How to Cook a Steak

Here's a simple way to get the most flavor out of your steak. Anyone can do it.

No matter where you live, you can get top quality meat. There are butcher shops out there, even in smaller cities. Take a minute to find one. Or you have a number of mail order options. Wherever the source, buy the best steak you can afford. Life is too short to eat cheap meat. Okay, you've found your source, get a 12-16 ounce New York steak, sometimes called a shell steak. If you look at a T-Bone steak, the smaller side is the filet, the larger is the New York. Take it out of the fridge and let it sit uncovered for 30 minutes to an hour.

While your steak is sitting out, take a cast iron or stainless steel pan, put it on the burner and turn it up as high as it will go. (Open a window, it's going to get smokey). Preheat your oven to 400. Dab your steak with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture. Season one side generously with salt and pepper (1 teaspoon or more). Wait until the pan is smoking, turn on your exhaust fan.

On one of the narrow sides of the steak, there's a fatty side. Put that down first. Sear for one minute. Flip, and sear the other narrow side for one more minute. Holding the steak with tongs, sear the ends for about 20 seconds.

Place one wide side down, cook for 2-3 minutes. Get fresh tongs, flip, steak, cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Place steak on a rack (see video for how to make one) and cook for around five minutes. Use meat thermometer to test. 125 Rare, 135 Medium Rare. Anything more than that, you're overcooking it. You can also use the poking method to test for doneness. (see video)

Whenever you're cooking a protein, you want to let it rest. This will help the juice in the meat, making it more tender and tasty.

Watch the video and see how we did it: