Cooking meat in a pan is best if you don’t wish to handle a hot skillet or sear the meat, and it is also the easiest way to cook steak. Cooking meat in a pan is a technique where you cook meat undisturbed in a hot pan until crispy brown on the outside.
Consider using boneless beef like NY strip, filet mignon, and ribeye. Avoid using tenderloin steak as it tends to overcook.
Mistakes To Avoid When Cooking Meat in A Pan
Some common mistakes to avoid when making meat include:
- Adding the steak to the pan before it is hot enough will cause the beef to stick to the pan’s surface and be tough. Add a little oil to the pan and only add in the meat when the pan is hot enough.
- Moving the meat too much without giving it enough time to cook on each side. Let the meat cook and avoid moving it around.
- Cooking meat from the fridge can cause uneven cooking. Consider letting the steak stay for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
- Flipping the meat before time causes it to stick on the pan. Let the meat cook until it is golden brown before flipping to the other side.
- Cooking the meat on too low heat. Consider cooking the beef over medium-high heat.
Tips For Cooking Meat in A Pan
- Use thick steak of at least one inch.
- Use boneless meat with a little bit of fat for the most tender cooked meat.
- Season the meat the night before, then put it in the refrigerator and leave it overnight. Remove the meat from the fridge the next day and let it stay for about 30 minutes to 1 hour before cooking. A steak at room temperature cooks more evenly than cold meat.
- Put the meat into the pan when the oil is hot and sizzling.
- Leave the meat for about 10 minutes before cutting it.
- Using a hot cast iron pan is key to ensuring perfectly cooked steak. A cast-iron pan lets the meat continue cooking even when out of the fire.
- Use a cooking thermometer to determine the desired level of doneness. If you don’t have access to a cooking thermometer, you can always cut the beef open as it cooks to check if it has reached your desired level of doneness.
- Thicker steak takes longer to cook, while thinner steak takes a shorter time to cook.
- Use a paper towel to dab the steak to remove any excess moisture.
- Consider using kosher salt to salt your beef because of its large grains, which draw more moisture out of the meat than regular salt.
- When cooking meat in a pan, add the oil first, then butter later. Use oil to sear the meat, then add butter to the pan right before finishing cooking the meat. Butter tends to get burned, which is why it is not added to the initial cooking stages but adding it later helps deepen the brown color of the steak.