On the evening of Tuesday October 4th, 1994, my wife and I were completing our first full day in Paris. We spent the day doing some of the things that everyone does on their first trip to Paris. We visited Notre Dame—she wrote that evening “I think this whole trip was worth coming to see this complex building”—Saint Chapelle, the Concierge, and walked around Isle de Cité soaking up the sights and smells of old Paris. We walked around the neighborhood of our hotel and about three blocks away found a restaurant that looked like it had potential. While my wife enjoyed a salade de bœuf (beef salad), faux filet et frites (sirloin steak and French fries), and gâteau au chocolat (chocolate cake), I devoured terrine de maison (house terrine), rognons de veau au sauce madère (veal kidneys with Madeira sauce), charlotte des fraises (raspberry cake). I only remember all this because my wife documented all this in her travel diary later that evening.

What she didn’t write about, but we both remember quite well even today was the two men sitting opposite each other at a nearby table. Judging by their dark, pin-stripped suits, they appeared to be business men. When they weren’t eating, they maintained an animated conversation, that we couldn’t understand and smoked cigarettes. When their main course arrived, we were treated to a show that no one had warned us about. Placed on the table between them was a large wooden plank with an almost as large piece of meat. It was easily the biggest steak I had ever seen. The beast had to weigh almost a kilo (a little over two pounds). They proceeded to devour this hunk, mouthful by mouthful, by cutting off hunks with their knives and plopping the cutoff pieces directly into their mouths. Although cooked on the outside, the meat appeared raw on the inside. I now know that they were eating a côte de bœuf (beef chop) which technically speaking does not become a steak until you remove it from the bone, and it then becomes an entrecôte (rib-eye steak).

Although I was to later learn many different names for steaks in France, I noticed that I continued to see the English word steak listed on many menus and chalkboards. Steak doesn’t sound French to me. It turns out that the French have adopted the English word steak for some preparations.1 The earliest mention of steak that I found in a French-language cookbook is in Volume IV of L’Art de la cuisine française au dix-neuvième siècle published in 1843.2 An earlier English-language book of French cooking uses the word steak in its French-language recipe titles.3 The word was in common usage a century earlier in England than it was in France.

But the French have many ways of spelling steak. Besides steak there’s steck, steack, biftek, bifteck, bifsteak, and bifsteack. The last four are actually French for beef-steak, an English term almost as old as steak. Nowadays, except for bistro chalkboards displaying steak frites, the term used will be more than likely one of the French words that also denotes the position on the steer that the meat came from: entrecôte, filet, tournedo, châteaubriand, cœur de filet, filet mignon, faux-filet, contre-filet, rumsteck, bavette, or onglet. Occasionally, you can even find a good old American T-bone steak listed on a menu.

French menus will generally list the type of steak in the dish description. The principal exception being steak frites, which is often made with a cheap cut of steak such as a thin slice of meat from the rump of the steer. In some restaurants, the weight of the steak is also listed on the menu. The common sizes being 100 grams (about 31/2 ounces), 150 grams (about 51/4 ounces), and 200 grams (about 7 ounces). There’re no Texas-size steaks in France, and steaks are rarely served on the bone.

When you order a steak in a French restaurant it will usually be served with a sauce and maybe a garnish. The actual combination will be indicated by the name of the dish. Possibly the most common is entrecôte béarnaise. Nowadays the list of steak dishes is relatively short, but a hundred years ago Saulnier listed 177 different steaks dishes that were prepared with just a filet.4 He listed many more for the other cuts. Some examples are quoted below:

It was common in those days to serve a steak resting on a slice of crustless bread that had been fried in clarified butter and referred to as a croûton. The bread absorbed juices exuded by the cooked steak so they didn’t run around the plate and spoil the appearance of the presentation. Truffles and foie gras were also commonly part of the presentation. As archaic as some of the presentations seem today, some are still used. It’s not particularly difficult to find some variation of a tournedo Rossini—a pan-fried filet served on a crouton, garnished with a slice of seared foie gras on top, and surrounded by a ring of Madiera-flavored demi-glace—on a modern menu.

Steak recipes can nowadays be divided roughly into five groups.

Although some of the recipes for steaks haven’t changed over time, the steak itself has. Nowadays steers are bred and raised to improve their tenderness. Some books from a century ago even called for cuts from the tenderloin, the most tender part of the steer, to be larded with slivers of pork fat. Some of these books are still in print. I wonder how many novice cooks search for larding needles in order to follow these recipes? Today even meat from the rump can be tender if cooked properly, i.e., not over cooked.

When ordering a steak in France, the diner specifies the degree of doneness to which the steak should be cooked:

A steak that’s cooked bien cuit will never be as tender as one cooked à point.

Isn’t it dangerous eating a raw or almost raw steak? No. As discussed in Le Livret de température des viandes (The Little Book of Meat Temperatures) the bacteria that are occasionally found on raw meat are only present on the surface. When the steak is seared, these bacteria are instantly killed.

Depending upon the thickness of the steak, cooking should be be either a two- or three-step process. The first step is to sear the outside of the steak with intense, dry heat. If it is thin, it only needs to be seared on two sides, but if it is thick, the edges should also be seared. Contrary to a century and a half-old myth that searing helps to seal in the juices of the steak, the reason to sear the meat is flavor.6 This flavor and color is a result of the Maillard reaction that produces a complex group of molecules that we find pleasing.7

The second step, that can be skipped only for very thin cuts of meat, is roasting in dry, high heat. As good as searing is, a thick steak cooked totally in a hot frying pan would be thoroughly overcooked at the outer surfaces by the time the interior was sufficiently cooked. By doing the majority of the cooking in an oven, the heat can penetrate the meat from all sides and thus cook it evenly.

The final step is to let the piece of meat rest in a warm environment. It is difficult to produce a properly cooked steak if you try to cook it completely over heat and then serve it immediately. Resting is a very important part of the process. When removed from the heat, the meat will continue to cook until it is sliced. A “perfectly” cooked steak will become overcooked if the resting process is not included in the overall cooking process. This process is also explained in detail in Le Livret de température des viandes. As a result of proper resting, a thick piece of meat is cooked evenly throughout.

Traditionally in France, steaks were either pan-fried or grilled. Nowadays, broilers or salamanders may also be used. Except for very thin cuts, all these methods are used for searing. They are usually used in conjunction with oven roasting to “finish” the meat. In a fine restaurant resting will take place in a warmer. All these cooking methods can be easily done in a home kitchen.

I don’t recall ever seeing a recipe for a steak in a French cookbook or cooking magazine that called for the steak to be marinated. I did work in a Michelin one-star restaurant in the Alsace where some meats were marinated, but the chef had worked a number of years in the United States and maybe he leaned to marinate there. When I was growing up, marinating was thought to make steaks more tender, but experience has proven otherwise. At best, marinating will affect the flavor of the outer few millimeters of the meat unless left to soak for many days that can cause the meat to seem mushy. Some cooks recommend injecting the marinade into thick pieces of meat, but I have not seen this method advocated in France. Once again, the best way to produce a tender steak is to not overcook it.

When pan-frying a steak, it is important to use a heavy frying pan with an uncoated surface for the searing process. A stainless steel-lined copper or aluminum pan works quite well, as does a well-seasoned cast iron pan. All of these can be heated dry to quite a high temperature before the steak is added. Some fat, usually oil or butter, is added to the pan just before the searing begins. The meat will usually stick to the surface of the pan initially, but will release when it is sufficiently seared. The frying pan should be large enough so the pieces of meat aren’t crowded. It is important that any juices released by the meat are allowed to evaporate. If the juices are allowed to accumulate in the pan, the meat will be boiled instead of seared.

A cast iron pan with raised ridges on the surface can be used to sear the meat with “grill” marks. If this type of frying pan is used, the meat is usually rotated 90 degrees part of the way through the searing process on each side so two sets of lines are produced. This is done for the visual effect more than for flavor. One benefit of the ridges is that they hold the meat above any juices it releases and the cooking surface remains dry.

When more steaks are to be cooked than will fit comfortably in the frying or grill pan without crowding, they can be seared in batches and then set aside for roasting in quantity during the second phase. After searing the steaks, transfer them to a baking sheet. A number of baking sheets can be placed in the oven at one time.

When searing a steak on a grill over wood, charcoal, or gas, it is important that the heat be as high as possible. With wood, all of the flames should have died down leaving just glowing hot coals. The steaks should be dried with absorbent paper before seasoning and brushed lightly with vegetable oil just before placing on the grill. You want to avoid flare-ups that would cause carbon to be deposited on the surface of the meat. The carbon is usually produced by fat dripping on the coals and gives the surface of the meat a bitter taste.

To turn the meat, I prefer to use tongs. In France, I usually see chefs using a long meat fork to turn meat, but I think that tongs provide a better grip. Some cooks claim that a fork will cause a loss of juices because it pierces the meat, but I don’t think this juice loss, if any, is significant.

The roasting phase of the cooking, if started in a frying pan, can be completed in the same pan or on a baking sheet if the frying pan is needed for other cooking needs. Most of the time I preheat my oven to 220 °C (425 °F) for the roasting. I usually cook the meat until the internal temperature reaches between 45 and 50 °C (110 and 120 °F), but I may remove a very thick steak at 40 °C (105 °F) because its internal temperature will rise more during resting.

If the searing is done on a grill over wood, charcoal, or gas, the steak is moved to a place on the grill where the heat is indirect and the grill is covered. When I cover my kettle-style grill that has a nice pile of glowing charcoal off to one side, the temperature inside can easily rise to 240 °C (465 °F) over by the steaks on the other side. If your grill cannot be covered, the roasting should be done in an oven.

For the final phase of the cooking—resting—I keep the steak in the frying pan in which it was cooked. If I want to make a pan sauce in the frying pan, I transfer the steak to a warm plate. In either case, the plate or frying pan is covered with a metal bowl and a couple of towels are thrown over the bowl. If the steak was cooked on the grill then a warm plate is used. If the steak was cooked on a baking sheet, I invert a second baking sheet of the same size over the first. As a last resort, I will tent the steak with foil. To keep the resting meat out of drafts, I use a couple of small quilts that were sewn for me to use specifically for covering meat. A couple of heavy towels will also provide sufficient insulation. The thicker the steaks, the longer I let them rest. Five minutes is my minimum time for thin steaks and ten minutes for thick ones. Covered as described above, they can sit quite a long time and remain warm and perfectly cooked. As an alternative, they can be covered with foil and kept in a 70 °C (160 °F) oven.

Won’t the steaks become contaminated with airborne bacteria while resting? No. As long as the steaks remain covered, bacteria will not be able to collect on the surface. Remember, the surface was hotter than 70 °C (155 °F), the lethal temperature for the bacteria, before it was covered.

My favorite steak is the entrecôte (rib eye). I think it is tastier than the filet and I like having to chew a little. Where I purchase my steaks, the butcher cuts them to order so I usually get one that’s about 400 grams (a little less than a pound). More often than not, I pan-fry it and serve it simply with a little crème de raifort (horseradish) or a simple sauce with a demi-glace base.

Whether plain or fancy, steaks served in the French style can be very tasty and not particularly difficult to prepare.

There are many ways to cook a steak—pan-frying, grilling, pseudo-grilling, and broiling—and there are many proponents of each method. I tend to pan-fry my steaks because for me, this method is the quickest and easiest. I would possibly grill more if I had a decent gas grill, but with this method there is no browned bits left to use in creating a pan sauce, that I often make. Click the buttons below for a full description of each method.

In pan-frying, as its name implies, a steak is all or partially cooked in a frying pan. This is the recommended method in most French steak recipes.

Dry any wet surfaces of the steaks by patting with absorbent paper. Unless the recipe says otherwise, season each side of the steaks with fine salt and freshly ground black pepper. If possible, season the steaks eight or more hours in advance. Place the seasoned steaks on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and store in a refrigerator. Remove the steaks from the refrigerator about an hour before cooking so they can come to room temperature, which will make it easier to produce a more evenly cooked steak.

If the steaks are thicker than a centimeter, preheat the oven to 220 °C (425 °F). If you are using an electric cook-top, preheat a burner on high. When the element is hot—for gas just turn the burner to high—place a frying pan on the burner. The frying pan should have an uncoated surface. The preferred pans for frying a steak are cast iron, stainless steel-clad copper, or aluminum. If the steaks are to be finished in the oven, the frying pan will need to have an ovenproof handle.

When the pan is hot, add some fat. The fat will act as a heat-transfer agent and may provide some flavor to the meat. Traditionally, French steaks were pan-fried in clarified butter, but nowadays vegetable oil is also used. Clarified butter doesn’t burn because the milk solids have been removed. My preferred oil for pan-frying steaks is grapeseed oil because is has a very high smoke point and a neutral flavor.

When the fat is hot, carefully lay the steaks into the frying pan. The steaks need to be placed in their final position on the first attempt because they will stick to the surface as soon as they contact it. The best way to do this is with your hand but tongs can also be used. Pick each steak up near one edge and lay it in the pan starting with the opposite edge. Lower the steak down by “unrolling” it into position.

As the steaks begin to form a crust, they will cease to stick to the surface of the pan. Once this occurs, using tongs or a meat fork, turn each steak over. If the steaks are thicker than a centimeter, skip to the next paragraph. If not, complete the cooking on the burner. Do not cook the steaks to your desired degree of doneness. That will occur when the steaks are resting. Cook the steaks about three-quarters done in the frying pan and then proceed with the resting phase of the cooking.

If the steaks are thicker than a centimeter, do the next phase of the cooking in the oven. Either place the frying pan in the oven, or if the frying pan is required for other cooking needs, transfer the steaks to a baking sheet and place in the oven. If a convection oven is used, the position of the pan is probably not important, but if a conventional oven is used, the pan should be placed in the center of the oven. The amount of time the steaks will be in the oven is a function of how thick they are. A 1-cm (3/8-inch) thick steak will probably be ready to be removed from the oven in about 4 minutes. A 5-cm (2-inch) thick steak will take about 12 minutes for this phase. The best way to determine the time is to use a thermometer to measure the internal temperature of the steak. I usually cook steaks until their internal temperature reaches between 45 and 50 °C (110 and 120 °F), but I may remove a very thick steak at 40 °C (105 °F) because its internal temperature will rise more during resting. The time will also vary depending on how rare or well done you want your steaks.

The steaks can rest either in the same pan they were cooked in or on a heated plate. If using a plate, I usually place the plate in the oven for the last minute the steaks are cooking. This will heat the plate enough so it doesn’t cool the steaks when they are placed on it. Whether using a plate or the frying pan, cover the steaks with an inverted bowl or piece of aluminum foil. The purpose of the cover is to keep the steaks away from drafts. If using a piece of foil, try to maintain some air space between it and the surface of the steaks. If the room is cold or drafty, cover the foil or bowl with a couple of heavy towels. Even the thinnest steak should rest for at least 5 minutes. A thick steak should rest for at least 10 minutes but it can safely rest much longer without becoming overcooked. If you are fortunate enough to have a second oven, the steaks can rest, covered, in a very low 70 °C (160 °F) oven.

Grilling is the process of cooking meat on a metal rack over an open heat source. The heat can come from any radiant source, usually wood, charcoal, or gas.

Dry any wet surfaces of the steaks by patting with absorbent paper. Unless the recipe says otherwise, season each side of the steaks with fine salt and freshly ground black pepper. If possible, season the steaks eight or more hours in advance. Place the seasoned steaks on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and store in a refrigerator. Remove the steaks from the refrigerator about an hour before cooking so they can come to room temperature, which will make it easier to produce a more evenly cooked steak.

The device for cooking the steaks can be fairly simple if the steaks are thin, a centimeter or less, but for thicker steaks, it needs to have the ability to apply heat both directly and indirectly. If using wood or charcoal, they need to be started far enough in advance of cooking so that only glowing coals remain by the time the steak is to be cooked. With electric or gas outdoor grills, the system usually needs about 10 minutes of preheating before the steaks are to be cooked. In either case, the part of the grill used for direct heat should be as hot as possible.

Just before cooking, brush the steaks with a little vegetable oil or clarified butter. Carefully lay the steaks onto the surface of the grill. The steaks need to be placed in their final position on the first attempt because they will stick to the surface as soon as they contact it. The best way to do this is with your hand but tongs can also be used. Pick each steak up near one edge and carefully lay it on the grill starting with the opposite edge. Lower the steak down by “unrolling” it into position.

As the steaks begin to form a crust, they will cease to stick to the surface of the grill. Once this occurs, using tongs or a meat fork, turn each steak over. If the steaks are thin, a centimeter or less, they will be cooked totally over direct heat so continue to flip the steaks every minute or so until they are about three-quarters done. Then remove them from the grill and proceed with the resting phase of the cooking.

If the steaks are thicker than a centimeter, move the steaks to the portion of the grill used for indirect cooking after a suitable crust has been formed on the second side using direct heat. Close the cover of the grill so the indirect cooking can proceed. If your grill is as hot as mine, a 1-cm (3/8-inch) thick steak will probably be ready to be removed from the grill in about 4 minutes. A 5-cm (2-inch) thick steak will take about 12 minutes for this phase. The best way to determine the time is to use a thermometer to measure the internal temperature of the steak. I usually cook steaks until their internal temperature reaches between 45 and 50 °C (110 and 120 °F), but I may remove a very thick steak at 40 °C (105 °F) because its internal temperature will rise more during resting. The time will also vary depending on how rare or well done you want your steaks.

For resting, place the steaks on a heated plate. Cover the steaks with an inverted bowl or piece of aluminum foil. The purpose of the cover is to keep the steaks away from drafts. If using a piece of foil, try to maintain some air space between it and the surface of the steaks. If the room is cold or drafty, cover the foil or bowl with a couple of heavy towels. Even the thinnest steak should rest for at least 5 minutes. A thick steak should rest for at least 10 minutes but it can safely rest much longer without becoming overcooked. If you are fortunate enough to have a second oven, the steaks can rest, covered, in a very low 70 °C (160 °F) oven.

Pseudo-grilling is a method of cooking steaks on a special surface that burns the faces of the steaks with parallel lines of browned meat. The grill surface is usually made of cast iron and has parallel ridges separated by low troughs. When built into a stove top, the grill surface may be tilted slightly or horizontal. With a tilted surface, the fat that runs into the troughs is supposed to be channeled to a collection system at the lowest point. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve cooked on both types in restaurants and haven’t seen any noticeable difference in the results. For home use, special frying pans are available with a ridge-lined base. These mark the steaks the same way as the commercial grill.

Dry any wet surfaces of the steaks by patting with absorbent paper. Unless the recipe says otherwise, season each side of the steaks with fine salt and freshly ground black pepper. If possible, season the steaks eight or more hours in advance. Place the seasoned steaks on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and store in a refrigerator. Remove the steaks from the refrigerator about an hour before cooking so they can come to room temperature, which will make it easier to produce a more evenly cooked steak.

If the steaks are thicker than a centimeter, preheat the oven to 220 °C (425 °F). Preheat the grill or the grill pan. If the steaks are to be finished in the oven and a grill pan is being used, the pan will need to have an ovenproof handle.

Just before cooking, brush the steaks with a little vegetable oil or clarified butter. Carefully lay the steaks onto the surface of the grill. The steaks need to be placed in their final position on the first attempt because they will stick to the surface as soon as they contact it. The best way to do this is with your hand but tongs can also be used. Pick each steak up near one edge and carefully lay it on the grill starting with the opposite edge. Lower the steak down by “unrolling” it into position.

As the steaks begin to form a crust, they will cease to stick to the surface of the grill. Once this occurs, using tongs or a meat fork, rotate each steak a quarter turn to create a second, crossing set of grill marks on the same face of the steak. When the second set of marks is about as brown as the first, turn each steak over and make two crossing pairs of marks on the second side.

If the steaks are thin, a centimeter or less, they will be cooked totally on the grill or grill pan so the timing needs to be such that the steaks will cook to about three-quarters done by the time the four sets of grill marks are created. Once done remove the steaks from the grill and proceed with the resting phase of the cooking. If the steaks are thicker than a centimeter, do the next phase of the cooking in the oven. Either place the grill pan in the oven, or if a stationary grill was used, transfer the steaks to a baking sheet and place it in the oven. If a convection oven is used, the position of the pan is probably not important, but if it is a conventional oven, the pan should be placed in the center of the oven. The amount of time the steaks will be in the oven is a function of how thick they are. A 1-cm (3/8-inch) thick steak will probably be ready to be removed from the oven in about 4 minutes. A 5-cm (2-inch) thick steak will take about 12 minutes for this phase. The best way to determine the time is to use a thermometer to measure the internal temperature of the steak. I usually cook steaks until their internal temperature reaches between 45 and 50 °C (110 and 120 °F), but I may remove a very thick steak at 40 °C (105 °F) because its internal temperature will rise more during resting. The time will also vary depending on how rare or well done you want your steaks.

The steaks can rest either in the same pan they were cooked in or on a heated plate. If using a plate, I usually place the plate in the oven for the last minute the steaks are cooking. This will heat the plate enough so it doesn’t cool the steaks when they are placed on it. Whether using a plate or the frying pan, cover the steaks with an inverted bowl or piece of aluminum foil. The purpose of the cover is to keep the steaks away from drafts. If using a piece of foil, try to maintain some air space between it and the surface of the steaks. If the room is cold or drafty, cover the foil or bowl with a couple of heavy towels. Even the thinnest steak should rest for at least 5 minutes. A thick steak should rest for at least 10 minutes but it can safely rest much longer without becoming overcooked. If you are fortunate enough to have a second oven, the steaks can rest, covered, in a very low 70 °C (160 °F) oven.

Broiling is a method where the steak is cooked below a source of intense radiant energy. Broiling does not produce the flavorful brown crust that pan-frying or grilling produces. Broiling works best for steaks thinner than 2 cm (3/4 inch). Thicker pieces of meat can be broiled by increasing the distance from the heat source to the meat and cooking for an increased length of time, but as this begins to approach roasting, it is usually not recommended.

Dry any wet surfaces of the steaks by patting with absorbent paper. Unless the recipe says otherwise, season each side of the steaks with fine salt and freshly ground black pepper. If possible, season the steaks eight or more hours in advance. Place the seasoned steaks on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and store in a refrigerator. Remove the steaks from the refrigerator about an hour before cooking so they can come to room temperature, which will make it easier to produce a more evenly cooked steak.

Preheat the broiler. Place a rack over a baking sheet with sides. Set the steaks on the rack. This set-up will keep the steaks from sitting in any exuded juices or fat. If the steaks sit in the boiling juices or fat, they are really being boiled not broiled. Some ovens are sold with a special two-piece broiling pan that works in this manner.

Place the steaks under the broiler element so the top surfaces of the steaks are about 3 cm (1 inch) from the element. Cook the meat until it is about a third cooked, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn the meat over and cook the second side until the meat is about three-quarters cooked, another 3 to 5 minutes. The amount of time the steaks will be under the broiler is a function of how thick they are. The best way to determine the time is to use a thermometer to measure the internal temperature of the steak. I usually cook steaks until their internal temperature reaches between 45 and 50 °C (110 and 120 °F), but I may remove a very thick steak at 40 °C (105 °F) because its internal temperature will rise more during resting. The time will also vary depending on how rare or well done you want your steaks.

For resting, place the steaks on a heated plate. Cover the steaks with an inverted bowl or piece of aluminum foil. The purpose of the cover is to keep the steaks away from drafts. If using a piece of foil, try to maintain some air space between it and the surface of the steaks. If the room is cold or drafty, cover the foil or bowl with a couple of heavy towels. Even the thinnest steak should rest for at least 5 minutes. A thick steak should rest for at least 10 minutes but it can safely rest much longer without becoming overcooked. If you are fortunate enough to have an oven separate from your broiler, the steaks can rest, covered, in a very low 70 °C (160 °F) oven.