How To Cook A Steak On Your Stove

Stove Top Grill You don’t have to run out to a restaurant and plop down a bunch of money to enjoy a perfectly cooked steak. It is pretty easy to prepare one at home for less than half the cost, and without any compromise on quality or flavor. Most of you out there are probably saying to yourself, yeah, just grill it on the bbq, and that works great. But what if current weather conditions, or your own overall laziness won’t permit this type of cooking? Many people will turn to a standard frying pan, or maybe a cast iron skillet, and then switch on the burner to get the job done. If you have ever tried this method, then you know, the results are not what you would get off your grill, and in many cases are downright inedible. For whatever reason, it seems that way more people ruin steaks on the stove top more than any other place. The same guy that can pull gourmet quality meat off the grill outside, may only be able to produce what more closely resembles boot leather when they attempt an indoor alternative. Instead of resigning to the fact that it is too difficult to get it right, or just dealing with mediocre quality, you may want to try a slightly different method in order to make the process nearly fool proof.

One of the main problems people have when frying a steak in a pan is overcooking. It is a completely different surface than what a barbecue provides, so the same techniques will not offer the same results. Many of us will tend to a steak like we do anything else in a pan on the stove, and continue rotating and flipping until it looks “right”. At this point, most of us will now be left to eat a well done piece of meat that is devoid of all the lovely, natural flavoring. In order to avoid this under normal circumstances, you need to heat the pan to the perfect temperature and cook with exact times while making sure to not flip it more than once, or cut it open to check for doneness. If you are not working with the best cut, another downside can arise by pan frying it. When grilling, any fat that cooks off will drip down and away from your food. In the pan, it remains there, so it is not the healthiest choice when preparing steak that has any amount of fat content that is visible. Because many approved methods of stove top steak cooking recommend the addition of some sort of oil, you may not be able to avoid this factor, even with the most expensive pieces. The final draw back for using a regular pan to cook your meat will be dryness. It is very easy to dry out the meat due to this method, and if that happens, you will have a pretty unappealing dish to eat afterward because the natural juices are a big part of the flavor that everyone enjoys.

A Stove Top Grill is a great alternative to regular pan frying, and will give your meat much better flavor due to the design and simplicity of use. Although it sits on your stove, and uses the burner as a heat source, it is much more difficult to ruin your steak when you cook on it. Instead of tough, flavorless slabs of beef, you will get something much closer to what is achieved by outdoor grilling. It will help to lock in flavor, and keep the meat moist, tender and flavorful. You will be able to use more than one technique and still achieve quality results, so it will be far more versatile and able to adapt to personal cooking styles. If you like to flip over and over you can do that, if you like to grill with a cover, you can do that, if you want to use a pan-style technique, that would be fine, if you want to pretend you are outside, that would be OK, and if you want to grill with some hybrid technique that combines several of these together, that would probably work out too. Thanks to the clever design of this grill pan, your meat will cook more evenly, the fat will drip away as you cook, and a ring of moisture will infuse flavor and lock in moisture in order to assure restaurant quality results. Because it is so easy to use, and prevents the drying of your food, it will be much more difficult to cook something you wouldn’t want to eat, and anyone should be able to end up with a nice looking piece of meat, cooked to the desired level of done.

HOW TO USE IT

Using the Stove Top Grill is pretty simple, so it is highly regarded as a viable alternative to breaking out the grill. It can be used on any type of stove, so it does not matter if you have electric or gas, and you can even use it on smooth surface ranges as well. The amount of time it will need to heat up will vary depending on the type of stove you have, but any one will work. Gas burners heat it up fastest, and glass top electric ranges will take the longest amount of time. Once up to the desired temp, any stove should keep it hot to the same degree, so the only real variable for usage will be how long before you can start. Any easy way to tell that the grill plate is hot enough to begin cooking is to flick a couple of drop of water onto it. If they just sit there, you need to wait a bit longer. If they dance around and then disappear, you should be good to go. Getting a hot surface is one of the most important steps, and if you do not let it fully heat, you may have trouble getting the end result that you expect.

Prior to placing it on the stove, you will want to add some sort of liquid to the outer ring. For most basic usage, water is ideal. It will add the steam and moisture you want, but will not affect flavor. You can also add marinade, wine, beer and other flavorful liquids in order to add steam and taste all at the same time. Moisture in the ring is essential for use, and not something you should overlook. Is serves an important function for the actual cooking, but also makes cleaning afterward a bit easier too. As you cook, any fat or other particles that natural drip away from meat as it cooks, will fall conveniently into this ring for collection. When fat drips on metal, it sticks and can be difficult to clean, but when it drips into water, it can be disposed of easily. It is a bit hard to visualize in ones head without additional illustration, but when you use this grill, your meat will be over direct heat, yet all of the drippings will not fall onto the burner to cause a disaster. Instead they drip down naturally, and everything is collected within the grill pan itself.

Once you have a fully prepared grill pan, that has been allowed to heat up all the way, it is time to add your meat. For steak, we would recommend a medium to medium high heat setting, and you can cook as many as four average size pieces on a single pan. For best results, you will want to make sure your beef is at room temperature, and not fresh from the fridge, as colder meat will throw off cooking times, and could result in less than perfect results. So let it sit out on the counter for a bit prior to getting the grill ready, and you should be in good shape. For optimal flavor, most people will want to season the meat before it is cooked. A simple combination that allows the true flavor of the meat to remain evident is salt, pepper and garlic. You could also shake on some premixed spices, or slather in your favorite marinade. After it has been seasoned to you liking, place the cut on the grill.

As discussed previously, there are many methods that will result in delicious tasting steak, and you can experiment to discover what works best for you. The following method of cooking has been tested, and proven to work incredibly well, and slightly better than others as far as our taste buds go. Once the steak is on the pan, do not move it around. Place it deliberately, and let it sit for just over half the recommended cooking time for your desired level of doneness. If you have a large lid for a pot, it will make the perfect cover. We would recommend covering the grill pan while the meat cooks, but it is not at all required. When covered, the steam will remain trapped inside. This means that any flavor added to the ring will infuse more thoroughly, and your meat will remain moist even if cooked beyond medium rare. Because the steam is hot, it will also cause the food to cook more evenly as it heats all sides at once. Once the time is to just beyond the halfway mark, remove the lid and then flip your food. Some people like to give it a quarter turn as they flip for nicer looking grill marks, and to compensate for uneven heat distribution if it exists. Once flipped, hands off again, and replace the lid for the remainder of the time. You can use tongs to do your flipping, or you could employ a tool that is a little more advanced like the pigtail food flipper. After the time is up, remove the steak from the grill and enjoy.

By cooking at a medium high temp, the exterior of the meat will sear to lock in the natural juices, and the interior will remain moist and tender. Prior to cutting into your finished product, and enjoying you meal, it is commonly recommended to let it sit on the plate for about 10 minutes. This settling time will cause the steak to retain more juice, and also cut and chew more easily.

HOW TO TELL IF IT IS REALLY DONE

You may typically check your meat by cutting it open to take a look at the middle, but this is a pretty bad idea, and will never result in the perfect steak. When you slice it open, heat will get in there to dry it out, and much of the flavorful juice will pour out to mess up all of your hard work. If you are unsure if it is cooked enough, or do not trust the timing, there is an easier way to tell if it is heated to your liking. Simply push down on the top of the meat to tell, pretty accurately, if it is finished cooking or not. When it is still squishy, it is more rare, but if it is on the stiffer side, it is more well done. After a couple times using this technique, you will know how your ideal temperature feels, so you will never have to cut and look again.

COOKING TIMES FOR STEAK

Filet
rare: 5.5 min.
med-rare: 7.5 min.
medium: 9.5 min.
well done: 11+ min.
Rib Eye
rare: 7.5 min.
med-rare: 9.5 min.
medium: 11.5 min.
well done: 13+ min.
Sirloin
rare: 7.5 min.
med-rare: 9.5 min.
medium: 12.5 min.
well done: 14+ min.
Strip Steak
rare: 75.5 min.
med-rare: 7.5 min.
medium: 9.5 min.
well done: 11+ min.
T-Bone
rare: 8.5 min.
med-rare: 10.5 min.
medium: 13.5 min.
well done: 15+ min.

Stop wasting money on restaurant meals, or waiting for summer to come so you can grill outside. With this easy to use indoor grill, you can enjoy perfectly cooked steaks at any time of the year, and you can save money by cooking and serving it yourself. Thanks to the advanced design, and versatility that allows it to be used on any type of stove, this grill offers one of the best ways to cook a steak on the stove. It is no more complex than taking out a frying pan, but it will make it way easier to get the results you want. What’s even better is that it is not just a steak cooker, so get it to enjoy a fresh cut direct from the butcher, but then keep it handy to discover the other wonderful dishes it will allow you to cook on your stove. Make shish kabobs and serve over rice, grill hot dogs and hamburgers, or even prepare grilled salmon with ease. Thanks to the flavor ring and easy operation, any number of delicious meals can be easily prepared, and they will taste better than what comes out of a pan, and nearly identical to what you are able to achieve with the grill in your backyard.