The perfect steak in 5 moves

Here at the Red Garter, we care about meat. The Steakhouse opened in 2001, long before it became a trend. Modeled after the American Diner, you can find all things “grillable” here: steak, sliced steak, ribs, chicken…

So we’re pretty confident in being able to give you 5 tips for a proper steak.

The raw ingredient. Whether it’s a T-bone, a Florentine, or a ribeye, the substance doesn’t change: meat should not be bought just anywhere! Having certainty of the origin and aging is the first step to success.

It’s a matter of thickness. “Under 4 fingers it’s carpaccio,” they say in Florence. The four fingers are obviously the minimum measurement a steak must have to aspire to “Florentine” status. But for everything else too, thickness is one of the variables that determines cooking time.

The temperature. If you don’t want a “hot outside, cold inside” result, remember that meat should be cooked once it reaches room temperature. Take it out of the fridge a few hours before and let it rest before undertaking the difficult passage on the grill.

No moisture. The “Maillard Reaction” is that chemical process that forms the succulent “crust” on the meat. Moisture doesn’t like Maillard, and therefore neither does the succulent crust. Remember to dry the steak with paper towels before cooking, eliminating all traces of our enemy moisture!

Cooking. Well, we won’t tell you that steak should be cooked on a real grill. But even if you cook on a griddle or grill pan, the temperature must be burning hot (not warm, burning hot). And we won’t even tell you that the best materials – if you don’t cook on a barbecue – are iron and cast iron. And that your dear non-stick pan will simply boil your steak, with all due respect to our friend Maillard (see above), who has seen cooked and uncooked (especially uncooked).

If you then feel like tasting the result of all this but are too lazy, don’t worry, there is always a table for you at the Red Garter!