The Reason Steakhouses Use Super High Heat

Grilling a steak seems like a task that's simple enough, but steakhouse chefs use a number of techniques to put up a plate of premium beef.

If you're looking to approach steakhouse-level quality in your own kitchen, there are a few simple things you should do. First, a good steak starts with a good amount of seasoning. According to Today, you should salt liberally, especially with thicker cuts. The goal is to have the salt penetrate to the interior of the steak — and that means you have to put a lot of salt on the exterior.

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Many steakhouses add flavor to a steak by finishing it with butter. Whether it's a small ladle of clarified butter on top or a basting of butter in a cast-iron pan, a little bit of butter makes a steak taste and look better (via Taste of Home). Another steakhouse tip is to rub a bit of garlic over a cooked steak. As Cook's Illustrated notes, rubbing a garlic clove on a cooked steak infuses hints of aromatic flavor that complement a steak's rich umami.

Using professional-grade heat on a steak

One steakhouse technique that is difficult to pull off at home is getting a perfect crust by searing the steak with extremely high heat. According to Best American Steakhouses, restaurant infrared broilers can reach temperatures of around 1,650 degrees Fahrenheit — much hotter than the maximum temperature of the standard home oven.

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If you're determined to get that steakhouse sear at home, there are options available. As Taste of Home notes, cooking your steak over a charcoal grill or in a super-hot cast-iron pan can help to create that desired crust. If you are really invested in making a steakhouse-level steak at home, you can buy a searing grill like the Otto Wilde Grill, which can reach 1,500 degree Fahrenheit in just a few minutes. However, it costs upwards of $1,000 (via Insider).

After you've cooked your steak, there's one thing that you absolutely must do, according to the late Anthony Bourdain. In 2016, the famously-opinionated chef told Tech Insider that not allowing for a 5- to 7-minute rest period after cooking it is one of the worst things anyone can do to a steak. Bourdain goes on to say that the resting period allows for a more desirable, graduated distribution of cooking, from a soft medium-rare interior to a hard outer crust.

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