Steak, though a grill favorite, can be cooked in several other ways. It can be pan-fried, braised, broiled, baked, etc. Selecting the proper method for cooking steak depends on its tenderness. There are dry heat methods and moist methods. Dry heat methods are generally applied for more tender steaks such as filet mignon and sirloin, while moist heat methods are more suited to tougher cuts of beef. The water helps in tenderizing the steak.
The tenderness of cooked steak is influenced by how much it is ‘done’. Depending on the time for which the steak is cooked, it may be raw, very rare, rare, medium rare, medium, medium well-done and well-done. Rare steaks are exposed to the flame for a very short time. They still maintain their rawness and are very pink in color. Rarely done steaks maintain their original beefy flavors, but they are not very healthy as they still contain micro-organisms. As the cooking time increases, the pinkness of steak gets converted to brownness and its juiciness also reduces. Well-done steaks are brown throughout and also tough to chew. For ordinary palates, medium rare steaks are the best bets.
The best way to cook a steak is...