How to cook a steak

A good steak can cost more than the rest of the meal, so a first one can feel like a risk. It is also one of the quicker things to cook. The steps here use one method, a steak in a hot frying pan.

Before you start

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) says not to wash raw meat. Washing meat, fish and poultry doesn't get rid of harmful bacteria, and the splashes can spread them. Wash your hands after handling the raw steak.

Step by step

  1. Heat a heavy frying pan until it is very hot.
  2. Brush the steak with a little oil and season it.
  3. Lay it in the pan and let the underside brown before you turn it. Tongs are easier than a fork for turning.
  4. Cook the second side. A thicker steak needs longer, and so does one you want well done.
  5. Move the steak to a warm plate and let it rest for a few minutes before you cut it.

For times by cut and thickness, AHDB, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, keeps a pan-frying guide on its Simply Beef & Lamb site.

How to tell it is done

The FSA says a whole cut such as a steak can be served pink in the middle according to taste. It asks for the outside to be seared first. Check that the outside of the steak has changed colour all over.

After that, how pink the middle should be is down to taste.

Keeping raw steak

The FSA asks for raw meat to be kept in its packaging, or in a clean sealed container, on the bottom shelf of the fridge. That way it cannot touch or drip onto other food. Its advice is a fridge between 0 and 5°C.

A pack of steak carries a use-by date, which GOV.UK says tells you when the food is no longer safe to eat. The FSA says you can freeze food right up until midnight on the 'use by' date. Defrost it in the fridge, and use it within 24 hours of it fully defrosting.

A simple steak dish in a small cafe

The FSA's Safer food, better business pack is written for small caterers. Its cooking section asks staff to preheat grills before cooking, because food on a cold grill takes longer. Staff keep raw food from touching or dripping onto cooked food. They never use the same utensils, plates or containers for raw and cooked food.

Useful links