100 Tips to Cook Perfect Steak

Summary

This video, hosted by Max the Meat Guy, offers 100 practical tips for achieving steak perfection. Max begins by classifying steaks into three categories: fancy cuts, daily eats, and the 'don't buy' section. He emphasizes on choosing the right cut, understanding marbling, and the importance of dry brining. Reverse searing, choosing the right oil, and the correct way to slice against the grain are key cooking tips provided. Throughout, Max highlights ways to save money, improve flavor, and enhance presentation, while encouraging viewers to enjoy the cooking process.

Highlights

• Max categorizes steaks into fancy, daily eats, and don't-buys, making it easier to choose based on budget and occasion. 🚀
• He shares money-saving tips such as buying whole cuts and vacuum sealing for longer shelf life. 💰
• Different cooking methods like reverse searing and using a dry brine are explained to maximize flavor and texture. 🧂
• Max emphasizes using a high smoke point oil for cooking to avoid burnt tastes and bad odors. 🛑
• He introduces a fun tip on how to plate steaks with aesthetics in mind for a better dining experience. 🍴
• Understanding and identifying marbling in steaks can significantly enhance flavor and texture. 🥩
• Tips on slicing against the grain are provided, especially for daily eats, to improve tenderness. 🔪
• Max debunks myths like bones adding flavor, focusing instead on scientific methods for cooking. 🧪
• Reverse searing is highlighted as an optimal method for cooking thick steaks evenly. 🌡️
• He covers how to reheat leftover steaks, suggesting creative alternatives to maintain flavor. 🔄

Key Takeaways

• Have fun with cooking; it's not just about technique but also enjoyment! 🎉
• Understand the difference between steak cuts and how each impacts flavor and tenderness. 🥩
• Dry brining at the right times can make a significant difference in moisture and flavor. 🎯
• Reverse searing is a great technique for achieving the desired internal cook and crust. 🔥
• Presentation is key; a little effort in plating elevates the dining experience. 🍽️
• Proper seasoning can make or break a steak—you can’t go wrong with salt and maybe a bit of black pepper. 🧂
• Always choose high smoke point oils like avocado oil for searing at high temperatures. 🌟
• Freezing steaks and reheating are done best under specific conditions to maintain quality. ❄️
• Purchasing whole cuts and butchering them yourself can save money and enhance quality. 💰
• Even cheaper cuts can taste amazing if cooked and sliced properly. 📈

Overview

Max the Meat Guy dives into the world of steak with energy and expertise, categorizing them into fancy, daily eats, and 'don't buy' cuts based on quality, flavor, and price. He offers savvy shopping pointers, like buying whole and vacuum sealing, to save bucks and keep steaks fresh for longer durations. 🍖

The video is peppered with insightful cooking techniques—reverse searing stands out as a nuanced method for achieving the best crust and internal doneness. He demystifies various myths, prioritizing marbling over bones for flavor. Max's enthusiasm for proper plating, seasoning, and oil selection enhances the viewer's confidence and culinary skillset. 🔪

Rounding off the educational journey, Max's advice on slicing against the grain for less tender cuts—making them more delectable—shows his dedication to optimizing every steak experience. His creative reimagining of leftovers ensures even reheated steaks don't lose their gustatory appeal. He inspires viewers to relish both the process and product of their culinary efforts! 🍽️

Chapters

• 00:00 - 03:00: Introduction & Fancy Steak Cuts The chapter begins by emphasizing the importance of enjoying the cooking process, starting with a fun mindset. The author introduces their top 100 tips for cooking steak, highlighting that the first and perhaps most crucial tip is to have fun. The chapter focuses on categorizing steak cuts, beginning with 'fancy cuts.' These include ribeye, New York strip, and fillet. These cuts are ideal for impressing guests or when found at a good price, as they tend to turn out well regardless of cooking method.
• 03:00 - 12:00: Fancy Cuts Details The chapter "Fancy Cuts Details" discusses different categories of steak cuts. It categorizes them into 'Daily Eats,' which are affordable cuts that can be delicious if cooked properly, and a 'Don't Buy' section for cuts that are not recommended. Among the 'Fancy Cuts' are rib eyes, strips, and tenderloins, which are the most expensive steaks. To save money, buying these cuts whole is suggested.
• 31:00 - 45:00: Underrated Steaks and Daily Eats The chapter titled 'Underrated Steaks and Daily Eats' explores the benefits of purchasing meat in bulk, specifically using the example of a whole strip loin, which is the source of New York strip steaks. The author discusses how buying in bulk can save money, up to 20%, and allows the flexibility to slice steaks to desired thickness. The transcript highlights differences in the consistency of the strip loin, noting that one side is visually appealing and consistent, while the other has chewy fibers, emphasizing the quality contrast within the same cut of meat.
• 67:00 - 73:00: Don't Buy Section and Recommendations The chapter advises on making smart purchasing decisions when selecting New York strip steaks. It emphasizes the importance of being selective to ensure better quality, as two steaks at the same price can have different textures and juiciness. Furthermore, the chapter suggests considering alternative cuts like the strip loin for hosting, which can be treated similarly to a prime rib. A strip loin is mentioned to be more cost-effective at $200 compared to a whole rib roast at $300, yet offers a resemblance in quality and presentation to a traditional prime rib.

100 Tips to Cook Perfect Steak Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 Today, I'm going to share my top 100 tips to help you cook the perfect steak. Tip number one might sound silly, but I swear by it. Don't forget to have fun. So, let's get started. As we cook our way through every cut on the cow, I'll start by separating these into three categories. The first is what I call the fancy cuts. This is primarily your ribe eyes, New York strips, and fillets. These are cuts to buy if you want to impress someone or if you can find them for a good deal because no matter how you cook them, they're going to turn out good. Next up, we have what I like to
• 00:30 - 01:00 call our daily eats. These are generally more affordable, but if you know how to cook them, honestly, in my opinion, they taste as good, if not better, than the fancy cuts. And finally, we have the don't buy section. These are cuts that no matter how you cook them, they're not going to come out amazing. And for that reason, I don't recommend. Within the fancy steak section, we have the ribe eyes, strips, and tenderloins. These are the most expensive steaks on the cow. And a great way to save money is to buy them whole like this. From here, you can
• 01:00 - 01:30 easily slice them into steaks as thick or thin as you want. And by buying in bulk, I found you can save upwards of 20%. This is a whole strip loin. It's where we get our New York strip steaks. But as you'll see, there's two very distinct sides. There's this side here that looks great. It's nice and consistent. Completely different if you compare it to this side here. This one is way less consistent with tons of chewy fibers running throughout. And side by side, you can really see just how stark the difference is. I promise
• 01:30 - 02:00 this steak will be incredibly chewy. Keep in mind, these are the exact same price. So, when you're choosing your New York strips, make sure you're selective and try to find ones that look just like this. Another tip related to the strip loin is if you're hosting people, consider treating it like a prime rib. This strip loin here costs 200 bucks, whereas this whole rib roast cost 300 bucks. And as you can see, once it's cooked, even though we don't have that cap, it does look very similar to a traditional prime rib. And based on my
• 02:00 - 02:30 experience, your guests will be just as satisfied. I mean, that is as good as any prime rib I've ever had. Another steak that falls into our fancy steaks category is the porter house or t-bone. This is really two steaks in one and includes the strip loin as well as the tenderloin or filetmenan. The key is choosing a porter house like this that has a decently sized tenderloin, but that still has a nice and consistent strip. What happens sometimes is you'll find porter houses with massive tenderloins. The downside is that the
• 02:30 - 03:00 strip loin has that crazy chewy vein. So, it's all about finding the perfect balance. So, what's the difference between a porter house and a t-bone? To be classified as a porter house, the tenderloin must be at least 1.25 in from the bone at the thickest part. Compare that to this steak right here, which has barely any tenderloin. Since it's under 1.25 in, this is classified as a T-bone. So, in general, I tend to prefer porter houses over T-bones. Though, choosing the right one can be a little complicated. Now, if you buy a whole tenderloin, you should be aware of all
• 03:00 - 03:30 the components. We have the tail, the center cut chateau briand, and the head. I like to remove the tail right around here. This part here is great to slice up for a super premium stir fry. This whole center cut area is great for something like a beef Wellington or to slice some amazing filetmenan steaks. Then finally, we have the head which we can trim up for a premium roast or also slice it up for a stir fry. It's not as uniform as a nice filetman, but it's still really high quality meat. And the last of our fancy cuts is going to be
• 03:30 - 04:00 the ribeye. And just like the strip, there are two very different sides. First, we have what's called the chuck end or the front of the animal. You can see how it has phenomenal marbling, but most importantly, it has a big ribeye cap. This is the most prized cut on the entire animal, and it's why stakes from this side are so incredible. Now, let's compare that to this side here. As you can see, slightly worse marbling, but again, the most important thing here, the cap on this side is tiny. These are
• 04:00 - 04:30 two steaks cut from different sides of the exact same loin, but as you can see, the difference in quality is astounding. The marbling is also a lot better. something we'll talk about later on. So, when you're at the store looking for ribe eyes, always choose the steak that looks like this. So, because the chuck side with that nice big cap is so high quality, I like to reserve these for beautiful steaks. When we cut down to a place where that ribeye cap starts to get really small, have no fear because we still have a great use for it. This is the section I prefer using as a prime
• 04:30 - 05:00 rib. Even though the cap isn't huge, because it's cooked as one whole piece, it still comes out super great. And when it comes to prime rib, I do have one quick tip. It's subtle, but in my opinion, extremely important. There's this layer of fat over the top of a rib roast that if you don't remove, often peels back by the end of it, completely ruining the crust and making it look honestly horrible. To remove it, all you have to do is peel just that very first layer of that fat and silver skin. This stuff here is super thick silver skin
• 05:00 - 05:30 that nobody wants to eat. The end result, if you don't remove it, will often lead to these kind of bald spots where there's no crust development, no seasoning, and it just doesn't look great. If you cut your own steaks, you'll often find yourself with a bunch of trimmings. And there's two great uses for them. If it's primarily all fat, a great use is rendering it down into some amazing beef tallow. But if there's good pieces of meat mixed in, easily, my favorite thing is to grind them up into burgers. Not only can you customize the fat content to your liking, but you'll
• 05:30 - 06:00 also find that with burgers you grind yourself, the crust and flavor is just far superior. Now, before we move past ribe eyes, let's talk about the different types. These are the four you'll commonly see in the store. You have your boneless ribeye, your bone in ribeye, where they kind of shear through the bones. You have your cowboy ribeye, which is going to be super thick because they don't cut through bone and literally give you a whole one. And then finally, you have the beast, which is your tomahawk ribeye. This one's also
• 06:00 - 06:30 going to be quite thick as they give you a whole bone, only it extends far beyond. Keep in mind for a steak like this, you are paying for the bone, which you obviously can't eat. So, while it's not necessarily the best deal, I mean, this steak right here is just so fun to cook. I also have to point out that for all of these bone and ribe eyes and all bone steaks in general, the bone itself does not actually impart any additional flavor. That is a myth that has been busted. We got so many steaks here. There is no possible way I can eat these all before they go bad. But fortunately,
• 06:30 - 07:00 I have a solution. I highly recommend everybody invests in a vacuum sealer. They cost about 50 bucks, but it'll quickly pay itself off. You just throw your steak in the bag, seal it up. From here, you can just freeze it, and this steak will literally stay good for years with zero freezer burn. On the topic of freezing, don't be afraid to do it. Steaks stay good in the freezer for months and even years. The only key is to only freeze them once. Once defrosted, I'd recommend trying to eat it. So, what exactly is the best way to
• 07:00 - 07:30 defrost the steak? One thing I can tell you is that these defrosting boards are a complete scam. Best case scenario is to throw this in the fridge overnight. However, if you are in a pinch, throwing your steak in a bowl of water just like so is totally fine as well, and it'll be a lot quicker. As you can see, this steak is filled with specks of fat. And it's time we talk about how fat equals flavor. It's this internal fat that's known as marbling. And generally, the more there is, the better the flavor.
• 07:30 - 08:00 Let's compare how different this steak is to this tenderloin right here. As you can see, this tenderloin has almost no marbling, it is way more lean. So, while this steak is extremely tender, it is going to have a lot less flavor than this ribeye right here. All that said, more marbling, more flavor. So, while some cuts like a ribeye are just naturally more marbled than a tenderloin, within the same cut, you'll also find some variance, and that's where grades come in. In the US, we have three grades: Select, Choice, and Prime.
• 08:00 - 08:30 Select steaks have virtually zero marbling. I'd stay far away cuz they're going to be tough, dry, and very chewy. Choice grade is going to have more average marbling, and they're perfect for a weekn night steak. And finally, we have Prime, which can have some truly crazy marbling. These are going to be more expensive, but worth it every once in a while. Now, this right here is the ultimate tip. The grading system in the US is sometimes flawed, and you can often take advantage. What you want to look for are steaks that are punching
• 08:30 - 09:00 above their weight class. This is a steak that was graded as choice or average. But, as you can see, the marbling is insane, and this could easily pass for prime. And the beauty of the whole thing is that this steak was priced at choice, meaning we got an incredible deal. This whole concept also works in the other direction. So, I actually lied to you guys and told you that this was a select steak when the reality is this was priced at choice, meaning this steak here and this steak here were the exact same price. Say what? As you can see, the difference in
• 09:00 - 09:30 marbling is astounding. Not to mention, this one has a way better cap. All it took was knowing a bit of information, being selective. ultimately allowing us to choose the way better state. And this is where we get to another extremely important point. In fact, if you only remember one thing from this video, this right here is it. When you go to a supermarket, you should never be thinking, "I specifically need a specific cut." Instead, you should go to the meat counter, take your time, look at everything available, and only choose
• 09:30 - 10:00 the best cut available that particular day. For example, these are two cuts I bought at Whole Foods on the exact same day. We have this New York strip steak which cost a staggering $23 a pound. Right next to it on the counter, we had this bevet steak which was only $11.99 a pound. The difference in quality between these two steaks is just mind-blowing. This strip has almost zero marbling and it's from the wrong side of the strip loin. So, it has that crazy chewy vein running throughout. Whereas this bevet
• 10:00 - 10:30 steak has some of the craziest marbling I've ever seen on a cut like this. And the best part is it was half the price. Another thing to mention is that you don't necessarily need to go to a really crazy premium expensive store to find great meat. In fact, I often get my stuff from BJ's or Costco. As long as you understand the concept of using your eyes and choosing the best steak that day, you'll typically find great stuff at many different stores. You also may have noticed that this steak has a gray appearance. That is due to oxidation.
• 10:30 - 11:00 And I want you guys to be aware that oxidation/ the gray appearance does not equal rotten. And butchers will often put steaks like these on sale, which can lead to some good finds. When searing in a pan, I almost exclusively like to only season with salt. If anything else, maybe just a little bit of black pepper. Other things with super fine granules, like garlic powder or a barbecue rub, specifically one with sugar, is definitely going to burn. If we season with those sorts of things, we'll often be left with a burned exterior like this, while the inside is still
• 11:00 - 11:30 completely raw. This combination is not what you're looking for when it comes to steak. When it comes to seasoning, should you add a binder? Personally, I would say it's not necessary, but if you are going to, I like to use a high smoke point oil like avocado oil. Specifically, if you're pan searing, make sure to avoid using any sort of sauce as a binder. You would never want to add something like barbecue sauce that has additional sugars. Now, I like kosher salt specifically for a few reasons. What you'll find with kosher salt is the granules are quite big, a
• 11:30 - 12:00 lot bigger than something like table salt. What that means is that it's actually less salty, which has to do with the surface area. The other key thing with kosher salt is the granules are very consistent in size, unlike something like flaky salt. They're also very easy to see when seasoning something like a steak. So, for reference, see what happens when I season with table salt. As you can see, it quickly absorbs, and it's very difficult to see how much I'm adding. Now, let's compare that to kosher salt. You can really see each granle hitting the steak, allowing for very even and
• 12:00 - 12:30 consistent dispersement of salt. Now, let's talk about how much to season. For a steak with an average thickness, something like this here visually is perfect. However, I will say it is very difficult to overs salt a steak, especially if it's a thick one. So, on thicker cuts, you can really go quite heavy. And I will say in general, people tend to undersseason. So, I'd experiment with adding more salt than you're used to. Because something to keep in mind, when your steak hits the pan, a lot of that salt is actually going to fall off.
• 12:30 - 13:00 We talked about how much to season. Now, let's talk about when to season. And this is where a very important rule comes into play, which is that moisture is the enemy of a great crust. If you think about a steak that has water on it, all of that water needs to evaporate once it hits the pan before any sort of crust can be formed. For that reason, you always want to be patting your steaks dry. Now, we can expand on this concept when it comes to adding salt. Our steak is currently dry. And if I add salt just like so, immediately after and
• 13:00 - 13:30 for roughly the next five minutes, the steak will remain bone dry. Now, let's compare this dry steak I seasoned like 30 seconds ago to a steak that I seasoned roughly 30 minutes ago. As you can see, that salt has pulled out tons of moisture and the surface of the steak is now super wet. If we were to put this steak into a pan right now, achieving a great crust would be almost impossible. But have no fear because something magical happens after we wait a few hours. This is a steak that I seasoned roughly 4 hours ago. And as you can see,
• 13:30 - 14:00 the surface is bone dry. Not only will this achieve a great crust, but all of that salt has penetrated, leading to way better flavor in every bite. This steak right here has been dry brined. So, here are the main rules. Either season your steak right before or up to 5 minutes before cooking, just like this steak here, which will ensure we still have a dry exterior. Avoid seasoning your steaks roughly 5 to 60 minutes before cooking because at that point you'll have tons of exterior moisture just like
• 14:00 - 14:30 this one here. And in a best case scenario, season your steak one to roughly 5 or 6 hours prior to cooking. You'll have a perfectly dry brine steak with a nice dry exterior and way better flavor. So, next up, how to properly dry brine. If I have the time and I know I'm dry brining, I'm actually not going to use any binder. So, we won't be needing this. I had also mentioned how it's virtually impossible to overseason. That is not the case when it comes to dry brining. It is definitely possible to add too much salt given that all of it
• 14:30 - 15:00 will be absorbed. So, on a roughly 1 and 1/4 in steak, something around this should be perfect. I'll just pat it in. Flip. Hit the other side the exact same way. And I'll just get the sides seasoned up a little bit with the extra on the board. Now, this next part's important. Try to avoid putting it directly on a plate like this. Again, the whole point is to get that exterior completely dry on all sides. If it's sitting on a plate like this, the top will dry out nicely, but unfortunately, the bottom will have zero air flow and
• 15:00 - 15:30 will remain super wet. So, the key is throwing it on something like this rack right here, allowing all sides, the top and the bottom to fully dry out. Next, you'll just throw this in the fridge for a few hours. And this is the result. As you can see, both sides are completely bone dry, which is perfect. Now, the amount of time you let this dry brine is sort of up to you. I recommend anywhere from like 1 to roughly 6 hours. You can go overnight, and I actually used to recommend it. However, nowadays, I try
• 15:30 - 16:00 to avoid that. I find that if you dry brine too excessively, it will lead to a bit of a gray band. And also keep in mind once it's been dry brineed, definitely don't salt it again. However, from here, you can add something like black pepper if you want and get right to searing. Now, let's talk about the difference between dry brine and dry age. Some OG's might remember this one. This is our pumpkin spice dry age from 4 years ago. Remember we were talking about vacuum sealing and how it preserves freshness. This still looks incredible. Zero freezer burn. This is a
• 16:00 - 16:30 dryage steak. Dry-aged steaks start as whole roasts that are placed into dryagers, which are essentially fridges with a very specific temperature and humidity control. The result is a steak that is a lot more tender. The beefy flavors also concentrated. And if it's been dry-aged long enough, it can also develop nutty and almost funky kind of like blue cheese flavors. It almost smells like apple pie. Still smells so fresh. Now, dry-aged steaks are extremely expensive at the store. So, my rule of thumb is to only buy one that's
• 16:30 - 17:00 been dry-aged at least 25, but ideally at least 30 days. 30 days plus is when you can really start to taste and appreciate those dry-aged flavors. But a lot of places will only dry age like 10 or 14 days, which in my opinion just isn't worth it for the price. That's why the next tip is to always ask the butcher how long it's been dry-aged. And if they don't have an answer, it's probably worth staying away. for the dry-aged ribe eyes there. How long are they dry-aged for? I'm the manager. They don't tell if they dry age. Another thing you might encounter with dry-aged
• 17:00 - 17:30 steaks is this exterior called the pelle. If you see it and it looks super dry and desiccated like this, it's very important to always remove. Now, the plop thickens because a lot of steaks you'll find at the supermarket will be listed as being aged. But be aware that that does not mean it's been dry-aged. As you can see, this steak is listed as aged. If it doesn't specifically say dry-aged, then you can be sure it has not been dry-aged. There's a difference between something called wet aging and dryaging. You don't need to get too far
• 17:30 - 18:00 into the specifics, but just know that essentially every steak you buy at the supermarket has been wet-aged. Only a very specific amount have been dryaged. So, the point here is if it doesn't specifically say dry-aged, then it is not worth paying a premium just because they put the word aged on it. Another super import point and point and point and point and point and point. Another super important point to mention is that butcher's twine is your best friend and everybody should invest in some. And
• 18:00 - 18:30 this right here is a perfect reason why this is a super common and very sad sight when it comes to ribe eyes. And because it's all kind of pulled apart during the cooking process, that rib cap will be super overcooked. This will be undercooked and it's just a complete mess. No need to go super tight at all. just enough so it holds its shape and cooks evenly. Okay, I promise it is finally actually time to cook. But there is one extremely important point you guys have to understand. When you're cooking a steak, there are two primary variables we have to contend with. The
• 18:30 - 19:00 first is our desire to create a nice thick and flavorful crust. Whereas the second is our desire for a nice edgetoedge even doneness on the inside. And these are sort of at odds with each other because in order to achieve a thick crust we need super high heat. But on the other hand, in order to achieve a nice edgetoedge medium rare internal, we need lower, more even heat. So what this inevitably means is that if you cook over super high heat, you'll often guarantee a great crust. The drawback is
• 19:00 - 19:30 you'll sometimes have a less even cook on the inside. You can see here how there's a significant gray band, which is not what you want. On the other hand, in this case, we're using way less heat. The major drawback here is that there's essentially zero crust. But as you can see, the inside looks great with that perfect edgetoedge medium rare. But have no fear because there are ways we can achieve the best of both worlds. In order to ensure a great crust as well as that nice edgetoedge medium rare, it's important to recognize whether you're cooking a thick steak or a thin steak.
• 19:30 - 20:00 We'll start by talking about a thick one. To optimally cook a thick steak, it's going to require a two-step cooking process. The first is using low heat to achieve that nice edgetoedge medium rare, which is only then followed by more intense heat for the crust. This is a technique called reverse searing. Reverse searing simply means starting your steak in a low temperature cooking environment. In this case, I'm using an oven set to 250 Fahrenheit, but you can easily use a smoker or the cool side of a grill. Even sousid would fall under
• 20:00 - 20:30 this category. Just like that, it's been an hour in that low temperature cooking environment. I pulled at 125 Fahrenheit and we should have a perfect edgetoedge medium rare given that we used low heat. But as you can see, there's absolutely no crust. But have no fear, this is something we can easily fix. Even though the reverse searing process dried it out, I still like to pat it as dry as possible cuz don't forget the rule, moisture is the enemy of a good crust. It's time to move on to the second step in this cooking process where we use intense heat. In this case, I'm searing
• 20:30 - 21:00 on a super hot pan. You can easily sear over a really hot gas grill, over charcoal, or you can even use a flamethrower. The result is we're left with a beautiful crust on the outside. And slicing into it, even though it was a super thick steak, we have that really nice gradient, that perfect edgetoedge, medium rare. In my opinion, this right here is perfection in steak form. You already know I got to go for a bite. Wow, I love steak. So guys, I know this video may be a little more boring than some of my other ones, but let me know
• 21:00 - 21:30 down in the comments what you think of it and if you enjoy this type of video. Another quick point when it comes to reverse searing and grilling bone in steaks is to always face the bone towards the heat source. So in this case, I know the back of my oven gets hotter than the front. So if I were to cook this tomahawk, I'd want to make sure the bone is facing the back to protect the meat. If, for example, I was reverse searing this tomahawk on the grill, I'd make sure that bone was facing the fire or the charcoal. As mentioned, this is going to protect the meat and allow for a more even dness.
• 21:30 - 22:00 And when it comes to searing over super high heat, it's critical to choose the right cooking oil. It all comes down to smoke point. And believe it or not, butter is a terrible choice when it comes to searing a steak. The higher the smoke point, the hotter we're able to sear without it burning and making everything sy and your house smelling terrible. Things like butter and olive oil have a relatively low smoke point, while something like avocado oil, the gold standard, has a super high smoke point. So, when it comes to high heat searing, truly avocado is the best and
• 22:00 - 22:30 is by far the one I recommend the most. Since we want extremely high heat, it's critical that we let our pan heat up. A cast iron is the gold standard when it comes to searing pans primarily because it has that thick bottom that's great at holding heat. But other good options are carbon steel, a hybrid pan, which would be something like a hexclad. Stainless steel is also great. But the one you definitely want to stay away from is the cheap nonsticks. They really don't work great when it comes to searing using
• 22:30 - 23:00 high heat. Now, when it comes to cooking a thinner steak, we need to have a completely different thought process. Because a thinner steak will cook significantly faster, what we need to prioritize is the crust rather than that edgetoedge medium rare doneness. Inherently, you're still going to get a pretty decent dness on the inside. But because it's so thick and because it's cooking so quickly, if we don't prioritize extreme heat, we'll be left with zero crust. And with these thinner steaks, because we're searing at such a high temperature, the oil that we choose to sear with is very important. And
• 23:00 - 23:30 again, we're searing with avocado oil due to the super high smoke point. However, an additional tip, a big container like this can be kind of unwieldy and annoying to pour. That's why I highly recommend getting something like this or a squeezy bottle that makes accurately pouring a lot easier. And you want to go kind of heavy with it, enough to coat the whole bottom of the pan. With our cast iron starting to smoke, we know that it's been properly preheated. We'll add in the steak. That is the sizzle we're looking for. And in my opinion, it's critical here to add pressure. Best case is investing in some
• 23:30 - 24:00 steak weights just like these. Applying that pressure is going to lead to a significantly more consistent crust. Another thing you can do here is slide your steak around the pan, ensuring that the steak is touching new hot parts of the pan, further helping with the crust. Once we start to develop a nice crust, don't be afraid to flip frequently. The more you flip, the more even that internal temp will be. Another important thing, prepare for smoke. You know you're doing it right when the fire alarm goes off. You'll notice how I'm only cooking
• 24:00 - 24:30 one steak on this pan. You really want to avoid overcrowding it with too many steaks on there. It'll lead to steaming and just worse crusts overall. And as you can see, even though this steak was super thin, because we prioritized super high heat, we're left with a great crust. Now that our steak is cooked, it's important to rest the meat. In the case of a really thin steak, you only have to rest it probably five minutes. If it's thicker, it can be anywhere from 5 to 10. Resting allows those hot juices to redistribute and kind of relax
• 24:30 - 25:00 through the steak. In a best case scenario, you're actually going to want to rest your steak on a rack. In doing so, you'll have air flow on both sides, preserving that bottom crust. Because we used super high heat, we got that great crust. And given that it was a thin steak, we also got a pretty nice edgetoedge medium rare with a limited gray band. So again, the key here on a thin steak, prioritize that really high heat. You'll be left with a beautiful looking steak like this. We've talked about searing very thick steaks. We've also talked about searing extremely thin steaks. Now, let's talk about something
• 25:00 - 25:30 a little more average, roughly an inch to an inch and a half, where there are a few subtle nuances. We're still going to want to use high heat, but because this steak is thicker than the last one, we're not going to want it to be too intense. Again, the thicker the steak, the more gently we want to cook it. Once our crust is formed, this is a great opportunity on a steak of this thickness to butterbase. The key is to only add the butter once we've nearly completed the crust. And also, make sure you add enough of it. Also, throwing in herbs like rosemary and thyme, as well as garlic, is a great way to add additional
• 25:30 - 26:00 flavor. You want that hot butter to strengthen the crust as well as more evenly cook that steak from all sides. Just be aware that butter basing will lead to significantly more carryover cooking when the steak comes off. How do we know that our steak is done? Now, a lot of people swear by the thumb/poking test, but in my opinion, that is a complete scam. The reality is a thick steak like this is going to feel completely different than a thin steak or a steak that was cooked at a different temperature. Depending on the cut, the thickness, and how hot you're
• 26:00 - 26:30 cooking, it'll lead to a completely different feeling when you poke on the steak. To ensure you don't ruin your expensive steak, and make sure you have the perfect dness, in my opinion, it's critical to invest in an instant read thermometer. Pull at 110 Fahrenheit for rare, 120 Fahrenheit for medium rare, and roughly 130 for medium and beyond. You'll also find that the temperatures I just gave you are very different than what the USDA recommends. I think for medium rare, they're at like 145° F. That is way overcooked. Just trust me.
• 26:30 - 27:00 Go with my temps on this one. Keep in mind that even after the steak is off the heat and it's done cooking, its internal temperature will continue to increase. It's typically going to go up by roughly 10°. If you cook using super high heat or you butterbase, it could be even more than that 10° carryover. While that beautiful steak rests, there's still a lot of great flavor in that pan. Sometimes what I like to do is throw in some mushrooms, maybe some onions, and just kind of cook them down in that flavored butter as a nice accompaniment for our steak. Another tip related to
• 27:00 - 27:30 internal temps is that each cut on the cow will be optimal at different levels of dness. The general rule is the more fatty a cut is, the higher the internal temp should be. Whereas the more lean and tender a cut is, the more rare it should be. So, as an example, let's compare this rich and fatty ribeye compared to this lean and tender tenderloin. Due to all that marbling and richness, this ribeye is going to be perfectly cooked at a medium rare or even a medium dness. The slightly higher internal temp allows for more rendering
• 27:30 - 28:00 and a better mouth feel. A different situation when it comes to this tenderloin. This is the most tender cut on the entire cow. It is extremely lean with very little marbling. And for that reason, it is best served super rare just like this. Now, cutting against the grain is an extremely important concept we'll be talking about in a little bit. But when it comes to fancy cuts, it actually doesn't really matter how you slice them. You're paying a mega premium for built-in tenderness. So, the way you slice it doesn't really matter. Let's talk about plating. Compound butter is
• 28:00 - 28:30 super easy to make and we'll take your steaks over the top. This is a basic recipe. Feel free to customize as you wish. We'll start with some softened butter, chopped thyme, chopped rosemary, and chopped garlic. Yes, we use the fake stuff today cuz we're being lazy. Mix and roll it up and you'll be left with a beautiful log of compound butter. There are many great uses for this stuff, but what I like to do sometimes is place it down and then actually rest a hot steak over it as it melts into all those flavors. By putting it below the steak instead of on top, we're also protecting
• 28:30 - 29:00 that top crust from kind of melting away. Sometimes a good steak needs a good sauce. These are two of my favorites and the recipes are foolproof. The first is a great chimmy chur. All of the ingredients are listed on the screen. Really, all you got to do is combine them and you'll be left with the best fresh, tangy, and herbaceious sauce. Next, we have my classic horseradish cream sauce. Honestly, I don't know which one's my favorite. They're both so different, but also both so easy to make, and they're always a crowd-pleaser. Now, let's talk about
• 29:00 - 29:30 presentation. There is a big difference between this and this. These are the exact same steaks, but the second one is just so much more elevated. And I promise, especially if you're cooking for someone, presentation is key to making a great experience. For one, it's time to ditch the paper and plastic plates. They just don't look good at all. Investing in some cool plates or cutting boards is a great presentation option. Other things to think about are taking slices at an angle and making sure each slice is consistent,
• 29:30 - 30:00 incorporating some sauces, perhaps a highlight item like one of these garlic bombs, as well as some premium flaky salt for dipping. So, especially if you're like cooking for a date or something, these little details can make all the difference. Speaking of that garlic bomb, it is something everybody needs to know how to make. All you got to do is chop the top, wrap in tin foil like so, so that top is exposed. A whole bunch of olive oil, followed by some flaky salt, and a little bit of fresh time. From here, just roast at 350 for about an hour. And once it starts
• 30:00 - 30:30 popping out like this, you know it's done. You can give one of these to each guest for some over-the-top presentation. But truly throwing this roasted garlic over a steak, there is nothing better. With a steak video like this, I got to at least mention Wagu. These are going to be the most rich and well-marbled steaks that money can buy. In general, I'd say Wagu steaks are not worth buying regularly, but I do think everybody should experience a Wagu A5 steak at least once. If you are going to try it, I'd recommend serving it with a variety of other steaks that may have
• 30:30 - 31:00 less marbling so you can really taste the difference. But I'd say we've talked enough about super crazy, expensive, and fancy steaks. Now, it's time to talk about what I am by far most excited about. Oh, these are going to be the most underrated steaks money can buy, are daily eats. These are steaks that are generally going to be more affordable than the fancy cuts. But what I really want to emphasize is that if cooked and sliced properly, nearly all of these will be as good, if not better,
• 31:00 - 31:30 than the ribeye, strip, and fillet that we talked about earlier. These are all cuts that receive a huge amount of blood flow on the cow, which means they're going to be extremely beefy. The drawback is that they're going to be a little bit less tender than some of the more fancy cuts. But have no fear because we're going to make up for that in the way we cook and slice them. And trust me, you will fall in love with these cuts just like I have. Now, I'm going to go through each one in order of my preference. First, we have the outside skirt steak. Second, the one and only pana. Third, we have the Denver,
• 31:30 - 32:00 which as you can see is this component of a chuck roast. Next, the good old hanger steak. We have the flat iron, which is actually the second most tender cut on the cow. We have the flap or bevette steak. The chuck eye, which just like the Denver, is also a component of a chuck roast. Next, we have the tri tip. Then, we have the flank steak. And second to last, we have the sirloin. And finally, we have the inside skirt steak, which yes, is very different than the outside skirt steak. Okay, let's start
• 32:00 - 32:30 off with those chuck roasts, which as I mentioned, have the Denver and chuck eye attached. Now, understanding this next tip is a little tricky, but once you do, it very well might change your life. Do you notice a difference between these two chuck roasts? It does take some practice, but I'm going to show you exactly what to look for. This chuck roast on the right, well, first of all, doesn't have as great marbling, but you'll also see that it has many different muscle groups with none of them being too distinct. They're kind of just all interlaced within each other. Compare that to this one here, which has
• 32:30 - 33:00 one dominant muscle to look for, which is this piece right here. It has very distinctive marbling. This is actually a Denver steak. Then, moving on to the left, you'll find this area here, which is actually the chuck eye. It's the extension of the ribeye and honestly tastes just as good. So, this is where things start to get interesting. Both of these chuck roasts were only $6.99 a pound. Insanely cheap. Except this one has some extremely valuable cuts within. To get a Denver steak around here, I'm usually paying like 15 to 18 bucks a
• 33:00 - 33:30 pound. A Chuckeye steak is almost impossible to find. That one can also be north of 15. So, while this one here is going to be primarily cheap stew or like brazing meat, because I was selective, this one here has some extremely valuable cuts at an insane price. To retrieve these high value steaks, we start by pulling here, just kind of separating like so. Just like that, we have ourselves a beautiful Chuck Eye steak. And then we'll remove the Denver just like so. So, for just $6.99, we're left with a Chuck Eye steak that's
• 33:30 - 34:00 basically a ribeye on steroids. a Denver steak that's highly unique and extremely flavorful. And finally, a little bit of chuck roast that we can grind into burgers or turn into stew meat. I'm telling you guys, for the price, this right here is highway robbery. For all the steaks we mentioned here, this next one is the most important tip. You must slice all of these steaks against the grain if you want them to be tender at all. And flank is the perfect steak to emphasize this point. The grain is the direction in which the muscle fibers are moving. So, in this case, the flank has
• 34:00 - 34:30 very distinctive muscle fibers. And as you can see, it's very clearly going this way, up and down. When it's cooked and time to slice, the key is cutting perpendicular or against that grain. In this case, it'd be this way. Also, guys, just a rule of thumb, the thinner you go on a slice, the more tender it'll be. Now, locating the grain on a cooked steak can be a little bit tricky. So, here's a quick tip. This right here is a hanger steak. As you can see, the grain is kind of going sideways, which means
• 34:30 - 35:00 slicing against the grain would involve going at an angle like this. For reference, the grain on a flat iron is running this way. The tri tip is running this way. On a skirt steak, it's running the short way like this. On a picana, it's running like this. The Denver is a little tricky, but it's generally running like so. It almost has the grain structure of like a short rib. to make it easier and give oursel a guide for once the steak is cooked, showing us how to slice it. What we can do is actually give it a quick nick showing where against the grain is before it's cooked.
• 35:00 - 35:30 So, what I can do is actually square it up well raw, perfectly flat like that, giving me a guide for how to slice when the steak is cooked. With our hanger cooked, you can see how we can easily locate that slice we took. It's that angle there that's going to allow us to perfectly slice against the grain. Also, guys, make sure you're using a sharp knife. Either invest in a nice one or just make sure you're sharpening yours. Especially with cuts like this, you don't want to be smooshing the meat. You want to be taking perfect slices. With every slice, I'm splitting all those muscle fibers by going directly against
• 35:30 - 36:00 the grain. We're significantly increasing tenderness. I'm telling you guys, I would take a perfectly cooked and sliced hanger over a ribeye any day of the week. I know that sounds crazy, but the flavor is just insane. Next, let's talk about marinades. Now, I would never recommend marinating a fancy cut like a ribeye strip or tenderloin, but a lot of these daily eats are perfect for it. A lot of these cuts, like the flank and skirt, have really thick muscle fibers, which are great for absorbing flavor. Now, in terms of constructing a marinade, let's talk about the six
• 36:00 - 36:30 components that I believe are critical. You have your dry ingredients or your spices, your fat or oil. That's going to help bring all those flavors together. We have fresh ingredients. You can think of things like garlic, onion, herbs, or fresh chilies. Next we have acid which is going to help balance the flavor and also help with tenderization. Next are salty and umami ingredients. So things like soy sauce, fish sauce, wooachir, and even just regular old salt. And then finally, we have something sweet like sugar or honey. We've combined a bunch
• 36:30 - 37:00 of ingredients. The key here is we did not add the steak yet. So I can give it a quick taste. Ooh, so much flavor going on. Needs a little bit more lemon. So, just kind of tinkering with it and adding ingredients as you go until it's perfect. And we'll get our flank steak in the marinade. Even just 20 minutes in this will make a big difference, but ideally you'd let it marinade for a few hours or overnight. Let's grill. Now, when it comes to grilling, in my opinion, charcoal always tastes better than gas. And when it comes to charcoal,
• 37:00 - 37:30 it's generally broken up into two types. We have briquettes and hardwood. Briquettes are going to burn quite consistently, but not super hot. Whereas hardwood's going to be a little less consistent, but burn a lot more hot and clean. For that reason, in general, I prefer lumber. Also, don't let your equipment hold you back. There's no need for a crazy fancy expensive grill. This $80 Weber is what I do 90% of my grilling on. When grilling, I like to have a hot side with a charcoal directly below it and also a cooler side that doesn't have charcoal under it. It's
• 37:30 - 38:00 going to allow for a lot more flexibility when we cook. Let's start by grilling a thin steak. Because it's thin, the same rule applies as before. We want to go direct heat as hot as possible. And it sounds counterintuitive, but shutting the lid actually brings down the temperature. Something to keep in mind as you're managing temps. In this case, I really want to maximize the crust. So, I'm primarily going to grill with it open. And once you've started to develop that nice crust, don't be afraid to flip frequently. The more you flip, the more evenly it'll cook. We've reached about
• 38:00 - 38:30 120 Fahrenheit. Let's take it off. That was a thin steak. Now, let's talk about a thick steak. In this case, we're going to reverse sear, but what I always like to do is add a nice chunk of applewood for some additional flavor. We're going to throw this tri tip on the cool side of the grill to slowly come up in temp. Remember, reverse sear is a two-step process where we start with lower heat, then only at the end finish with super high heat to sear. It's been 30 minutes and the tri tip is nearly cooked. And now we finish the reverse sear process
• 38:30 - 39:00 over high heat to sear. And that's the color we're looking for. Let's move on to more cut related tips. Starting with skirt. And this one is extremely important. Both of these cuts are considered skirt steaks. They'll often be sold for the exact same price, but as you can see, they look very different. Technically, this is an inside skirt, whereas this one here is an outside skirt steak. The inside skirt is going to be shorter and fatter, whereas the outside is going to be longer and a bit more skinny. So, even though they're sometimes called the same thing, there
• 39:00 - 39:30 is a massive difference in quality between the two. This one right here, the outside skirt steak, is literally 10 times better than the inside skirt steak. Way more tender, way more juicy. In fact, the outside skirt steak is debatably my favorite cut on the whole cow. It is insanely beefy, super tender. You can see there's tons of great marbling in there as well. To slice this one, you can first get it into more manageable pieces like this and then slice against the grain. I'm telling
• 39:30 - 40:00 you, there is nothing like this cut. It is just so beefy. I cannot get enough of this one. On the other hand, the inside skirt steak is comparatively way thinner, a lot more chewy, and just way less marbling. So, the key when shopping is to always search for the outside skirt steak. As I mentioned, it'll often be the same price as the inside with way different quality. If you're ever confused about which one's which, the way I remember it is outside grilling is way better than cooking indoors. Outside skirt steak is better than inside. In
• 40:00 - 40:30 the event you're not sure which one's which, and this applies to all cuts in general, my next tip is to not be afraid to talk to your butcher. I know they can sometimes feel intimidating. They have a big knife, their apron, you know, chopping meat all day. But nine times out of 10, they are extremely nice and more than willing to help if you have questions. Next up, a couple tips when it comes to cooking picana. One of the greatest cuts on the cow. This is a cut where how you slice it is particularly important. You can see how on one side we have this really nice and flavorful
• 40:30 - 41:00 fat cap. On the other, we have this incredible red beefy beef. You can also see how there's a very distinctive grain running like so. Probably the most simple way to eat this at home is doing it like a steak. Start by slicing with the grain like so. By slicing with the grain when it's raw. By the time we finish cooking and we slice like so, as you'll see later, we'll cut against the grain. Pana can also have quite a bit of fat. This is optional, but I like to trim it up. We'll season it up and get it on the grill. This pana can generally
• 41:00 - 41:30 be cooked like a regular steak, but anytime there's a big fat cap, like the case of this one, you'll also see it with like a New York strip. I like to start by just rendering that off like so. Whether you do it at the beginning or the end, it doesn't really matter. Just make sure you give that fat cap some heat to crisp up the fat. Crispy fat like this is just far superior. As you can see, by slicing with the grain when it's raw, the grain is now running this way, making it super easy to slice against the grain when
• 41:30 - 42:00 it's time to eat. Now, let's say we find ourselves in a hypothetical situation where we cooked too much steak. Again, it's hypothetical cuz there's never such thing as too much steak. But let's say you did and you have some leftover steak in the fridge. You want to cook it the next day. What's the best way to reheat it? Now, this might be a little controversial, but in my opinion, once a steak has been cooled down overnight, it is no longer a steak. It is now meant for a stir fry. Attempting to reheat a steak whole will just never be as good as it was when it was fresh. So, what I like to do is slice it up into either
• 42:00 - 42:30 strips or cubes, just like this. Then into a really hot pan to sear. You can add more seasonings, maybe throw on a sauce to glaze. The thing here is it will never be as juicy as before. But because we slice it up and get all those sides nice and seared, that additional surface area will make up for the lack of juiciness with some great flavor. I mean, just look at that nice color. Even though you guys know this is not my favorite, we cannot spend a whole video talking about steak and not mention grass-fed. Personally, I would only
• 42:30 - 43:00 recommend grass-fed if you're doing it for the nutrition side of things. And just try to make sure it's grass-fed as well as grass-finished, but from a flavor perspective, it's going to be a lot less rich, sometimes having these earthy and like kind of irony flavors to it, which for me is not ideal. And we have made it to the don't buy section. These are going to be extremely lean and tough cuts, like your top and bottom round, as well as the eye round. Now, these are cuts I normally would never recommend buying, but if you find yourself with one, this is the way I'd
• 43:00 - 43:30 cook it. My recommendation would be to cook it low and slow in an oven or smoker. Take a whole, for example, I round roast to roughly 120 125 Fahrenheit internal and then it's very important to slice super thin against the grain and you'll have some pretty decent roast beef. Unfortunately, pretty much all other applications of cooking this are going to come out really tough and really dry. Like I would not recommend cooking this like a brisket or brazing it. Now if you are intent on cooking something like this top round like a steak. This is a oo that was
• 43:30 - 44:00 dangerous. Great opportunity to use a meat tenderizer. By breaking up the muscle fibers you will make it a lot more tender. Just be aware that the flavor will still not be great given how lean it is. And believe it or not, the meat tenderizer you can buy in the store, this powdered stuff right here actually also works really well. Just season as you normally would, kind of like it's salt. and just let it sit to work its magic. Now, there is one other great use for tough cuts like these, and that is beef jerky. If you're interested in making it, I have a full extensive
• 44:00 - 44:30 video, everything you need to know about making jerky. Or if you enjoy our videos and you do want to support our channel, Max Jerky is a great way to do it. It is why we're able to make videos just like this. We've covered a lot today, but if you have any other steak related questions, please drop them down in the comments. I'd love to answer as many as possible. Really hope you guys learned something and we'll see you next time.