Ask Blue_Nose

Well, after a long hiatus (which will resume after this post, unfortunately) I decided to dig into the Askbag and pull out this question:

"I just bought a bunch of steak, and I'm wondering if you have any good tips on how to cook it"

Now, culinary arts happens to be an area in which I'm particularly an expert, so here are a few things to consider:

First of all, a disclaimer: I realize this was somewhat of a time-critical question to be answered, but in case you've been holding onto that steak waiting for this, throw it out. If it's been in the freezer this whole time, it'll taste like MDF, and if you didn't even think to freeze it, you may need a new refrigerator.

Second of all, it's fall, and I don't particularly think standing outside in the cold is fun when I'm hungry. Hence, we're staying focused on cooking inside. Use a pan - it's warmer, it's quicker, and you don't have to worry about empty propane tanks. You've been barbequing all summer, give it a rest.

Next we consider preperation: I don't, to be frank. Marinade makes steak taste like something other than steak, and we don't need that. That doesn't mean you need to buy the higher-end cuts, though - if you do it right, it'll taste good on its own.

I use a non-stick pan to cook my steaks, with a very small amount of oil. I also make sure I have some sort of cover, which I'll discuss in a minute. Make sure there is a lot of space, because you con't just cook a steak by itself.

That's because (and this is unbreakable rule #2) you need some sort of so-called "fixings" - this is what makes or breaks your steaks. This is what you'll cook along with your steak in the same pan, and usually consists of some sort of fruit/vegetable mixture. Anything from the onions and mushrooms to apples and raisins. You need something in there or your steak will be dry. The extra moisture from the vegetables serves to keep from drawing the juices out of the steak, and that is probably the single most important thing to consider when cooking steak in any case.

These are chopped into fairly large pieces and put in at the same time as the steak, over medium-high heat - I don't like to overcook the vegetables, so this is usually a good system. If you want to tame down the onions, put them in early. Things like apples soften quickly, so you might want to put them in later.

Now I like to cover the whole thing for a few minutes. This lets the heat build up, letting some of the juices out of the vegetables. When steam starts coming out from under the lid, it comes off and you'll find that some liquid has built up at the bottom, and the steak has also started to brown on the top. This is good for two reasons:

- The extra liquid keeps the steak moist, and helps even out the temperature.
- the steak has been cooking on both sides, instead of just the underside. This is important, because unbreakable rule #2 is this:

You may only flip a given steak ONCE in the course of cooking it. Only once, so make it a good one.

Every time you flip the steak, it lets the juices out and ultimately makes it tougher and drier. Leaving it alone is the best thing you can do.

Before I make that flip, though, I will add my spices. This is also something I don't get fancy about - pepper and Montreal steak spice is all that goes on at this point. You can usually tell if you've added just enough pepper when you think, "Aw, shit, that's way too much pepper." Never put salt on a steak. If you come up with a way to extract the natural salt from steak, patent it, because it'll make you rich.

So the steak has been flipped, and now it's simply a matter of waiting till it's finished. Now, there are several ways to determine when it's done - I tend to wait until I think it's just a little overdone, and take it off a few minutes earlier. This may be a little too advanced for some of you, though, so I recommend the thumb test:

* I was about to try to explain this, but I found out that it's actually a standard practice. This website does a good job of explaining it. Now, maybe I have particularly firm hands, but I would knock each test back one finger - I touch my index finger and thumb together for medium, which is how steak should be cooked. DO NOT cut open a steak to see if it's done if you can help it.

After that, it's a simple matter of taking it off the heat and serving it with your meal, which I'll leave to your own imagination. Mine almost invariably includes beer.

So there you have it, aspiring chefs. Keep it simple and resist the urge to poke your meat every ten seconds, and a good steak is hard to ruin.