Grabbing the Steaks and Getting Started
Okay, so today I really wanted to figure out how to cook those thin sirloin tip steaks without ending up with shoe leather. You know the ones? They look great price-wise but turn tough so easy. Had them sitting in the fridge, feeling kinda determined but also clueless.
First thing I did was haul them out and plop them on the counter. Looked kinda sad and grey. I remembered something about tenderizing, so I grabbed my meat pounder – that weird spiky hammer thing. Couldn’t find it anywhere! Typical. Grabbed a heavy skillet instead. Covered each steak with plastic wrap like I’ve seen chefs do on TV. Then just started whacking them. Not super hard, just firm thumps across the whole piece. Felt kinda dumb, but hey, whatever works. After a minute per side, they definitely looked thinner and flatter. Good start!
Mixing Up My Magic Juice
Right, needed something to make ’em taste good and hopefully tender. Didn’t feel like a fancy marinade day. Rummaged in the fridge and pantry. Found my trusty soy sauce, grabbed some olive oil, squeezed half a lemon. Couldn’t figure out what else. Saw the garlic powder and onion powder – in they went. Threw in a splash of Worcestershire sauce, why not? Salt, pepper, obviously. Stirred this weird brown concoction like a witch. Smelled… interesting. Strong.
My rough “just throw it together” mix:
- Soy Sauce (good glug)
- Olive Oil (a bit less than soy)
- Lemon Juice (half a lemon)
- Garlic Powder (big spoonful)
- Onion Powder (slightly smaller spoonful)
- Worcestershire (couple shakes)
- Salt and Pepper (loads)
Getting Steaky with the Bath
Took my bashed-up steaks and dumped them straight into the bowl of magic juice. Poked ’em around to make sure they were covered in that slop. Left them soaking right there on the counter while I got my cast iron pan screaming hot. Gas mark 7, full blast, let that pan sit for like 5 minutes until a tiny drop of water bounced like crazy. Timing felt sketchy – maybe 15 minutes soaking? Didn’t measure. Took the steaks out, let most of the juice drip off back into the bowl. Didn’t pat them dry this time – wanted some crust.
The Critical Hot Pan Moment
Grabbed some tongs, a bit nervous. Dropped the first steak onto the hot pan. KSSSSHHH! Loud! Awesome sizzle. Good sign. Didn’t touch it. Just let it sit there cooking for maybe 2 minutes, saw the edges start to brown and curl slightly. Flipped it with the tongs. Another beautiful sizzle. Let it cook on side two for about 2 minutes. Remembered these are thin! So pulled it quick and slapped it onto a plate. Repeated with the others. Important bit: Didn’t stack them on the plate, let each one rest solo for a few minutes. Just sat there, staring at the meat sweating. That “resting” thing felt weird but apparently matters.
Cutting In and the Big Relief
Picked up my sharpest knife – the one that doesn’t completely destroy food. Sliced into the first steak, kinda expecting toughness. Holy cow! Pinked! Not grey! Took a bite. It was… tender! Not super fall-apart, but definitely chewable and not rubbery. The edges had that nice salty crust from the marinade, inside was just cooked through. Honestly? Chuffed with that. For minimal effort and bashing the heck outta cheap meat, this actually worked way better than I thought. Neighbour smelled it cooking and popped her head over the fence asking what smelled so good. Told her my “scientific method”. Hah!
