Nailed It: How To Cook The Perfect Steak

Buckle up, because we’re about to give you the low down on pretty much the only skill you need in your life—how to cook the perfect steak.

Admit it, your mum never taught you how to do it properly and so you’ve launched into a life with your tail between your legs, too afraid to even attempt cooking steak at home and now resort to paying 40 plus dollars at a restaurant at least once a month for the pleasure.

Well, that’s exactly why we’ve teamed up with the local legends from Harvey Beef to bring you the only guide to cooking steak you will ever need—get ready to knock your socks off with your cooking prowess. And do yourself a favour, bookmark this bad boy for later.
 

Porterhouse

Whipping up a mean steak sanga at home? The porterhouse is the cut for you. It’s prepared from the striploin and despite the thin top strip of fat, it’s still a relatively lean cut. If you’re not trying to reduce fat in your diet (and why would you?) we recommend cooking this bad boy with the fat intact for better flavour. Pan fry on high heat for three minutes each side for a juicy, rare steak and four minutes each side if you prefer it medium.

Scotch Fillet

Dubbed by many as the most flavourful steak, the scotch fillet features a glorious fat marble which makes it even more delicious. Also known as the ribeye, it’s best enjoyed cooked on the BBQ or pan-fried—three minutes each side for rare and four minutes each side for medium. Enjoy this fillet with some crispy sweet potato fries and a fresh, herby salsa.

Eye Fillet

For melt-in-your-mouth steak, the eye fillet is your jam. It prepared from the tenderloin so it is tender AF and is best served rare. While it’s a thicker piece of steak you don’t need to cook it for very long at all, three minutes each side is all you need for a juicy feast. Serve this one sliced atop a seasonal salad and add a little goat’s feta for good measure!

 

1. ALWAYS start with steak at room temperature.
2. Before cooking, grab a paper towel and blot away the excess moisture.
3. Season with a little salt, pepper and olive oil (in that order). You don’t need fancy marinades to make steak taste good!
4. Heat a heavy-based pan on high heat or fire up the BBQ, ensuring it's nice and hot before you get underway.
5. Do not, we repeat, do not oil your pan—your steaks are already oiled so save yourself the trouble.
6. Flipping steak over and over makes it really chewy, so only flip once.
7. If there is only one thing you take away from this article, make sure it’s this: leave your steak to rest for five minutes once you’ve removed it from the heat. This helps to keep the juices inside and it makes steak extra tender, cover them lightly with foil and wait patiently, it’ll all be worth it.

The best tasting steak starts with the best quality meats. You’ll find Harvey Beef’s 100% West Australian beef in all Coles supermarkets across WA.

Image credit: Jessica Wyld

Editor's note: this article was produced in partnership with Harvey Beef. For more information on our editorial policy please click here.