To flip or not to flip

That's the question when it comes to steak cooking.

There are two schools of thoughts, leaving the meat alone (turning once or twice) or flipping the steak at regular intervals (in seconds).

The method works for me reliably is the latter, flipping at a controlled speed.

The key is to get a pan smoking hot before cooking the meat. Because if your pan is hot enough, nice crust is formed almost immediately when the meat comes in contact with the pan surface. The chemical reaction behind this nice crust which contributes to its rich flavor is called Maillard reaction. Maillard reaction takes place at 154 centigrade while water boils at 100 degrees. That gives you an idea as how hot the pan should get. It's not enough just to boil the water. Literally you have to see smoke come up from the pan (see the video demonstration below). Therefore, it makes sense to use oil with a high smoking point in the beginning and add butter towards the end for flavor.

Frequent flipping has an advantage especially for thin steaks, if you don't want it well done. My steaks usually come in half-inch thick. For this level of thickness, flipping it every 20 second in a very hot pan for no more than 90 seconds gives a nice rare to medium-rare level which I prefer.

See how one expert does it. It really works!