How to Cook Steak in a Frying Pan

This method ensures the juiciest, tastiest, well-done steaks and chops, despite the howls of derision that will probably arise from the lips of "expert" chefs!

Ingredients

• Steaks or chops about 25mm (1 inch) thick; the choice is yours.
• Salt, pepper, garlic salt, or other spice.
• Cooking oil.
• Water and lemon juice
• Sometimes butter makes for a better steak.

Steps

1. This is for a well-done steak; cook for less time for rare or medium steaks.

   Check that guests want a well-done steak if cooking for someone else.

2. Rinse steaks with cold water, pat dry, and then puncture them with a table fork, stabbing them all over, turn over and stab the other side. Now sprinkle salt and pepper over one side and rub in well, using either your fingertips or the back of a spoon. Turn meat over and repeat on the other side.
3. Pour some cooking oil into a frying pan and heat up to medium heat, pack meat into pan and put a lid on it. Leave for one minute, remove from heat and wait until the sizzling stops before opening the lid. Flip meat over with a spatula or egg lifter, replace the lid and return to the heat for about ninety seconds.
4. Once again remove from heat, wait for sizzling to stop, lift lid, flip over, dust with just a hint of garlic salt or other spice of your liking, close the lid and return to the heat for five minutes. Remove from heat as before, wait for sizzling to stop, open lid, flip meat, dust that side with your spice and return to heat with lid on. Wait another five minutes, remove from heat and wait for sizzling to stop, take out your meat and eat.
5. This is the basic method and will ensure juicy, well-done steaks or chops. Cook for a shorter time if you want rarer meat.
6. Stabbing the meat with a fork makes channels in the meat, the ends of which are spread with seasoning when you rub it. These channels fill up with the juices of the meat.
7. Try it once and you will wonder why anyone uses any other method to cook steak or chops!

Tips

• If the pan dries out, add a half cup of water to which a squeeze of lemon juice has been added, not more oil! Allow the water to evaporate away by opening the pan after the sizzling has stopped and holding it over the heat until it has all disappeared. Then close the lid and keep over the heat for about thirty seconds.
• Sautee onions in the pan before adding the steak, and leave them in while cooking. This will add a lot of flavor to your steak.
• A splash of red wine can be added instead of water and lemon. This will serve the same purpose, add a distinct taste, and create a flavorful glaze. Depending on the wine, water can be added as well to offset the potentially strong flavor of the glaze.
• The reason for removing the pan from the heat and waiting for the sizzling to stop is to ensure that the cooking oil does not spatter all over the place and burn you.

Warnings

• This technique produces an extremely well-done steak when the meat is less than one inch thick. Even changing the time of the second section to three minutes on each side may overcook your meat. For steaks that are about 1 inch thick, try reducing the time of the second section to two minutes on each side if you want a rare to medium rare steak.
• Many steak eaters do not prefer their steak well-done. If you are cooking for someone else, please check with them for their doneness preference before cooking your meat in this fashion. There are other ways to pan-fry a steak, leave it flavorful, and medium-rare to medium-well done.
• Using a higher heat setting than what the instructions say may make the steak less tender.
• The addition of water at the end of this method essentially braises the steak, which can produce tough meat if care is not taken. The addition of papaya juice to the water will help tenderize the meat (thanks to the enzyme papain) and add a delicious flavor. Other juices, or alcohol, may be used instead of water for varying degrees of tenderness and flavor.
• Try this recipe without poking the raw steak with a fork. The forking of the steak can cause changes which may or may not be desirable for some diners.

Things You'll Need

• A fork and a knife.
• A healthy appetite can be added for extra enjoyment.

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