Ingredient

Rib-eye

A rib-eye is cut from the rib section, a muscle that does relatively little work and carries a great deal of intramuscular fat. That marbling is why it is the most forgiving of the premium steaks and why it behaves quite differently in a pan from a lean fillet.

What the marbling does

Intramuscular fat melts as the steak cooks, lubricating the muscle fibres and carrying flavour compounds that are fat-soluble. It is why a rib-eye tastes richer and more beefy than a leaner cut from the same animal, and why it can be cooked a shade further without going dry.

It also means the steak needs a hotter surface than a lean cut. Fat renders slowly, and a pan that is merely warm gives you a steak sitting in its own unrendered grease with a grey exterior.

The flip side is smoke and flare-ups. A rib-eye on a grill will drip and catch, which is fine if you expect it and a disaster if you do not.

The parts of a rib-eye

It is not one muscle, which is why the eating changes across the steak.

The eye (longissimus)

The large round central muscle. Even-textured, tender, moderately marbled.

The cap (spinalis dorsi)

The crescent of meat wrapped around the outside, separated by a seam of fat. More marbled, looser-grained and by most reckonings the best beef on the animal.

The fat seam

Between the two. It renders and is worth eating rather than trimming.

Bone-in

Sold as a rib steak, côte de boeuf or tomahawk. The bone slows heat transfer slightly and adds nothing to the flavour; it looks impressive and makes carving trickier.

Thickness

Buy thick — three centimetres or more. A thin rib-eye cannot develop a crust without overcooking through.

Cooking one properly

1. Take it out of the fridge well ahead so it is not fridge-cold in the middle.
2. Dry the surface thoroughly with kitchen paper. Surface water has to boil off before browning can start.
3. Salt it generously just before cooking, or well ahead — but not ten minutes ahead, which is the one timing that draws moisture to the surface without letting it reabsorb.
4. Get a heavy pan genuinely hot. Cast iron is ideal. Add a little high-smoke-point oil, not butter yet.
5. Lay the steak away from you and leave it alone. Move it only to turn it. Stand it on its fat edge for a minute to render the outer fat.
6. Add butter, garlic and thyme near the end and baste, tilting the pan and spooning it over.
7. Rest it on a warm plate for at least five minutes, and preferably as long as it cooked. This is not optional.

Judging doneness without cutting into it

Feel and time, cross-checked.

• The finger test. Press the middle with a fingertip and compare against the fleshy base of your thumb — relaxed hand is rare, thumb to little finger is well done. Crude but genuinely useful once learned.
• Thickness beats weight. A three-centimetre steak takes roughly the same time whether it is two hundred grams or four hundred.
• Carryover is real. A thick steak continues to cook while resting, so take it off a shade before you want it.
• Colour on the outside says nothing about the inside. A deep crust can sit over an entirely raw centre.
• A probe thermometer is the reliable answer if you want one, and internal temperature targets for safety are a matter for the Food Standards Agency rather than for a recipe.
• Cut one open and look. With practice you will not need to; without it, looking is better than guessing.

Common questions