[CardSharpCook]

Different cuts of meat have different applications and different qualities. A filet Mignon is a very tender piece of meat because it is a muscle rarely used by the beast. However, it lacks flavor. A chuck steak has plenty of flavor, but it is hard as hell to eat. Personally, I am fond of the ribeye. It is a tneder cut of meat, but his a little more flavor than an FM. If you are going to grill/saute - you will want to use a steak that comes from the animal's back - porterhouse, NY, RE, FM, Tbone, whatever. Checking for quality - you want a steak with plenty of fat marbling. Marbling is the fat that is IN the steak itself. Not the fat on the outside, but the intramuscular fat or little white dots peppered throughout. You don't want a steak where all you see is red in the part you're gonna eat.

Cooking. Please don't use the oven. No grill is fine, but through it in a saute pan on the stove top. The oven will cook it too slowly and will dry out your steak, also making a good low temp (rare, MR) harder to achieve. Also you lose the flavor that comes with a good sear.

So - Get your pan up to med-hi heat. Through in a splash of oil. Then put your steak in the hot pan. Try not to move the steak until you are ready to turn it. Oh yeah, season the steak well with salt and pepper. Depending on the thickness of the steak, rare can take from 2-5 min per side. Usually closer to 3-4. However, start learning how to tell by feel.

Temp by feel - examine your relaxed palm of your left hand. With your right hand feel the softness/resistance found just below the finger joint to your pointer finger. That is rare. Now feel just below the 1st joint. That is MR. The space between the next two joints is med. If you are going to cook it past that then God be with you.