10 Secrets a Steakhouse Chef Will Never Tell You (2024)

FAQs

How do restaurants make their steaks so tender? ›

The Aging. Most fine restaurants age their beef to intensify the flavor and improve the tenderness of the cut. Aging is done by letting the meat sit (in very controlled conditions) for several days or weeks.

A classic found in every steak house the world over: 1 tablespoon paprika. 2 tablespoons crushed black pepper. 1 tablespoon crushed coriander.

Even cooking:

Rather than cook one side until it's perfectly browned (which can take a few minutes), then cook the other side for less time (so the steak isn't overcooked), turn the steak every minute. This will help to ensure even cooking and char on both sides.

What spices go well with steak? There are many spices available for seasoning a steak, with salt and pepper topping the list. However, other spices, like thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, and minced onion, are also good options to enhance your steak's flavor. Or, use a one-and-done approach with Chicago Steak Seasoning.

Add some chopped herbs such as thyme, rosemary or sage to your salt to make a flavored salt for your steak. For restaurant-quality steaks, baste them in butter and herbs during the final few moments of cooking. This will impart the delicious buttery flavor you know and love from your favorite steakhouse.

Salt. We all know that salt is one of the most common seasonings in cooking, but salt can do a lot more than just add flavor to your food. By adding salt to your steak, you will help pull out moisture from the meat, enriching the flavor of your steak while tenderizing it in the process.

How does Texas Roadhouse tenderise their steaks? Season each side of the steak well with the seasoning and set aside to rest for about 40 minutes. This causes the salt to infiltrate the surface (through osmosis) and actually aids in the breakdown of muscle fibres, resulting in more tender meat.

Whether hosting a holiday cookout, serving up some stir-fry or tackling game meats, baking soda is the go-to meat tenderizer to help make your steak, chicken or turkey silkier, juicier and yummier.

Visit Ruth's Chris Steak House for Sizzling Steak

Our famous sizzling steak is cooked exactly to your liking in our 1800-degree broiler, and served with our signature hospitality. To make your reservation at Ruth's Chris, contact the restaurant location nearest you.

We use kosher salt (Diamond Crystal in our test kitchen) for seasoning steaks, because its crystal size allows for prime absorption into the outer layer of the steak. Partnered with freshly ground black pepper, it's an absolute essential steak prep step. Now, you make it rain kosher crystals on that meat.

How long should steak rest? ›

A useful guideline for resting a steak is to let it rest for approximately as long as you cooked it. Another guideline is to let it rest for 5 minutes for every inch of thickness. (The perfect steak is 1 1/2 inches thick.) Some cooks talk about resting meats 10 minutes for each pound of meat.

Is it better to cook steak in pan or oven? Most steaks can cook in a pan to medium rare. Cooking some steaks in the oven could lead to overcooking or drying out. However, thick steaks like filet mignon may need some time in the oven, too, to ensure that they cook enough on the inside.

Ducasse uses butter, but adds it to the pan once the meat is browned instead of slipping it in at the start. He then uses the melted butter, flavoured with crushed garlic, to baste the steak as the cooking comes to an end. This basting, Ducasse believes, adds a savoury punch to the crust.

Restaurants use higher heat

The deep sear developed at these temperatures adds tons of flavor to your steak, thanks to the Maillard reaction. This isn't to say you can't cook great steak at home.

Add the steak and then some garlic, butter, rosemary, and thyme. Sear evenly on each side. Depending on your preference, for a 2-cm thick steak, to cook to: blue, 1 min per side; rare, 1½ mins per side; medium-rare, 2 mins per side; medium, about 2¼ mins per side; well-done, about 4-5 mins per side.

In the very hot skillet, sear the filets for about 2-3 minutes per side, or until a nice brown crust has formed. While the steak is searing, continuously spoon the residual butter in the pan on top of the meat. Once both sides are seared, place skillet in oven for about 6-8 minutes for medium rare temperature.

If you were to ask a professional chef how they would want their steak to be cooked, nine times out of ten they would tell you medium-rare is the way to go. Medium rare steaks are red only in the very middle of the steak. The rest should be various shades of pink, with the outer edges browned.