Restaurant-Style Steak (Cooking Guide)
A reference guide, not a single recipe: how restaurants cook steak to restaurant quality. Covers internal temperatures by doneness, cooking times for a typical 3/4-inch steak, the Maillard reaction, and the three restaurant methods (grill, oven, skillet). Applebee's is famous for its Smothered Steak Skillet.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Internal temperature: use a meat thermometer and measure in the coolest part of the meat (usually the center of the thickest part). Check a few areas so you don't end up with undercooked or unsafe meat.
- Carryover cooking: the steak keeps cooking off the heat ā remove it about 5 degrees below your target temperature.
- Cooking times for a typical 3/4-inch (2 cm) steak. Rare (seared edges, red interior): 4 min first side, 2 min second. Medium rare (seared, pinkish-red interior): 5 min first side, 3 min second. Medium (browned outside, small pink center): 6 min first side, 5 min second. Well done (browned throughout): 8 min first side, 7 min second.
- The Maillard reaction: the browning that gives seared steak its flavor, discovered by French chemist Louis Camille Maillard. It occurs at around 148Ā°C (300Ā°F); a well-browned exterior adds tons of flavor.
- Method - grill: gives signature grill marks, though larger restaurants use it less often.
- Method - oven: the easiest method, but less likely to give true restaurant flavor. Preheat the pan, bring the steak to room temperature first, and check regularly so it isn't overcooked.
- Method - skillet: the method most restaurants use. Reliable, easy to clean up, and the easiest way to achieve the Maillard reaction. Applebee's uses this for its famous Smothered Steak Skillet.