Pan-fried Steak

I'm not really a big fan of red meat, although I do enjoy a nice thick and juicy steak occasionally, especially the slightly crispy edges. My preference is somewhere between medium-rare and medium-done. I don't think I've had any perfect steaks at the restaurants ever. It's either too done, too rare or they'll serve me some non-select prime cut and call it with some fancy-shmancy name like Victorian cut or something. Thanks to Steamy Kitchen, Jaden and her enticingly delicious-looking rib eye steak, I decided to go out and get my own :) Great timing too ! Since it's the 4th of July, I found a great bargain on some thick moist looking rib eye steaks ! Without hesitation, I picked out a pack with the most marbly texture at only USD$4.99 per pound :)

I didn't want to clean up the big mess I'm sure to make after firing up the grill, so I decided to cook my rib eye steaks in a pan instead :) How do you pan-fry steak to perfection ? Make sure you rub your steak with enough oil during the seasoning process. Rub it in and rub it well ! The oil will help seal the juices in. Last thing you want is to overcook a good piece of steak right before your very own eyes, all dried and wasted. Next, get the pan really hot. Don't be a wuss. Get the pan really smoking hot and briefly carbonize the outside of the steak. You'll get a nice brown on the outside, and leave the inside nice and pink.

Here are my cooking tips for pan-frying steaks :

1) Place steak in pan. ( 1 minute per side, total 2 minutes for both sides of the steak )
2) Use your left hand to hold the handle of the pan and tilt the pan at a 45 degree angle, allowing most of the oil to ooze down away from the steak.
3) With your right hand, hold the steak vertically with a pair of tongs. Then pan sear all edges of the steak in the oil to a light crisp. ( 1 1/2 minutes, or until nicely browned )
5) Next, bring the pan back to its normal position, in contact with the stove. Place the steak back in the pan. ( cook for another 45 seconds to 1 minute per side )
6) When the steak is cooked, remove, and let it rest to allow juices to redistribute themselves for that perfect even color. ( 3 minutes )

Total cooking time : ONLY 6-8 minutes.
Resting time : 3-5 minutes.

Pan-fried Rib Eye Steak With Mushrooms And Onions

Ingredients :
1 piece 1/2 inch thick, rib eye steak ( approximately 14 oz )
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce ( preferably Lea & Perrin )
4 tbsp olive oil
7 oz button mushroom, sliced
1/2 a yellow onion, cut into rings

Method :
1) Rub both sides of the steak with salt first. Then with black pepper, cumin powder, cayenne pepper, worcestershire sauce, and lastly olive oil.
2) Refrigerate for an hour or preferably overnight.
3) Remove steak from refrigerator 15 minutes before cooking.
4) Heat pan until really hot. Saute onions until slightly fragrant in 1 tbsp olive oil. Add mushroom and continue stir-frying for 1 minute. Dish up and set aside.
5) Pan-fry steaks in 2 tbsp olive oil using the above cooking tips.

Well that's how I like my steak y'all ... yeee haaa :) I still have a piece in my freezer so let me know if you have a favorite way to cook yours :)