For The Best Steak Crust, Brown Sugar Is A Must

There are some especially useful guidelines when it comes to preparing the perfect steak at home. But in order to get the kind of restaurant-quality crust that really satisfies the taste buds, there is one ingredient that will make all the difference and is probably already hiding in your pantry — and that's brown sugar.

You may be more accustomed to using it for pastries, cakes, or other sweet treats, but there are scientific reasons brown sugar can make your steak sing. For one thing, you get a subtly sweet flavor that counters the super umami-rich quality of beef, striking a craveable balance and complexity. But perhaps even more importantly, you can use it to achieve that deeply satisfying texture of a perfect crust.

Maybe you already know how to caramelize sugar flawlessly, but when cooked over the high heat of a grill or a hot skillet, that same sweet science promotes caramelization and contrast on a cut of steak. It doesn't require a ton of sugar to make this magic — about 1 tablespoon for a rib eye, for example — so you don't have to worry that you'll wind up eating a dessert-adjacent dinner.

An added bonus of using brown sugar for better steak crust is that you can pair it with so many seasonings and flavors, so the sugar acts as a natural flavor booster for your favorite dry rub. For example, combine it with ground espresso and spices like paprika, ginger, and chili de arbol, which gives you a good balance of bitter, sweet, spicy, and aromatic. If you prefer to keep it simple though, you can season your steaks purely with sugar and salt — four parts sugar to three parts salt is a good starting ratio (although a few twists of black pepper doesn't hurt). If your brown sugar is rock hard, you can follow a few steps for softening it or use white sugar in its place — you'll just have a slightly different flavor profile.

To get that perfect crust, you can grill your steak (more easily getting those beautiful hatch marks thanks to the sugar, too) or sear it in a skillet and finish it in the oven. Remember that it's important you use a thick steak if you want a good crust; it takes time for the caramelization to occur, and you don't want to overcook your meat while you're waiting. While there's a salting mistake that prevents a satisfying crust on your steak, once you try this trick, you'll realize that using a little sugar on your beef isn't a bad idea.