My First Time (trying to) Cook a Steak

This might come as a shock to some of you, but at 19 years old, I have never cooked a steak.  Growing up, I never questioned where the food on the table came from, or how it got there for that matter.  The only culinary experience I have is from a brief stint at Whataburger when I was 16 years old. It’s crazy, I know.  I figured if I am going to effectively serve you guys, I need to learn how to cook a steak myself. Obviously it won’t be perfect the first time around.  I wonder if my patty-flipping experience from Whataburger will help me now. (SPOILER: it won’t!)

The Process

I have a round steak from G Farms, courtesy of Kelsey.  I set the steak out for a few hours to let it thaw.

Now that the beef is thawed, it’s time to start the process.  I used what was available to me in the house to tenderize and flavor the steak.  I used sea salt and a 48 blade tenderizer to start the process.

I prepared the skillet with a mix of bacon grease and olive oil.  My dad also told me to add some butter, so of course I did. I added some lime juice for flavoring.  Light smoke began to rise from the skillet, so it was time for me to add the steak.

 After plopping the steak down in the skillet, I added rosemary and sage to the oil. A few short minutes later, I flipped the steak to cook the other side.  I regret skipping the step of checking the internal temperature - I think I let my steak cook too long. Nonetheless, the steak was still amazing. Although, that could just be my ego in denial, since I cooked the steak myself.  

This was a huge learning experience for me.  The steak wasn’t perfect, but it is a great starting point.  

Some Things I Need to Work On

Although I thought it was a good steak, I'm sure most wouldn't.  There were a few things that contributed to this, so I will pinpoint my mistakes to avoid making them next time.  Next time I will add more bacon grease and olive oil to the skillet. (I don’t think I added enough.)  I will also check the internal temp next time around, so I can be sure the steak is cooked to my specifications.  

Thanks for reading about my first time ever cooking a steak.  I'm satisfied with how it turned out, even though I have a LOT of room to improve.  Does anyone have any tips for my next time preparing a steak?  What kind of problems do you run into cooking your steaks?  Drop your answers in the comments!