Frying meat and flesh in general for most is about using a frying pan on a stove with hot oil. In the early 21st century this has come to mean that the most ordinary foods are 'pan fried'.
Head down to your local high street caff at about 8am. When you reach the front of the queue of scaffolders, plasterers and floor sanders, ask for your full English and two slices 'pan fried'. You won't be disappointed - that's how you generally cook sausages, egg and fried bread. It's pretty hard to fry without a pan - next year we will all be demanding 'pan-boiled' cabbage, and er, 'grill-grilled' bacon.
So use gas - it's fast, powerful and easy and quick to control. You can use a small ring - the one at the front of the hob if you use a good pan. Stainless steel is fine if you can't afford solid copper. A thick copper bottomed pan with SS lining works or a thick alumnium laminate but make sure the laminate extends across the base or you get a 'hot ring' between the base and the sides - no good, the bottom should distribute and contain the heat. OK this is and investment but a good pan lasts a lifetime so buy two or more in different sizes while you are about it. Wait for the sales if necessary.
The oil - olive oil is lovely it comes in wonderful bottles from all over the world, it has a gorgeous hue and smells fantastic as it is warming, but it MAKES NO DIFFERENCE to the flavour of what you cook as all the delicious tasty solids in olive oil are BURNT when you cook with it!
Keep OO for dressing, invest in testing dressing olive oil with bland white bread and red wine, you will be surprised how disgusting it tastes without salt and lemon juice. Alleged differences are slight - own brand extra virgin seems to be universally acceptable. And cheap.
Instead use Groundnut oil, (peanut oil) for cooking it is bland and has a very high boiling point, so it can get hot without smoking. If you need to fry with butter (while fish, mushrooms, pancakes) try heating half butter, half oil until the water from the butter has boiled off, then add the food to be fried before the milk solids burn.
So before you start frying clean your heavy bottomed pan in soap an then place it dry on a small ring at full blast and add a tablespoon of groundnut oil and let it reach smoke point, then turn down to simmer and swirl the oil around and round until it darkens. Have some paper napkins handy and while still hot wipe the pan 'dry' and leave to cool then repeat a few time until you get an even tan colour. This will give you a durable non stick pan. Teflon works by having a layer of plastic that successively 'sheds' itself layer after layer into the food until it wears off and you have a high stick pan which will be cursed over and chucked. Oh and a long, decoupled metal handle works best as it will survive any cooking, using and washing trauma.
This priming operation can be repeated indefinitely but take care washing your oiled pan - resist using detergent or dishwasher as it will strip the non-stick layer, instead re-use the pan to fry other things once it has reached the end of the line, scrape any burnings with a plastic fish slice and turn on the side in the sink to drain for a couple of hours then clean with very hot water and a clean dishcloth, leaving the magic golden oil layer intact.
Steak
2cm thick is probably easiest to control. It may be a matter of taste, but I like a crisp browned surface and a juicy pink interior and some blood. The beef is best fairly old and dry. Heat the pan to smoke point, salt the steak just before it hits the pan and give it 3-4 minutes without touching it then switch off the heat and let it settle until stops hissing, turn it then turn on the heat for two minutes or until brown (oozing some blood, OK 'juices') and then turn off and cover - this will also it to both rest and magically release itself from he pan five minuets later.
Serve right away with pepper and lemon.
