Steaks are life.
I love it so much, that it's often the only thing I eat! Yes, yes, I can't get enough of it; it's the best thing in the world and it has several grades, cuts and recipes, so I'm not complaining. 😋
In short, if you clicked on this article, it's probably because you too love steak and want to know how to make good ones. No problem, you're in the right place. 😎
Here, I give you my 10 secrets to successfully cook your steaks, no matter what kind of steak you choose and what machine you have. 🤘
Here we go!
SECRET #1 — STEAK CUTS
First, you should know that when you choose a piece of steak, most of it comes from the back of the beef, that is, the sirloin, loin or rib of the beef.
In these places, you will find, in particular, the bavette (sirloin), the sirloin and the filet mignon (loin), then the sirloin, the entrecôte (the "rib steak"), and the tomahawk (beef rib).
All of these steaks are very good, but I personally have a weakness for the skirt steak and the onglet (which come from the flank), the bavette, and the entrecôte. The macreuse (a cut from the shoulder) is also very hot.
In short, as you can see, there are many types of steak. They all have their own characteristics: some are fattier and marbled, others have short fibers, some are thicker… and all of this is important to take into account, because it affects the cooking (more on this later). Of course, the taste of each of these cuts is not the same either, so take this into account when making your selection.
SECRET #2 — TEMPERING
Once you have chosen your beautiful steak, I highly recommend that you let it temper before cooking it . Why? Because when you want to sear your meat, giving it a nice caramelized crust will then be super easy, the cooking will take less time (there will therefore be less risk that your meat will burn), and you will be able to transfer your steak more easily from one cooking zone to another.
How do you go about tempering your meat? All you have to do is let your meat sit on the counter at room temperature for about 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the thickness of your steak (the thicker it is, the longer it is recommended to let it sit) and the temperature of your home, among other things. You can leave the meat in its packaging for the entire duration of this step if you wish.
As I said above, I recommend letting your meat sit at room temperature. It's not mandatory, but if you want to taste the best steak on the market and have a steak with a final crust, it's super important to do so. (We have a detailed blog on the subject here if you want to know more.)
SECRET #3 — THE BARBECUE
Cooking a steak can be done on any kind of BBQ, even a portable one! The important thing is that you use one that is easy to control and can sear at infernal temperatures. That's all.
If you want to get a more pronounced wood flavor on your steak, the ideal is to use a charcoal grill, or, if you have enough space at home for it, a wood grill. BUT! It is also important to say that you can also very well give a wood smoky flavor to your steak by using a pellet grill or gas grill (yes, yes!).
Personally, my favorite way to grill my steak is with a charcoal BBQ, because my meat will have a taste of fire and wood, and because I can even give it a smoky taste by adding pieces ("chunks") or wood chips in my appliance. Also, what's really cool is that I can even sear my steak in the fire, in the embers, like a caveman, if I want. (If this last technique intrigues you, I invite you to go read my recipe right here .)
Otherwise, to get back to what I was saying, yes, you can smoke your steak on a gas grill. All you have to do is put wood chips in theBBQ Québec Copeaunateur or the BBQ Québec Smoke Box (choose your accessory based on the deflectors on your appliance), place the accessory under the grill grates, light the chips, then cook as you usually do. Honestly, it's a big change from the gas BBQ game.
Another great thing about gas grills for searing steak is that they can have an infrared burner. If your grill has one, USE IT!!! Once you've had a steak seared on the infrared burner, you'll never want to go back to using your main grill to grill it. Plus, depending on what the grill above your infrared burner is made of, it can reach 1800°F in 5 seconds to 2 minutes; isn't that amazing!?
I'll also take this opportunity to tell you that the ideal is for your BBQ to have at least 2 burners so that you can easily transfer your steak from the direct to indirect cooking zone (or vice versa). With a 1-burner grill, it's also possible, but you have to turn off the burner and wait... it's more complicated.
In any case, you want to preheat your BBQ to the MAXIMUM so that it is ready to receive your steak. If you can do it, I also advise you to create direct cooking zones (areas where the burner under the grill is lit) on the left and right of your barbecue and to use the central part as an indirect cooking zone (an area where the burner under the grill is off). The thermometer on the lid of your appliance is placed in the center, so it will tell you exactly the temperature in the BBQ at this location; where you will cook the steak, which will be very practical.
Yes, having a high temperature on the left and right sides of the grill is ideal, because the cast iron, stainless steel, ceramic, sheet metal, or whatever material you have inside your grill will absorb the heat from the sides and radiate it toward the steak, creating excellent circular airflow and helping with cooking.
SECRET #4 — SEASONINGS
Once you have your steak and your BBQ, you also need to have some good dry rubs (commonly called "spices") to put on your meat.
What's cool is that at BBQ Québec, we have about 50 seasonings for steaks . Products from Quebec brands, such as Théo BBQ, SJB, What the pork?, and BBQ Québec, and even "world champion" products from companies like Blues Hog and Butcher BBQ. If you are looking for a particular taste, I invite you to come and chat with our advisors in store or online so that they can suggest what will suit you best.
For my part, if I had to name just one product, I would go with the Steakenator BBQ Québec dry rub . No matter what steak you have, it will pair wonderfully with it. It's not complicated, it's like... the Terminator of steak spices; it's unbeatable and really solid.
Oh! And, if you want to give more flavor to your meat, amplify the flavor of the seasoning you sprinkle on it, "seal" it to make it juicier and, even, make it "shine", I highly recommend that you use the flavor enhancer Le Booster BBQ Québec in addition.
If you do use Booster, however, only use a thin layer, before you put anything else on your meat. Once that's done, you then add a generous amount of dry rub to all sides of your steak (even the edges) and you're off to glory. (Be careful to use an even amount everywhere though, you don't want to end up with a lump of spice in one place and no spice at all in the next!)
SECRET #5 — THE SEIZURE
To recap, so far you have: chosen your steak, let it cool (or not), preheated your BBQ, and seasoned your steak.
Now, as I said earlier, the cooking technique you use will depend on the steak you have chosen. The general rule is that if the grain of your steak is 2 inches or more, it is better to cook your meat before searing it so that you have better control over your cooking. This means that on the contrary, if the grain of the meat is less than 2 inches (which is often the case for filet mignon, sirloin, rib eye and rib eye), you are better off searing it first, then cooking it.
When it comes to searing, your grill should be at its maximum temperature. Once it has reached this temperature, you then place your steak in the direct cooking zone, and let it grill for about 2 minutes on each side. When to turn it? When the meat comes off the grill easily. Let me explain: meat should be turned from the moment it comes off the grill without resistance. If it sticks to it, it is because of one of these 4 situations:
- The meat is not yet cooked enough;
- The meat is overcooked;
- The meat has too much sauce on it; or
- The BBQ grills are dirty.
When you turn it over, it will also possibly have some nice grill marks on the side that was just seared.
SECRET #6 — INDIRECT COOKING
When the meat is in the indirect cooking zone, it is then "resting" and cooked, at a distance, by the heat of the fuel surrounding it. An important aspect to mention on this point: if you are using, for example, a charcoal BBQ and the charcoal is only on one side of the grill, then position the bone, if the steak has one, or the thickest part of the steak towards the heat source in order to protect it during cooking and obtain an excellent result.
The great thing about indirect cooking is that you don't have to do anything, technically, except wait, because that's where the steak will reach its desired internal temperature. You don't need to turn the meat; you just need to keep an eye on its temperature by sticking your thermometer right into the center of the piece of meat.
Obviously, you can cook your piece of meat to the degree of doneness you want, the advantage of beef is that it can be eaten in several ways. As a reminder, here are the internal cooking temperatures:
- 120°F = blue
- 130°F = rare
- 140°F = medium rare
- 150°F = medium well done
- 160°F = well done
Note that these temperatures apply to mammals and not poultry.
Now, a little clarification: if you had already seared the meat, you then let it cook until it reached the right temperature, then if you are going to sear it later, you can remove it about 5°F before it reached the right temperature and then sear it until it reaches its missing degrees of doneness.
SECRET #7 — THE “REVERSE SEAR”
“Reverse sear” in French is equivalent to “reverse sear”; it’s a cooking technique name that you’ve probably already heard.
Just like I mentioned, there are 2 ways to cook a steak: either sear it first, then cook it, or cook it, then sear it. So the "reverse sear" is simply that, the act of cooking and then searing a meat. You cook with this technique when the fiber of your steak is 2 inches or more.
SECRET #8 — THE SAUCE
When the steak is cooking, can you add sauce? Of course! But be careful, not too sweet a sauce and not a large quantity! I advise you to brush a little on both sides of the steak at the end of cooking and let it heat and caramelize on the meat for a short time.
SECRET #9 — REST
Once your meat is at the right internal temperature and looking great, remove it from the grill and let it rest for a few moments. How long? Generally, resting time should be 1/3 of the total cooking time (including searing). So, if you seared your steak for 2 minutes per side and let it cook for 5 minutes (2+2+5=9 minutes), you'll need to let it rest for 3 minutes (9/3=3).
SECRET #10 — THE DIRECTION OF THE CUT
The direction in which you slice your meat depends on the steak you have purchased. If the steak is already sliced against the grain when you buy it, you can then cut it any way you want once it is ready and put it in your mouth. Alternatively, if the meat has not been sliced against the grain at the base, as is often the case with flank, hanger steak, rump steak, and skirt steak, make sure to cut your steak against the grain when serving.
And… Voila, you are now ready to cook the best steaks in town!
Happy BBQ to all!