan
or cast iron skillet. These types of pans get really hot and retain their heat – ideal for getting
that charred smoky finish to the outside of your meat.

Steaks need to be cooked in a roomy pan and if the pan isn’t big enough for all your steaks,
don’t be tempted to squeeze them in anyway. Cook them one or two at a time then leave
them to rest as you cook the remainder of your batch or cook a much thicker steak and
carve it and divide the slices to serve. If you're in the market for a new piece of kit, read our
reviews of the best cast iron skillets, non-stick frying pans and griddle pans.
Seasoning steak

Beef purists may prefer to take in the unadulterated rich flavour of a quality steak by adding
nothing other than a sprinkling of salt and a generous twist of pepper. Contrary to popular
belief, seasoning your steak with salt ahead of time doesn't draw out the moisture but
actually gives the steak time to absorb the salt and become more evenly seasoned
throughout. Feel free to salt your steak for 2 hrs before 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 placing it into the
pan.

Others like to enhance flavour and tenderise the meat with a marinade. Balsamic
vinegar will reduce down to a sweet glaze, as will a coating of honey & mustard. 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 subtly adds background flavour to the steak without
overpowering it.
Best cooking fat
Flavourless oils like sunflower, vegetable or groundnut work best, and once the steak is
searing you can add butter to the pan for flavour. A nice touch if you’re cooking a thick
sirloin steak with a strip of fat on the side is to sear the fat first by holding the steak with a
pair of tongs, then cooking the beef in the rendered beef fat. You’ll need to use your
judgement when you heat the pan – you want the oil to split in the pan but not smoke.
How to sear
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.
How long to cook steak

Our cookery team have outlined what you can expect from each category of steak.
 Blue: Should still be a dark colour, almost purple, and just warm. It will feel spongy with
no resistance.
 Rare: Dark red in colour with some red juice flowing. It will feel soft and spongy with
slight resistance.
 Medium-rare: Pink in colour with some juice. It will be a bit soft and spongy and slightly
springy.
 Medium: Pale pink in the middle with hardly any juice. It will feel firm and springy.
 Well-done: Only a trace of pink colour but not dry. It will feel spongy and soft and slightly
springy.

It’s very important to consider the size and weight of your steak before calculating the
cooking time. If you’re unsure, take advantage of the expert eye of your butcher who should
be able to tell you how long you need to cook your meat.
Fillet steak cooking times
We recommend the following cooking times for a 3.5cm thick fillet steak:

 Blue: 1½ mins each side

 Rare: 2¼ mins each side
 Medium-rare: 3¼ mins each side
 Medium: 4½ mins each side

Sirloin steak cooking times

We also recommend the following for a 2cm thick sirloin steak:

 Blue: 1 min each side

 Rare: 1½ mins per side
 Medium rare: 2 mins per side
 Medium: About 2¼ mins per side
 Well-done steak: Cook for about 4-5 mins each side, depending on thickness.

How to cook perfect steak

1. Season the steak with salt up to 2 hrs before, then with pepper just before cooking.

2. Heat a heavy-based frying pan until very hot but not smoking.

3. Drizzle some oil into the pan and leave for a moment.
4. Add the steak, a knob of butter, some garlic and robust herbs, if you want.

5. Sear evenly on each side for our recommended time, turning every minute for the best
caramelised crust.

6. Leave to rest on a board or warm plate for about 5 mins.

7. Serve the steak whole or carved into slices with the resting juices poured over.

How to check steak is cooked

Use your fingers to prod the cooked steak – when rare it will feel soft, medium-rare will be
lightly bouncy, and well-done will be much firmer. Our picture guide to checking steak is
cooked shows you how to use the 'finger test', or a meat thermometer inserted into the
centre to ensure it's done to your liking.

Blue: 54C

Rare: 57C

Medium rare: 63C

Medium: 71C

Well done: 75C

How to rest a steak
A cooked steak should rest at room temperature for at least five minutes and ideally around
half the cooking time – it will stay warm for anything up to 10 minutes. Here, pure science
comes into play – the fibres of the meat will reabsorb the free-running juices, resulting in a
moist and tender steak. Any resting juices should be poured over the steak before serving.
What to serve with steak
You're sure to find an accompaniment in our guide to steak side dishes. Plus, we have 10
steak sauces you can make in minutes, from cheat's peppercorn to spicy chimichurri.
Steak jargon buster
You'll see these terms in supermarkets, at the butcher's or on restaurant menus – here's
what they mean.
Grass-fed beef: Grass-fed cattle get to walk around and graze on pasture, which means
the meat is leaner with a richer, gamier flavour that tastes of the environment it was reared
in. This is why Scottish grass-fed beef will taste different to Irish.

Marbling: Marbling is the fat found interlacing the inside of a cut of meat. As the meat
cooks, the ‘marbled fat’ melts – without this, the meat would be dry and flavourless. Meat
with a lot of marbling mostly comes from the back of the animal where the muscles get little
exercise.

Wagyu: Wagyu is a generic name for four breeds of Japanese cattle. They are fed foraged
grass and rice straw, then supplemented with corn, barley, soya bean, wheat bran and, in
some cases, even beer or sake. Wagyu cattle produce meat with heavy marbling but this
comes at a hefty price.

Ageing: The ageing process improves th