EXPERT ARTICLE-FINAL

  Steak Stage Fright? 

I've got the cure, a beginner’s guide to the perfect steak!

Imagine this is your fourth date with someone you really like, and you offer to cook them dinner. The table is set, candles are lit, and the steaks are high. The flickering light bounces off the perspiration forming around your hairline. You promised to make steak, but you get flashes of grey, dry, and tough steak- the only kind you know how to make. You see the love of your life hacking away at the piece of leather you served them, and with each sawing motion  of their knife, you see your future with them dissolve. They look up at you in between each laborious chew, and you see the spark that was once in their eyes, fade. Then you wake up in a cold sweat- lucky for you there's still time to learn how to cook a steak and save your relationship.

Through my own trials and errors I've been able to compile tips and tricks from industry experts. We'll go over steak theory and the science of a good steak, cuts, cooking methods, and prep. By the end of this article you'll never be plagued by unappetizing steak ever again.

Steak Science

So, what makes steak so good? It's all in the crust! The crispy outer layer of your steak is formed by the mallaird reaction. Eric Shulze of SeriousEats explains the result as a "complex array of flavor and aroma molecules, along with a darker color", you’re basically causing a rapid chemical reaction between sugars and proteins in the meat to create a new enticing flavor not possible without cooking (Shulze)! 

The mallaird reaction isn’t the only thing responsible for great taste! Fat is the most important part of a steak, and how the fat is incorporated into the steak. “The human body is biologically tailored to detect it”, and we can definitely tell when it’s missing (McQuaid). Fat is demonized, but in moderation it is the most powerful factor in a good steak experience. The nutty flavors, the juicyness, and even the mouthfeel is impacted by fat in the steak.

mallaird reaction, fat is flavor, room temp! or else you're steaming/boiling your steak (think of a cold glass of water-there's condensation forming on the cup, same thing with your steak) 

Cuts

Okay, now we know the fundamentals of why steaks are so good, but there are endless varieties of steaks. From the humble skirt steak to the porterhouse cut, the sheer amount of decisions can be dizzying. I’ll keep it simple, the king of all steaks is the ribeye. To summarize,“Cuts…of the cow with the most fat will have the best flavor. Steaks cut from parts…that didn’t move much will be tender but less flavorful.” (Hoeffner). The ribeye is made up of three significant parts:

The cap is bursting with marbling, the filet is tender and provides slightly more chew, and the tail provides all the necessary fat. The best part is that the ribeye comes from the midsection of the cow that isn’t used much throughout its lifespan. This all comes together to make the best cut of meat money can buy! Make sure to ask your butcher for at least 1.25 inches all the way up to 2 inches, but most grocery stores will cut their ribeyes to 1.25-1.5 inches!

Prep

So, you’ve decided on a cut of steak, now it’s time to prep. The mallaird reaction we went over earlier is the key to that restaurant-quality steak you’re looking for, and it is the fruit of our labors in the preparation phase. 

The steak will likely be cool from the butcher or grocery store, so take the meat out and set it on a cutting board to rise to room temperature. This may sound counterintuitive but the chef of Dudley Market told me in a brief interview, “keep that steak room temp and dry!”(Kim). Dry is a terrifying word, and shouldn’t be an adjective for any steak, but it really is important to lightly pat your steak dry with a paper towel as you set it to warm  up. 

Now the steak is warm, what next? It’s time to liberally salt both sides and edges of the steak before letting it rest again. The salt here is going to draw out moisture from the outside of the steak while permeating into the steak and seasoning it deeply. Excess moisture drawn to the surface of the steak after about 10-15 minutes should be then pat dry as well.

You might be wondering why it’s so important to dry the outside of the steak and bring it up to room temperature, and you’re right it is a tedious process. However, think of a glass of cold water and how it will collect condensation on its sides. A cold steak will do the same thing. If you were to put that in a pan, you would be steaming the steak, and if you’re steaming a ribeye, it would be more cost effective to chew on a flip flop.

DO NOT TOUCH THE STEAK

There are so many ways to cook a steak, from sous vide, reverse searing, to cooking over binchotan. Let’s keep it simple. All you need is a shallow pan that can hold the steak and some neutral,  high smoke point oil, avocado oil works great. Splash 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan and crank up the heat. Then watch the pan and as soon as you see a faint wisp of smoke of the oil starting to burn add in your steak. Press the steak down from multiple points with your spatula for 30-60 seconds and then step back. You will only need to flip the steak once after 4 minutes on one side. After 4 minutes on the other side you will sear the edges of the steak for 30-45 seconds. 

Remove your steak from the pan and let it rest on a cutting board or a wire rack, and in the words of the late great Anthony Bourdain “Do. Not. F***ing. Touch. It.” (Bourdain). Let the residual heat cook your steak further to a perfect medium rare. If you like your steak cooked at any other temperature please refer to a different and objectively incorrect guide. After 7-10 minutes of resting, the steak is ready to serve!

Room for Mi-steaks

Finally, you’ve mastered the fundamentals of making a great steak. Now you can be sure that if your partner leaves you, it won’t be because of something you served them.

Now that the foundations have been established, feel free to explore more! There are thousands of classic steak accompaniments like a peppercorn sauce to a red wine reduction. Even the previously mentioned sous vide and reverse searing methods of cooking. The possibilities are endless!

Bibliography

Campana, Melissa, and Ralph Schwartz. “The Worst Thing You Can Do When Cooking Steak, according to Anthony Bourdain.” Mashed, 13 July 2021, www.mashed.com/460441/the-worst-thing-you-can-do-when-cooking-steak-according-to-anthony-bourdain/. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.

Hoeffner, Melissa Kravitz.“What’s the Best Cut of Steak? We Asked a Butcher.” Real Simple, www.realsimple.com/whats-the-best-cut-of-steak-7971777.

Kim, Justin. Personal Interview. 27 September 2025.

McQuaid, John. “Scientists Say They’ve Isolated the Taste of Fat, and It’s Terrible. Why?” Forbes, 21 July 2015, www.forbes.com/sites/johnmcquaid/2015/07/21/scientists-say-theyve-isolated-the-taste-of-fat-and-its-terrible-why/.

Schulze, Eric. “An Introduction to the Maillard Reaction.” Serious Eats, 25 Sept. 2019, www.seriouseats.com/what-is-maillard-reaction-cooking-science.