Frying Steak – disappointing gray crust, not pink inside

steak

Ok so I'm a teenager and I'm starting to get interested in this cooking thing, and in particular, steak.

So anyway, this past week I decided to try my luck at preparing a steak. My family's grill is broken, so I tried to cook it in a pan (after reading and watching plenty of articles and videos on how to cook steak).

So I used some sort of heavy metal pan (I'm not sure what material), and let it heat up on high heat for about 5 minutes. After letting my 3 thin flank steaks sit out for around 30 minutes, I put salt, pepper, and olive oil on them. Next, I put them in the pan and immediately the room filled with smoke.

I opened up windows, doors, and used the vent above the pan but to no avail. Despite all the smoke, the steaks would only seem to turn a bland grey. After a while I had to take them off because I didn't want them to get overdone.

I put the steaks on a plate and covered them with tin foil. After around 10 minutes, I cut into them and they only had a little pink in them. Not the medium rare I was hoping for. Plus, there was the disappointing gray crust.

What did I do wrong? Any help is appreciated.

Best Answer

It sounds to me like you've made a good start and almost got there. You picked a heavy pan and got it hot, and you had in mind the outcome you want. You also recognized that you needed to get your steaks off the pan before they overcooked, showing you have the theory and practice down. Here's the tweaks I would make to get the result you want:

  • Oil: Olive oil is a great cooking oil for low temperature but it is not a good choice for high temperature as it will 1) smoke, 2) set on fire in some cases (it's flare-up city on the barbecue) and 3) produce off flavors (as in taste bad). Canola (rapeseed), peanut, sunflower, safflower, ie most vegetable oils will work fine for this. You only need a small amount ensure good heat contact with the pan, not a liberal coating
  • Seasoning: salt is fine to put on your steak, pepper will burn and turn bitter, I suggest you pepper it just after cooking
  • Steak choice: Even on a hot pan there won't be enough time to get enough crust on a flank steak (or any thin steak) before the meat inside is done, if you want a crust then you're better off with a thicker steak. A grey outside without any crust is typical with a thin steak. When buying a steak remember that you're better off getting quality over quantity, a small piece of good quality filet or ribeye is better than a slab of a tough old rubber. Personally I have no problem with flank steak, I suggest you marinade it first and get your barbecue working again as a searing hot flame is the way to go for flank
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