When cooking meat, getting that perfect and succulent-looking sear on your steak requires a fair share of skill and technique. As promised in our previous blog, we’re giving out a few more pointers on how to get that delicious-looking and juicy steak as appetizing as can possibly be! And as a restaurant that serves up the best steak in Malta, who better than Sciacca Grill to give you these tips?!
Prepping the meat
You need to make sure that the meat is dry on the surface. Marinades are good, so long as you let the marinade drip off the meat first. Don’t opt for water, because this will turn to steam almost instantly and can actually lift the meat from the grate until that steam can escape. Moreover, it can create uneven grill marks and also cool off the grate reducing the sear.
Preheating
With a dry piece of meat and a clean grill, you know it’s time to preheat. You want to turn all of your grill’s main burners to high. Let the grill heat up for a minimum of 10 minutes, or until it reaches its maximum temperature. Use your common sense and knowledge of the grill to make sure it’s as hot as you can get it.
Let the searing begin
Now you’re ready to sear. You need everything within arms’ reach, and you need to move quickly. Your grill has stored up about as much heat as it can and you want to keep it there. Lift the lid and get the meat onto your grill as quickly as you can.
The trick is to aim for the hot parts. With the meat on the grill, close the lid. This isn’t as much to get the meat to cook all around as it is to keep the heat in the grill. While it may be a good idea to flip in one minute, keep a close eye on the clock. You want to get a good, dark brown colour on the meat. Avoid lifting the lid and the meat repeatedly to see when you get that.
Flipping the Meat
Once the meat is properly browned you need to flip it to a previously unused part of your cooking grate. This part will still be very hot. Understand that the place where the meat was has now cooled down and you want all the heat you can get. The time that the meat is on the second side should take the same time as the first side.
Getting those desirable grill marks
If you’ve been searing chops or steaks, get the heat down and finish off. So, with the lid up, turn down the heat and flip the meat over, rotating 90 degrees so you get a nice crisscross pattern. When you flip the meat leave it in the same place on the grill, unless you’re having flare-ups.
If you leave the lid up for about a minute your grill will cool down to a temperature which will allow you to get the meat cooked through without charring the surface. Grill until the meat reaches desired doneness and remember to let the meat rest for at least 5 minutes before you cut into it or serve it. This allows the juices to flow back, out into the surface.
Final Tips
As with any method of grilling, practice is the key. If you get an overcooked chop or an overly charred steak, think about what happened and adjust accordingly. Remember, no two grills are created equally and things like wind, outside air temperature, cut and thickness of the meat will change the end result of your sear, but with patience and practice, you’ll be getting that perfect sear regardless of your grill or the weather.
But before trying to master the perfect sear at home, why not come on over to the best steakhouse in Malta, Sciacca Grill? We surely know how to whip up a perfectly seared steak. But don’t take our word for it, book your table today!