How to cook tender steaks

(Stacey) #1

I purchased a beef box from butcher box which included a black Friday deal of steaks. I cooked the first two steaks last night. They were extremely tough! I seasoned with salt, cooked in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven 10 minutes, flipping the steaks halfway, so 5 minutes on each side. Then, I finished the steaks in a pan on the stove in butter, 3 minutes on medium high heat per side. Please tell me what did I do wrong? These are grass fed steaks, so not cheap, and I feel like I just wasted a bunch of money.

(Darlene Horsley) #2

What type of steaks were they?

(Sophie) #3

I usually grill my steaks but if you have to cook inside then do one or the other…under the broiler or on stove top, but not both. Sounds like you overcooked them. Pan fry should be really quick and so should broiling. Take them out earlier than you think and check it. You can always put it back in for another minute or two.

(Marie Dantoni) #4

Grass fed and grass finished beef is typically quite lean, because the animals get to exercise and aren’t fed grain. One solution is to eat it very rare. The other is to cook it at a low temperatures for a long time. Adding lots of fat also helps.

(Jennifer) #5

Only takes a few minutes a side to cook a steak. And add fat… :slight_smile:

(Chris) #6

Couple factors in play

For how great the nutritional factor is, “Grass Fed aka Grass Finished” Beef is not always known for tenderness. The some of the greatest steaks in the world spend a very long time on grain to develop the intramuscular marbling. See Wagyu/Kobe

The cut of beef you cooked is very important on top of that. Depending on the connective tissues, fat content, ect, not all beef makes for a great grilling experience. Connective tissue takes time and temperature to break down. Sous Vide techniques replace temp with time to get tenderness, BBQ replaces that time with temperature (see briskets cooking over 210 degrees before tenderness is achieved)

Internal temps are critical and something you will learn. To help point yourself in the right direction, a good instant read is a valuable tool. Checkout the Thermo Pop, an affordable, accurate entry level therm
http://www.thermoworks.com/ThermoPop

A Thin steak may not even require cooking outside of the sear time on the grill/pan/whatever

(Darlene Horsley) #7

I cook all my steaks as if they were filet mignon. Summer I grill them outdoors but during winter I use this method. Comes out perfect every time. It’s very important to take them out of the fridge 30 minutes before starting.

(Mike W.) #8

Buy a sous vide (I suggest the Anova) and you’ll never have a tough steak again. Can be fork tender if you want. It’s a total game changer.

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(Stacey) #9

There are two types that I’ve tried so far: Denver and Strip. Both were tough.

(Stacey) #10

Yes, I think the problem is grass-fed versus grain-fed.

(Stacey) #11

Have you tried this technique with grass-fed filets?

(Stacey) #12

Thank you Sophie. I will try them on the stove top only next time.

(Stacey) #13

Mike,
I’m going to have to get one of those sous vide cookers.

#14

If the meat is tough then all you can do is cook it slowly at low temp, then sear aftwards. Your approach is correct, but you might need to drop the temp down to 250 for a much longer time.

(Stacey) #15

Thanks Keigan!

#16

The other part that I find is important is aging the beef.
I typically get Costco steaks and then leave the package unopened in the fridge for 2 to 3 weeks.
Screaming hot grill, lots of salt, Excellent!

#17

I second the sous vide suggestion. It’s the best way to cook tender lean cuts of beef as well as perfectly cooked chicken and fish.

I had ButcherBox for awhile and I noticed almost everything in there with the exception of the filet mignon was tough.

(Stacey) #18

Thanks everyone for your help! That’s what I love about this forum. Everyone is so kind and helpful. I log into this site everyday and know this is a safe place for me to ask questions and participate in discussions.

So, I cancelled my subscription to ButcherBox and I ordered a sous vide cooker from amazon. This is the one I decided on:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074MGYV47/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Does anyone here have this one?

(Stacey) #19

John,
Doesn’t the steak go bad after a while? How do you know how long you can leave it in the fridge before it spoils?

(Chris) #20

Kind of depends on the packaging. Most here are not dealing with Cyrovac’d cuts. If the meat is still in the original Cryovac package, Ive heard of close friends taking whole prime ribs out to 120 days of wet aging. The most Ive personally done was around 90 days on a pair of briskets. This of course was done in a separate fridge I have in the basement primarily used for thawing and storing BBQ cuts for competition and I trust it maintains around 34-39 degrees verified by therm.

No reason a steak cant go a week in your fridge depending on its starting condition. I believe many grocery stores will leave beef out 7 days on the shelf before removing/discounting for immediate sale