There is nothing hard about cooking steaks. You just need to know your grill. The heat of the grill is different as you go up it is usually hotter as heat rises. Steaks should never be played with, there should be nice grill marks on both sides. The steak should be flipped or moved no more than 4 times, with each time giving a set of grill marks. Never cut a hot steak to see how it is done. This is a big mistake because the blood and cooked juices will escape and the steak will be dry and tough. Cooked steaks should have 2-3 minutes of rest time before being plated to allow the internal juices to cool down.
To tell if a steak is cooked right you touch it to feel the meat. A rare steak will feel soft and springy. Medium rare will have less softness. Well done will be fairly firm. Here is the trick using your hand to see how a steak is cooked. You move your pinkie finger to touch the thumb muscle. What does it feel like? Kind of firm, right... this is well done. Now try your index finger. How soft is that? Rare maybe.
Thick steaks are usually marked on both sides and finished in a convection oven. I have seen cooks use timers, but the true test is still the touch. It will work all the time.
When you are serving steak and you think it is overcooked take it back to the kitchen (never check steaks in front of the cooks or the chef you will never hear the end of it) and have the chef assess the steak. If you are checking steaks use a spoon (servers should never touch the food), press it and feel the softness or firmness of the meat. Training makes perfect.
To tell if a steak is cooked right you touch it to feel the meat. A rare steak will feel soft and springy. Medium rare will have less softness. Well done will be fairly firm. Here is the trick using your hand to see how a steak is cooked. You move your pinkie finger to touch the thumb muscle. What does it feel like? Kind of firm, right... this is well done. Now try your index finger. How soft is that? Rare maybe.
Thick steaks are usually marked on both sides and finished in a convection oven. I have seen cooks use timers, but the true test is still the touch. It will work all the time.
When you are serving steak and you think it is overcooked take it back to the kitchen (never check steaks in front of the cooks or the chef you will never hear the end of it) and have the chef assess the steak. If you are checking steaks use a spoon (servers should never touch the food), press it and feel the softness or firmness of the meat. Training makes perfect.
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