How to cook meat to tasty perfection every time!

I just got an email from someone telling me that their steak/meats never come out right. They are always overcooked and not tasty. I responded to her with the below. I hope it helps you too!

1. Buy thicker cuts when you can. This way you can get a nice sear/crust on top and still have meat that is not overcooked. When you use a thinner cut by the time you have a beautiful crust on top it can be overcooked.
2. Let the meat come to room temperature (30 minutes outside of the refrigerator). Pat the meat dry. Dry meat sears, wet meat steams.
3. Season well with salt and pepper. This is what helps form a beautiful, tasty crust as well as bringing the best flavor out of the meat.
4. Good pan as we discussed. Good pan = even heat transfer.
5. Get the pan really hot first – high heat.
6. Add oil and get the oil hot. It should actually start to “haze” a little bit.
7. Add your well seasoned meat/chicken and turn to med-high. DON”T touch. Let it sear, let the crust form. Cook it 70% of the way on the first side to get a great crust.
8. Flip it over and cook for just a couple minutes more (depending on the thickness).  125 (for beef) is beautifully medium rare. You will eventually be able to tell just by looking at the way the meat lays in the pan and the way it feels but until then use a thermometer. Error on the side of “undercooked”. There is some residual cooking that happens as it rests. The best flavor of beef, lamb, veal and pork comes out when the meat is pink.
9. Let it rest on a cutting board loosely covered with foil for ten minutes. The juices will re-absorb into the steak and it will be moist and juicy. If you cut it right away the juice is on the plate and not in the steak!
10. This method applies to almost any meat (except for finished temperature), fish, shrimp, chicken. You can use this same method for roasts as well but after you sear it on all sides you set the pan in a 350 oven and let it finish cooking there.

Eat well, Enjoy life, Be happy