r/Cooking • u/Fenix512 • 18h ago
How to properly cook thin steaks?
I grew up with milanesas, basically "wafer thin" steak cutlets. A basic recipe when I was a kid is just salting the cutlet and pan-fry. I have tried to recreate it but end up with a leather tough steak. All the juice escapes from the steak and if I get any Maillard reaction that means I over cooked it.
Any tips?
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u/kitchencrawl 18h ago
A fucking screaming hot pan. Flip flip done.
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u/Open-Channel-D 18h ago
This is the way. Don't even try to use non-stick. You need a well-seasoned cast iron or carbon steel pan and you'll be counting the sear time in seconds, not minutes. I generally get mine out of the pan in less than a minute.
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u/Fenix512 18h ago
What about stainless steel?
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u/mattfolio 17h ago
Get a thin layer of oil (high temp like canola and not olive) going and get it up heat and you'll be fine.
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u/Pterodactyl_midnight 17h ago
Even then it can be iffy. Stainless steel is not the best for fast cooking anything.
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u/Open-Channel-D 17h ago
Stainless works with enough smokeless oil, but compared to cast iron, the clean up is a pain. If that's all you have, by all means, use it. My preference is for cast iron, in and out in under a minute.
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u/Fenix512 17h ago
Unfortunately my wife hates how much smoke preheating my cast iron makes haha but maybe once it cools down I can open a window
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u/NoveltyHoosier 12h ago
If your cast iron is smoking when you preheat it, you're getting it way too hot. A bit of smoke when you are seasoning your pan is fine, though even then you shouldn't see a ton if smoke. If just the pan on its own with nothing in it is smoking you are way past the amount of heat you need to cook. (Or, I suppose if you are adding oil to your pan before it's hot and using the wrong oil, that might be what's smoking? That still means you've at least got it too hot for the oil you're using.)
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u/captaindomer 17h ago
The steaks won't release from the stainless pan quickly enough to not be overcooked. Unless you use lots of fat
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u/commutinator 17h ago
And then you end up with aerosolized fat absolutely everywhere (speaking from former naivety)
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u/_Molj 17h ago
I recently learned of the benefits of a splash guard. Changed my world
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u/Chiang2000 16h ago
Also good for shimmering tomato sauces.
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u/-Kerosun- 12h ago
Love my tomato sauces shimmering!
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u/Chiang2000 11h ago
Haha. Obviously a typo.
Mind you, I do like that oily sheen you get after a few hours so not editing.
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u/Iliveinatrashcann 17h ago
I think if you use stainless steel, you would need lots of oil to prevent sticking but i would worry with such a thin slice, you would need to press down on the meat to get any sort of sear but if you do that then it would stick.
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u/Chiang2000 16h ago
If it is a good pan with so.e body like a laminated pan you can go OK.
Source: yesterdays fillet steak lunch
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u/wantonseedstitch 18h ago
Hotter pan and shorter time. Make sure you pack the steaks dry before searing as well. That will enable you to get that Maillard reaction faster.
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u/SeasonalBlackout 18h ago
Quick pan fry then chop them up finely and make tacos. At least that's what I'd do.
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u/WesternBlueRanger 18h ago
Pan needs to be super hot as you need to sear the meat very quickly on both sides.
Starting with meat that's been patted dry, and not fridge cold should also help speed up the searing process.
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u/weregeek 17h ago
I mostly agree with this take, but for the recommendation to let the steak come closer to room temperature. A fridge cold steak will substantially increase the amount of time available before the cut is overcooked, allowing for a harder sear.
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u/WesternBlueRanger 16h ago
However, a colder surface means that it takes longer for the surface to come to temperature before browning occurs, which gives the heat more time to cook the inside, greatly increasing the risk of overcooking the steak.
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u/jbartlettcoys 18h ago
They generally aren't worth the effort but for really thin steaks I prioritise the cook rather than the sear. That is, don't overcook, don't worry too much about the crust.
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u/epiphenominal 18h ago
How are you cutting them? Against the grain would probably help if you're not doing it already
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u/GoonerGoober223 18h ago
I would use a meat tenderizer like Adolphs and pop it in the freezer for like 10-20 minutes before cooking it on a ripping hot pan
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u/Nejura 18h ago edited 17h ago
Multiple approaches. You can embrace the thinness as a virtue or compensate for it.
For the first, you want to basically blast the surface with as hot and quick heat as you possibly can. Basically a stir fry style situation where you get a metal surface rocket hot, add a touch of oil, then quickly slide and flip the meat around on its surface to maximize heat for a very brief moment. Ideally you'll get some nice browning and even char at the edges. This can be done over an open fire flame too by wrapping it around and rotating like a spit, similar to a rotisserie.
For the second, you basically layer the thin steaks together, often with some sort of fatty in between (like bacon) and cook it like a more normal steak, letting the fatty exterior render and cook the thinner beef inside. You can layer or roll them up in this case. The added fat and protein layer lets you cook them a little slower and lower than the first method.
Edit: I should mention a third method: Batter/dredge them and chicken fry them.
Edit 2: And I guess I should mention the 1st and 2nd method have a bit of a love child in the form of the trompo/gyro/souvlaki/etc where the meat is layered with more fatty cuts and seasonings and vertically rotisseried around, cutting off the browned edges to make, well, you can guess.
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u/stefanica 17h ago
Method 2.5: Spread with a stuffing, roll up, bread, then fry. See: Karageorge schnitzel, Sicilian beef spiedini
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u/HopelesslyHuman 18h ago edited 18h ago
Maybe if you try grilling it with lump, charcoal and place it directly on the coals for a very brief time?
Alton Brown has demonstrated this numerous times.
It may be a good solution?
Edit: sorry, I know this is a half-answer because it swaps methods on you, but I've had very little luck with thin cuts of beef outside of velveted for stir fry.
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u/Molasses_Major 18h ago
Try pounding thin cuts to break down the fibers (tenderizing). I'm no expert; I go to a restaurant for milanese. It's owned by a couple; one is Italian, and the other is Argentinian. One of the hardest choices I have to make is between milanese and carbonara.
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u/DragonfruitMiddle846 17h ago
Get yourself a plate and then put a cooling rack on top of that or a baking sheet that will fit in your freezer and put a cooling rack on top of that. Get your Milanese out of the fridge and press it between two pieces of paper towel. Just pat it dry like you're giving someone a hug. You need to be gentle because we don't want it to tear.
Place your milanesa on the tray likely season it with salt and pepper. The salt is a must unless you have a medical issue then don't. Put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes. This is where you have to work quick
And get while your milanesa is chilling out in the freezer go ahead and get your pan and grab one tablespoon of soft butter. If you want to put some Rosemary in there and make some kind of compound butter, now's the Time. Get your pan screaming hot like 420° f (hello Mary) up to 450°. That's your temperature window so having yourself a thermal gun which is also known as an infrared thermometer will maximize your potential for success.
After 10 minutes go ahead and pull that out of the fridge and flip your milanesa onto a paper towel. Grab yourself another paper towel and Pat the other side dry. Put a tablespoon of high heat oil in your pan or which would be avocado oil. Is it going to smoke? Not with avocado oil. Its smoke point is 480° f up to 520° f. Some crappy manufacturers will mix some other kind of oil in there so I can't promise you anything. Purity oversight is pretty much non-existent..
I'm thinking you're going to be using maybe a 10 or 11 in stainless steel pan.
Go ahead and lay your steak in there. Be careful how you laid in there. That Milanese is just going to flop down so make sure you lay the milanesa down away from you so that if it does splatter any oil it's going to splatter the stove and not you.
Leave it alone for 30 seconds. Don't do anything to it. You're going to notice the top of the steak immediately start to turn brown and the edges are going to turn brown in my curl a little bit. After 30 seconds go ahead and flip it but flip it so that only half the pan is covered with the steak. Go ahead and tilt the pan so the butter melts away from the steak and doesn't destroy its sear. Baste your steak for 15 seconds and then take it out. 45 second cook time maximum.
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u/dreadkilla626 15h ago
Can try freezing the meat and cooking from frozen. It works with thin rideyes to still get a medium and have sear. Idk how it will work with the super thin steak you got but should atleast nudge you into the right direction
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u/MuchoCoco 17h ago
A milanesa is meant to be breaded and then shallow fried. It's basically a schnitzel, but with beef. That holds the moisture in. Also, you start with a thicker piece of meat and pound it thin. Brining before pounding makes a huge difference, though it's not traditional.
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u/Fenix512 17h ago
I know that, but when we were kids my mom used to make them without breading. I'm trying to do the same for my kid
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u/MuchoCoco 17h ago
That's not a milanesa. That's a pan-fried steak. Best move is to put it in cold (from the fridge) on a smoking hot pan (as in, the thin layer of oil is smoking before you put it in) for like 30 seconds then flip, maximum like 2 or 3 flips. Anything more than that and the meat will contract and turn essentially into shoe leather. Also helps if the meat isn't too perfectly sliced. You don't want the entire surface area of the meat in contact with the pan. Start with a block of fillet (lomo) and make your own slices with a knife so that they're a little irregular. The thin parts will be well done while the thick parts are medium or medium rare. A dash of Worcestershire sauce before the final flip adds tons of flavor. I do this for a late night steak sandwich all the time.
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u/rmas1974 17h ago
Steak is never tough due to the cooking technique. You are probably using lower quality steak than your family did.
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u/Greghole 17h ago
Blazing high heat, short time, and when you cut the steak always cut across the grain. You can also tenderize your steaks before cooking with various methods.
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u/Zealousideal_Fly8402 17h ago
I do either a broil-flip-broil method in my steam oven, or a use a Korean Grill stove-top adapter.
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u/SternLecture 15h ago
why not broil them? i have only made carne asada but grilling chuck steaks over really hot charcoal. beouler is kind like an upside down grill without the flavor of charcoal.
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u/humphreybr0gart 11h ago
Super hot and super fast, like a minute per side tops. I'd probably also use a marinade with a pretty high sugar content to help with color
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u/Temporary_Stranger39 4h ago
You want "NASA-hot". I mean, VOOM! It should endanger the ends of your tongs, hot. VOOM! Drop it on, turn it, DONE! No waiting.
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u/JelliedHam 17h ago
Poke them a bunch of times with forks.
Dredge then in some beaten eggs and then some well seasoned flour.
Pan fry them in a half inch of oil.
Mmmm. Chicken fried steak baby.
If you really want them tender velvet them with some baking soda for a while first. Rinse that off, then do the above. Tender
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u/PercentageDry3231 17h ago
Trim away bones if you have them. Pound thin, dip in seasoned flour, then beaten eggs, then Italian bread crumbs. Sauté quickly and serve. You can make a simple pan sauce if you like. We do this with venison often and comes out great, even the tougher cuts.
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u/AlphaDisconnect 17h ago
Salt it. Pepper it a little. Add chopped onions and chopped apples to it. Let it sit for a day. Pick out the meat. Now the hot hot. A cast iron pan heated until avacado oil or vegetable oil is just smoking. A good bit of it too. But I like charcoal. Like burn down real wood charcoal. Get a yakinu type stainless steel grate. Cook it over that with tongs. I still add a little oil even over the fire, usually vegetable.
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u/Fenix512 17h ago
Onions makes a good bistec encebollado but apples!?
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u/AlphaDisconnect 17h ago
Onions contain proteolytic enzymes. Makes the meat more tender. Doesn't change the flavor much. Apples contain malic acid. Also tenderizes the beef without changing the flavor much. You can just leave the mix in a bowl overnight.
Cooking is chemistry for hungery people.
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u/nque-ray 18h ago
Higher heat and shorter amount of time