Why Flipping Your Steak Only Once Is A Myth

Cooking a perfect steak is a rite of passage. It's something every burgeoning chef can hang their hat on. Not just because almost everybody loves a well-cooked steak, but because of the tender love and care that goes into preparing the cut of meat into a delicious piece of protein. With that comes a slew of tips to make your steak taste better. Letting the steak sit out and warm up to room temp, dabbing the meat dry with a paper towel, and coating each side with salt to season and tenderize the steak while drawing out some of the moisture are just a few. Not to mention there is plenty of advice about whether you should cook your steak in a pan, on a grill, or in a cast iron. Then, of course, are the recommendations on seasoning, how long to cook your steak, and one of the most famous tips: only flipping the steak once. We're here to state that this is a myth.

According to some chefs and numerous online personalities, flipping a steak only once is the method that allows for a perfect sear and browned crust via the Maillard reaction, which is the browning of the meat that locks in the steak's juices and yields the most flavor with a slightly crispy texture. Yes, you want that seared crust on your steak. In fact, you want it on both sides, but you can achieve a better overall and more even cook if you flip your steak often. Yep, it's true! 

One of the loudest proponents in the one-flip camp is also one of the most famous chefs alive: Gordon Ramsay. He and his executive chefs around the world follow the one-flip formula, but there has been significant pushback to this theory, with many professional chefs and home cooks alike flipping their steaks multiple times to achieve great results. In fact, many have found that flipping your steak often, usually every 30 seconds or so, can produce a more even cook throughout. Meanwhile, a steak that is only flipped once might not have a consistent medium-rare temperature throughout the entire piece of meat, leaving one side overdone. Of course, you need to keep in mind the thickness of your steak cut and the best ways to cook each cut of steak. 

Flipping your steak often is also important when cooking on an open-flame grill with multiple uneven heat points. In this case, you'll want to flip and turn your steak often to ensure an even cook. In a pan on an oven or a flat top, that even cook is a little easier. If you do it this way, your internal temperature remains even, and you'll still get a great sear. And feel free to experiment. You can flip every 30 seconds or as often as you want.