To enjoy a steak meal thoroughly, you must know your steaks really well. A typical steak meal consists of a grilled or fried steak served with a side item (your beloved mashed potatoes fall here). Yet in every steakhouse, steaks are prepared differently, or rather uniquely. Your only chance at enjoying a steak lies in your ability to tell how steak tastes depending on the method of preparation.

If you (or rather you affection for prime steaks) haven’t been out there and around the block for a while, you will want to know some of the common terms used to describe steak of different doneness – or, let me tone it down, level of cooking. Among these, you will get rare, medium-rare, blue rare, well done, medium well done, and so on.

Do what you must to learn these, even if it’s eating your way through the entire steak house menu. Remember to find your best or favorite steak at the end of it all. With a favorite, you can walk into any steakhouse on any day, and order a steak made specifically to indulge your desires. The best steakhouses have the capability to make the many different types of steak.

Eat your steak only in the best steak house in town. Many people who can refer you to the best steakhouse around, so finding one should at all not be challenging. Word of mouth is a viable source of dependable reference. Any devout steak lover will show you the best steak house in the city – take their hand if you must, but find it. The internet is a wonderful resource if you need more info.

So before you go hunting for the greatest steak house in town, first know your steak well, and establish a favorite. Then make a point of actually showing up at the steakhouse.

If you will be using naturally tender beef cuts such as Filet Mignon, your steak won’t need any tenderizing. However, if you have tougher cuts such as the Sirloin or the New York Strip, you will most likely need to tenderize the steal before cooking. How then do you tenderize steak?

Tenderizing using a Meat Mallet

A meat mallet is a common tool in the butcher shops as well as many kitchens. One side of the mallet is flat, while the other is spiked. To tenderize large steaks, you will want to start with the spiked side. Hammering the steak with the spikes breaks (tears) down the tough fibers. You need the flat side to give your steak a fine texture after tearing down the tough fibers. If you don’t own a mallet, use a regular fork and puncture the entire surface of the steak. As you would expect, this will be more tiring and time consuming than using a meat mallet.

Tenderizing by scoring

Scoring involves making crisscross diamond patterns on both sides of the steak. Remember to make the patterns on the edges as well to save the steak from curling. Best is to leave 1-inch spacings between the patterns.

Tenderizing using Marinades

Marinating is probably the easiest and most popular steak tenderizing method. There are many marinade recipes out there, so the one you choose depends entirely on personal preference.

Whichever marinade you choose, place your prime steaks in a ziplock, add the marinade, and leave it to sit overnight in a fridge. You can use the mallet together with a marinade to achieve even better results.

Tenderizing using Tenderizers

A whole range of steak tenderizers can be found at the local grocery store. These contain acidic ingredients (just like marinades), which break down fibers in the meat. Be careful though as tenderizers are known to over tenderize meat, leaving you with a mush in place of steak.

There you have it, enough tips to ensure your next steak is tenderized just right. You can use meat mallets, score the steak, marinades, tenderizers, or simply cook your prime steaks really well.

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