Making Delicious Steaks

Tips For Broiling Your Steak To Perfection

There are few individuals who still prefer to have their steak cooked to a well-done state but when hosting, it is always your good pleasure to offer what pleases the guests. So, the question becomes how long do you broil steak? 

The first consideration will be to determine to what stage of doneness will be required. Once this decision has been made, the host can proceed with their cooking preparations.  Broiling presents fewer challenges than the outdoor grilling mode as temperatures are much easier to maintain within the confines of the oven. 

The gas range also offers one better opportunity for temperature regulation over the electric range but this is possible to overcome.  When the electric unit reaches the ideal temperature, the element automatically shut itself off but to have it remain on constantly, just leave the door of the oven ajar and this problem is easily solved.

The broiler unit must be preheated for approximately 10-15 minutes prior to cooking the steak.  There are varying opinions on whether the steak should be at room temperature or cooked straight from refrigerator as recommended by the Iowa Beef Council. 

If you are a beginning chef/cook, it might be prudent to take this into consideration but see what works best for your cooking style.  The next consideration in determining how long to spend broiling your steak will be the thickness of the piece of meat. 

Keep in mind that the thicker the product, the farther away from the flame or element the cooking surface should be.  A general rule of thumb is that the thinner the cut, the closer to the cooking element or flame and the shorter the overall cooking time. 

Here's an example: rib-eye steak that is 3/4 inch thick will cook to between medium rare and medium doneness, located 2-3 inches from the heat source in 8-10 minutes.  To compare that same cut of beef but with a thickness of 1 1/2 inches, the distance from the heat will be 3-4 inches and a cooking time of 21-27 minutes to reach that same level of doneness.

When considering the length of time required to produce a quality broiled steak, there are some steak masters who like to do a searing of the meat with the broiler and then reduce the oven temperature to 500 degrees to complete the cooking process. 

Should this be your desired method of preparation, allow 3 minutes per side under the broiler with the remaining time allocated to the oven in order to achieve a perfect finish. With the availability of multiple resources determining how long to broil a steak need no longer be a daunting question but rather can evolve into a multitude of pleasant social occasions.

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