Why You Should Opt For One Large Steak When Cooking For A Crowd

If you're getting ready to entertain a group of people for dinner, steak is always a crowd-pleasing choice. However, cooking up delicious meat for a lot of guests can quickly make you feel like a harried chef in a restaurant. How can you serve up a scrumptious feast without overtaxing yourself? For expert tips on successfully serving steak to a crowd, we turned to Chef Angelo Sosa, of the newly opened restaurants Tía Carmen and Carmocha in Indian Wells, California, as well as of Kembara and the original Tía Carmen in Phoenix, Arizona. 

When accommodating a large group, Sosa advises to serve food family style, i.e. placing large portions of food on the table and letting guests serve themselves, rather than plating individually for each person. "A large steak format suits this style the best," Sosa explained. Cooking one big steak and slicing it for others to help themselves — instead of using individual cuts — will let you focus on cooking one piece of well-executed beef, and significantly reduce your stress in the kitchen.

Purchasing a large cut that weighs, for instance, 42 ounces, will still yield a good-sized portion of meat for each guest when served family style: six ounces per person for a group of seven. If your dinner party is larger, you can simply prepare two large steaks, which is still much easier than cooking 12 or more individual cuts of meat.

Chef Angelo Sosa also graciously shared pointers for cooking restaurant-quality steak in your home kitchen. He says he believes in "bringing your steak to room temperature prior to cooking, along with curing it in salt and cracked pepper at least 30 minutes prior." Failing to let the meat reach room temperature is one of the common mistakes you should avoid when cooking steak, as cold steak cooks less evenly. He likes to add thyme to the pan and baste the meat with butter during cooking, but you can also try rosemary to infuse steak with herby flavor.

When successfully preparing a big steak for a group, what you do after you cook the meat is just as important as the steps before and during cooking. Sosa emphasizes that letting the beef sit for a while after it's prepared is the most crucial step for perfect steak. "Where I find the most mistakes taken for large groups is that the host doesn't rest the meat," the chef shared. "This, in fact, is equally as important as the seasoning and proper cooking. If you cut prior to not resting the meat long enough, the meat will definitely be tough. Always rest the meat at least half the cooking time." 

Worried about your steak getting cold as it sits? To keep the beef hot yet well-rested prior to serving, Sosa advises covering the finished cut with foil and flashing it quickly under the broiler.