I had just joined a conversation at a party. The three other people were discussing someone animatedly. It took me a few minutes to realise that the person that they were talking about was indeed a friend of mine because from the way they described her, she sounded like a bit of a pain in the bottom.
“She swans around and does nothing and spends her husband’s money and she lives such a perfect life it makes me sick” one said.
“I know, I bet those kids of her don’t even misbehave. I’m sure there’s a nanny there that looks after them if she needs to go shopping anyway.”
“And she just bought another new car, why did she need the new one? What was wrong with the old one? Ugh!” one of them said dramatically with a hand gesture that suggested gagging.
After a few minutes, I realised that they were talking about a friend of mine. She certainly wouldn’t class her life as perfect and I know her well and I know that it isn’t. She’s polished but her house is as chaotic as mine and her life is about as topsy turvy as mine. She’s has had as many challenges as most of us in her life (eating disorder, crazy family and career stalling). Being polished is just her way. Her mum is polished and her grandmother is polished. There is no such thing as having a perfect life. In fact, someone I know once told me that they thought that I was a housewife that had a filthy rich husband and that I wrote the blog as a hobby. Picking up my jaw off the ground I had no other reaction but to laugh at the absurdity of it all. If only!
The steak, pre ageing
Perfection doesn’t exist in food either although when you eat something, you can feel that you come pretty close. A couple of months ago, I had a steak in Buenos Aires and it was one of the best steaks that I’ve ever had. They cooked it the Heston Blumenthal way from How To Cook Like Heston which flies in the face of how we are traditionally taught to cook steak. You first age the steak in your fridge which just means that it sits uncovered on a wire rack for two days in the fridge. You then heat the pan to high and make sure that it is as hot as you can get it (after removing the smoke alarm batteries-I learned that from experience!). Pour a little oil into the pan, salt the steaks and then cook them turning them every 15-20 seconds. This produces a reaction called the Maillard reaction where the proteins and sugar react and form a crunchy crust on the outside and the meat remains tender and soft inside.
The steaks after ageing-the colour concentrates along with the flavour
I decided to try it for myself and bought two nice quality steaks, one a rib eye grass fed and one a wagyu rump cap, both with a 9+ marbling on them. The steaks themselves weren’t inexpensive but each steak ended up being about $15 each which when you compare it to eating out, is very reasonable given the fantastic cuts of meat. The clerk suggested cooking the wagyu slightly longer to allow til it reached medium to allow the marbled fat to melt. I took these home and followed the ageing instructions and then cooked the steaks. After resting them for 5 minutes (I was a bit too impatient to wait the 10 minutes), I sliced into one. It was perfect-ahem scratch that, it was close to perfection! Because as we know, there is no such thing as perfect 
So tell me Dear Reader, what is your favourite cut of steak and do you have any steak cooking tips? How do you eat your steak? And whose life would you like to lead or take a peek into?
How To Cook The Perfect Steak
Adapted from Heston At Home
Preparation time: 2 days
Cooking time: 10 minutes
- Steaks (I chose a chestnut fed wagyu cap 9+ marbling and a grass fed eye fillet)
- Olive oil for frying
- Salt and black pepper
1. Even though the steaks take about 5 minutes to cook, the ageing process takes two day in your fridge which concentrates the flavour in the steak and evaporates the water. Unwrap the steaks and place them on a wire rack over a tray and allow to age in the fridge for 2 days uncovered. By the time they are ready, they will have formed an almost waxy layer on them and you can touch them without feeling any moisture. Take the steaks out a couple of hours before you want to eat them to allow them to reach room temperature.
Ready, set and go!
You want it very, very hot-smoking hot!
The beef hitting the pan
2. Heat a cast iron frypan to as hot as you can get it. I also caution you to remove the batteries from your smoke alarm because this can smoke like mad and I don’t want you to get a fine from the fire department. Heston even warns that it will feel like you might burn your house down but you won’t. My smoke alarm went crazy and I am not tall enough to reach it so I just kept cooking and flipping the steak like a mad woman. But luckily all my neighbours weren’t at home or they might have evacuated and I would have felt terrible because all I wanted to do was cook a perfect steak…. Sprinkle some salt but not pepper on the steak and add a layer of oil to the pan. I took my iPhone and set it to countdown. Place the steak on the pan and allow it to cook for 15-20 seconds. Then turn it over and cook it for 15-20 seconds on all sides always turning every 15-20 seconds. I cooked the eye fillet for 5 minutes and the wagyu rump cap for 6-7 minutes.
3. Don’t cut the meat, instead get a meat thermometer and test the centre of the meat. Rare should be 45C/113F, medium 55C/131F and well done 65C/149F. Let the meat rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. Season with pepper. Oh and don’t forget to put the smoke alarm batteries back in!
Resting the meat
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95 Comments | Add your own
Perfectly cooked indeed! That steak looks amazing. great quality meat.
Cheers,
Rosa
Yes that us completely different that what I usually hear as the perfect way to cook a steak. I must send this through to my Dad he is always seeking perfection in his steak cooking (well as close as you can get anyway)
Those steaks look incredible. I am planning on serving steak on the weekend, so this post is perfect timing. I shall buy my meat a day or two before to allow it to age as you described, thank you! I will likely get the rib-eye as I don’t want to put a second mortgage on the house for the wagyu!
I think I’d like to peak into George Clooney’s life
My smoke alarm is wired directly to the electricity and goes off every time I cook a steak. I don’t cook steaks very often but last week was one of those rare occasions. I didn’t think much about how I was going to cook it and the results were not near perfection. So I will be bookmarking this post for the future because your steak looks fantastic
Since getting Heston’s book Heston at Home I have been cookiing steaks this way – have alos done lamb and pork steaks and chops this way – works near to perfect every time!
Look at that crust! Looks like a perfect steak to me
.
And I love your opening because it’s so easy for us to judge the experiences of other people just based on our observations. The danger in that is that we’re often wrong!
Great post. The meat looks so wonderful…Here in Mexico, I have trouble finding well-marbled beef, which means it is harder to cook well. The marinated flanks steaks (arrachera, in Spanish), however, make for terrific tacos!
I too am a Heston steak convert, it has never failed me and is always deliciously moist….. Yum
My favourite cut is the fillet! I love this method and am going to try it out next time. Good on you for sticking up for your friend!
That piece of steak sure looks good! I’ve never attempted to cook steak at home only because I’m so scared of over cooking it. And I don’t enjoy eating a piece of tough steak…
That’s a good tip about the smoke alarm. I actually know a couple who have the perfect life and I know it because they keep shoving it in my face like their current holiday to France and Monaco that is having every inch of it photographed then uploaded onto FB. And some people say I blog because otherwise I’d be bored! I heard about this method of cooking steaks on the Today Show. I was quite flawed because Carl’s father is notorious for ruining meat on the BBQ by never leaving it alone – mind you, he also uses that technique where you squash the meat with a spatula making sure it’s dry and tough when it hits your plate xx
That. Looks. So. Good. I like steak medium rare but more on the rare than the medium side (fussy, aren’t I?
) and that looks exactly how I would eat it. Now I’m practically drooling on my toast wishing for a nice piece of steak for breakfast. Yes, I’m totally normal wanting steak for breakfast….
Ooh they do look good. I’m an eye fillet girl. It’s my very favourite.
People will only see what they want to see when it comes to judging. My mum says ‘what people think of you is none of your business.’ I think it’s a good one to live by!
I wouldn’t mind getting a taste of my cat’s lifestyle… but then I’d have to eat catfood, so perhaps not.
There is no doubt in my mind that this steak is as close to perfect as can be gotten
So many great tips!
Can’t say it’s not 99% there my friend
Cheers
CCU
Ooh I love that pan you use! What is it?
I like my steaks medium-rare, and the way I get near-perfect steak is pan then oven. I’m keen to try Heston’s way next time!
It’s funny how people think others have perfect lives. Reminds me of comments about social media, and how people usually show only the edited, or best parts, of their lives. It’s all surface stuff
Thanks for this! I’ll have to share it with the bf who is steak-obsessed!
I don’t too much meat, I don’t why because at my mother we ate a lot, but now, only when we make BBQ. Anyway, I love when meet looks so red and juicy, like yours.
Whoa – look at that juicy juicy meat!!!
Our smoke detector is hooked into our security system & this may well result in a visit from the local fire department. Perhaps I might try this in the warmer weather when I can leave the doors and windows open to get rid of the smoke.
I like my steak rare with garlic and parsley butter it is the best. Most enjoyable steak I ever had was south west coast of France, perhaps some of that could be attributed to ambience though.
isnt it strangehow other people’s perceptions can be so different to how we perceive ourselves!
My husband uses this method after watching Heston on SBS. I will unwrap the steaks, clear space on the bottom shelf of the fridge and age them. This is a signal to hubby that steak is in the menu in two days.
The cooking method makes a lot of smoke but the result is fabulous! We won’t go back to the ‘cook on one side for five mins then turn once over’ method.
We have also tried the potato peelings mash and are interested in the whole brining of chicken he advocates.
We’ve tried this method and agree it is great, though requires a lot of concentration. no chatting!
We were at a Teppanyaki restaurant in Kyoto recently and watched the chef flip the steak to all 6 sides (it was a neat rectangle) every few seconds, this was the best meat i’ve ever eaten (I wont mention how delicious the Kobe beef steak was)
Good article. The answer to smoke = BBG.
The BBC radio series “cook the perfect..” has an excellent podcast on steak – including an extensive description of how to tell the degree of doneness – not everyone likes rare.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/womans-hour/cooktheperfect/perfect/steak/
Isn’t in funny how peoples’ perceptions of the lives of others are so far from the truth? No one has a perfect life … Well, no one that I’ve met, anyway.
I’m not a big meat eater, and I don’t eat steak when I’m out because I like it well and truly dead!
I have tried cooking Wagyu / Kobe Beef and I prefer mine to be cooked just under 2 minutes! This is more of a Japanese-style cooking (search YouTube for ‘Tetsuya’s Recipe – Tasmanian Wagyu Steak’ or my site ‘How to cook Kobe Beef’).
I was also told that with Kobe we don’t really need to put oil since the melting fat can act as one.
However, I agree that smoke alarm MUST be switched off!
Everyone thinks I’m a rich housewife running around spending Ben’s money. My jaw did the same thing as yours.
I am buying some steak this afternoon to try this!!!!
Ps Can I buy a steak already aged like this? I am impatient to eat it!!!
Do my eyes deceive me or are you using a ceramic stove top? I’ve always felt so hard done by mine, wishing I could cook with gas, but I’m feeling a little more inspired by seeing you cook delicious steaks on yours.
Is heston’s book worth buying?
gosh that looks good – I would like to change my life with yours just long enough to eat that steak
Funny how we heard that turning steak would make it tough – just when you think you know what you are doing – they change the rules….
Hi Laney-I think you should be able to buy aged steaks but perhaps you might give it a go just ageing them in the fridge without a cover. The surface of them becomes very waxy and really helps produce the lovely crust
HI Irene-I am indeed, well spotted! I know, it’s a pain but there is no gas in our apartments so it’s electric. I find it takes a lot longer to get the heat but it is possible to do the steak. P.S. I’m actually giving away copies of How To Cook Like Heston so feel free to enter that competition!
Wow $30 wagyu steaks , Buenos Aires , sorry to hear your doing it tough.
Now were is that Paris thread…..
Rick, they were $15 steaks if you’ll read it closer. But nothing like employing hyperbole to make some sort of point right?
Have had a number of smoke alarm incidences, this year, TRUE!
Always good to HEAR they are working too!
I put the oil, salt and pepper on the steaks before I cook (to someone’s liking)on the day!
HOT grilled pan, then wrap in al foil in the oven 150 for 5 minutes, moist tender and pour the juices over the steaks…comes out more than ok
I tried heston’s method and it’s good!
I love steak
but lol have never made one cuz I know if I did i’d do a pretty horrible job at it.
I use to like my steaks really well done…but now I think i like my steaks medium rare
I’ll have to give thus one a go. I normally hate trying to cook steak but it’s hubby’s favourite. It looks like I’ll have to be more prepared with my meals to allow for the 2 days resting time.
A wonderfully interesting post going back to the basics, at the point of which one cannot hide any sins! I take note of the way you mature the steak and shall try. I grill my steaks rather than fry and like sirloin [well, my purse prefers that
!], either as a whole steak of in strips. Was always told just to turn it once: shall try your way. I love my steaks rare, if of high quality even au bleu and my own life is far too be busy [dare I say interesting] to poke my nose into that of other people 
!
Perfect!!
This steak does look perfect…
Rest of all infact of of us Human can never e perfect… Perfection like beauty has different meaning for all but I personally find perfection a bit suffocating..LOL
Just had at my brothers house on the weekend the most amazing beef! he aged the huge chunk (vacuum packed) in his fridge for 5months past it’s used by date which means the bacteria doesn’t get to it but it starts to break down a little. And oh how tender it was! 5months is the longest he’s aged it for, normally he’ll only do it for 2months…I’ve tried 1month and it’s still a great way to have amazing steak!
Beautiful!! The best steaks I’ve ever had were in Buenos Aires, but I found that Rockpool Bar & Grill came pretty close.
Lorraine, you work so hard on this blog. I’m always blown away by your writing and photos. The person who said you were a housewife with this blog as a hobby is laughable!
And the steak looks mouth watering. I love grass fed steaks – they taste more like wild game. And I like the fact that it’s more likely that the cow had a decent life.
Thanks for the great post!
I don’t eat steak cause every time I have had it it has been tough. One day, i might if I can be guaranteed it won’t be like chewing on a shoe!
Hi Lorraine, this might sound silly, but if you keep the steak uncovered in the fridge for 2 days won’t it soak up the smell of the other stuff in the fridge?
Hi Sheryl-Not a silly question at all, and I wondered the same thing
The steak didn’t seem to pick up anything really but if you’re unsure, if you have something like a strong cheese, perhaps put that furthest away from the steak? 
It’s so, so easy to look at other people’s lives and see only smooth sailing, and to react to our own life-uncertainties by deciding that it’s “easy” for everyone else. And yet, the more I live this life of ours, the more I realise how much everyone is following the “fake it til you make it” adage by smiling and putting their best foot forward. If we could all just support each other a bit more, particularly we woman (who can be terrible at cutting each other down), oh my, we might all find our own lives a little easier!
End vaguely-philosophical-potentially-stupid-sounding-meandering-that-I-started-because-I’m-not-too-into-steak.
I love Master Kobe oyster blade cut, it’s a relatively cheaper cut but melt-in-the-mouth due to its high marbling.
EACH steak ended up being about $15 EACH.
SO more than ONE !
You & hubby $15 each = $30.
Ugh, I hate it when people talk rubbish and assume all sorts of weird things about other people. I had this conversation with a work mate this morning and he said that while it’s flattering that they’d spend time talking about you (not you specifically, but you in general), it also indicates that their lives are so dull if they spend it talking smack about other people. I wouldn’t worry about what people say and just laugh it off
I’ve heard of the Heston method but have yet to try it. I’d love to try it on a nice piece of eye fillet (my fave cut) one day!
That Rick sounds like he has some chip on his shoulder. Makes me wonder if NQN was talking about him in her opening paragraphs?
Thanks Leonie, I think I was indeed!
There is nothing nicer than a well cooked steak! Apologies to the vegetarians who may be reading this. I imagine that health experts and dieticians would quickly jump in to voice their thoughts on how charred meat causes cancer. Yours look yummy! And Heston is a magician!
Oh those steaks look beautiful! You have me craving red meat now! I’ve never tried Heston’s method but looking at your results, I think I’d better give it a go!
Oooh you’re making me so hungry Lorraine! I’ve been craving steak for a few days now.
I love a juicy fillet with garlic butter or thick and chunky mushroom sauce and thick-cut chips on the side
Where did you get that cute low-profile cast iron skillet?
And how much did it cost?
Hi Dinkus-Oh thanks for noticing that! I bought it in a vintage store in Charters Towers in Qld. It was just $10! It was heavy to carry back but I fell in love with it straight away
I think my favourite cut of steak would have to be T-Bone – essentially two steaks in one! We’re off to italy in a week and I can’t wait to eat their Chianina bistecca…yum!
My mouth started to water. Oh how perfect this steak is grilled! Sending this link to my husband as he always takes care of steaks on the grill or stove top.
Goodness me Rick, I don’t think I can be bothered arguing with someone that thinks that a $15 steak at home is excessive and that we’re rolling in cash because of it…
There is nothing I love more than a good steak and this looks incredible. Will try this method. Did you tell those people that they were wrong about your friend?
Hi Fiona-I did, I was appalled by what they said. I didn’t want to tell them too many details about her life (that’s up to her to tell that) but I felt that I should explain that she’s a very lovely, real person and has the challenges like everyone else. Although it was a bit awkward after I said that!
I must say my tastes aren’t too fancy, I’m quite pleased with a good porterhouse steak
And I would give my left arm to take a peek into the life of THE QUEEN! I was only wondering the other day, who does the Queen’s washing, and does it hang on a clothesline behind Buckingham Palace? Because surely the Queen’s washing isn’t just open to the public, and surely not ALL of it would just be sent to the drycleaners?
Wow they are good lookin steak huney. My favourite cut is any thing that looks like those above . Thanks for the tips
Gosh I’d love a steak right now – I had a Maccas burger for dinner and now I’m starving. I love a medium rare scotch fillet cooked with olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary, served with any kind of potato and tomato or barbecue sauce – mmmmm.
You had me drooling at the marbling on the uncooked steaks! I love a really aged steak, the flavour just intensifies the “steakiness” of the meat.
I have this really super wealthy friend whose life i thought was perfect. but after getting to know her more, i came to know that her life is more chaotic than mine. so yes, the perfect life is overrated. no such thing exists.
And now I have stopped Salivating, I want to know what that yellow butter is made of.
The color of your steaks is lovely, and I have to try the aging tip! That is, I have to try this for Kurt since I don’t eat red meat. I attended a class taught by Adam Perry Lang who had some great tips for grilling steaks. He ties herbs to a stick and uses it as a brush for basting while grilling. Lucky Kurt that I learn these things for him!
Hi Panu-it’s a truffle butter I unearthed from the freezer
I’m terrible at cooking any red meat – it’s the bane of my food existence and thus I rarely eat it unless ordering out (and they don’t have chicken or some kind of cheesy pasta dish). But this looks so much simpler and delicious than I expected – I was thinking of all kinds of complicated techniques. But I could do this…
As for a person whose life I could glimpse into, I guess I would have to say Ina Garten. She has all these fab friends, has an extremely successful career, and she manages to make it all seem so effortless. So I want a peek!
Nobody’s life is perfect and catty comments like that make me wonder if that person should be in my life. You know my mother always said, “If she talks about her that way, you can be sure she’s saying similar things about you!”
That steak looks Perfect! I’ve never aged in the fridge before but you can bet I will be doing it!
You mean, you don’t have a filthy rich husband and you’re not a housewife? (not that there is anything wrong with being a housewife, mind you).
Magnificent looking steak, Lorraine!
I have tried Heston’s method several times and it does turn out a wonderful steak. But while I am flipping steak every 20 seconds who is going to cook the vegies? I gave up last night when stirring polenta and flipping steak at the same time was just too hard.
Those steaks look marvelous, and nice call cooking them on cast iron! The only thing I do differently is that instead of oiling the pan I oil the steaks themselves. This limits the amount of smoking and spattering the pan does.
I loved reading your story about these catty women talking about your friend in such a negative way without actually knowing her and what her life is/was really like. I’ve been the victim of it more times than I can count (not because I’m polished or rich) – in real life and online..and it’s truly heart breaking. You know the old adage ‘Never judge a book by it’s cover’, and let me add ‘Read that book in full first, then decide – and you’ll probably see how wrong you were’.
In any event..I’ve never tried Heston’s method for cooking steaks. I always abide by the ‘sear and don’t turn it until it lifts off the pan easily’, for a lovely crust. Looking at your perfectly crusted, perfectly rare, steak..I need to try his ‘turn every 15 – 20 seconds’ method! My fave cuts are Shell, Sirloin and Porterhouse, and I want any of the above now – for breakfast! lol
much to the chagrin of the men in my life, i just don’t like steak. i don’t like the flavor and i don’t like the way it feels in my mouth. then again, maybe i’ve just never had one cooked properly.
Oh how brilliant! Thank you for the tips.
My favourite cut of steak is T-Bone actually and then followed by rib-eye. I used to only eat my steaks well-done when I was little. But now, I only want them medium/medium-rare. Delicious.
Super steak-cooking tips, Lorraine. I love it rare, charred on the outside. Am forwarding this post to all my meat eating friends.
A mouth watering post, Lorraine.
I saw Heston’s TV segment on this and must say, i raised an eyebrow at the technique. I haven’t put it to the test yet. But we take delivery of a barbecue today, so ‘the perfect steak’ is on this weekend’s menu. And i’ve just made the BBQ sauce to go with them.
I just love steak- but, unfortunately, have never even closely mastered the art of cooking steak. I can, however, ‘sole’ hundred pairs of shoes
Lorraine, I’m going to try this method. Usually, I sear in a cast iron pan and then finish in the oven, but I’m so curious now to age the meat and try your way with a rib eye, medium rare.
Very interesting cooking technique. The end result looks fantabulous, but Im thinking due to my lack of working extractor fan at the moment I might wait to try this one out til I get it working again!
Great tips!
I have wet aged steaks but never dry aged them…I must try your method!!! Thanks!!!
Excellent, top quality post! I’m trying Heston’s recipe tonight and cannot wait…Looks like your results were fantastic!
I know this post is a little old, but thanks so much for the tip. I just bought some eye fillet steaks and I’ve never been able to cook them properly, so will try this.
My question is, how do you get the burnt meat smell out of your house afterwards?! I cooked some steaks a few weeks ago and for ages the entire house smelt because of all the smoke. It almost puts me off cooking steak altogether.
HI A! I put the exhaust fan on as high as possible and open the windows but I know what you mean. It enveloped our whole apartment!
Thanks sweet! Looks like there is no way round that smell!
I like the smoke alarm battery idea (but ours are hard wired in!!!). The dry age in fridges is great too, has anyone tried the Nile Perry approach of heating the steak to near resting temperature first, and then cooking. ail
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