A professional chef has shared her top tips for ensuring that your steaks are perfect every time.
According to Chef Kate Austen, winner of this year’s Great British Menu and host of Asda’s Culinary Concierge service, there’s one thing that people do with their steak that’s ruining it.
If you’ve ever chucked a nice rib eye on the pan and then been heartbroken by how grey it looks, don’t despair.
Kate says this common mistake has an easy fix.
The reason steak goes grey is because it hasn’t had a chance to come up to room temperature before being thrown in the pan.
Steak should never be cooked straight from the fridge and instead should be left out to let the chill dissipate.
Kate said: “You should always bring the meat to room temperature first, otherwise you’ll be left with uneven cooking or meat that’s an ugly shade of grey.”
As well as making sure the meat has come to room temperature you want to make sure your pan is piping hot before you put the meat in.
Kate said: “Beef is also pretty robust so make sure your pan is super hot – it can take the heat and you want that beautiful, dark caramelization.”
Her tips come as new research from Asda revealed that one in four Brits struggle to cook high-quality meals and more than a third of those between 18 – 44 say they actively avoid cooking with premium ingredients like steak and fish because they’re scared they’ll ruin them.
Kate also has tips for how to get the perfect crispy skin on chicken and fish. The biggest mistake people make is not drying the meat or fish first. You’ll never get crispy skin from soggy skin, so it’s essential to pat dry first.
For the chicken, ensure the pan is on a high heat.
This is what chefs call ‘sealing off’ – finish in the oven to get it beautifully cooked all the way through.
For fish, as it’s so delicate, you need to be more careful with the heat.
Cook skin side down after patting dry, and cook three quarters of the way through, before flipping for 10 seconds, pulling from the heat and letting it rest.
The residual heat from the pan will finish the fish off and it will be easier to control the temperature, ensuring flaky, moist fish fillets.
