Pan Frying Steak How to Pan Fry Steak

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Why is pan frying best for small cuts ?
Pan Frying is ideal for smaller cuts of steak and great for home cooking as there is less chance of over cooking the steak and making it tough.  Use a heavy skillet or cast iron
pan or  alternatively one of those grill type steak grills similar to the ones here.

You will notice the Cast Iron 3 Piece one on the left has a lot of great customer reviews.  These pans will last you for years and years and don't contain a lot of coating materials that may be toxic and will give you excellent results every time.

Prepare the meat
20 mins before cooking,  pat  meat dry and lay out the defrosted meat on a board in a single layer to come to room temperature.



To Cook

  • Preheat pan to very hot - Pan must sizzle when you put steak in or it will be very tough - good test is to flick a few drops of water into the pan first 
  • Add a little olive oil to the pan or brush the steak with oil first 
  • Cook to your own taste   - remember that times will vary according to the thickness of your steak  and is not an exact science so you will need to experiment to get your exact preference right 
  • For example you may prefer your steak done medium rare and if it is thicker, it  will take a bit longer.
  • Sirloin, for example will take longer than a thinner cut of Fillet steak. 

 Cooking times

  • Rare          1 - 2 Minutes 
  • Medium     2 - 3 Minutes 
  • Well done   3 - 4 minutes 
Rest Your Meat 

  • Lift steak out and place on a rack do not  leave sitting in their own juice to broil and get tough
  • Cover with tin foil 
  • Rest for anything from 2 - 3 minutes to 5 or 6 minutes in a warm place 
  • This is very important to get the juices distributed evenly and make your steak juicy 
  • You can't really over rest it so let it sit for longer if you are not sure - even up to 10 minutes is OK 
Serving and Cutting your steak 



Use a razor sharp, unserrated knife to cut your steak
This is because serrated knives tend to "saw" at the meat and leave jagged edges and "tear" at the fibers whereas a sharp blade will cut cleanly and leave the fibers intact. 
I have always thought that if you needed to use a steak knife then the steak must be too tough but there is merit in using a very sharp knife that doesn't tear at the meat.  This can make even the most tender meat appear tough.

If you would like to use your beautifully cooked to perfection steak to make a steak salad go for a Chef's Knife for the ultimate in clean cutting and make sure it is kept razor sharp.

There is only one thing left to do now and that is to sit down and tuck in to your own fabulous and sensational steak.
Bon Appetite !

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