Save Money By Mastering The Steak Cooking Technique Restaurants Use

Steak is one of those things that always seems to taste much better at a restaurant than in your own kitchen, but you can save some serious money on eating out by mastering the cooking technique that lots of fine dining establishments use: broiling the steak. Sure, high-end restaurants have access to commercial-grade appliances and better quality cuts of meat, but replicating the popular broiling technique will have you serving up mouthwatering meats to rival theirs in no time.

The key to successful broiling is the scorching hot temperature but, unlike a grill, this direct heat is coming from above, not below. Restaurants rely on this high-heat technique because it jumpstarts the Maillard reaction, which is the reaction between amino acids and sugar that results in the browning of food as it's cooked. It's the reaction behind the delicious char or crust that forms on the exterior of the steak, which locks in the juicy tenderness inside.

Your home broiler, which generally reaches top temperatures at or around 500 degrees Fahrenheit, won't get nearly as hot as the infrared broilers used in commercial kitchens (which can reach up to 1,650 degrees), but you can still achieve a similar end result. You'll need a disposable aluminum roasting pan and a wire rack. 

Arrange your oven racks to utilize the upper middle portion of your oven, closest to the broiler at the top, and preheat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Because the broilers on most home ovens can only reach a fraction of the temperature of those in commercial-grade kitchens, the best method to truly get a restaurant-worthy steak is to bake and then broil.

After drying and seasoning your steaks, place them on the wire rack set on top of the disposable aluminum pan and slide the whole arrangement into the lower-middle rack of the oven. You'll bake for 6 to 10 minutes. After the initial bake, remove the steaks, wire rack, and aluminum pan from the oven, flip the steaks over, and let them rest for about 10 minutes while you set your broiler on high. Then place your steaks back in and broil, making sure to flip them every 2 to 4 minutes. It will take between 6 and 16 minutes for the steaks to reach an internal temperature between 125 and 130 degrees Fahrenheit, which will result in a perfectly medium-rare steak.

Besides the broiling technique, there are a couple other steakhouse secrets that only the experts know and rely on regularly. The first is one you've probably heard before, but it's one of those things that's easier said than done: Letting the meat rest after cooking. You may be tempted to cut right into that deliciously charred T-bone, but resist the urge. Letting your steak rest for 5 to 7 minutes after cooking allows time for the juices inside to redistribute and settle in, rather than dripping right out when sliced. Indeed, the late Anthony Bourdain co-signed this tip in a 2016 interview with InsiderTech – of course, with the flair of his signature profanity.

Another trick to getting restaurant-worthy steak at home is butter, and lots of it. Restaurant chefs douse their steaks in clarified butter as they cook, constantly pouring spoonfuls of it over the meat. The butter and the meat have similar fat-soluble compounds and when they meld, the result is a flavorful blast of richness.