Cooking Tutorial: My Perfect Steak

Once again, just as with my perfect baked potato, I need to preface this post by saying the term “perfect” is completely subjective. I think even more so when it comes to steak because everyone seems to like it differently. I have friends who just sprinkle the steak with grill seasoning and fire it up and love it but sadly, my tastebuds do not approve. They want spice and sauce and more sauce. When I made the baked potato the other night I also made my favourite steak and will share my secrets with you here.

Homemade Steak Spice Rub

First I put together my spice rub: 1 tbsp smoked paprika (normal paprika is fine), 1 tbsp onion powder, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tsp ground mustard, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp turmeric. Some people do not believe in making a spice rub but I do, I find it not only adds flavour it adds texture to the meat and deepens the flavour experience. You may be tempted to add salt but don’t! Never use a spice rub mix is you are going to slow marinate in the fridge. Spice rubs have salt and will draw out the meat’s moisture. If you decide to go for a wet marinate, avoid anything acidic like vinegar or lemon, that will cook the steak over time. I just add these spices to the meat in a plastic bag and massage them in and let them soak in for a few hours.

Doesn’t that already look amazing? These are sirloin steaks but I usually actually prefer grilling steaks. They are cheaper and grill up perfectly without a ton of fat in them. Make sure to take the steaks out of the fridge and let them sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes, that way they will not seize on the grill. Right before you grill them up, season with salt and pepper.

Grilling the Steak

I know what you’re thinking, where is the sauce?! Suzie has got to have her sauce. Well, you are right! The only thing is my kitchen is not vented (will be next week, fingers crossed) so if I added my barbecue sauce and then put the steaks on the grill my house will be filled with smoke as it burns. I grill it on both sides and then add the barbeue sauce. My husband will only eat medium well done steak and it took me years to get it right. For me I grill on both sides for 5 minutes each on medium high and then put it in a 350F oven for 10 minutes. Now it is always cooked through but is not hard as a rock.

Barbecue Sauce Fakeout

This is my total barbecue sauce cheat! One day I was running out of three different sauces in my fridge and put them together. It was so good I have never bothered to make my own barbecue sauce! You know I will of course but for now this is what I do: 1/3 cup generic no-name barbecue sauce, 1/4 cup of a spicy barbecue sauce (mine has chipotles) and 2 tbsp of black bean sauce. Divine! Spicy but not too spicy with the depth of the black beans….so good!

I know you are supposed to let your steak rest afterwards but after all that….No way! Of course by the time I have the corn and the potatoes all fixed up enough time has gone by that the steak is perfect. So there you go, my perfect steak! Totally worth it. Well, once a week, LOL. This is definitely a Suzie the Foodie treat.

How do you like your steak, if you eat it?