Ultimate Guide to Steak: From Cuts to Cooking Perfection

Let’s talk about quality steak! These delicious cuts of beef are something that most people leave for the professionals, but why should you? Don’t be afraid of cooking your own steak at home and making it that perfect Friday dinner-time treat.

Explore our Beef Steak Range

This extensive guide to steak covers everything you’ll need to know, from the cuts of steak, and their characteristics, to cooking temperatures and timings.

The Different Cuts of Steak and How to Cook Them

There are lots of different cuts of steak available. To help you understand the difference between each we’ve listed them below:

The Sirloin

The Sirloin is a classic that is tasty and tender, and particularly well suited for having with a variety of steak sauces.

How to Cook Sirloin Steak

Sirloin steak has a little bit of fat around the edges, meaning you need to properly render the fat, which requires cooking in a super-hot pan. Keep cooking until the fat around the steak is golden brown. Then cook it following the above instructions.

The Fillet

The fillet steak is a popular cut of beef renowned for its tenderness and buttery texture, making it a favourite among steak enthusiasts. A lean cut that melts in your mouth.

How to Cook Fillet Steak

Fillet is a very lean cut, which means it can become tough during the cooking process. It’s best when cooked quickly on a very hot pan. We usually recommend cooking it rare to medium, so as to not overcook it, and also with plenty of basting to keep it moist.

The Rump

Rump steak is full of flavour due to being marbled with fat which dissolves when cooking, and further adds to the tastiness and helps prevent the steak from drying out.

How to Cook Rump Steak

Rump steak requires at least three minutes on each side with plenty of basting (using oils, butter and seasonings). It’s a muscular cut, which means it needs plenty of heat and fat to make it tender.

The Minute

Minute steak is so called because it fries very quickly, and is ideal in sandwiches or a stir fry.

How to Cook Minute Steak

Because minute steaks are so thin, they cook quite easily within four minutes. Cook on both sides for two minutes and avoid cooking for too long as it can become quite tough.

The Ribeye

A favourite with chefs, Ribeye steak is well-marbled and very rich in flavour and goes very well with blue cheese and peppercorn sauces.

How to Cook Ribeye Steak

Your oil needs to be spitting to ensure it’s hot enough for a ribeye steak. It’s best to cook rib-eye to at least medium-rare, as this gives the fat enough time to render down and flavour the meat.

The T-Bone

A T-Bone steak consists of two different cuts, with sirloin on one side and fillet on the other. This can require more skill as the fillet will finish cooking faster than the sirloin.

How to Cook T-Bone Steak

The difference with cooking a t-bone steak compared to others is that once you’ve seared it for 1-2 minutes on both sides, you then set the heat to medium and let it cook for at least 8-10 minutes longer for rare, 10-13 minutes for medium-rare, 11-14 minutes for medium and 13-16 minutes for medium-well. You can even sear the steak for 2 minutes and then transfer to a 200°C oven for 10 minutes afterwards.

The Flat Iron

Flat Iron steak comes from under the shoulder blade which gives it quite a bit of texture and plenty of flavour, as well ask making it quite dense..

How to Cook Flat Iron Steak

They take longer to cook (at least 8 minutes) than many other cuts and we don’t recommend cooking it beyond medium. Set it on high heat for a couple of minutes and then bring it down to medium heat until it’s cooked through.

The Hanger Steak

Also known as “onglet” or “butcher’s steak”, traditionally Hanger steak has been the preferred cut of professionals. It has a lot of texture and flavour and is best when cooked very quickly at high heat and served rare. If cooked more than Medium Rare, the steak can be very tough.

How to Cook Hanger Steak

Try butterflying your hanger steak so that it’s flatter. Then we recommend cooking it rare, two minutes on both sides.

The Bavette

A very versatile cut that is well suited for marinating, Bavette steak is particularly popular in France and is often served as Steak Frites.

How to Cook Bavette Steak

A bavette steak benefits from tenderising in marinade overnight in the fridge. Then let it get to room temperature before searing it for four minutes on both sides. Check out the different steak marinades you can try.

How to Cook the Perfect Steak

Now you’re aware of the different cuts and the quirks of cooking each, you’re ready to learn the art of prepping the perfect steak.

While it can seem like a challenge initially, if you follow a few essential tips and tricks you will be fine. To start with, they are cooked to the following descriptions:

• Blue: Not cooked in the middle, seared on the outside
• Rare: Very pink in the middle
• Medium/Rare: Cooked but still quite pink in the middle
• Medium: Cooked throughout and only slightly pink in the middle
• Medium/Well Done: Cooked throughout, only the slightest hint of pink
• Well Done: Cooked throughout, not pink at all

Generally, you want to aim for medium/rare to medium, as that allows for the steak to be cooked through without it becoming overcooked where it may run the risk of becoming chewy. However, people have personal tastes and preferences and they can all be enjoyed.

Before You Cook Your Steak

Before you start cooking, your steak should be taken out of the fridge and left to sit until it reaches room temperature. This is because if the steak is too cold, you may end up overdoing the outside before the middle of the steak is fully warmed and end up with an undercooked steak. Then follow these prep steps:

1. While it is sitting, you should rub the steak with a flavourless oil with a high smoke point – like vegetable oil or rapeseed oil – salt, and pepper. Make sure to be very generous with your seasoning, as a lot of it will be lost when you start frying.
2. Heat up a pan or griddle until it is very hot. Cast iron skillets are perfect for cooking steak as they retain a lot of heat evenly. The essential thing is that your pan or griddle must be big enough for you to place your steak comfortably on it. If your pan is not big enough for two steaks do not try to squeeze them in – simply cook one after the other.
3. Once the pan is very hot, place your steak in the pan, and make sure when laying your steak into the pan to lay it away from you. This should help stop the oil from splashing on you. When the pan is hot enough, the meat will brown and form a sear. This is called the Maillard reaction and is a chemical reaction between amino acids and heat that causes the meat to sear and caramelise, bringing a lot of flavour with it.

Steak Cooking Times:

The cooking times for each description are as follows:

• Blue: 1 to 1.5 minutes on each side
• Rare: 2.5 minutes on each side
• Medium/Rare: 3 to 4 minutes on each side
• Medium: 4 minutes on each side
• Medium/Well Done: 5 minutes on each side
• Well Done: 6 minutes on each side

Bear in mind that the above refers to a sirloin steak that is approx. 1” thick, and you may need to adjust the cooking times should you have a thinner or thicker cut. Alternatively, seal the steak for 45 seconds to 1 minute on each side and place in the oven at 200° for the below times:

• Blue: No oven required
• Rare: 3 minutes in the oven
• Medium/Rare: 5 minutes in the oven
• Medium: 6 minutes in the oven
• Medium/Well Done: 7 minutes in the oven
• Well Done: 9 minutes in the oven

Remember to allow the meat to rest for the same length of time as cooking.

Cooking Steak by Touch Test

For another easy way of telling how cooked a steak is, you can use the touch test.

This is the preferred method used by chefs, as it can be used for all types of steaks. Here’s how it works:

1. Hold your palm out in front of you, and with your other hand feel the palm flesh between your thumb and forefinger. This will have the same feel as raw steak.
2. With your palm outward again with the same hand, touch your index finger to your thumb. With your other hand again press the fleshy bit between your thumb and forefinger. It should feel slightly more rigid. This is the texture of a rare steak.
3. With the same hand press your thumb and middle finger together, then once again feel the fleshy bit between your thumb and forefinger. This should feel quite a bit firmer and is the texture of medium/rare steak.
4. Press your thumb and ring finger together and feel between your thumb and forefinger to find the texture of medium-cooked steak.
5. Lastly, press your thumb and pinky together. The fleshy bit of your palm between your thumb and forefinger should feel quite tough, and this is the texture of a well-done steak.

Cooking Steak by Temperature

Another way to cook your steak is to use a meat thermometer to assess the temperature of your meat and therefore gauge how cooked it is. Simply put your thermometer in the very centre of the steak, and the temperature for different levels of cooked is as follows:

• Rare: 52°C
• Medium/Rare: 57°C
• Medium: 63°C
• Medium/Well Done: 66°C
• Well Done: 71°C

Always oil and season the steak and rub into the meat before putting it in the pan.

After Cooking Your Steak

When your steak has finished cooking, make sure to let it rest for 5 to 7 minutes. This allows for the juices to redistribute which gives the steak a better texture. Also, note that your steak will keep cooking during this time due to residual heat.

You can also find out the best accompaniments to your perfectly cooked steak are in our guide to sauces and sides.

How the UK enjoy their steak

We surveyed 1,000 people to find out what the UK loves about steak. What are their favourite sauces? How do they like it cooked? We even did some qualitative research to find out if people really know how they like their steak. Do you order medium-rare but then complain it was too pink? There may be better steak out there for you.

Are you Ordering Your Steak Correctly?

Our qualitative study found that out of the people surveyed, almost 50% [49%] of people prefer their steak to be cooked differently to how they order it.

58% of people who order medium-rare or rare then chose differently when choosing from the images of cooked steak.

The study also found that those who order it well done are most likely to order it correctly, with 89% guessing well done correctly from the photos.

The UK’s Favourite Cut of Steak

Our research found that sirloin and fillet came in a close first place with 29.9% and 29.8% of the UK choosing that cut of steak over others.

What type of steak do you prefer?	Percentage of UK
Sirloin	26.9%
Fillet	26.8%
Rib-eye	13.7%
T-bone	11.3%
Rump	9.0%
Bavette/Flank	8.1%
Flat-iron	2.8%
Onglet	1.4%

How Does the UK Like Their Steak Cooked?

Secondly, we asked them how they like their steak cooked, with medium-rare taking the lead at 27%. Following closely behind was medium at 22.9% and well done at 20.2%.

As little as 2.9% are daring enough to eat their steak blue, and 9.4% are ordering it rare.

How do you like your steak cooked?	Percentage of UK
Medium-rare	27.0%
Medium	22.9%
Well done	20.2%
Medium-well	17.6%
Rare	9.4%
Blue	2.9%

What is the UK’s Favourite Steak Sauce?

With no surprise, peppercorn came out on top as the UK’s favourite steak sauce with 26.6% of the votes. But, at second, 14% of people said they have no sauce. Well, if you’re one of them then we highly recommend trying one of our top 10 favourite sauces next time you have a steak. You may be surprised how good they taste.

What’s your favourite sauce to accompany your steak?	Percentage of UK
Peppercorn	26.6%
None	14.0%
Red wine sauce	11.3%
Creamy mushroom	10.5%
Mustard	10.2%
Blue cheese sauce	7.8%
Bearnaise	7.2%
Chimchurri	6.3%
Salsa verde	4.7%

So, you’ve learnt everything you need to cook your steak dinner. To order delicious and quality cuts of steak straight to your door, check out our beef steak collections, including sirloin, fillet, ribeye and more.

Data Methodology

The qualitative survey had 84 responses in total, across 16 different images of steaks cooked in various ways.

We asked respondents how they order their steak, and then asked them to choose their favourite from three different images that showed the different ways of cooking a steak (from rare to well done).

We also surveyed 1000 UK citizens and asked them how they like their steak (blue to well done), their favourite cut of steak and their favourite steak sauce.