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How to Prevent your Steak from Being Tough and Dry

hollyhood314 | Aug 30, 2009 | Views: 200 |

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There are several common mistakes that people make when cooking a steak that cause it rough and hard to chew. Follow these instructions and you will never ruin a good steak again!

Things You Will Need

Extra-Rare *

Rare *

Medium-Rare

Medium

Well-Done

125F (52C) *

135F (57C) *

145F (63C)

160F (71C)

170F (77C)

* a good cut of meat. Ask your butcher for the best cut of steak in your price. Look for marbling. The more marbling in the coloration a steak has the more tender it will be. My favorite is filet mignon of course!

* steak marinade or you can make your own. Look for marinade recipes that suite your taste buds on allrecipes.com. Marinade the steak for 6 hours or over night for best results.

* Stay away from salt. never salt you meat until it is conmpletely doen cooking. Salt will dry up the steak's natural juices.

* Never pierce or cut your steak in the middle of cooking this will release all of the natural juices and garuntee a tough piece of meat. (It is ok to pund steak to tenderize it or use a rolling pin and firmly roll over the steak to tenderize i.)

* Sear the steak first. get a pan very hot on high heat for about 2 minutes. throw the steak on the sizzling pan for about on minute on each side of the steak. (if you don't hear teh sizzle sound your pan was not hot enough.)

* If you are cooking your steak on the grill buy a guage to determine the internal temperature of your steak. Cook steak about 4 minutes on each side. Follow these temperatures to cook to desired doneness. 135F for a rare steak... 145 for medium rare... 160F for meium and 170 for well-done.

*If you are cooking your steak in the oven never cook any steak more than 12 minutes unless the steak is extra thick in which case another few minutes may be added. Cook in the oven for about 10 minutes on 400 is usually makes it turn out just right.

*You can also opt to broil you steak which should only take about 5-6 minutes. A great way is to finsih your steak off in the broiler for a minute on each side to create those trademark hatch marks you get on a grill or you could pop it in your George Foreman Grill for the same amount of time.

* NEVER cook a freezing cold steak. Let it sit out for about 45 minutes to get it to room temperature. if you cook it could the outside will cook way before the inside and your steak with be very tough.

*Rub your steak with a pre-made meat rub or you can make your own from spices like cayenne pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and more!