The art of frying red meat

If you are reading this paragraph I assume that you are not following a vegetarian or a vegan diet and that you enjoy a tender, juicy steak that is grilled to perfection. Anyway, I promise that I will disclose some of my favorite vegetarian tofu and seitan recipes in the future.

Few disciplines in the kitchen require so much attention to detail and many years of experience as the frying of red meat does. Every cow is different, and so is every piece of meat that resulted from its grazing; hence we can not treat two steaks as if they were exactly the same. What I am trying to say here is that there is no standard formula as the one we know for boiling an egg (and still, we would have to take variables into account such as the size of the eggs, the altitude at which we are cooking, the food the hens were fed (as this will affect the thickness of the shell and the composition of the egg)). Frying meat is more than throwing a steak on a frying pan. The art of frying meat is: meeting the perfect frying conditions.

1 Preparing the meat

Call this my first meat-secret: take the meat out of the fridge at least 2 hours before frying time so it can adapt to the room temperature. Unpack it and put it on a little grill to make sure any blood can leak away in a plate without the meat resting in the blood.  For large portions such as roasts, you can take the meat out of the fridge up to 4 hours in advance. Just make sure the room temperature is not too high and cover the meat with a towel to prevent contamination by insects.

2 Choosing the right tools

Meet secret two: a (usually black) cast iron frying pan with a relatively thin base. Make sure the base is level and choose a pan that is just big enough for the job; there should be no free space while frying, as this will result in burned, carcinogenic fats and smoke.

3 Seasoning

Generously rub both sides of the meat with salt and freshly ground pepper 10 minutes before frying time.

4 Using the correct grease in the right amount

Nothing can replace the taste of real butter, that should not be a secret anymore. Ideally, you should use clarified butter. Normal butter contains approximately 18% Milk solids, and these burn easily when heated, almost as if you were pooring low-fat cream in heated olive oil.

5 Frying technique

Heat the pan very well before you add the clarified butter and before you start frying. After having added a small spoon of butter, immediately sear the steaks by pressing them against the pan. Do not use excessive butter, but rather just enough to avoid meat sticking to the pan. Leave at the highest stand for approximately one minute, then lower the heat so the steak continues to fry without burning. If the temperature drops too much, the meat will start cooking in its own juices; if the temperature is too high, the meat will most likely burn and become dry. Leave the meat frying on this one side for at least two thirds of the frying time. Once you turn over the meat, put the stove on full heat again for half a minute, then remove the pan from the heat and spread a few chunks of fresh (unclarified) butter over it. For big portions, put the meat in a pre-heated classic oven at 155°C until the point where another 5 extra minutes would take it to perfection (= the way you want it). Remove the meat from the oven and follow step 6.

6 Let it rest

Frying drives the juices from the exterior of the meat to the center and the sides. The result of this sudden heat  is that the meat tends to be dry and hard. By letting the meat rest on a warm spot (in the opening of the oven) on a little grill (make sure the meat does not rest on a flat surface), the juices will redistribute evenly over the meat and the meat will become tender.

7 Serve

Serve the meat on a hot plate. Add few fresh grinds of pepper if required.

Enjoy!