How to pan fry the perfect steak

I have found that many people don’t really understand how to cook a steak. So I’m going to run through a few of the basics.

1. You need a good thick pan heated to searing hot. Do not add the steaks before the pan is super hot. If your pan is non-stick you won’t need much oil, if it is not a non-stick pan you will need a bit more oil to grease the bottom of the pan properly.
2. Your steaks should be thick cut; 3cm – 4cm thick are the best. But usually pre-cut steaks are closer to 2cm thick. Thick cut steaks allow you to fry the steak till it gets a crispy brown crust on the outside before over-cooking the meat on the inside. If you only have thin steaks available, you may need to choose which is more important to you – rare meat with very little caramelisation on the outside, or a crispy outside but well done one the inside.
3. You need to dry your steaks before frying them. Any blood or juices on the surface of the meat with turn into steam and boil your meat. Pat the steaks dry with kitchen towel. Salt and pepper them and fry them right away in your searing hot pan before the salt draws moisture out.
4. You need to rest your steaks before eating them. Keep a plate warm, place your cooked steaks on the warm plate and cover them with foil. Leave them for 5 – 10 minutes depending on how big and thick your steaks are. Then serve them right away.

The recipe below is a lovely way to eat ostrich steaks which are a firm favourite of mine. And it’s a rather healthy recipe too.

Ostrich steaks with gremolata
Serves 4

for the gremolata
2 Tbsp of oil
1 tsp of garlic, crushed
1 tsp of lemon zest, finely grated
2 Tbsp of lemon juice
2 Tbsp of capers, drained and finely chopped
6 Tbsp of parsley, washed, picked and finely chopped

4 ostrich fillet medallions, ( about 2 cm thick)
1 Tbsp of oil
Salt and pepper to season

Combine all the gremolata ingredients and set it aside out of the fridge until ready to serve.

Heat the oil in a medium sized heavy bottomed pan to high heat. Pat your steaks dry; salt and pepper them. Add the steaks to the pan and do not move them, allowing them to fry for about 3 minutes before turning them. They should have browned nicely, if not fry for a further minute. Once you flip the steak fry for a further 3 minutes for a medium rare steak or about 4 minutes for a medium steak. Let the steaks rest covered with foil for 5 minutes before serving with a generous dollop of gremolata.

Serve with your favourite side dishes.