Latest news with #JoeFlamm
CNET
08-07-2025
- General
- CNET
Summer Is Cookout Season and This Steak Hack Steals the Show Every Time
Summer is cookout season. It's the perfect time to get together with friends and family, break out the grill, and cook up delicious food. One of my favorite meats to serve up at cookouts is a juicy steak, but that doesn't mean it's easy to get it perfectly cooked. I've learned the hard way that timing is everything when it comes to steak. Leave it on too long and it's tough and dry. Pull it off too soon and you're dealing with a raw center that might not sit so well. But with a few simple tricks, it's actually pretty easy to get that perfect balance: juicy, tender and cooked just the way everyone likes it. So if you're manning the grill today, here's how to nail your steak and impress your guests without breaking a sweat. To get the inside scoop on how pro chefs measure doneness of ribeye, strip or flank, I spoke to Joe Flamm, chef-partner and culinary director of Chicago's BLVD Steakhouse. "Doneness is such a preference and everyone has their own," he said. "For something as simple as steak, prepared with just salt and fire, you want it exactly how you want it." We love using a meat probe for checking the temp on larger cuts of meat, chicken and other foods, but this gadget-free method works on steaks and burgers and saves you from having to pull out the thermometer. Here, we unpack a simple trick for testing steak doneness using only your hands, guaranteeing you'll nail it every time. Read more: A Beef Expert Told Me the Best Cheap Steak Cuts to Look for at the Market Practice makes perfect Fancy meat thermometers do a nice job at reading internal temps, but you can save some money and learn to test doneness like the pros do. James Bricknell/CNET Doneness in steak is frequently associated with color, as the steak goes from bright red when rare, through various stages of pink, until it becomes well done and has the pink cooked completely out of it. (RIP, ribeye.) It's difficult to gauge color without cutting into the steak, which you don't want to do until it comes off of the heat and has a moment to rest. Otherwise, the juices spill out of it, making for a drier, tougher outcome, especially if you're going to put it back on the fire for additional cooking. It's even more important not to do this prematurely if your preference leans toward medium well or well done; you want as much juice left in the meat as possible. Doneness is also associated with temperature, with the internal temperature of the inside of the meat typically graduating between 120 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit as you move between rare and well done. This can be accomplished with a meat thermometer, but there is another method frequently applied by chefs that doesn't require any gadgets. Nailing the perfect doneness for your next steak takes nothing more than a few pokes. Brian Bennett/CNET With bigger cuts, such as a whole prime rib roast that will be sliced after cooking, "a thermometer is super helpful for consistency and accuracy," says Flamm, but "for smaller cuts and for speed, many chefs can check it by feel," he says. "If you're cooking 100 filets a night, every night, it begins to fall into place." Understanding doneness in steak and why overcooking is bad Overcooking steak is the fastest way to ruin a perfectly good piece of meat. Tyler Lizenby/CNET What's a home cook to do who isn't in the habit of cooking dozens of steaks on repeat, many times a week? Before we get to the shortcut trick to help you learn this, it's important to understand the transformation your steak undergoes as it cooks to higher and higher temperatures. In basic terms, the longer a steak cooks, the firmer the meat becomes, which has to do with the chemical process the meat is undergoing. "Whenever you cook a steak for a longer period there's a breaking point where fat and muscle are done breaking down," explains Flamm, "and you're just drying out the steak and losing moisture, which gives the steak a tougher texture." This increasingly firmer or tougher texture is key to being able to check the doneness of steak without relying on a thermometer. Read more: I Did the Math to See if Buying Meat Online Is Cheaper Than the Grocery Store Technique for testing doneness Learning to check for doneness by feel doesn't necessarily require hundreds of dollars of raw materials to get the requisite practice. Neither does it rely on any particular gadget. It's not exactly a one-handed method, but the method only involves the use of your hands. Whether or not you have the means or mentality to quit your job and go to culinary school, here's a culinary school trick to understand doneness in meat, using the fleshy base of your thumb as a point of comparison in the resistance of the steak when poked. Here it is: With one hand, gently touch your thumb and forefinger together, keeping the rest of your fingers relaxed, in a half-assed "A-OK" signal. You don't want to press your thumb and forefinger together -- simply make light contact between them. With the forefinger of your opposite hand gently poke the fleshy base of your thumb. Pamela Vachon/CNET You're not pressing down here, just giving it a quick jab. This is approximately the level of resistance you should feel for a medium rare steak when similarly jabbed in the center of the meat. (Quick aside here about clean and/or gloved hands. Also, the steak will be hot on the outside, yes, but again, a brief jab is all that's in order.) Pamela Vachon/CNET Subsequently, as you move your thumb to lightly touch your middle finger, the tension in the base of your thumb increases, and this represents how a medium-cooked steak should feel. As you stretch your thumb to reach the ring finger, now you've got medium well, and the tension in the thumb when touched with the pinkie finger reveals well done. Pamela Vachon/CNET Regardless of how you like your steak cooked, and how you'd personally define it, now you have a consistent point of comparison available to you at all times with which to practice, whether you're cooking steak once a week or once a year. Pamela Vachon/CNET What's the best way to cook steak? Searing steak followed by some indirect heat to bring it up to the desired doneness is the preferred method of many professional chefs. David Watsky/CNET So, what's the best way to cook a steak? Opinions abound regarding direct heat versus indirect heat, hard searing and reverse searing, and even cooking steak in an air fryer. Flamm recommends a time-honored method: "For me, it's searing the steak hard, and then using indirect heat to slowly let it render and come up in temp to the place where you want it to be," he says, finishing your seared steak in the oven. You can consult various recipes for time and temperature recommendations with the indirect heat method, just be sure to factor in that your steak will continue to cook while resting, and to take your steak out and give it a good jab every so often. Read more: Avoid Dry Beef Syndrome: Here Are the Best Ways to Reheat Steak
UAE Moments
04-07-2025
- General
- UAE Moments
Master Steak Grilling: Tips for Perfect Doneness Every Time
How to Grill the Perfect Steak: Tips for Nailing Doneness Every Time The Fourth of July is around the corner, bringing with it the season of family gatherings, grilling sessions, and mouthwatering steaks. For many of us, summer is prime time to showcase grilling skills, and nothing compares to a perfectly cooked steak. However, achieving that ideal level of doneness can be challenging without the right approach. Why Timing Is Crucial for Steak Doneness Cooking steak is all about timing. Leaving it on the grill too long can result in a tough, dry texture, while taking it off too early can leave you with an undercooked, raw middle. The secret to a perfect steak lies in balance—ensuring juiciness, tenderness, and just the right level of doneness. Professional chefs know that steak doneness comes down to individual preferences. As Joe Flamm, chef-partner and culinary director of Chicago's BLVD Steakhouse, explains, "Doneness is such a preference and everyone has their own. For something as simple as steak, prepared with just salt and fire, you want it exactly how you want it." Understanding Steak Doneness: Two Key Indicators Color Steak doneness is often associated with color, as the meat evolves from bright red (rare) to various shades of pink, ultimately turning brown for well-done cuts. While color helps indicate doneness, cutting the steak to assess it prematurely can cause valuable juices to spill out, resulting in a drier, tougher dish. Temperature The internal temperature of steak ranges from 120°F (rare) to 160°F (well done). Using a meat thermometer is a reliable method to measure doneness. However, many chefs rely on touch to gauge steak doneness, especially for smaller cuts or when speed is important during busy service periods. A Gadget-Free Method to Check Steak Doneness While thermometers are handy for larger cuts of meat, many chefs use a simple hand test to determine doneness for steaks and burgers without the need for any gadgets. This technique involves comparing the resistance of the steak to specific points on your hand, making it easy to achieve consistent results. How to Test Doneness Using Your Hand Follow these steps to check steak doneness using the fleshy base of your thumb: Touch your thumb and forefinger together lightly, keeping the rest of your fingers relaxed. Gently poke the fleshy base of your thumb with your opposite hand's forefinger. This is the approximate level of resistance for a medium-rare steak. Repeat the test by touching your thumb to your middle finger. The increased tension at the base of your thumb indicates medium doneness. Move your thumb to touch your ring finger. This represents the tension of a medium-well steak. Finally, touch your thumb to your pinkie finger. The firmness at the base of the thumb matches well-done steak. The Science Behind Cooking Steak Understanding how steak transforms as it cooks can help you avoid overcooking. As steak stays on the heat, it becomes firmer due to chemical changes in the fat and muscle fibers. Joe Flamm explains, "Whenever you cook a steak for a longer period there's a breaking point where fat and muscle are done breaking down, and you're just drying out the steak and losing moisture, which gives the steak a tougher texture." The Best Way to Cook Steak Opinions differ on the ideal cooking method for steak, but many professional chefs agree that searing followed by indirect heat yields the best results. Flamm shares his preferred method: "For me, it's searing the steak hard, and then using indirect heat to slowly let it render and come up in temp to the place where you want it to be." Steps for Cooking Steak Like a Pro Start by searing the steak over high heat to create a flavorful crust. Transfer the steak to indirect heat (such as an oven) to finish cooking evenly and reach your desired doneness level. Let the steak rest before serving. This helps redistribute juices for a tender and juicy cut. While recipes can guide cooking times and temperatures, regularly checking the steak's texture using touch can help ensure perfect results. Remember that steaks continue to cook even while resting, so account for this carryover effect when gauging doneness. Practice Makes Perfect
CNET
02-07-2025
- General
- CNET
I'm Hosting a 4th of July Cookout and This Steak Hack Is My Favorite Go-To on the Grill
The Fourth of July is almost here, and it means a day of family, friends, and grilling. If you're like me, summer is prime grilling season, and one of my favorite meats to serve up is a juicy steak. However getting it cooked just right hasn't always been easy. I've learned the hard way that timing is everything when it comes to steak. Leave it on too long and it's tough and dry. Pull it off too soon and you're dealing with a raw center that might not sit so well. But with a few simple tricks, it's actually pretty easy to get that perfect balance: juicy, tender, and cooked just the way everyone likes it. So if you're manning the grill today, here's how to nail your steak and impress your guests without breaking a get the inside scoop on how pro chefs measure doneness of ribeye, strip or flank, I spoke to Joe Flamm, chef-partner and culinary director of Chicago's BLVD Steakhouse. "Doneness is such a preference and everyone has their own," he said. "For something as simple as steak, prepared with just salt and fire, you want it exactly how you want it." We love using a meat probe for checking the temp on larger cuts of meat, chicken and other foods, but this gadget-free method works on steaks and burgers and saves you from having to pull out the thermometer. Here, we unpack a simple trick for testing steak doneness using only your hands, guaranteeing you'll nail it every time. Read more: A Beef Expert Told Me the Best Cheap Steak Cuts to Look for at the Market Practice makes perfect Fancy meat thermometers do a nice job at reading internal temps, but you can save some money and learn to test doneness like the pros do. James Bricknell/CNET Doneness in steak is frequently associated with color, as the steak goes from bright red when rare, through various stages of pink, until it becomes well done and has the pink cooked completely out of it. (RIP, ribeye.) It's difficult to gauge color without cutting into the steak, which you don't want to do until it comes off of the heat and has a moment to rest. Otherwise, the juices spill out of it, making for a drier, tougher outcome, especially if you're going to put it back on the fire for additional cooking. It's even more important not to do this prematurely if your preference leans toward medium well or well done; you want as much juice left in the meat as possible. Doneness is also associated with temperature, with the internal temperature of the inside of the meat typically graduating between 120 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit as you move between rare and well done. This can be accomplished with a meat thermometer, but there is another method frequently applied by chefs that doesn't require any gadgets. Nailing the perfect doneness for your next steak takes nothing more than a few pokes. Brian Bennett/CNET With bigger cuts, such as a whole prime rib roast that will be sliced after cooking, "a thermometer is super helpful for consistency and accuracy," says Flamm, but "for smaller cuts and for speed, many chefs can check it by feel," he says. "If you're cooking 100 filets a night, every night, it begins to fall into place." Understanding doneness in steak and why overcooking is bad Overcooking steak is the fastest way to ruin a perfectly good piece of meat. Tyler Lizenby/CNET What's a home cook to do who isn't in the habit of cooking dozens of steaks on repeat, many times a week? Before we get to the shortcut trick to help you learn this, it's important to understand the transformation your steak undergoes as it cooks to higher and higher temperatures. In basic terms, the longer a steak cooks, the firmer the meat becomes, which has to do with the chemical process the meat is undergoing. "Whenever you cook a steak for a longer period there's a breaking point where fat and muscle are done breaking down," explains Flamm, "and you're just drying out the steak and losing moisture, which gives the steak a tougher texture." This increasingly firmer or tougher texture is key to being able to check the doneness of steak without relying on a thermometer. Read more: I Did the Math to See if Buying Meat Online Is Cheaper Than the Grocery Store Technique for testing doneness Learning to check for doneness by feel doesn't necessarily require hundreds of dollars of raw materials to get the requisite practice. Neither does it rely on any particular gadget. It's not exactly a one-handed method, but the method only involves the use of your hands. Whether or not you have the means or mentality to quit your job and go to culinary school, here's a culinary school trick to understand doneness in meat, using the fleshy base of your thumb as a point of comparison in the resistance of the steak when poked. Here it is: With one hand, gently touch your thumb and forefinger together, keeping the rest of your fingers relaxed, in a half-assed "A-OK" signal. You don't want to press your thumb and forefinger together -- simply make light contact between them. With the forefinger of your opposite hand gently poke the fleshy base of your thumb. Pamela Vachon/CNET You're not pressing down here, just giving it a quick jab. This is approximately the level of resistance you should feel for a medium rare steak when similarly jabbed in the center of the meat. (Quick aside here about clean and/or gloved hands. Also, the steak will be hot on the outside, yes, but again, a brief jab is all that's in order.) Pamela Vachon/CNET Subsequently, as you move your thumb to lightly touch your middle finger, the tension in the base of your thumb increases, and this represents how a medium-cooked steak should feel. As you stretch your thumb to reach the ring finger, now you've got medium well, and the tension in the thumb when touched with the pinkie finger reveals well done. Pamela Vachon/CNET Regardless of how you like your steak cooked, and how you'd personally define it, now you have a consistent point of comparison available to you at all times with which to practice, whether you're cooking steak once a week or once a year. Pamela Vachon/CNET What's the best way to cook steak? Searing steak followed by some indirect heat to bring it up to the desired doneness is the preferred method of many professional chefs. David Watsky/CNET So, what's the best way to cook a steak? Opinions abound regarding direct heat versus indirect heat, hard searing and reverse searing, and even cooking steak in an air fryer. Flamm recommends a time-honored method: "For me, it's searing the steak hard, and then using indirect heat to slowly let it render and come up in temp to the place where you want it to be," he says, finishing your seared steak in the oven. You can consult various recipes for time and temperature recommendations with the indirect heat method, just be sure to factor in that your steak will continue to cook while resting, and to take your steak out and give it a good jab every so often. Read more: Avoid Dry Beef Syndrome: Here Are the Best Ways to Reheat Steak
CNET
26-05-2025
- General
- CNET
I Hosted a Memorial Day Cookout and This Steak Hack Stole the Show
Memorial Day is here, and for me, that means it's officially grilling season. If you're like me, and planning to throw some steaks on the grill today, there are a few things you'll want to get right. Nothing kills the cookout vibe faster than a dry or undercooked steak. I've learned the hard way that timing is everything when it comes to steak. Leave it on too long and it's tough and dry. Pull it off too soon and you're dealing with a raw center that might not sit so well. But with a few simple tricks, it's actually pretty easy to get that perfect balance: juicy, tender, and cooked just the way everyone likes it. So if you're manning the grill today, here's how to nail your steak and impress your guests without breaking a get the inside scoop on how pro chefs measure doneness of ribeye, strip or flank, I spoke to Joe Flamm, chef-partner and culinary director of Chicago's BLVD Steakhouse. "Doneness is such a preference and everyone has their own," he said. "For something as simple as steak, prepared with just salt and fire, you want it exactly how you want it." We love using a meat probe for checking the temp on larger cuts of meat, chicken and other foods, but this gadget-free method works on steaks and burgers and saves you from having to pull out the thermometer. Here, we unpack a simple trick for testing steak doneness using only your hands, guaranteeing you'll nail it every time. Read more: A Beef Expert Told Me the Best Cheap Steak Cuts to Look for at the Market Practice makes perfect Fancy meat thermometers do a nice job at reading internal temps, but you can save some money and learn to test doneness like the pros do. James Bricknell/CNET Doneness in steak is frequently associated with color, as the steak goes from bright red when rare, through various stages of pink, until it becomes well done and has the pink cooked completely out of it. (RIP, ribeye.) It's difficult to gauge color without cutting into the steak, which you don't want to do until it comes off of the heat and has a moment to rest. Otherwise, the juices spill out of it, making for a drier, tougher outcome, especially if you're going to put it back on the fire for additional cooking. It's even more important not to do this prematurely if your preference leans toward medium well or well done; you want as much juice left in the meat as possible. Doneness is also associated with temperature, with the internal temperature of the inside of the meat typically graduating between 120 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit as you move between rare and well done. This can be accomplished with a meat thermometer, but there is another method frequently applied by chefs that doesn't require any gadgets. Nailing the perfect doneness for your next steak takes nothing more than a few pokes. Brian Bennett/CNET With bigger cuts, such as a whole prime rib roast that will be sliced after cooking, "a thermometer is super helpful for consistency and accuracy," says Flamm, but "for smaller cuts and for speed, many chefs can check it by feel," he says. "If you're cooking 100 filets a night, every night, it begins to fall into place." Understanding doneness in steak and why overcooking is bad Overcooking steak is the fastest way to ruin a perfectly good piece of meat. Tyler Lizenby/CNET What's a home cook to do who isn't in the habit of cooking dozens of steaks on repeat, many times a week? Before we get to the shortcut trick to help you learn this, it's important to understand the transformation your steak undergoes as it cooks to higher and higher temperatures. In basic terms, the longer a steak cooks, the firmer the meat becomes, which has to do with the chemical process the meat is undergoing. "Whenever you cook a steak for a longer period there's a breaking point where fat and muscle are done breaking down," explains Flamm, "and you're just drying out the steak and losing moisture, which gives the steak a tougher texture." This increasingly firmer or tougher texture is key to being able to check the doneness of steak without relying on a thermometer. Read more: I Did the Math to See if Buying Meat Online Is Cheaper Than the Grocery Store Technique for testing doneness Learning to check for doneness by feel doesn't necessarily require hundreds of dollars of raw materials to get the requisite practice. Neither does it rely on any particular gadget. It's not exactly a one-handed method, but the method only involves the use of your hands. Whether or not you have the means or mentality to quit your job and go to culinary school, here's a culinary school trick to understand doneness in meat, using the fleshy base of your thumb as a point of comparison in the resistance of the steak when poked. Here it is: With one hand, gently touch your thumb and forefinger together, keeping the rest of your fingers relaxed, in a half-assed "A-OK" signal. You don't want to press your thumb and forefinger together -- simply make light contact between them. With the forefinger of your opposite hand gently poke the fleshy base of your thumb. Pamela Vachon/CNET You're not pressing down here, just giving it a quick jab. This is approximately the level of resistance you should feel for a medium rare steak when similarly jabbed in the center of the meat. (Quick aside here about clean and/or gloved hands. Also, the steak will be hot on the outside, yes, but again, a brief jab is all that's in order.) Pamela Vachon/CNET Subsequently, as you move your thumb to lightly touch your middle finger, the tension in the base of your thumb increases, and this represents how a medium-cooked steak should feel. As you stretch your thumb to reach the ring finger, now you've got medium well, and the tension in the thumb when touched with the pinkie finger reveals well done. Pamela Vachon/CNET Regardless of how you like your steak cooked, and how you'd personally define it, now you have a consistent point of comparison available to you at all times with which to practice, whether you're cooking steak once a week or once a year. Pamela Vachon/CNET What's the best way to cook steak? Searing steak followed by some indirect heat to bring it up to the desired doneness is the preferred method of many professional chefs. David Watsky/CNET So, what's the best way to cook a steak? Opinions abound regarding direct heat versus indirect heat, hard searing and reverse searing, and even cooking steak in an air fryer. Flamm recommends a time-honored method: "For me, it's searing the steak hard, and then using indirect heat to slowly let it render and come up in temp to the place where you want it to be," he says, finishing your seared steak in the oven. You can consult various recipes for time and temperature recommendations with the indirect heat method, just be sure to factor in that your steak will continue to cook while resting, and to take your steak out and give it a good jab every so often. Read more: Avoid Dry Beef Syndrome: Here Are the Best Ways to Reheat Steak
CNET
23-05-2025
- General
- CNET
Hosting the Cookout This Memorial Day Weekend? This Trick Will Deliver the Perfect Steak
Memorial Day weekend is here, announcing the start of summer and kickstarting cookouts all over the country. If you're aiming to impress by grilling up steak this weekend, there are a few things to keep in mind. If you prepare it properly, steak can be tender, juicy and perfect for a warm summer day. Getting your steak cooked just right can be easier said than done. Steak's taste and texture both depend on how long you cook the meat for, and it can be tricky to get it right. If you overcook your steak you can end up with a dry dish that is too tough, but undercooking a steak may leave you queasy from the bloody interior. With a few simple techniques, you can avoid over- and undercooking, so you can serve up steaks that are tender, juicy and cooked exactly the way your guests like them. A meat thermometer is the perfect tool for checking whether your steak is rare, medium rare or another temperature. But if you don't have one, your hand and a few fingers can help you determine the doneness of your favorite cuts of steak. Yes, you read that correctly: You can use your fingers. To get the inside scoop on how pro chefs measure doneness of ribeye, strip or flank, I spoke to Joe Flamm, chef-partner and culinary director of Chicago's BLVD Steakhouse. "Doneness is such a preference and everyone has their own," he said. "For something as simple as steak, prepared with just salt and fire, you want it exactly how you want it." We love using a meat probe for checking the temp on larger cuts of meat, chicken and other foods, but this gadget-free method works on steaks and burgers and saves you from having to pull out the thermometer. Here, we unpack a simple trick for testing steak doneness using only your hands, guaranteeing you'll nail it every time. Read more: A Beef Expert Told Me the Best Cheap Steak Cuts to Look for at the Market Practice makes perfect Fancy meat thermometers do a nice job at reading internal temps, but you can save some money and learn to test doneness like the pros do. James Bricknell/CNET Doneness in steak is frequently associated with color, as the steak goes from bright red when rare, through various stages of pink, until it becomes well done and has the pink cooked completely out of it. (RIP, ribeye.) It's difficult to gauge color without cutting into the steak, which you don't want to do until it comes off of the heat and has a moment to rest. Otherwise, the juices spill out of it, making for a drier, tougher outcome, especially if you're going to put it back on the fire for additional cooking. It's even more important not to do this prematurely if your preference leans toward medium well or well done; you want as much juice left in the meat as possible. Doneness is also associated with temperature, with the internal temperature of the inside of the meat typically graduating between 120 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit as you move between rare and well done. This can be accomplished with a meat thermometer, but there is another method frequently applied by chefs that doesn't require any gadgets. Nailing the perfect doneness for your next steak takes nothing more than a few pokes. Brian Bennett/CNET With bigger cuts, such as a whole prime rib roast that will be sliced after cooking, "a thermometer is super helpful for consistency and accuracy," says Flamm, but "for smaller cuts and for speed, many chefs can check it by feel," he says. "If you're cooking 100 filets a night, every night, it begins to fall into place." Understanding doneness in steak and why overcooking is bad Overcooking steak is the fastest way to ruin a perfectly good piece of meat. Tyler Lizenby/CNET What's a home cook to do who isn't in the habit of cooking dozens of steaks on repeat, many times a week? Before we get to the shortcut trick to help you learn this, it's important to understand the transformation your steak undergoes as it cooks to higher and higher temperatures. In basic terms, the longer a steak cooks, the firmer the meat becomes, which has to do with the chemical process the meat is undergoing. "Whenever you cook a steak for a longer period there's a breaking point where fat and muscle are done breaking down," explains Flamm, "and you're just drying out the steak and losing moisture, which gives the steak a tougher texture." This increasingly firmer or tougher texture is key to being able to check the doneness of steak without relying on a thermometer. Read more: I Did the Math to See if Buying Meat Online Is Cheaper Than the Grocery Store Technique for testing doneness Learning to check for doneness by feel doesn't necessarily require hundreds of dollars of raw materials to get the requisite practice. Neither does it rely on any particular gadget. It's not exactly a one-handed method, but the method only involves the use of your hands. Whether or not you have the means or mentality to quit your job and go to culinary school, here's a culinary school trick to understand doneness in meat, using the fleshy base of your thumb as a point of comparison in the resistance of the steak when poked. Here it is: With one hand, gently touch your thumb and forefinger together, keeping the rest of your fingers relaxed, in a half-assed "A-OK" signal. You don't want to press your thumb and forefinger together -- simply make light contact between them. With the forefinger of your opposite hand gently poke the fleshy base of your thumb. Pamela Vachon/CNET You're not pressing down here, just giving it a quick jab. This is approximately the level of resistance you should feel for a medium rare steak when similarly jabbed in the center of the meat. (Quick aside here about clean and/or gloved hands. Also, the steak will be hot on the outside, yes, but again, a brief jab is all that's in order.) Pamela Vachon/CNET Subsequently, as you move your thumb to lightly touch your middle finger, the tension in the base of your thumb increases, and this represents how a medium-cooked steak should feel. As you stretch your thumb to reach the ring finger, now you've got medium well, and the tension in the thumb when touched with the pinkie finger reveals well done. Pamela Vachon/CNET Regardless of how you like your steak cooked, and how you'd personally define it, now you have a consistent point of comparison available to you at all times with which to practice, whether you're cooking steak once a week or once a year. Pamela Vachon/CNET What's the best way to cook steak? Searing steak followed by some indirect heat to bring it up to the desired doneness is the preferred method of many professional chefs. David Watsky/CNET So, what's the best way to cook a steak? Opinions abound regarding direct heat versus indirect heat, hard searing and reverse searing, and even cooking steak in an air fryer. Flamm recommends a time-honored method: "For me, it's searing the steak hard, and then using indirect heat to slowly let it render and come up in temp to the place where you want it to be," he says, finishing your seared steak in the oven. You can consult various recipes for time and temperature recommendations with the indirect heat method, just be sure to factor in that your steak will continue to cook while resting, and to take your steak out and give it a good jab every so often. Read more: Avoid Dry Beef Syndrome: Here Are the Best Ways to Reheat Steak
