We get a lot of questions here at JHBMCo. on how to properly cook our bison and elk steaks at home, and it’s really as simple as ...
Season Well — Sear Well — Rest Well!
Whether you’re pan searing your steaks stove top in the kitchen or charring them up over the flames on the grill out back, we’ve got a few simple steps and tips here to get you started on cooking up restaurant quality steaks at home with confidence!
1) Don’t be afraid to season your meat!
We always recommend coarse sea salt or kosher salt over boring, tasteless table salt. You want to not only taste the salt, but you want that crunch of the flaky salt for a little added pop of texture!
- Here’s a little tip, after removing the steaks from their package after thawing, pat-dry all surface moisture and meat juices from the steaks and season immediately before searing or grilling. Excessive moisture on the steaks surface will inhibit a good seared crust from forming!
2) High heat is your friend when it comes to cooking a great steak!
Now we don’t want you burning your house down, or worse yet, wrecking your steak, but whether it’s in a pan or on the grill, having enough heat to get a proper sear and/or char and not over-cooking the steak is the ultimate goal! A heavy bottomed cast iron pan is the best way to get that beautifully seared crust in the kitchen. A solid 5 minutes of pre-heating on med/high heat is a good place to start.
- This is where we recommend you open all the windows in the kitchen, turn the oven hood vent on high and be ready to frantically locate and turn-off the fire alarm that’ll probably be out of reach!
- If grilling, we like to turn half the grill to high (or a raging bed of coals on the side) and close the lid to really pre-heat the grill bars! Make sure to a keep half the grill at a low temperature to be able to land the steak if things get too hot and you need to slow the cooking down!
- Liberally rub 1/2 tsp. of vegetable or olive oil over the steak before seasoning (see above) and searing/grilling, as this will help the steak from sticking to the pan or grill bars.
Gently lay the oiled/seasoned steak in the pan or on the grill and don’t touch it! Let the meat sear for at least one minute before fussing with it! The steak will want to stick at first, but will eventually release once a crust/proper grill marks have began to form. Give the steak a flip and finish to desired doneness. We always recommend medium rare — we really think it's the perfect doneness when it comes to bison and elk!
3) Now the hardest part ... letting the steak REST!
A good rule of thumb is to let the steak rest as long as you cooked it. Just loosely place a sheet of foil over the steak to keep it warm and let it rest on the cutting board at least five minutes before slicing and/or serving. Trust us! Those few minutes of letting the meat relax will really help keep the steak juicy and delicious!
Enjoy!
