A perfectly cooked steak accompanied by chips and tomatoes is a dish many Britons enjoy.
However, many Britons will actively avoid cooking the dish at home out of fear of ruining the steak.
In fact, new research from Asda has revealed that a quarter of Britons admit they struggle to prepare high-quality meals, even when they follow recipes, while over a third of those aged 18 to 44 say they actively avoid cooking with premium ingredients like steak and fish.
With this in mind, chef Kate Austen, the winner of this year’s Great British Menu and host of Asda’s Culinary Concierge service, has shared exactly how to cook the perfect steak and avoid cutting into “grey” meat.
Kate said the biggest mistake Britons make when cooking steak is not letting the meat reach room temperature before cooking it.
The chef said steak should never be cooked straight from the fridge as home cooks could be left with uneven cooking or meat that turns “grey”.
Kate shared her method for cooking steak which includes sirloin, fillet, ribeye and rump.
She said: “When cooking smaller cuts of meat, tempering is super important. Before cooking, your meat needs to be room temperature so it will cook evenly all the way through and avoid that dreaded grey line.
“Beef is also pretty robust so make sure your pan is super hot – it can take the heat and you want that beautiful, dark caramelisation.”
It’s also important to allow steaks to rest after they have been cooked to allow the juices to redistribute throughout the meat.
Cutting straight into a steak after cooking it allows all of the juices to flow out of the cut of meat.
Any residual heat from the pan will also continue to cook the steak while it rests.
Steak should be allowed to rest for at least five minutes but bigger cuts of roast beef may need 10 to 20 minutes of rest.
A good rule of thumb to follow is allowing the meat to rest for half as long as it took to cook.
