So you love steak and you want to improve your technique. Here, Nichole Dailey, who is a Chef De Cuisine at Trager Grills, has given us a step by step guide to cooking the perfect steak.
Best of all, she has shown how to cook a steak for a rare, medium or well done serving. The trick, she says, is getting the specific internal temperatures, indicating colours and grill times right. If you follow her instructions, you too can cook a restaurant-grade steak right in your own kitchen.
So get cooking.
RARE STEAK
Just a minimal sear on the exterior of the meat. People cook it rare because they’re embarrassed to eat it fresh out of the fridge in front of guests.
- Internal Temperature: 49-51°C
- Grill Time: ~2.5 minutes per side
- Centre Colour: Red
- Centre Temperature: Cool
MEDIUM RARE STEAK
A truly seared steak. A medium-rare steak is the recommended doneness to taste the natural flavour of the meat. It’s usually how meat connoisseurs and chefs like to eat it.
- Internal Temperature: 55-57°C
- Grill Time: ~3.5 minutes per side
- Centre Colour: Pink with thin brown stripes on top and bottom.
- Centre Temperature: Room Temperature
MEDIUM COOKED STEAK
Almost everyone is happy with this doneness, it’s not as bloody or as dry as the Sahara Desert.
- Internal Temperature: 60-63°C
- Grill Time: ~4.5 minutes per side
- Centre Colour: Some pink
- Centre Temperature: Lukewarm
WELL DONE STEAK
It’s definitely cooked, still showcases the flavour of the meat.
- Internal Temperature: 65-69°C
- Grill Time: ~5.5 minutes per side
- Centre Colour: Sliver of light pink
- Centre Temperature: Warm
WELL DONE
It’s browned and cooked throughout.
- Internal Temperature: 71°C
- Grill Time: ~6.5 minutes per side
- Centre Colour: Mostly brown
- Centre Temperature: Warm throughout
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!
This is the hockey puck of steaks – Go ahead and eat a salad if you hate steak this much.
- Internal Temperature: 75°C
- Grill Time: ~8-10 minutes per side
- Centre Colour: Brown throughout
- Centre Temperature: Hot off the grill
TIPS: How to cook the Perfect Steak
Make sure to always buy a high-quality piece of meat as it determines the texture, tenderness and most importantly the taste of your steak.
- the thicker the steak, the easier it is to cook and the better it will taste.
- Stop by your local butcher shop and ask for exactly what you want, i.e. a 2” thick-cut steak.
Most grocery stores stock steak that is ½” to 1” thick, thin steak cooks faster and has less flavour.
Pre-heat your grill and make sure the temperature is set to its highest temperature (200-260°C). Grilling steak can be a quick and easy process. Also, thick-cut steak has more forgiveness with cook time and tenderness.
To recap:
| Doneness | Internal Temperature | Grill Time at 205 °C (Mins. Per Side) | Centre Colour |
| Rare | 49-51°C | 2:30 | Red |
| Medium Rare | 55-57 °C | 3:30 | Pink |
| Medium | 60-63°C | 4:30 | Some Pink |
| Well | 65-69°C | 5:30 | Silver To Light Pink |
| Well Done | 71°C | 6:30 | Mostly Brown |
| What Have You Done? | 75 °C + | 8-10 | Brown Throughout |
Why not try your newly-acquired steak-cooking knowledge on these recipes below?
