Heat a heavy-based frying pan until very hot but not smoking. Drizzle some oil into the pan and leave for a moment. Add the steak, a knob of butter, some garlic and robust herbs, if you want. Sear evenly on each side for our recommended time, turning every minute for the best caramelised crust.
Season steak with pepper on both sides. When oil is just about to smoke, add steak. Cook 7 minutes, then flip and add butter. Baste with butter and cook another 5 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 140°, for medium.
As you can see, between butter and oil, butter has a dramatically lower smoke point. Because of this, if you heat up a pan hot enough to sear your steak, putting a dollop of butter in first means it is likely to burn up. However, that doesn't mean you can't still get the delicious flavors of butter with your steak.
When cooking steak you need to oil the steak itself to ensure that perfect outer texture once cooked, and of course so it doesn't stick. Place your steak on a plate and drizzle the steak with oil on both sides, massaging in a little to cover all areas.
It's simple to do and—with the right beef cut and technique—delivers a delicious, golden-brown crust and mouthwatering eating experience. If you're not up for grilling and want a quick, simple way to cook steak, pan-frying is an excellent go-to method, especially if you only need to prepare one or two steaks.
How Long to Sear. For a 1-inch thick steak, the beef should cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side for medium rare on a relatively high heat gas stove.
I would cover any steak that is over 1 1/2-inches thick. Anything less thick could overcook the steak during resting, especially if the foil is tightly wrapped. It should always be a loose tent. I like to add butter/thyme/whole garlic to the pan and baste as the steak finishes cooking.
Preparing your own pan seared steak with butter at home is so simple that you may never want to order it out again. A few simple ingredients like olive oil, butter, fresh garlic and herbs, will result in a perfect, restaurant-quality steak that allows the flavors of the meat to shine through.
The oil will help to season the grates and prevent the steak from sticking. You should also drizzle some really good olive oil onto your steak before you begin eating it. Give it a sprinkling of kosher salt and ground black pepper as well.
Adding butter to steak adds extra richness and can also soften the charred exterior, making a steak more tender. What is this? But a good Steak Butter should complement the flavor of a steak, not mask it.
Preheat a heavy cast-iron skillet over high heat until very hot, about 5 minutes. A hot skillet delivers the best sear. Add 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the pan (enough to coat the bottom). Immediately place your steaks in the hot skillet and sear them for 1 minute on each side.
Steaks should always be cooked on high temperatures to sear the outside and trap the juices and flavor inside. Steaks should almost always be cooked on a grill or in a pan on high heat: all cooking guidelines below are for one-inch thick steaks. Rest your steak for five minutes under aluminum foil before eating.
The best oils to fry with have the highest smoke points which are all 450°F or above. These include peanut oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, palm oil and avocado oil. I generally use peanut or sunflower oil. PRO TIP: To sear a steak, your pan should reach a temperature of 400-450 degrees.
What spices go well with steak? There are many spices available for seasoning a steak, with salt and pepper topping the list. However, other spices, like thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, and minced onion, are also good options to enhance your steak's flavor.
Add 1T butter and 2T olive or canola oil to the pan and watch for the butter starting to brown. Place the steak into the pan and reduce the heat to medium, cooking the first side for 4-6 minutes. Turn the steak gently with tongs, then tilt the pan and baste the cooked side with pan juices.
Because it adds proteins to the mix, butter is a better medium for adding deep brown color to your steak as well, which means that even if your steak is looking a little pale after its initial sear, once you add that butter, it'll rapidly take on color.
A cold cut of meat hitting a very hot pan will cause the steak to become tough and chewy. Bringing the meat to room temp will allow the muscle fibers to relax, which helps the steak to cook more evenly and prevent a loss of moisture.
Allowing the meat to come to room temperature allows for a more even cook all the way through. If your meat is cold when it hits the pan, it can cause the muscle fibres to tense up. Get your steak out ahead of time – about 30-40 minutes is usually ample for a 500g steak.
To cook your steak to medium or medium-rare, set the skillet over medium-high heat. To cook the steak to medium or well-done, start at medium-high for the first few minutes, then reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking to your desired doneness.
Traditional lore says sear your steak first then finish it at a lower temperature. I recently tried J. Kenji Lopez-Alt's "reverse sear" method, which saves the sear for last and liked it. Nancy Leson's approach is sear first, oven second..
Sear-Roasting
When both the skillet and oven are piping hot, you put an oiled or buttered steak in the skillet, sear it on both sides, then slip it into the oven to finish cooking. By searing first, then finishing in the oven, sear-roasting poses less problems than pan-frying and broiling.
The idea of dusting meat in seasoned flour before browning it is a throwback to old-school French peasant cookery, and you'll still come across recipes recommending this approach, but, as Richard suspects, it's really not necessary, nor even particularly beneficial.