steak

Which method will result in pure steak perfection?

CLASSIC PAN-SEARED STEAK

This is your classic restaurant-style steak. And there is a strict cooking process I like to follow to ensure steak perfection here:

Ingredients

2 x 300g/10.5oz thick sirloin steaks

50g/20z butter, cubed

3 cloves garlic, bashed

2 sprigs thyme

2 sprigs rosemary

Salt, pepper and olive oil

Instructions

  1. Place a large frying pan over a high heat and get the pan HOT! Season the steaks generously with salt and drizzle with oil.
  2. Place the steaks into the pan, fat side down to begin with, and allow to cook and sizzle until golden brown and the fat has rendered out. Then turn the steaks on their side and pan fry for 2 minutes – get the timer out for this step, it really helps! Try not to fuss or move the steak, you want the caramelisation.
  3. Flip the steak and chuck in the butter, garlic, thyme and rosemary. Fry for 1 minute on the other side for a good medium rare. Season the steak with black pepper and baste well with the butter as it starts to foam and turn golden brown for the last 10 seconds or so of cooking.
  4. Remove the steak from the pan onto a wire rack over a plate and pour over the garlic, herbs and butter. Leave to rest for 3-4 minutes before carving. Sprinkle with a final bit of flaky salt before serving.

The cut

Now, this wasn’t your cheap-as-chips cut of meat. I went big. A proper, meaty sirloin that I cut into four thick, juicy steaks, roughly 345g each. Once you’ve portioned it out, it actually feels like a bit of a steal. But if you’re cooking for two, honestly, just grab a couple of ready-cut sirloins from your local supermarket, they’ll still do the job beautifully. Pop to the butchers for a treat! I love a trip to the butchers. 

Verdict on a pan-seared steak: This one’s the crowd-pleaser and firm favourite. Buttery, caramelised, rich, and everything you want from steak night. The whole team agreed, this method is the outright winner. Off-screen, this steak got absolutely demolished. 

Rating: 8/10

REVERSE SEARED STEAK

This method basically involves cooking the steak in an oven first, then transferring to a pan. This is ideal if you want more control over the temp or are not as confident cooking solely in a pan. It was the first time I’d tried out this method and found that when you got to the basting, you really need to act fast to ensure you infuse all those wonderful buttery, garlic, herby flavours. Grab the ingredients and method below:

Ingredients

2 x 300g/10.5oz thick sirloin steaks, at room temperature

50g/20z butter, cubed

3 cloves garlic, bashed

2 sprigs thyme

2 sprigs rosemary

Salt, pepper and olive oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 110ºc fan/130ºc/260ºf. Push an oven safe probe into the side of one of the steaks and place onto a wire rack over a baking tray. Place into the oven and roast until the probe reads 43ºc/109ºf, then remove the tray from the oven.
  2. When the steaks comes out of the oven, get a large frying pan over the highest heat and get it smoking hot. Season the steaks well with flaky salt and rub with olive oil, then carefully place into the pan, fat side down first, to seal until the fat has rendered and is golden brown.
  3. Turn the steaks so that they’re flat side down and fry for 10-15 seconds. Flip them, chuck in the butter and herbs and baste well, then remove from the pan and pour over the butter.
  4. Leave to rest for 5 minutes or so, then carve and serve with an extra sprinkle of flaky salt.

Verdict on a reverse-seared steak: A great recipe if you want that added bit of control with the cooking process (especially if you have an oven thermometer to hand), and I loved how quick and easy it was. BUT, for me the pan-seared steak was slightly better! But that’s my personal opinion. Make sure you comment below with your best steak tips. 

 

Rating: 7/10

AIR FRYER STEAK

Love, love, lovvvvve an air fryer and what shocked me is that this wasn’t a bad option at all. Now I don’t think it’ll ever quite beat a restaurant-style way of cooking steak, but if you’re limited to an air fryer, whack that steak in.

The one thing to be aware of when using this method is that the steak can cook slightly quicker from the base, so there may be a little unevenness when cooking. To avoid this it may mean a little bit of flipping every min or two to ensure that consistency. But if you want a hands-off, super simple method that is a wham, bam, turn it on and leave it alone, this is the one. 

Ingredients

2 x 300g/10.5oz thick sirloin steaks, at room temperature

50g/20z butter, cubed

3 cloves garlic, bashed

2 sprigs thyme

2 sprigs rosemary

Salt, pepper and olive oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat the airfryer for 5 minutes at 200ºc. Oil and salt the steak.
  2. Place the steak into the airfryer basket, top with a few cloves of garlic and some fresh herbs before cooking for 6 minutes.
  3. After 6 minutes, check the steak. It should be about medium rare, depending on the thickness of your steak.
  4. Leave to rest for a few minutes before slicing and serving

Verdict on an air fryer steak: Although it lacks the caramelisation you got using the other methods, the fat was nice and crispy and the meat was lovely and tender. This is ideal if you want pure convenience and don’t mind not having that traditional charred-ness. I was pleasantly surprised and think this would be a good way to cook steak if using for a sandwich.

Rating: 5.5/10

Fun fact – I decided it would be a great idea to film myself cooking delicious steaks whilst pregnant. So while delivering these babies up…I couldn’t even eat them. I had to re-cook slices to taste test and it was just devastating. Still delicious but just not the same. I’m not a welldone kinda gal. 

Top tips for cooking steak

1. Bring it to room temperature

Take your sirloin out of the fridge ideally 30–60 minutes before you start cooking. A cold steak straight into a hot pan can cook unevenly and even seize up a little. 

2. Pat dry

Moisture can prevent you getting that glorious crust. Use kitchen paper to dab the surface before seasoning. The drier the steak, the better.

3. Use a properly hot pan

You want your pan to be super hot before the steak goes in. Cast iron or stainless steel works best. If it doesn’t sizzle loudly when dropped in, it’s not hot enough.

4. Oil the steak, not the pan

Lightly oil the steak itself. This prevents excess oil from burning in the pan.

5. Don’t move it too soon

Place the steak down and leave it alone. Moving it prevents that crust forming. Don’t be tempted to faff about with it!

6. Add your butter and bits at the end

In the final minute, add your butter, garlic, thyme, rosemary etc and get basting, 

7. Use a thermometer if not confident guessing

For a 2–3cm sirloin:

  • Rare: 50-52°C

  • Medium-rare: 54-57°C

  • Medium: 60-63°C

  • Medium-well: 65°C+

Remember it will rise 3-5°C while resting.

8. Always rest your steak

Rest for the time you cooked it for. This allows juices to stay in the steak instead of spilling out when sliced open.

Watch me trial 3 steak methods over on YouTube

If you want to watch me make a pan-seared steak, a reverse-seared steak and air fryer steak, you can view the full video on my YouTube channel. See every step, and watch me almost cry eating well-done slices because I’m pregnant and not allowed to eat the rare (and more delicious) slices.