How to Cook the Perfect Steak

How to Cook the Perfect Steak

When you cook a steak, you want to obtain optimal tenderness, flavor, and juiciness. You do this best by monitoring the temperature of the steak during cooking

The average steak should be cooked medium-rare, which is when it reaches a temperature of 55°C. You should, in any case, aim for cooking your steak to no more than 60°C in order to retain the most tenderness, flavor, and juiciness. 

How Long to Cook a Steak?

In fact, it is not the time that is decisive when grilling your steak to your preferred “doneness”. It is the core temperature of the meat that is important.

To find out how “done” your steak is, you can cut into the meat and take a look at the middle. The color of the meat changes from bright red to brown when heated. The more brown the middle of the steak is, the closer it is to being well-done. 

Another thing you can do is feel how cooked the steak is. Meat becomes firmer in the core when heated, while the fat softens. This method is often used by professional chefs with much experience. 

However, the best way to find out how cooked your steak is is by measuring the core temperature. Here are the core temperatures for each cooked steak:

Ekstra rare: 45°C
Rare: 50°C
Medium rare: 55°C
Medium: 59°C
Medium well: 65°C
Well done: 70°C

You measure the core temperature with a meat thermometer. Insert the sensor in the middle of the steak, making sure you hit the coolest part of the meat. The thermometer will then tell you the exact temperature of the steak. 

How to Cook an Extra Rare Steak

The extra rare steak is for those who prefer their steak raw. It should not grill for longer than around 10-20 seconds on a very hot grill, and the results are a steak, which is red on the inside and a lighter brown on the outside. The meat feels soft and warm. 

You should use very lean beef for this, preferably expensive meat with little taste in itself. We would recommend using tenderloin, preferably a tournedos, chateaubriand, fillet steak, or filet mignon. Examples of steaks that are extra rare are carpaccio, steak tartare, and roast beef. 

What temperature is an extra rare steak? An extra rare steak should have a temperature of 45-48°C. 

How to Cook a Rare Steak

A rare steak has been allowed to sit on the grill for a while, which gives it some nice grill marks. We recommend you only use lean meats for this, such as tenderloin, Dutch steak, skirt steak, sirloin steak, tri-tip roast, picanha steak, flap steak, or chateaubriand. 

What temperature is a rare steak? A rare steak should have a temperature of 50-52°C. 

How to Cook a Medium-Rare Steak

A medium-rare steak is what most people prefer. The steak is pink on the inside and well-grilled on the outside with clear grill marks. The meat feels a lot firmer and bounces back when you press on it. 

We recommend you use steaks with more fat for this, such as ribeye, tomahawk, or cote du boeuf. 

What temperature is a medium-rare steak? A medium-rare steak should have a temperature of 55-58°C.

How to Cook a Medium Steak

In principle, a medium-cooked steak is taking it too far, however, if you prefer your steak medium, we recommend a fattier type of steak, such as Black Angus or Wagyu. 

What temperature is a medium-well steak? A medium-well steak should have a temperature of 60°C. 

How to Cook a Well-Done Steak

There is one piece of meat that can be cooked well-done, and that is the tri-tip roast. You cannot really ruin this steak. If you want to try it once, you can even make pulled beef from the tri-tip roast. 

How long to cook a well-done steak? Cook the steak until it reaches 70°C to get it well-done. 

How to Cook Steak with a Meat Thermometer

With the CookPerfect Comfort thermometer or CookPerfect Wireless thermometer, you do not have to aim for the coolest place in the meat with the sensor. You just have to make sure that you insert the tip beyond the center of the meat and that the entire sensor is placed far enough into the meat. 

The CookPerfect sensor measures the temperature in 5 different places along the length of the needle and thus always knows which is the coolest place. 

On the head of the CookPerfect sensor is another measuring point that indicates the ambient temperature. With all those different temperatures and a smart algorithm, the accompanying app will tell you exactly after 5 minutes when your steak has reached the desired core temperature.