Have you been cooking steak wrong your whole life?

Put down the salt and the oil - we grill Sean Connolly on his steak style.

Source: (Sean's Kitchen)

Australia via New Zealand chef Sean Connolly knows a thing or two about steaks. The man behind steak institution Sean’s Kitchen in Adelaide (also the name of his television series) as well as The Morrison Bar and Oyster Room in Sydney, and The Grill By Sean Connolly across the ditch at Skycity Auckland is passionate about meat – on the bone, where possible.

“Since man created fire, we have been eating cooked meat on the bone, where the meat remains as close to its original state as possible,” Connolly says. He prefers to cook over coals or on a grill with minimal intervention to let the protein’s flavours speak for themselves.

Source: china squirrel

When it comes to the hard and fasts, here are his top five:

1. Always bring your steak back up to room temperature if it’s been stored in the fridge, tips Connolly.

2. "Always brush the steak – never the pan – with oil."

3. "I season my steak before I cook  it – never during or after cooking," Connolly says. "Season lightly with salt and heavily with pepper."

4. "Depending on the size of your steak (let’s say it’s a good inch-thick steak), it should be cooked for three minutes on either side, and rested for double that time – so, in this instance, six minutes of resting."

5. "I never touch my steak during cooking or resting – I don’t poke it, prod it or slice it during resting, so that all of the juices are kept inside. Leave it to rest in a warm place, like a warm oven, on a warm plate to allow the meat to relax and become more tender." 

Need a side for your steak? Try Sean's duck fat chips or creamy Brussels sprouts. 

Check the TV Guide to see when Sean's Kitchen is airing then catch up via on SBS On Demand.