St. Louis-Style Steak Recipe - Home Chef (2024)

FAQs

How do nice steak houses cook a steak? ›

Most big steakhouses broil their steaks. Yes, there are few "grills" out there, though some restaurants may still grill their steaks in a way that you and I would recognize. Many restaurants, though, use overhead, infrared broilers that produce incredible temperatures to cook steaks.

Blue steak is the term that's used to describe a steak cooked at a very high temperature for a short period of time. That means a maximum of 1-2 minutes on each side, which will leave the center of the steak practically raw.

For the perfect medium-rare steak, sear in a skillet for 12–14 minutes for a 1-inch steak, and 14–16 minutes for a 1½ inch steak, turning about 1 minute before the halfway point. A meat thermometer should read 130°F. Rest your steaks for 5 minutes before serving, covering lightly with foil.

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.

Most fine restaurants age their beef to intensify the flavor and improve the tenderness of the cut.

A restaurant's wood-fired grills can reach upwards of 700° F, and fancy steakhouses use infrared grills that can get over 1,000° F. The best way to replicate those conditions is to use a charcoal grill, but a smoking-hot cast-iron skillet works in a pinch, too.

A Pittsburgh rare steak is one that has been heated to a very high temperature very quickly, so it is charred on the outside but still rare or raw on the inside.

Blue steak is the rarest and most tender way to prepare a steak, making it an essential part of menus in steakhouses and restaurants.

Typically, blue steak is only cooked to an internal temperature of about 115 degrees Fahrenheit, max. Some people even prefer to cook to just 90 degrees, but anywhere in this range is acceptable for a blue steak. The key here is to cook the outside of the steak but leave the inside mostly untouched.

But the reality is that flipping a steak repeatedly during cooking—as often as every 30 seconds or so—will produce a crust that is just as good (provided you start with meat with a good, dry surface, as you always should), give you a more evenly cooked interior, and cook in about 30% less time to boot!

How long do I let a steak rest? ›

Use the following timing recommendations to learn how long to rest steak so that the flavorful juices have time to distribute through your meat: Rest meat for 5 minutes per inch of thickness. Rest meat for 10 minutes per pound. Rest meat for 1 minute for every 100 grams.

Five to seven minutes should be the minimum if you're in a rush. If you know your cut is thick, give it at least 10 minutes. You could rest it for 5 minutes for every inch of thickness. You could rest it for 10 minutes for every pound.

Washing beef, pork, lamb, or veal before cooking it is not recommended. Bacteria in raw meat and poultry juices can be spread to other foods, utensils, and surfaces. We call this cross-contamination. Some consumers think they are removing bacteria and making their meat or poultry safe.

Garlic and onion powders are great savory elements in the rub and the smoked paprika makes any steak taste like it was cooked over an open fire. The herbs add just enough brightness to keep you coming back for more. This seasoning is pretty simple to make and will last for months if sealed in an airtight container.

For cooking the steak, we also need a high smoke point oil (such as sunflower oil), plenty of salt and freshly ground black pepper, a little butter, and if you want to to add some extra flavour, a few cloves of garlic and some fresh thyme or rosemary sprigs.

The Chef's Way of Cooking A Steak

Just let it go. Once your steak is on your pan, let it sear and simmer down. It is very tempting to constantly check it and/or flip it – but don't. This is how a nice dark char is formed, and this is the correct pathway to your chef's steak.

Throw the steak on the cast iron, and let the steak sizzle for about 1 minute, then flip. Keep flipping every minute. Once the internal temperature hits 105ºF, add some butter, rosemary, thyme, and garlic cloves to the skillet, and let it all come together. Scoop some butter over the meat now and then.

Our menu features 28 days of wet-aged USDA Prime steaks cooked in a 1,500-degree broiler served sizzling hot with clarified butter on plates heated to 450 degrees.