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The secret to a juicy steak is something people have been arguing about for decades. Some people thinks the best way is to sear the meat at high temperatures on both sides, then turn down the heat and let it finish cooking while others say that searing has no real effect at all. In our opinion, cooking your steak fast and getting it off the grill the second it's done always produces a delicious, juicy steak. Letting a steak sit on a grill too long whether it's cooked through or not will dry out the meat. Below we have pointed out a few guide lines we think are useful.

• Choose pans that are thick enough to heat evenly without scorching
• It’s important to use the right sized pan. Too small a pan and browning will become harder as the beef will be crowded while too big a pan might result in overcooking
• Non stick pans are easier to clean and allow cooking with less fat
• When cooking with acidic ingredients, such as vinegar, wine and lemon juice, don’t use pans with reactive metals such as aluminium and cast iron as it can affect the taste and colour of dish
• When using steak recipes it is always wise to use a steak thermometer. Steaks that are tough are usually because of the temperature that you allow the steak to rise to
• Never use a fork to prick your steak, this will cause the meat juices to be released and will leave your steak dry and tough
• Use tongs when you need to turn your steak, you don’t want all the wonderful juices to escape!
• You should not salt your steak until you are finished cooking it, salt will draw the juice off of your steak making it dry and tough
• Pat steaks, cubes and pot roasts dry with paper towelling for better browning. 
• For stir frying, Put beef in the freezer for about 30 minutes, or until just firm, to make the meat easier to cut into strips
• Keep beef refrigerated. Grilling times are based on beef being taken directly from the refrigerator to the grill – not at room temperature. If you shape burgers in advance, cover and refrigerate until serving time
• Always trim fat after cooking, it will help keep the steak moist
• For charcoal grills, check the coals. You’ll know you’re ready to grill when the coals are no longer flaming and are covered with grey ash. An old trick to check the temperature is to hold your hand above the coals at cooking height and count the number of seconds you can hold your hand in that position; approximately four seconds for medium heat

Also known as caramelization, is caused when you heat sugars and amino acids together. This reaction occurs in meats heated to temperatures between 300 and 500° F ( 150-260° C). This reaction is what causes that flavourful and wonderful crusty surface in meat that gives it that great, grilled flavour. Without this browning a steak just isn't right. So to get a great browned piece of meat you need to cook it at temperatures above 300° F (150° C).

This happens when the surface of meat breaks down completely leaving you only carbon. This typically happens on a grill where the meat gets in contact with metal with more than 500° F degrees (260° C), or if you overcook it. Charring not only taste bad, but is also very bad for you. Don’t be too alarmed though - a certain amount of charring is inevitable since after all you are putting raw meat in contact with very hot metal.

By definition, searing is to cook something hot and fast to brown the surface and to seal in the juices. Yet many of the leading cooking experts agree that searing does not seal in juices. Searing is a process of cooking that creates the crusty surface texture and the caramelized sugars that gives us that steak flavour we want. You must have a good clean cooking surface to get the right sear and make sure the meat is dry on the surface. If you have used a marinade, let it drip off the meat first or use a paper towel and pat. Don’t use water as it will turn to steam almost instantly and lift the meat from the grate until that steam can escape. Look for a dark brown -not black- colour before you flip. This browning is what's going to give that steak the flavour and texture you want.

Leaving meat to rest after cooking is very important. When you cook, the heat penetrates from outside and at higher temperatures the juices nearest the surface of meat are forced out. Resting your steak after grilling takes advantage or carryover cooking, allowing cooking to finish and internal juices to settle. The shorter the cooking time, the longer the resting time should be. Put your steak on a warm plate and cover with foil for resting.

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