How to Cook a Delicious Steak? Chef's One Key Step to Lock in Juices and Ensure Even Doneness

Steak at restaurants is tender and juicy, but when you cook it at home, it often turns out dry and tough. While steak cooking seems simple, slight mistakes can ruin the result—either too dry or undercooked. To achieve a tender, juicy steak, factors like heat control and sauce selection are crucial. Hong Kong celebrity chef Ricky (Cheung Kam Cheung) has shared a detailed guide on YouTube, teaching how to cook a flavorful, silky steak at home that rivals Michelin-standard restaurants.

### Ricky’s Steak Recipe

**Ingredients** - Steak (280g) - Butter (100g) - Garlic (20g) - Rosemary (1 sprig) - Yellow mustard powder (25g) - Drinking water (25g) - Salt (2g) - Lemon juice (4g) - Broccoli (100g) - Cherry tomatoes (100g)

**Instructions** 1. Prepare the yellow mustard sauce: Mix mustard powder and water in a 1:1 ratio. Add a pinch of salt, 2 drops of lemon juice (or white vinegar/wine vinegar), and a little olive oil. Stir well and set aside. 2. Melt 100g of butter over medium heat. Add crushed garlic and a pinch of salt. Cook for about 1 minute until slightly golden. Add rosemary, then turn off the heat and let the residual heat infuse the butter with aroma. This creates a fragrant garlic-herb butter. 3. Choose a thicker cut of steak. Season both sides evenly with salt and pepper just before cooking. 4. Sear the steak in the pan for about 4 minutes (maintain 180–190°C), flipping every 30 seconds to 1 minute to ensure even, crispy browning. 5. Transfer the cooked steak into the prepared herb butter. Continuously spoon the hot butter over the steak, then let it rest for 6–8 minutes. This allows the juices to redistribute and the doneness to become uniform. 6. While the steak rests, use the same pan (no need to wash) to sauté the blanched broccoli and cherry tomatoes in the leftover butter. 7. Slice the steak and serve with the vegetables and mustard sauce.

### 5 Steak-Cooking Tips from Chef Ricky

1. **Cooking and resting time: 4 minutes searing, 8 minutes resting** Ricky explains that after 4 minutes of searing and 8 minutes of resting, the steak will have a perfect pink center with no raw spots, resulting in soft, tender meat.

2. **Heat control: Flip every 30 seconds to 1 minute** Avoid high heat. Maintain 180–190°C. Flip the steak every 30 seconds to 1 minute. If you don’t want to time it, flip when you hear the sizzling sound—this ensures a crisp, evenly cooked crust.

3. **Side dish pairing: Broccoli and cherry tomatoes absorb buttery richness** Don’t wash the pan after cooking the steak. Use the remaining fragrant butter to sauté blanched broccoli and cherry tomatoes. These vegetables absorb the meaty aroma and fat, making them far more flavorful than boiled or stir-fried with plain oil.

4. **Butter technique: 1-minute garlic-herb butter** Garlic-herb butter is the key to this steak. Whether cooking one portion or a hundred, this method is highly practical. Melt 100g of butter over medium heat (not high). Add crushed garlic and a pinch of salt. This is called 'Brown Butter'—slightly caramelized butter. After about 1 minute, add rosemary and turn off the heat to slowly infuse the aroma. Crush the garlic to release flavor, and tear the rosemary into pieces to enhance fragrance. Pour the butter over the steak. Ricky recommends letting the steak soak in the butter for 6–7 minutes for deeper flavor.

5. **Sauce pairing: Homemade mustard with lemon juice** A juicy steak deserves a great sauce. Ricky recommends homemade yellow mustard sauce, which is more flavorful than store-bought bottled versions. Mix mustard powder and water 1:1, add salt, 2 drops of lemon juice. If lemon juice isn’t available, use white vinegar or wine vinegar. Finally, add a little olive oil and mix well.

After resting for 8 minutes, slice the steak, plate with the mustard sauce and sides, and pair with a glass of Pinot Noir—Ricky says it’s 'absolutely incredible.'

*Reprinted with permission from Hong Kong 01 (Original title: How Long to Cook Steak – Turn Frozen Steak into Michelin-Level with Ricky’s 5 Secret Butter Techniques and Flipping Timing)*

Editor: Lam Lai