Cooking the perfect steak

Get ready to fire up the barbeque because the weekend is almost here.

But before you chuck that big piece of steak on the grill, take a moment to stop and think.

You might be about to do it wrong.

A 700 gram piece of Wagyu steak

Chef Beau Mackay from the Mine Workers Club in Collinsville in north Queensland has cooked thousands of steaks over his career.

His specialty is Wagyu beef, with its characteristic marble muscle pattern.

He says the number one mistake people make when cooking steak is flipping and pushing the steak around too much.

"You've got to let the steak seal," he said.

"When you cook your steak you only want to turn it once.

"Every time you turn the steak it has to reheat again through each side before it can cook the middle.

"So you will burn the steak without cooking it in the middle.

"If you're cooking the steak medium rare when the blood rises to the top that's the perfect time to flip a steak."

Beau says it's also important to let the meat rest after taking it off the grill.

"When you cook your steak all the tendons in the meat can contract and it can make the meat really tough," he said.

"So you have to let it rest for a few minutes to let all the muscle tendons relax again to make a nice tender steak.

Beau says when it comes to cooking steak over a char grill, the trick is to not push it around to hotter parts of the grill.

"Because you have that open flame, every time you move that steak your finding a new spot for it to go black."

"The less you play with your steak the better it will be."

Beau says the Mine Workers Club in Collinsville sources all of its meat from the local butcher in town, which comes from all over Queensland.

But despite the many cattle stations around Collinsville, the town is more famous for its coal mines than its beef.

Beau says the mine workers make up most of his customer base.

"Our full Wagyu steak is a 700 gram full cut of meat so it's a massive thing that we need a special plate for," he said.

"The miners come and eat them and they'll finish them off too.

"There's nothing better than a good piece of steak, is there?"

Beau Mackay's three best tips for a juicy steak:

1. Use a nice hot grill.
2. Season the steak with salt and pepper.
3. Don't move it around the hot plate or grill and only flip it once.

Source: ABC News, 24 May 2013