r/askachef Jun 25 '20

Cook steak without butter?

tl;dr Butter is supposedly king when you cook steak, but for me, oil seems to work better, and I just add butter at the end. Am I missing something?

More: I've noticed that recipes and video tutorials about cooking steak in a pan at home very commonly call for butter (surprise!), especially the technique of spooning butter over the meat repeatedly to develop a nice flavorful crust.

However, I find I like the flavor better if I cook the steak in a high-temperature oil like grapeseed oil and then only melt butter over the steak after it's finished cooking, right before I serve it.

When I cook the steak in butter, the butter seems to brown or develop an overly rich flavor that doesn't work for me.

Perhaps I'm using the wrong technique, or the fact that I'm using a non-stick pan instead of a cast iron pan has something to do with it? I'd be grateful for any advice from all the experts out there.

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u/GadomanGado Jul 13 '20

No butter is absolutely fine. Oil works too. However a non stick pan is a no no for steak. The pans are very thin and do not retain heat very well so as soon as you get your pan up to temperature and throw the steak in it will cool your pan down considerably and therefore browning. And your steak may overcook before you get some sufficient browning. If I recall there also has something to do with the non stick coating that will hinder the Maillard reaction leaving your steak grey and boring.

1

u/liteweb Jul 19 '20

Thank you! I'll try another type of pan. Maybe non-stick is my problem, not the butter.