To salt or not to salt. That was the question I asked myself the very first time my husband brought home some beef steaks as I looked into the best way to cook them, I had never cooked steaks before so I read up as much as I could on the topic. There was so much conflicting advice online that it made it hard to decide which method of cooking was the best; did I season the steaks well in advance or moments before cooking? Did I go heavy on the spices or did I keep it simple? In the end I put my trust in the experts and did it their way, SO, I didn’t season the steaks until just before I cooked them and I didn’t add anything other than salt, pepper, a little garlic and butter. Bad idea! Once cooked the steaks tasted bland and didn’t meet up to my expectations in terms of flavour, I vowed to use my own seasonings and technique the next time I cooked them and thus Afelia’s Beef Steaks were born.

Now I’m gonna be totally honest here and say I don’t have much experience when it comes to cooking times for a steak, I can count the number of times I’ve actually cooked steaks on one hand (it’s 3 to be exact, lol), so whilst I will be giving you advice on the timings I used, the technique and equipment you will need to cook the steaks, you may want to do some independent research on cooking times to make sure you get the steaks cooked the way you like. There are many variable factors ie. weight, thickness and doneness when it comes to steak, and it all boils down to your own personal preference.

Some people like their steaks pink and bloody, or ‘rare’ as it’s more well known (omg, yah mabud, lol), whilst others prefer it a little pink in the middle but brown on the outside, I guess this would be classed as ‘medium rare’ (I don’t mind it like this) and if you like it brown all the way through well then you like a ‘well done’ steak. I actually like my steaks to be in between medium rare and well done, which is classed as medium from some of the charts I have seen. There are other levels of ‘doneness’ when it comes to steaks, but I would say these are the most prominent ones so won’t go into depth about the others.

I like to think that I have a good and varied palate, so whilst I love my curries and heavily spiced food, I also appreciate dishes that contain fewer ingredients but are equally delicious. There is a big difference however between bland food which is tasteless, and food that is seasoned simply but flavoursome. I don’t feel the need to OD on the chilli sauce to make my food taste good but I DO want my food to be flavoursome with or without the chilli heat. I’m hoping that using my unique marinade will ensure that the steaks are bursting with flavour without the need for chilli sauce.

One thing I would advise is to make sure that you have a set of steak knives to hand because it makes a huge difference to the eating experience. Struggling to slice a thick tough steak with a blunt knife is no fun whatsoever and it will put you off cooking steaks at home again! I invested in some quality steak knives when they went on sale, purely because I didn’t want to fight to slice up my meat, lol! If you think you are likely to cook steaks every once in a while, try to keep an eye out for a set when they go on offer, Christmas is a good time to be on the lookout.

Here is a list of advice and pointers that will ensure you cook the steaks correctly.

1. Marinate the steaks several hours before you intend to cook them or overnight where possible. Marinating ahead of time will ensure the spices have had time to penetrate the surface of the steaks and that they are well seasoned.
2. Make sure you allow the steaks to come to room temperature before cooking them if you stored them in the fridge for a period of time or overnight. This will mean the steaks will cook evenly, otherwise the outside will cook and the centre of the steak will remain cold.
3. Try to use a frying pan that can be heated to high temperatures in order to sear the steaks quickly, to lock in flavour and juices; stainless steel clad, tri-ply cookware or cast iron are ideal for this. I use a cast iron griddle pan which is ideal for searing steaks/meat. Non stick frying pans are NOT suitable for this purpose and should be avoided.
4. Make sure you use an oil with an high smoking point, corn oil or sesame oil are good for this. Avoid using olive oil or butter as the olive oil has a low smoke point and butter will burn.
5. For best results it is important to set a timer to ensure that the steaks are cooked equally on both sides, steaks cook quickly once in the pan and it can be easy to overcook them if you don’t time yourself. I made use of the timer on my phone and cooked my steaks for exactly 2 minutes on each side, as my steaks were between 1.5 and 2.5cm in thickness this resulted in different levels of ‘doneness’. This time will vary depending on how thick your steaks are and how you like them.
6. Remember to rest the steaks AFTER cooking for 5 – 7 minutes to allow the meat to re-absorb some of the juices that will naturally be released. This will ensure a juicier steak and will mean the meat loses less juice when cut. I keep an enamel roaster on top of the hob, next to where I cook the steaks to place the steaks in as they are cooked one by one, this not only gives them time to rest but also helps to keep them warm. Try not to cover with foil as this will make the steaks steam and ruin the sear on the surface.

Now that I have covered everything I feel you need to know, there should be no room for misteaks, hopefully everyone will enjoy this recipe and will want to beef friends with you! Oh come on, that was sear genius, lol, let’s begin!

Serves – 6

You will need: for Afelia’s Beef Steaks

6 large Beef steaks (weighing between 0.30 – 0.35kg each and ranged from 1.5cm – 2.5cm thickness)
2 tbsp English mustard
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp mixed herbs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp curry powder (I used TRS Mild Madras Curry Powder)
1/2 tsp white pepper
extra oil as needed

Method:

The beef steaks shown here ranged in weight from 0.30 – 0.35kg each. Some of the steaks weren’t very thick, (they ranged between 1.5cm to 2.5cm in thickness) and were more spread out. As you can see all of the steaks were larger than my hand, however once cooked the steaks do tend to shrink a little.

To make the marinade for the steaks, to a large bowl add 2 tbsp of mustard, 1 tbsp of oil, 1 tbsp of honey, 1 tbsp of mixed herbs….

….1 tsp salt, 1 rounded tsp curry powder, 1 rounded teaspoon garlic powder and 1/2 tsp ground white pepper.

Mix all of the ingredients well to create a smooth paste.

Next add the beef steaks to the paste and smother them using your hands, it’s important to cover each steak with the marinade thoroughly.

Continue adding the steaks to the marinade, this marinade is enough for 6 large steaks weighing between the amounts mentioned previously.

Once you have marinated the steaks leave in an airtight container covered somewhere cool for several hours or overnight, in this case refrigerate, I marinated these steaks during the day and cooked them in the evening.

Make sure you bring the steaks to room temperature a few hours before cooking them, this will ensure even cooking and won’t leave the steaks cold in the middle.

Choose a suitable pan for cooking the steaks in and heat well.

I prefer to add oil to the pan and use a brush to coat the surface with a thin layer, rather than use an excessive amount.

Have your timer set and ready. Heat the oil and pan to smoking point and then add your steak, make sure you start the timer as you do so.

Cook the steaks for 2 minutes either side.

As a rough guideline, the steaks that were 1.5cm thick cooked through completely ie. were ‘well done’ when cooked for 2 minutes either side. The steaks that were thicker were pink in the middle still ie. ‘medium rare’ when cooked for 2 minutes either side. Adjust these timings as necessary depending on the thickness and your personal preference.

Flip over after 2 minutes and cook for a further two minutes (don’t forget to reset the timer) on the other side.

Remove the steak from the pan once the time is up and leave it to rest in a dish for 5 minutes.

You will notice some juices being released from the steak and this is fairly common, when left to rest the juices will be re-absorbed into the steaks.

Continue to brush the pan with oil as necessary before you cook the remaining steaks. Remove any burnt bits from the pan as you go.

Once your steaks have rested, serve them with sides of your choice, I chose a hot onion gravy, super creamy mashed potatoes and peas.

Savour every mouthful of your well seasoned and flavoursome steak!

As you can see from this photo, this was one of the thinner steaks, and cooking for 2 minutes on either side resulted in an almost well done steak (there is a slight hint of pink in the middle), so adjust these timings as necessary.

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