For many of us, tucking into a steak at home is a rare treat – not only is it expensive, but it’s also surprisingly easy to get wrong, which is why it’s so tempting to just leave cooking it to the experts. However, with just a few handy tips, you can produce perfectly juicy and tender, restaurant-quality steak at home. To help you get the best out of your beef, we’ve rounded up some clever ways to avoid common mistakes, from knowing your cuts to the importance of seasoning.

Click or scroll through our gallery as we count down to reveal the most common mistake people make when cooking steak, and provide tips on how to get it right, every time.

It's hard to beat a classic steak, chips and veg combo, but if you fancy mixing it up, how about trying out a tasty salad? There are plenty of delicious ways you can elevate a salad with the juicy meat: try your hand at a Vietnamese-style one with lots of watercress, fresh herbs and crispy rice, or layer the cut of meat over your favourite grain combination with a zingy dressing. The possibilities are endless.  

An unlikely combination, but you better believe us when we say this mix of bitter dark chocolate, sweet brown sugar and cayenne pepper works well with steak. In a small pan, heat 0.5oz (15g) each of dark chocolate and brown sugar with 11fl oz (325ml) boiling water and a pinch each of salt and cayenne pepper until the chocolate has melted and the sugar dissolves. Allow to cool and use half as a marinade for thin steaks, to help tenderise and flavour the meat. Reduce the rest of the mixture until sticky, then drizzle over the cooked meat.

A herby sauce is a great accompaniment to a steak, and chimichurri, an Argentinian condiment, is a brilliant example that balances the rich flavour of the meat perfectly. Fresh mint, parsley, coriander and dill are mixed with minced shallots, garlic, red chilli, red wine vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil. The punchy sauce pairs particularly with skirt steak.

Not a fan and steak and mushrooms? Think again. Mushroom sauce, often called sauce Diane, is creamy and rich, so it's best served with thick and meaty cuts. It usually sees beef stock, or the steak cooking juices, combined with cream, garlic, mushrooms, shallots and herbs. Indulgent and delicious, there’s a reason why this combination is a much-loved classic.

Sure, nothing beats a classic Philly cheesesteak, but there's one way to level up the winning combination even further: Philly steak nachos. This delicious sharing dish allows you to get experimental in the kitchen. Layer crunchy tortilla chips with a creamy cheese sauce, add thinly sliced steak (marinade it in a zippy pickle brine or fiery chilli blend) and jalapeños, then top with homemade salsa, sour cream and fresh guac.

Planning on searing a steak on the barbecue at home? Mix things up with a bold Japanese-inspired teriyaki sauce to really impress your guests. Combine equal parts soy sauce, mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine) and sake, plus a little sugar, then simmer in a pan until you have a delicious, sticky marinade for your steak.

A red wine sauce (also called a reduction or jus) is a fail-safe pairing with steak. There are a number of variations, but it’s worth sticking to a simple recipe of butter, onion, red wine, stock and vinegar. If you'd like, you can infuse the sauce with herbs like rosemary or thyme.

Salsa verde literally translates to 'green sauce', so it's not surprising that the main ingredient is herbs. It's also made with capers and anchovies, with the latter adding a meaty depth of flavour to the condiment. To make, simply combine four chopped basil leaves, the chopped leaves from two sprigs of flat-leaf parsley, two crushed garlic cloves, two chopped anchovies, 2 tbsp capers, 1 tbsp white wine vinegar and 7fl oz (200ml) extra-virgin olive oil. To serve, simply drizzle over your cooked and rested steak.

For most steak cuts, you can do all the cooking on the stove, but another option is searing the steak in an ovenproof pan on a high heat for around 30 seconds on each side, before transferring to the oven to finish cooking. But keep in mind that this only works for thick-cut steaks, as thinner cuts will instantly overcook. Close the oven door, leave for a couple of minutes, flip the steak and cook for a further two minutes for medium-rare. For a medium steak, cook for four minutes before removing.

There's usually a decent offering of steaks at the supermarket, but if you’ve got a good local butcher or farm shop, they should always be your first stop for top-quality beef. Butchers are highly knowledgeable and passionate about meat and can advise on cuts, cooking times and provenance. Try to buy local, grass-fed and organic if you can afford to.

To really elevate your at-home steak experience, make the accompanying sauce from scratch. Béarnaise is essentially a hollandaise with tarragon, and it’s easy to prepare. Add a diced shallot, half a bunch of tarragon and 1.7fl oz (50ml) white wine vinegar to a pan, bringing to a boil. Remove from the heat, strain the vinegar and discard the shallot and tarragon. In a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, combine four egg yolks with the vinegar and slowly add 10.6oz (300g) butter, whisking continuously, then stir in the rest of the tarragon and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Once made, keep the sauce warm to avoid it splitting. 

Fed up with the same pan-fried fillets? There’s an easy way to elevate your steak night, and it involves the oven. Known as reverse searing, many chefs favour cooking a large cut in a low oven first, and then transferring it to a hot pan for a final sear. This process allows you to control the temperature and results the meat to form a tasty, caramelised crust.

Beef and mustard are a match made in heaven, so mixing up a simple mustard sauce is a bit of a no-brainer. Combine Dijon mustard with a splash of red wine vinegar, sugar, oil and fresh dill and serve drizzled over cold cuts of beef. You can also use the dressing to spice up a green salad or add interest to a meaty sandwich

A T-bone is two steaks in one: part sirloin and part tenderloin fillet. It needs careful cooking on the grill and doesn’t suit being well done. Porterhouse is effectively the same as T-bone but has a bigger tenderloin. One of the most expensive cuts is chateaubriand, which refers to a large steak cut from the thickest part of the fillet. It's tender and relatively lean, yet juicy and flavoursome.

If you need to feed a crowd or want to make a steak go further, there are plenty of dishes to try. A stir-fry is a great option as it'll work well with a lot of different cuts, plus it's a handy way to use up any veg hanging around. Play with flavours, from fiery ginger and pungent garlic to sticky teriyaki.  

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), raw or cooked meat can be cooked or reheated in its frozen state. However, it will largely increase the overall cook time by at least one and a half times. In most scenarios, it’s easier to defrost your steak in the fridge overnight instead. If you are cooking it from frozen, ensure you check the internal temperature before consuming – a medium rare steak should be 60°C (140°F).  

A thick-based frying pan, griddle or skillet is perfect for frying steaks. Heavy pans evenly distribute what and retain more of it; you'll want to get your pan really hot in order to char the meat. Cast iron pans are particularly good and will give you a great caramelised crust, while non-stick pans also work well.

Not everyone loves the pungent aroma and flavour of blue cheese, but for those who do, nothing beats it on a juicy steak. Blue cheese sauce can be made in a number of ways – the simplest recipe is to mix blue cheese, garlic, pepper, wine and the meat juices from the cooked steaks.

Searing your steak in salty butter is delicious, but it can get boring after a while. Adding in a few fresh herbs can make all the difference, transforming your meal from average to flavourful in minutes. Thankfully, beef goes with a host of fresh herbs. Bundle in a bunch of rosemary, sprinkle in a few sprigs of thyme or finish your meal with leafy parsley, lemon and garlic for a real fresh flavour punch.  

https://www.tastingtable.com/1711382/best-fresh-herbs-for-steak/  

Love the garlic butter at steakhouses? Thankfully, it's incredibly easy to make – mix softened butter with chopped parsley and garlic, roll into a cylinder, wrap in cling film and refrigerate. After your steak is cooked, add a thick disc of butter and flash under a hot grill until the butter begins to melt.

Nobody likes an overly tough cut, but thankfully this can easily be fixed. When serving, cut against the grain to shorten the fibres, resulting in less chewy meat. The grain is the way muscle fibres run in meat. For example, if you see the muscle fibres running horizontally from left to right, then slice vertically rather than parallel to the grain. 

Cooks have varying opinions as to which fat is best when cooking steaks. Some like groundnut oil because it has a high smoke point, while others swear by animal fat such as lard, which makes for meatier-tasting steaks (although it does have a fairly low smoke point). Olive oil is generally avoided due to its low smoke point, which means that it starts to burn at a lower temperature, producing toxic smoke.

Do you always oil your pan before frying? That’s the case for many foods, but the general consensus is that it’s better to brush steaks – not the pan – with oil or fat, massaging it in before cooking. If you prefer the other way, don’t use too much oil and make sure it’s so hot it separates before adding the steak to the pan.

Cheap doesn't mean bad. Flash fry or barbecue a flank steak (also known as bavette) – it's flavourful and cheaper than other cuts. It's a good bistro steak but can also be sliced for salads, stir-fries and burritos. Flat iron steak is also gaining favour – it’s particularly good when marinated. New York strip steak (also known as the Kansas City steak) is well-marbled and succulent, whereas hanger steak (often called onglet) is inexpensive and tasty. Often used for fajitas, skirt steak (not to be confused with hanger) is best cooked either hot and fast or low and slow. 

Rich and decadent, peppercorn sauce is a creamy addition to beef – and it's incredibly easy to make at home. Crushed peppercorns are combined with sautéed shallots and butter, then brandy and stock are added and brought up to a rapid boil for around five minutes. Stir in heavy cream and any meaty juices from the steak, simmer and serve.  

https://www.kitchensanctuary.com/peppercorn-sauce/

Marbling (streaks of fat running through meat) depends on a number of factors, including the cow breed, age and diet, the cut and how long the meat has been aged. Breeds known for intricate marbling include Angus and wagyu, while well-marbled cuts include flat iron and rib-eye. Marbling infuses flavour into meat as the fat melts during the cooking process. If you want to keep your meal lean, go for a fillet.

Many chefs will advise you to cook steak fat-side down first, especially when it comes to sirloin, which has a strip of fat running down its side. This renders the fat, essentially meaning it melts in the pan. It can help to cook the meat and create a crust of caramelisation around it.

Choose the right cut, depending on what you want from your steak, how you intend to eat it and what you can afford. Rump steak (sirloin in the US) is fatty and full of flavour. It can be fried, grilled or sliced for stir-fries. Tenderloin fillet, or filet mignon, is pricey but tender and lean. It’s ideal for raw meat dishes such as carpaccio and tartare. Rib-eye, meanwhile, is perfect for grilling or barbecuing, and it should be served with minimal embellishment – a classic sauce will let the meat shine.

If you’re wanting to make restaurant-quality steak, the secret is in utilising your meat’s juices. Once you’ve cooked the cut, don’t discard the juices left in the pan – this is where all the flavour is. You can use this fatty liquid as the base of a delicious sauce by incorporating corn flour, a cube of butter and dash of stock or water.  

https://www.tastingtable.com/734651/the-biggest-mistakes-youre-making-with-steak/

Opinions differ whether you should cook steak in butter or not, but we think it's an excellent way of adding richness and flavour. It's advised for thicker or leaner cuts of steak if you cook it by basting it. Add the steaks to a smoking hot pan to sear and render any fat, then add a few knobs of butter, some woody herbs, like rosemary, and a few garlic cloves with the skin on. Using a spoon, baste the steak with the garlic and herb-infused butter to cook and caramelise as well as add more flavour.

Whether on the barbecue or in a pan, steak is best left alone. Don't poke, prod or move it while it's cooking until it's ready to be flipped. You'll know when to flip it either by how long it's been cooking or when it releases from the pan. If you move it and flip it often, you won't get the lovely crust on the outside.

The pan should be so hot that it starts to smoke a little before the meat is added. The heat sears the meat and helps render the fat. For safety, turn on the extractor fan and be prepared in case the pan flares up (if it does, just put a lid over the top and it will die down). 

There’s nothing worse than an overcooked (or under done, if you don’t like blood) steak. If you prefer absolute precision, use a meat thermometer to test if the steak's cooked as you want. Most guides suggest around 55°C (131°F) for rare, 60°C (140°F) for medium-rare, around 65°C (149°F) for medium and 75°C (167°F) for well done. 

If you’re cooking more than one steak, don’t add too many to the pan at once. The meat will steam rather than fry and boil itself to a tough and tasteless state. The general rule of thumb is that you should only ever fill 50% of the pan if you want to sear anything.

To tell when a steak is cooked, try the 'OK' test. Put the tips of your thumb and forefinger together in an OK sign, then, with your other hand, press down on the fleshy part of the palm, just below the thumb. That’s how a rare steak should feel. Put your middle finger and thumb together and do the same test to know how a medium-rare steak should feel when pressed. Repeat with your ring finger and thumb for a medium steak texture, and your little finger and thumb to gauge a well-done steak.

Generously salt the meat with salt flakes just before cooking. If you do it too early, the salt will start drawing out the moisture from the steak. When you think you've seasoned your steak enough, get it straight in the pan – the coarse salt crystals will help create caramelisation on the surface. Season with finely ground black pepper before cooking, but reserve coarsely ground peppercorns for after, otherwise they'll burn. Finish with a light sprinkle of salt flakes just before serving to intensify the flavours.

Steak needs a minimum of five minutes to rest (the larger the steak, the more time it needs). This allows the juices to soak back into the tissue as the fibres relax, which results in moist, tender meat. Cover with foil to retain the heat, but make sure it's loose – otherwise the heat won't have anywhere to escape, and your steak will overcook.

A cardinal rule when cooking steak is to always remove the meat from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature before cooking. This way, the muscle fibres won't seize and toughen when added to a hot pan. The steak will cook more evenly and you'll be able to achieve the desired temperature (the level of doneness) much more easily.

You'll often hear chefs referring to the temperature of the steak. This means they're talking about the level of doneness. The most commonly used terms are blue (purple, barely warm steak that will feel very spongy) and rare (dark red steak that still has red juice flowing). Medium-rare is when the steak is pink and juicy in the middle yet cooked throughout. Medium steak will be pale pink in the middle, while well-done steak will only have a trace of the pink colour.

The best steaks have that all-important seared crust, but this is almost impossible to achieve if your steak is too moist. The Maillard reaction is a chemical process that releases new flavour compounds when meat is seared – when you dry the surface of the steak, you remove moisture, allowing for better browning and caramelisation during cooking, thus enhancing the flavour. Before cooking, simply dab your meat dry using kitchen paper. It’s a simple step, but it makes a big difference.

Pan-frying is the most common way to cook steak, followed by grilling and barbecuing (for those partial to a smoky aroma and charred lines). But certain cuts can be thinly sliced, flash-fried and eaten in salads, sandwiches and stir-fries. Fillet can be eaten raw in carpaccio and steak tartare. Cheaper, tougher cuts, such as chuck and brisket, need to be braised or slow cooked to break down the connective tissue and tenderise the meat.

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Last updated by Lottie Woodrow.