If you’re looking for a great, flavorful steak recipe that can be made in minutes (and doesn’t require an expensive appliance), then this chipotle beef recipe will impress your dinner guests.
What Is The Best Way To Cook A Steak At Home?
The secret to cooking a tender meat like steak without destroying it lies within its marinade.
Marinating foods with seasonings such as salt, pepper, garlic, onion powder, ginger, and other herbs and spices enhances its flavor while also inhibiting its ability to dry out during cooking.
The key to ensuring that your steak remains juicy is to do what most people don’t realize they need to do: let it sit in the refrigerator overnight before grilling or searing.
This allows the seasoning to penetrate into the muscle fibers so that when you grill it later on, it releases more juices than if you had simply cooked it right away.
If you have time, you could even give it a couple hours after being finished marinating to soak up all those juices.
But if you want to get it done quickly, here are some tips from Serious Eats:
- Put the steaks directly over high heat until the surface starts to brown. Turn them once halfway through cooking. Cook about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare.
- After turning one side, move the skillet off the burner and cover with foil to help hold in the steam. Let it rest 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how rare you prefer your steak, before slicing and serving.
- When cooking multiple pieces of meat, place them next to each other rather than stacking them. That way, each piece gets evenly heated and cooks faster. After flipping each piece, put the entire stack back onto the same pan to finish cooking.
Steak isn’t just for special occasions.
It’s healthy, filling, nutritious, and relatively inexpensive compared to many meals.
In fact, according to Food and Nutrition Magazine, there are several ways you can prepare steak at home for less money than going out.
So whether you’re looking for a quick and cheap alternative to takeout, or you’d like to make something nice and memorable for your family, check out these tasty steak recipes below.
What Are Some Good Steak Recipes?
Steaks are always a crowd-pleaser, but sometimes it seems like they take forever to prepare.
The truth is that there’s no need to spend hours on end preparing them.
There are many simple steaks recipes out there that you can try if you want to save time and effort.
If you’re planning on cooking a whole steak, we recommend trying one of these five different cuts of meat.
They all have their own unique taste profiles, so you should choose whichever cut suits your preferences.
If you don’t know what kind of steak to buy, here are four types of steak and how to tell if it’s fresh or frozen.
Chateaubriand
This classic French steak comes from the loin region of the cow.
It has a very tender texture due to its low fat content.
You can also find it with bone marrow inside which adds extra flavor.
It’s usually served medium rare as it should retain most of the natural juices during cooking.
Since Chateaubriand requires high quality ingredients, it’s often paired with a sauce such as Béarnaise Sauce, Bordelaise Sauce, or Hollandaise Sauce.
T-bone Tenderloin
A T-bone steak contains both rib eye and top sirloin portions.
These two parts come together to create a perfectly balanced piece of meat.
The ribeye portion provides lots of lean protein while the top sirloin part offers a nice amount of marbling.
As a result, this steak is quite popular among those who prefer to eat red meats.
Flank Steak
Another type of steak that goes well with red wine sauces is flank steak.
Flank steak is known for being extremely versatile since it tastes just as good when cooked in a skillet as it does when grilled over open flames.
You can add any number of spices, herbs, and seasoning to increase its flavor profile.
Just remember not to overcook it because it loses moisture quickly.
Top Sirloin
Finally, another common choice for steak lovers is top sirloin.
Top sirloin is similar to flank steak in terms of versatility. However, it tends to fall into the category of “lesser quality” since it lacks the same level of marbling found in other kinds of beef.
As a result, it takes more work to properly season and cook this particular steak compared to others.
But in exchange, it retains a lot of its juiciness after it’s been cooked.
How Do You Make A Steak At Home?
The first step to making a great steak at home is choosing the right cuts of meat.
The most important part of cooking steak is selecting the cut of meat from which it was taken. If you don’t have access to high-quality steaks or want to save money, try buying cheaper cuts instead.
You may also choose to use ground chuck if you prefer a more inexpensive option.
Once you know what type of meat you need, the next thing to consider is how you plan on preparing it.
For example, you could pan sear your meat over the stovetop, but you would likely need to marinate it before doing so.
Or, you could opt for sous vide, where you submerge the steak in water to create a vacuum seal and slow-cook it.
Whatever method you decide to go with, make sure you understand all of the steps involved in order to get a delicious result.
Marinating Your Meat
Before you begin the process of grilling, you should take the time to prep your meat by marinating it.
Marination allows you to infuse the meat with flavors that enhance its taste.
- You should marinate your meat in advance and allow it to rest overnight. It typically takes about 6 hours for the marinade to fully penetrate the meat.
- When you are ready to cook your meat, remove the excess liquid from the surface using paper towels.
- Pat dry your meat to prevent any moisture left behind from affecting the final outcome of your steak.
Grill Time
Now that your meat has been properly prepped, it’s time to start cooking it.
There are several methods that you can employ when deciding how to prepare it.
Some common options include:
Pan Searing/Broiling
This is one of the simplest ways to cook your steak, as it involves just placing the meat directly onto a hot skillet or broiler pan.
Just like with marinated meats, you must let it sit until the desired temperature is reached before removing it from the heat source.
Sautéing
Sautéing involves searing your meat in oil or butter while it cooks.
This technique adds additional flavor to your food because the fat helps to break down the muscle fibers inside the meat.
Stove Top Cooking
Finally, there is the option of cooking your steak over the stove top.
This method works best with thinner cuts of meat such as filets mignons, T-bones, and rib eyes.
How Do You Cook A Steak Without A Grill?
Grilling has become one of the most popular cooking methods because it adds extra taste and texture to food.
However, if you don’t have access to or want to use a gas grill, there are other ways to cook steaks like roasting them over an open flame or pan-frying them.
- Roast over fire pit
- Pan fry
- Oven roast
- Sear
However, the easiest method for making a steak at home involves using an outdoor grill.
You can also add some additional flavors by marinating the meat before grilling on an outdoor grill.
What Is The Best Way To Cook A Steak On The Stove?
Most people think grilling or broiling their steaks are the only ways to go when it comes to cooking meat outdoors.
But there are plenty of other options if you don’t want to spend hours at home grilling up a nice piece of meat.
And sometimes, you just need something quick and easy to get dinner ready before work or school starts again.
So what about the stovetop?
If you have some extra time on your hands, then you can make amazing meals like this one with ease.
We love using cast iron skillets because they are so versatile.
They heat quickly, which means you can sear your steak right over high heat, reducing most of the fat as you add moisture from the pan juices into the steak itself.
It’s important not to overcrowd the skillet though, and instead use a spatula to move around any bits stuck to the bottom.
The ingredients
- 1 1/4 pound top sirloin steak, cut into 2-inch strips
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Chili powder
- Garlic salt, such as Lawry’s Original seasoning blend
- Lemon juice
- Onion powder
- Cayenne pepper
The method
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and allow it to melt.
- Season both sides of steak with salt and pepper. Cook steak until desired degree of doneness, about 4 – 5 minutes per side.
- Remove steak from skillet and place onto serving platter.
- Add lemon juice to skillet. Swish sauce around to deglaze all burnt bits on the bottom of the pan. Remove skillet from heat and set aside.
- To serve, pour off excess liquid from pan. Season steak with onion powder, garlic salt, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper to taste. Place back into hot skillet and continue searing until desired degree of doneness, about 3 more minutes per side.
How Do You Cook A Steak In The Oven?
To prepare this quick and easy recipe, first place your meat into a large frying pan or skillet over medium-high heat.
Add some olive oil to the pan and wait until it starts smoking before adding your filets.
After about 2–3 minutes, add salt and pepper to taste.
You don’t want to overcook your steak here so keep an eye out after 3 minutes.
To check if your steaks are ready to eat, simply cut one open and see how pink they get inside.
If you prefer your steak more done, just continue cooking them for another minute or two.
Once your steak has reached your desired degree of doneness, remove from the heat and serve immediately with any side dishes you may have prepared beforehand.
What Is The Best Way To Cook A Steak In A Pan?
A lot of people have asked me how I like to prepare my steaks when I don’t want them to stick to the pan during cooking.
It turns out, there are few ways to make sure that happens.
- Pre-seasoned cast iron skillet or sauté pan with oil
- Baking sheet lined with parchment paper
- Teflon coated baking sheet
I prefer to use a nonstick pan because it makes clean up so much easier than using any other type of pan, but if you choose not to use one, these methods should work just fine too.
The important thing is that the pan needs to be able to release its heat without sticking to whatever food you’re trying to cook inside of it.
If you try to flip anything while they’re still hot enough to burn you, then the result won’t taste good at all.
How Do You Cook A Steak On The Grill?
Grilling a steak is one of those techniques where it seems like everyone has their own secret method.
You have people who swear by using direct heat to sear the outside of the meat and others who prefer indirect heat to allow the inside of the meat to get nice and browned before serving.
Some even use both methods together with the goal of having more surface area exposed to the flames while achieving different results.
Personally speaking, I’m not much into grilling because I don’t have any space to set up my grill so I usually just stick to baking or frying instead.
But if you want to try your hand at grilling a steak, there are plenty of options out there that won’t break the bank.
- The Lodge Cast Iron Skillet: If you’ve got the space and the budget, then this cast iron skillet from Lodge is a fantastic option. It comes with a nonstick coating which makes clean-up quick and easy and it also features a removable handle making it easier to transport.
- Charbroil Outdoor Grill: Another good choice would be Charbroil’s outdoor grill. The main difference between this model and other grills is that it uses propane as fuel rather than charcoal. While this may seem counterintuitive since the latter produces smoky flavors, its ability to produce consistent heat means that the food cooked on it gets evenly done without burning too quickly.
- Kettle BBQ: The Kettle BBQ is another good option for grilling steaks. Not only does it feature a built-in thermometer but it also includes two racks that make it possible to cook multiple pieces of meat simultaneously.
- Camp Chef Pellet Grill: Camp Chef’s pellet smokers offer the same benefits as the above models, including being able to cook multiple items at once. However, they come with a few extra perks such as the fact that they are designed specifically to work with pellets as opposed to gas. That means that you don’t need to worry about replacing them every time you run out of gas.
While these are all excellent options, none of them can match how well a traditional barbecue works when it comes to preparing a juicy steak.
So here we go…
What Are Some Tips For Cooking A Perfect Steak?
Steaks are one of the most versatile cuts of meat out there.
They come with many different flavors depending on how they’re cooked.
But if you want to get it right, there are several things to remember before you start grilling up some steaks.
Here are some basic rules for getting a perfectly charred grilled steak every time.
- Use a good quality cut of meat. The cheaper cuts aren’t as juicy or tender as those from top-quality beef. Don’t skimp on the quality either – just make sure you buy the best possible option available at your local grocery store.
- Season well. If you don’t season your steak before putting it over the fire, the salt won’t penetrate deep enough into the meat to create a crusty char on its surface. Seasoning your steak before placing it over the heat ensures that all sides end up evenly seasoned.
- Cook slowly. You have to let the steak cook long enough so that it gets nice and crispy on the outside without overcooking inside. Start checking after 5 minutes and keep monitoring until you see the color change from pink to brown/charred.
- Flip carefully. This isn’t always necessary but flipping the steak halfway through cooking helps prevent the meat from sticking to the pan or each other while creating a more even sear across both surfaces. It also allows you to check for doneness sooner than waiting for the entire side to turn dark red.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan. Make sure not to crowd your pan too much while cooking. Overcrowded pans result in unevenly seared steaks which means you’ll need to flip them again later to ensure that both sides are properly seared.
- Clean thoroughly afterward. When removing the steak from the pan, clean off any excess bits of fat, grease, or sauce using paper towels or tongs. Be careful not to wipe away any seasoning or spices that may remain on the steak.
How Do You Know When A Steak Is Done?
The short answer to this question is it depends on the cut of meat and how well-done you want it to be.
A good rule of thumb is if you poke or prod any part of the steak with a fork and it feels like it has just about as much give as you would expect from raw meat, then it’s ready to eat.
If you prefer your steaks more rare, let them sit another minute before serving.
Or if you’d rather have them medium-rare, cook them for an additional 2-3 minutes, depending on the thickness of the steak.
When you go to buy your steak at the grocery store, make sure you get one labeled “steak” instead of “prime rib roast” or other similar name.
The reason why is because these cuts come from different areas of the animal than those meant to be ground up into hamburger, which makes it harder to predict cooking times.
You don’t want to end up overcooking your steak by mistake, so stick to cuts specifically called out as steaks in the ingredients list.
In many cases, supermarkets sell their own branded steaks, but they may not always be the best quality.
Make sure you read the labels carefully and look for words such as “cutlet,” “flank,” “top blade,” etc., as these are all prime cuts of steak that will taste better than anything else available in the supermarket.
Ingredients
- 1 Ib top sirloin steak 1/2 inch thick (1 cm)
- kosher salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 can chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Instructions
- On a cutting board, season the steak on both sides with salt and pepper.Toss the steak with the chipotle peppers in a zip-top bag to coat.
- Place in the refrigerator for up to an overnight period.In a big skillet over medium-high heat, warm the oil.
- Cook the steak for 5 minutes on each side in the pan. After removing the steak from the pan, let it rest for 10 minutes on a chopping board. Cut into bite-size pieces.Enjoy immediately!
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My blog is all about creating delicious meals with ingredients that are easy to find in your local grocery store. I’m passionate about making yummy meals that I can share with my friends and family.