Broiled Steak (Plus a Few Helpful Meat Tips)

For the inexperienced cook, preparing meat dishes can be a daunting task. How long to leave the meat in the oven? When to flip it? How to season? All it takes is a little practice and yes, one must be prepared for occasional goof-ups or outright failures. But it won't take long to get the hang of it. Here are a few helpful tips that will make your next main course a success.

Tips for Meat Preparation

Salt meats when they come home from the store and then rewrap and refrigerate them until you're ready to cook. I'd advise only doing this if you plan on making your meal on the same day.

When meats and fish come out of the oven or off the grill, cover them tightly with aluminum foil (known as 'tenting') and allow them to rest at room temperature for 10 - 15 minutes. This will allow the juices to get back into the meat - and not all over your cutting board. Remember that juice = flavor!

Do not follow outdated guidelines for cooking meats (anything earlier than the mid 90s is probably outdated) or they will be overcooked. Take beef out of the oven at 125 degrees for medium-rare, pork at 138 degrees, chicken at 140 degrees and turkey at 150 degrees. They will keep cooking while they rest.

Use an oven thermometer or probe to be sure the temperature on the oven dial is really accurate. Remember - just because it says 350 degrees does NOT mean it really is 350 degrees!

Use an instant thermometer (preferably digital) to test whether meats are cooked by inserting it into the end (not the top) of a piece of meat; it's a more accurate way to test the interior temperature. Make sure that the thermometer is not touching bone, fat or gristle because this will throw off the true temperature of the meat.

Keep in mind that you can always choose to cook your meat to a greater degree of doneness, but be aware that you run the risk of having a tough steak or dry chicken breast. Most chicken breasts cook through in about 25 - 30 minutes. Under a hot broiler, an approximately 1" thick steak will usually take about 10 minutes total to be cooked to medium-rare. It also helps to let your meat sit out and come up to roughly room temperature before you cook it - that helps with avoiding 'cold spots' or undercooked portions.

Here's a rough base 'recipe' for broiling steaks.

Simple Steak (Bone-In or Boneless)

Steaks (how ever many you need), around 1" thick

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Other seasoning salts (optional)

Butter, for serving (optional)

Preheat the broiler and place the oven rack around 6" from the heat source.

Season the steaks with salt and pepper and place on a reinforced piece of aluminum foil or on a rack over broiler pan.

When the broiler is hot, place the steaks in the oven and cook approximately 5 minutes per side for medium-rare (you may need a few minutes more depending on how accurate your oven is). Place the steaks on a platter and tent with foil; let rest for 10 minutes.

Serve the steaks with pats of butter and additional salt, pepper or other seasonings. Baked potatoes are a traditional accompaniment and if you're going for the traditional steak house presentation, serve with creamed spinach and make a bearnaise sauce to drizzle over the steak - top with snipped chives.