Cooking a steak is one of the easiest meals to make, but getting the best crust comes down to the right ingredients.
Steak will have a better, crispier texture (Image: Getty)
Steak is one of the most straightforward meals to prepare, making it ideal for those evenings when you fancy something rich and full of flavour without spending hours in the kitchen. Simply place a steak into a scorching hot pan, though achieving the perfect crust isn’t solely down to your cooking technique — the ingredients you select matter just as much.
While olive oil is a go-to choice for cooking steak, given that most households keep it in the cupboard, it typically fails to reach the temperatures required to properly sear the meat.
Cooking with olive oil makes it considerably more difficult to achieve sufficiently high temperatures, leaving you at greater risk of an unevenly cooked, tough and chewy result.
Instead, Jon Gilson from Whole Life Challenge has recommended that switching to avocado oil is the key to achieving the perfect sear.
Jon explained: Avocado oil has a smoke point of 270°C, and as such, is the only oil high in omega-3s that will stand up to the searing in this recipe.
“Healthy oils with a lower smoke point, such as extra virgin olive oil 160°C and coconut oil 175°C would oxidise at these temperatures (and smoke up your kitchen).”
Avocado oil’s notably high smoke point means it can endure the intense heat required to sear a steak without turning your kitchen into a smoke-filled nightmare. This makes it far superior for searing purposes, enabling you to achieve a crispier, more flavoursome crust on your steak.
Olive oil has a low smoke point, making it poorly suited to the intense heat required to cook a steak properly without causing the meat to char and develop a bitter taste.
Avocado oil not only helps you achieve a superior texture, but its subtle flavour also allows the natural taste of the steak to come through, resulting in a far more satisfying cut of meat.
How to cook a better steak
You will need:
- 16 oz boneless ribeye steak
- Four tablespoons of avocado oil
- Salt and pepper
- Asparagus (optional)
Method
Begin by seasoning both sides of the steak generously with salt and pepper, then leave it to rest for a few minutes.
If time allows, cover the steak with a tea towel and set it aside for an hour, giving the salt time to work its way into the meat. This will enhance the texture and produce a superior crust.
Place a cast-iron pan in the oven and preheat it to 260°C, or heat it on the hob for several minutes. The pan needs to be extremely hot to cook the steak correctly, so take care not to burn yourself.
When you’re ready to cook, coat the steak thoroughly in avocado oil until it has an even, glossy appearance.
Once the pan is scorching hot, pour in a few tablespoons of avocado oil before adding the steak. Sear for 60 seconds, then turn it over and sear for a further 60 seconds.
Return the pan to the oven and cook at 260°C for two minutes, then flip and cook for a further two minutes. Alternatively, cooking on the hob works just as well. Allow roughly three to four minutes on each side.
A rare steak will take around seven minutes, medium approximately nine minutes, and well-done around 11 minutes. Once your steak has reached the desired level of doneness, remove it from the pan and allow it to rest for a minimum of five minutes.
The juices within the steak naturally migrate towards the surface during cooking, and slicing into it straight away will cause those tasty juices to run out, leaving the meat tasting rather lacklustre.
While the steak is resting, cook the asparagus by placing it in the pan with a few additional tablespoons of avocado oil and cooking for five minutes. At that point, everything should be ready to plate up.
The steak ought to be crispy, tender and packed with flavour simply by switching the variety of cooking oil you’re using.
