There are a few basic things to keep in mind when you start grilling steaks.
The beef can remain medium, the pig must be fried until done. Adobe Stock / AOP
Unfortunately, many people spoil their steak, either during the frying phase or at the end just before eating.
Chef Risto Mikkola has noticed a few things that get tripped up when frying steak.
The first thing to pay attention to is the heat of the pan. A pan that is too hot spoils the pork steak, especially when you shake hands. Then the muscle fluids of the steak will seep out and the end result will be dry and sticky.
Before frying, the steak has been at room temperature. The layer of fat ensures that the steak is juicy. Eeva Paljakka
– Many times the steak is fried in a pan that is too hot, Mikkola states.
At first, put oil in the pan and the temperature of the plate to about seven, if the maximum is nine. The steak is fried for a while and then add butter to the pan, at the same time reduce the temperature. Move the pan from time to time so that the butter whey does not sink to the bottom and burn. When you move the pan, the butter foams.
A pork flank that is a few centimeters thick should be fried for about five minutes per side. You don’t go anywhere in a hurry from the pan. The potatoes and other side dishes are ready when you start frying the steaks.
First, the steak is fried in oil. When adding the butter to the pan, be careful not to burn the whey. The pan should be moved all the time, when the butter foams. Eeva Paljakka
Finally comes the stage where you can ruin the whole steak. Still, many instructions advise you to do so.
– When I fry a steak, I never do what the books say about pulling the steak, says Mikkola.
He doesn’t put the steak in foil to cool, even though it’s almost always advised to do so.
Why so?
– I never put the steak in the foil package to cool, because then the steak gets watery and the crispiness on its surface disappears. Foil packaging is like a small oven, where the ripening continues. It ruins a good steak, Mikkola explains.
And for the same reason, you shouldn’t put a lid on the pan either.
The finished steak is removed from the pan and allowed to rest for a while before eating. Eeva Paljakka
But it is absolutely important to let the steak rest after cooking. The steak can rest for a while when it is lifted off the hot plate.
Mikkola admits that he himself once put steaks in foil to shrink, but he learns from his mistakes.
Another thing that can always be argued about is at what stage the salt and pepper are added. Mikkola puts them on top of the steak while it’s still in the pan and at the desired level of doneness.