Want tips on how to cook restaurant-quality beef at home?

You’ve gotten yourself a nice piece of steak, like our bestselling Grass-fed Tenderloin or the big, juicy Tomahawk. That’s half the battle won! The next steps involve proper handling of these cuts, preparing them and cooking them with the right techniques. Read on for more information and insights from True Assie Beef and Lamb and several chefs in Asia that will help to elevate your home-cook game.

First up, you got to choosing the right cut of beef that matches your intended recipe and cooking technique. Prime cuts, like ribeye and sirloin are perfect for short, high-heat cooking like pan-frying or grilling. Other cuts like beef cubes require low and slow cooks to break down connective tissues and muscle, such as in a stew. There’s a wide range of different cuts of Australian beef available at The Meat Club, with different types of finishing from grain- or grass-fed, which you can learn more about here.

When cooking steaks, the ideal thickness is 1.5 inches to help achieve a medium rare doneness as thinner cuts can be easily cooked through. Start by thawing the meat to room temperature so that its internal temperature is not too low. This ensures the steak’s internal temperature isn’t too low while the exterior is already properly seared. Do pat the beef dry with kitchen towels too; this removes as much moisture from the surface as possible so as to achieve a brown crust when searing.

Prepare your pan or grill by heating it up till smoking, that’s when you know that it is sizzling hot. Try not to overcrowd the pan or grill as this will lower the temperature and you’ll need to maintain the high temperature for a good sear. A meat thermometer can be a good tool to help you accurately achieve the desired doneness. Lastly, remember to let the steaks rest for a good 5 to 10 minutes before serving. This relaxes the steaks, allowing them to lock in the juices and retain the moisture.

Let’s hear from some chefs around Asia.

Michelin-star chef Rishi Naleendra from Kotuwa, Sri Lanka, says “The secret to a great porterhouse starts with really good quality beef as that really makes a difference. Season simply with good quality salt and grill on the barbeque – I like using coal fire as that smoky dimension imparts another layer to the flavour of the meat.”

Chef Petrina Loh from Morsels: “My preference is to use off cuts rather than prime cuts as they offer a lot of flavour yet are easy on the pocket. Try bavette, chuck roll, brisket or flank cuts next time. Sous vide or braising techniques are great for off cuts, or experiment with really high heat for a quick cook.”

Chef Kazi Hassan, Executive Chef of Hilton Kuala Lumpur, has some tips for home chefs to try mix and match techniques and flavours while staying away from East-East pairings e.g. Thai with Chinese or Japanese with Indonesian. He believes that East-West pairings are much safer bets, suggesting combining a Western grilling method for a Wagyu skirt steak and an Asian honey soy glaze.

This post is adapted from True Assie Beef and Lamb.