Steak night is my favorite night. There’s little in life more pleasurable than sinking my teeth into a perfect medium rare—an ultra-marbled, funky dry-aged ribeye is my cut of choice. Pair with the best bottle of Napa Cab you can get your hands on, and you’re in very good shape. It’s hard to beat this classic combination at an old-school steakhouse, but I love the ritual of cooking steak at home just as much. And because multiple martinis are inevitably involved, I save steak night for Fridays so there are no alarms to snooze through the next morning.

The preparation starts a couple of days before: as soon as my meat arrives, I pat it dry with paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible, then give it a good showering of Kosher salt on all sides. I’m particular to the Diamond Crystal red box you see in all the restaurant kitchens—I like the feel of the finer grains in my hands, and the lower salinity levels give you more control when seasoning.

Salting 1-3 days ahead of time is key, especially for a larger cut of beef. “The salt pulls out moisture in the steak, dissolves, then gets sucked back into the steak,” says author Jordan Mackay, who wrote a literal book about steak with the legendary meat-master Aaron Franklin. “It’s the best way to get salt seasoning in the steak.”

Salting the steak ahead of time also serves as another crucial to creating a crust. “You have to dry out the exterior to get good browning—the famous Maillard reaction” explains Mackay.

Once seasoned, into the fridge goes the steak, which I leave uncovered standing on its side over a wire rack set over a plate so there’s proper airflow—this further aids in moisture evaporation and helps with searing later.

Finally, the big day arrives: I pop open my wine and stick in a decanter, make my martini, and because home for me is an apartment in San Francisco with very sensitive fire alarms, I plug in my AirHood, which saves my kitchen from getting hotboxed.

I get my cast-iron pan ripping hot, add a little bit of grapeseed oil (or better yet dry-aged beef fat aka Chef’s Gold), and give the steak a good hard sear on both sides—60-90 seconds uninterrupted on each. I use The Chef’s Press, which helps create an even crust—I like the contrast of a thick salty crunchy beautifully browned layer against the tender medium rare red meat below.

After the sear, into the oven goes the steak. My Breville is already heated at 350, so this will take anywhere from 10-15 minutes—I use a Thermapen to be safe, and pull the steak when it reaches 125, knowing that it will continue to cook and rise in temperature another five degrees or so.

I let the steak rest for at least five minutes, ten if I’m being good: this allows the muscle fibers to chill out for a bit and the juices to remain in the steak rather than seep out everywhere. Finally, I cut into the steak and go to town.

Patience and preparation pay off. I gnaw on the bone and sip on my cab; meat sweats ensue. It’s Friday, I’m in love. And because a good steak starts with good beef, ahead are some of my favorite purveyors that will ship top-quality cuts directly to your doorstep. Plus, the accouterments I use to cook them properly.