Steak is one of those dishes that should, in theory, be easy to cook. However, there’s a lot that can go wrong, and a few minutes of overcooking can transform your steak into a dry, tough and chewy mess.
If you’ve been struggling to perfect your steak-cooking technique, there’s one tip loved by culinary experts that everybody should know. The pros at Tasting Table have hailed the benefits of something called the “3-3-2-2 method”, and it’s said that when you carry it out, the steak is “perfect every time”. It can even produce “restaurant-quality” results, and it’s so easy to do.
If you’ve got a cut of steak that’s between half and one-inch thick, then this method will work great.
Giving them a quick sear on each side allows you to achieve the Maillard reaction, which is the name given to what happens to the amino acids and reducing sugars in the steak, resulting in a nice brown crust.
You’re also giving the steak an even distrubution of heat on each side, helping you to avoid overcooking it. This is a common mistake, but it makes your meat a lot dryer and tougher, not to mention harder to digest.
This method requires you to sear the steaks twice, and this second sear is crucial for making sure the steak is cooked, as well as giving it that delicious crust on the outside.
How to cook the perfect steak
Begin by heating a pan with two tablespoons of cooking oil on the hob over a medium heat. Place your steaks in the pan, and let them cook for three minutes without moving them at all.
Then, flip them over and cook them for three minutes on the other side.
Flip them over twice more, letting them cook for an another two minutes on each side without moving them in between. Finally, take the steaks out of the pan and leave them to rest for five minutes before you serve.
Don’t miss out this crucial step, as this will give the juices in the steak time to redistribute, making your steak taste much more moist and delicious.
To make sure your steak is fully done before tucking in, you can use a meat thermometer to test its internal temperature.
According to the experts, steak should be 130C for medium-rare, 140C for medium, and 150C for medium-well.
3-3-2-2 method
- Cook the steak for three minutes on one side
- Cook the steak for three minutes on the other side
- Flip the steak and sear for two minutes
- Now sear the steak for two minutes on the other side