The Technique Library › Module 3 · Cook-Along: Steakhouse Steak
Before a steak ever touches the pan, the pan has to be hot, really hot, or you’ll steam the meat instead of searing it. Stainless steel is ideal for searing. Pat the steak dry first, then heat the pan and read it three ways, no thermometer needed.
First, the water-drop test: flick a few drops in, and if they bead up and skitter across the surface (that’s the Leidenfrost effect, the drops riding on a layer of their own steam), the pan’s hot.
Second, the oil-shimmer test: a thin film of cooking oil will ripple, shimmer, and just begin to smoke when it’s ready, since cooking oil smokes around 475 to 500°F.
Third, the sound test: the instant the steak lands, you want a loud, immediate sizzle, which is the sound of searing, not steaming. No sizzle means the pan’s too cool and you’ll get gray meat. Get the pan right, and the crust takes care of itself.
Recipes that use this technique
Next lesson → Resting Meat: Why the Slice Waits