Steak

I don't know why it is that all of my best steaks have come from when Geno is out of town. They aren't too bad when hes here, but for some reason when he goes out of town I manage to get the cook times down perfectly.

I like my steak Rare - Medium Rare. I can eat Medium as well. Anything more than that though isn't worth digesting. I tend to go by site, and my guidlines are thus

Perfect Steak:
Hot & Red on the inside, Black on the outside.

Good Steak:
Hot & Red on the Inside

Acceptable Steak:
Warm & Red on the inside
Pink on the inside

Bad Steak:
Purple on the Inside (this can still be salvaged in some cases by popping it back on the heat)
Brown on the Inside (cooked too long)

Worst Steak:
Grey on the inside

It is very difficult, if not near impossible to get a pan-fried steak perfect and I have only managed to do it once. Most of my steaks fall into the acceptable range and I get more bad steaks than good ones. I think a lot of this has to do with the cut I cook. I prefer to cook a thick cut steak, gives it more time for the outside to get that dark crisp crust while the inside cooks.

My main method of cooking isn't the best, I know that its better to cook a steak on medium than on high, however for some reason every time I have tried medium heat it either comes out Brown or Purple.

What I do is:
Salt Steak on both sides 40 minutes in advance, leave out to bring to room temperature
Wipe thin layer of oil on Cast Iron Pan
Heat pan on high until it starts to smoke
Place Steak in middle of pan
Depending on thickness I will flip anywhere between 1 minute and 2 minutes
Once flipped I bring the heat down to medium to cook the other side
After 1-2 minutes I flip the steak again and put a lid on the pan.
If I had been flipping every minute, I cook with the lid on for 30 seconds, if 2 minutes I cook for 60 seconds.
If I see red on the sides of the steak I flip and repeat the lid.
Once thats done I pull the Steak out of the pan and put on plate.
I then fry mushrooms and onions in the pans juices.
When these are done I put them either on the plate or in a bowl and pour whatever remaining juices are left onto the steak.

When time is gaged correctly this steak will be hot and red.

To end this I just want to say something to everyone who thinks Steak is just a hunk of meat and because they have tried a certain cut they aren't going to like it. The cut of the steak makes a HUGE difference. If you think its too tough, its probably because you have had a bad cut. Sirloin is about average and if your not a meat eater I wouldn't recommend it. Instead I would go for something more tender like a filet, rib steak (prime rib, scotch filet, or rib eye), or T-bone/Porterhouse. Yes most of these are more expensive, but they are like night and day when compared to your typical rump steak.