by Jessica Robinson

Created on: May 29, 2008

For the perfect steak, you have a few different options; I personally partake in all of them to ensure the best tasting steak, it's easy once you know how, and enhances some steaks tenfold.

First ensure you select a good steak; Rump: this cut is slightly tougher than some, with more fat and Grissel, but has a lot of flavor when cooked correctly.

Sirloin: is fairly more tender than the rump, with slightly less flavor.

Fillet: Is the most tender, a good Fillet will melt in your mouth, but dependant on the quality of the fillet it can be a little bland in comparison to the rump and sirloin.

Steer away from buying your steaks from the supermarket, and select your butcher based on reputation, just because the price is high and the cut is a fillet, does not necessarily mean the meat is of good quality. For those of you who really want to treat yourselves go to a butcher and ask for 21 day hung cut, the cows carcass will have been hung for this period rather than the normal 14 days, before being butchered, during this period, the flavors are released from the relaxing muscles to create a more intense flavor.

Bright red meats are not a good sign of quality flavorsome meat, and do not be afraid of marbling effect in the meat, this IS a sign of flavor.

Now you have your quality steak, you're job is half done, before even cooking it you already have a far more enjoyable dinner.

Cooking: Allow the steak to come to room temperature, removing it from all packaging, never cook a steak from cold. You can either season the steak with salt and pepper or bring it to room temperature in an oil bath with shredded fresh herbs, crushed garlic and then season after retrieval from the bath.

Seal off the steak on both sides for one minute (and sides if it's a Fillet steak) and leave the steak to rest for at least five minutes. Then return the steak to the pan to complete cooking to your liking, I would never suggest cooking a steak further than medium, this will lose the flavor as well as break down the meat, my personal recommendation is Rare or Medium/rare. When returning to the pan add a knob of butter, tilt the pan slightly to one side and with a spoon lap the butter and oil mix over and over the steak until the butter stops bubbling. Ensure you cook the steak evenly on each side.

Now leave the steak to rest for five minutes and Enjoy, Voila the best steak!

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