How To Cook the Perfect Steak
There are many ways to check the doneness of your steak, the easiest being using a meat thermometer but, the problem with the meat thermometer is that when you pierce your steak you are allowing tasty juices you would rather keep trapped in there to escape. That’s why most experienced and professional cooks rely on the ‘finger test’.
Method:
Raw: Open the palm of your off hand and keep your thumb relaxed. Take your index finger of your other hand and press it into the area between the thumb and base of the palm. This is what raw meat feels like.
Well done: Press together your thumb and pinky finger. Again feel the area between your thumb and the base of your palm, it should feel a quite firm. This is what well done steak should feel like.
Medium: Press the tip of your ring finger and thumb together. There should be a little more give in the fleshy area between your thumb and palm as compared to the firmness of your palm when checking if it’s well done. This is what medium doneness feels like.
Medium rare: Gently press your middle finger and thumb together and again take the index finger of your off hand and feel the area between your thumb and palm. This is what medium rare steak feels like.
Rare: Bring together the tip of thumb and index finger. The fleshy area should feel quite soft. This is what rare steak should feel like. Open up your hand and compare how raw and rare meat should feel like.