A professional chef has revealed the most common mistakes people make when cooking a steak – and you’re probably guilty of them too.
This year’s Great British Menu winner, chef Kate Austen, has shared her top tips for preparing meat at home, including cooking your steak so it’s tender, juicy and tasty every time.
According to Austen, the easiest way to ruin a piece of meat is to cook it straight from the refrigerator.
She said that while it may be tempting to throw a cold ribeye straight into the pan, especially when you’re in a hurry, bringing the meat to room temperature is a crucial first step.
This will help cook the meat evenly throughout so there is no eAn expensive piece of meat that has taken on an unappetizing gray hue.
A professional chef has revealed the most common mistakes people make when cooking a steak – and you’re probably guilty of them too (file photo)
Another small misstep that makes a big difference is cooking the steak in a pan that’s not too hot, he added.
Austen explained: “Beef is quite robust… it can withstand heat and you want that beautiful, dark caramelization.”
By following these two simple steps, you’re likely to prepare a restaurant-quality steak at a fraction of the price, the London chef said.
Earlier this month, Austen made Great British Menu history, becoming the first chef to have her main course, made up of stuffed quail, truffle French toast and a Scotch egg, on the banquet throughout the show’s 19 seasons.
Before competing on the BBC Two show, the 30-year-old was appointed head chef at two-Michelin-starred restaurant AOC in Copenhagen, Denmark.
At the time, she was the youngest two-Michelin-star chef in the world.
He also served as sous chef at the three-Michelin-starred Restaurant Frantzen in Sweden, before landing a job as senior development chef for Gordon Ramsay.
Austen has now joined forces with Asda to ease the reluctance felt by large numbers of Britons when it comes to cooking and preparing meat at home.
The collaboration marks the launch of the retailer’s new Exceptional range of premium meat and seafood products, including sirloin, filet, ribeye and loin steaks, pork and leek sausages and smoked sea bass fillets.
This year’s Great British Menu main course winner Kate Austen has shared her simple trick for cooking a steak to perfection every time.
Austen, 30, worked in Michelin-starred restaurants in Denmark and Sweden, before appearing on the hit BBC Two show.
Research commissioned by Asda found that one in seven Brits said they would never try to cook a steak at home. One in five admitted to throwing away a piece of meat because it didn’t turn out right.
When asked to choose the meat they were most intimidated by, a group of 2,000 respondents ranked ribeye as the most difficult to cook, followed by sirloin and then rump.
Surprisingly, 20 percent of respondents said they had never tried to cook fish at home, while almost 40 percent revealed they had never tried to prepare whole shrimp.
More than a third of people surveyed, aged 18 to 44, said they actively avoid buying and cooking premium meat products for fear of ruining the product and wasting money.
Asda has now launched a Culinary Concierge service in collaboration with Austen, who will share her best tips and tricks for cooking meat with amateurs and home cooks alike.
For example, the secret to making the best pork rinds is to salt the meat for 20 to 30 minutes to extract some of the excess water from the meat. Austen advises using twice the amount you would use to salt a vegetable.
She became the first cook in the show’s 19-year history to have her main course at the banquet.
Austen also previously worked as a senior development chef with Gordon Ramsay.
Next, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and place the joint in it for five minutes over low heat.
Strain and pat dry (you’ll never get a crispy skin if it’s soggy, Austen explained), before placing it in an oven heated to 220 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 160 degrees Celsius for the remaining time.
Other common mistakes Brits make when preparing meat include piercing the skin of sausages for fear they will “explode”. This lets out all the moisture and results in dry, chewy sausages, Austen said.
She will be on hand to help with expert advice on cooking different types of poultry and seafood products as part of Asda’s Culinary Concierge service, which runs from Thursday 24 October to Sunday 27 October.
Whether you’re trying out the viral ‘Marry Me’ chicken to impress your date or getting ready to cook your first Sunday roast, you can sign up for a five-minute call with the private chef.
You can register your interest for a five-minute call with Austen here; Spaces will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.