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How To Cook Steak On The Stovetop

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Pan-searing is the best way to cook a steak, and it’s also the easiest!

Steak in a skillet with butter.

I love the kind of dinner you can create without relying on a recipe. Truth be told, good cooking is more about mastering techniques than following recipes, and the best dishes are often the simplest to whip up. A perfectly cooked steak is a prime example. With just a handful of ingredients and a single pan, you can prepare a steak that rivals one you’d enjoy at a high-end steakhouse.

The secret lies in mastering the art of pan-searing. This classic technique involves cooking the surface of your food undisturbed in a piping hot pan until a crisp, golden-brown, and flavorful crust forms. It’s the key to building flavor and texture in a dish, while also preventing sticking and giving your meal a restaurant-quality appearance. Pan-searing is hands-down the best way to cook a steak (it works wonders for salmon and scallops, too), and it also happens to be the easiest.

What you’ll need to Cook Steak on The Stovetop

Ingredients including vegetable oil, thyme, and pepper.

When it comes to beef, the best candidates for pan-searing are boneless, quick-cooking cuts between one and one-and-a-half inches thick, such as NY Strip, rib eye or filet mignon. (For larger or slow-cooking cuts, like beef tenderloin with red wine sauce or beef stew with carrots and potatoes, pan-searing is usually the first step, and then you finish the cooking in the oven.)

How to cook steak On The Stovetop

To begin, pat the steak dry with paper towels. (Any moisture on the exterior of the steak must first evaporate before the meat begins to brown.)

Season the steaks generously on both sides with salt and pepper; the seasoning will stick to the surface and help create a delicious crust.

Seasoned steaks on a cutting board.

Turn on your exhaust fan and heat a heavy pan over medium-high heat until it’s VERY hot. The best pans for pan-searing are stainless steel or cast-iron since they can withstand high temperatures.

Add the oil to the pan. You’ll know it’s hot enough when it begins to shimmer and move fluidly around the pan.

Carefully set the steak in the pan, releasing it away from you so the oil doesn’t splatter in your direction. It should sizzle. (Use a pan that is large enough that it’s not such a tight fit or the pan will cool down and your food will steam instead of sear.)

pan-sear steaks in skillet

Leave it alone! Avoid the temptation to peek or fiddle or flip repeatedly. The steaks need a few minutes undisturbed to develop a brown crust. (Don’t worry about sticking; the steaks will release easily when they are ready to flip.)

Flip the steaks when they release easily and the bottom is a deep-brown color (usually about 3 minutes).

Tongs flipping a steak in a skillet.

Continue to cook the steaks for another 3 to 4 minutes on the bottom side for rare or medium-rare.

During the last minute of cooking, add 1 tablespoon of butter and a few sprigs of fresh thyme to the pan with the steaks (this is optional but delicious).

pan-sear steaks butter and thyme

If you are serving the steaks unsliced, transfer them to plates and serve hot. If you plan to slice the steaks, transfer them to a cutting board and let rest, covered with aluminum foil, for 5 to 10 minutes; then slice thinly against the grain. (Resting allows the juices to redistribute from the outside of the steaks; if you slice them too soon, the juices will pour out of them.)

Video Tutorial

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Pan-Seared Steaks

Pan-searing is the best way to cook a steak, and it’s also the easiest!

Servings: 2 to 4
Prep Time: 4 Minutes
Cook Time: 6 Minutes
Total Time: 10 Minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 (12-oz) New York strip or ribeye steaks or 4 (6-oz) filet mignons, about 1½ inches thick
  • 1 heaping teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • A few sprigs fresh thyme leaves

Instructions

  1. To begin, pat the steaks dry with paper towels.
  2. Season the steaks all over with the salt and pepper.
  3. Turn on your exhaust fan and heat a heavy pan (preferably cast iron or stainless steel) over medium-high heat until it's VERY hot.
  4. Add the oil to the pan and heat until it begins to shimmer and move fluidly around the pan.
  5. Carefully set the steaks in the pan, releasing them away from you so the oil doesn’t splatter in your direction. The oil should sizzle.
  6. Leave the steaks alone! Avoid the temptation to peek or fiddle or flip repeatedly; the steaks need a few minutes undisturbed to develop a golden crust. Flip the steaks when they release easily and the bottom is a deep-brown color, about 3 minutes. Continue to cook the steaks for another 3 to 4 minutes on the second side for rare to medium-rare. (For medium, cook 4 to 5 minutes on second side; for well-done, cook 5 to 6 minutes on second side).
  7. During the last minute of cooking, add the butter and thyme sprigs to the pan with the steaks.
  8. If you are serving the steaks unsliced, transfer them to plates and serve hot. If you plan to slice the steaks, transfer them to a cutting board and let rest, covered with aluminum foil, for 5 to 10 minutes; then slice thinly against the grain.

Pair with

Nutrition Information

Powered by Edamam

  • Per serving (4 servings)
  • Serving size: 6-oz portion NY Strip
  • Calories: 492
  • Fat: 39 g
  • Saturated fat: 14 g
  • Protein: 33 g
  • Sodium: 421 mg
  • Cholesterol: 147 mg

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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Comments

  • This was so easy and allowed me to continue serving steak through the winter months. I used it with NY strip and Rib Eye. Both worked great.

  • Possibly the DUMBEST advice I’ve ever followed! Be ready for your entire house to fill with smoke and ALL of you smoke alarms to go off. And, YES, I had my stove top fan on high speed. My wife went out to sit in the car while the chaos ensued. The steak was, however, very tasty! hahaha

  • This was almost a disaster!!! I should have known better than to pour oil into a very hot pan. It immediately caught fire with flames shooting up to the exhaust fan. Luckily my girlfriend thought to put the lid on to smother the flames.

    • — Timothy R Lewis
    • Reply
  • I have done this several times now and I think the steaks are better this way rather than grilling. I love the thyme and butter suggestion. Works perfectly everytime!

  • This was the very first time I had cooked a ribeye on the stove. It was too cold to fire up the charcoal grill, but we had just picked up an order of local grassfed beef and were craving a steak. Jenn for the win again! Turned out absolutely fantastic, and we’re still using this method when we’re in a dinner rush.

  • I am so happy for your tips and recipes. You are my go to for searching recipes since all I have tried are awesome. Great tips for this steak searing.

  • I have never really been able to cook steak on a stove well until reading this!
    I can now produce a flavorful steak indoors instead of braving the cold outside on grill during winter.

  • It looks good and smells good. I feel like it needs something. Can you point me in the right direction?

    • Hi Robert, Happy to try to help, did you feel like it was lacking in flavor?

  • This was the best I’ve ever made steak! It was simple too. I made mushrooms in the buttery steak juice after I finished the steak and they were the best mushrooms I’ve ever made too. I will be cooking my steaks like this from now on. The time that you said to cook was spot on!

  • This was very easy and extremely delicious.
    A special occasion was made extra special.

    • — Gary skibinski
    • Reply
  • Cooked a 6oz filet in a aluminum pan. Used spray olive oil Pam as I’m trying to eliminate saturated fats. Turned out a perfect medium rare and very juicy. Thank you Jenn.

  • I have made this recipe twice now in a cast iron pan and it turns out so well. The steak tastes really good. I am able to get it medium and it is very tender and juicy. Well worth the extra effort.

  • ahhhhmazing

    • — Natalie S Lafontaine
    • Reply
  • Perfection! I added an extra minute to get to medium well. Also my stove runs hot so as soon as I got it sizzling, I turned down to medium. Then wrapped in foil cuz I like juices. 😋

  • Perhaps my steak was not thick enough because mine ended up with very burnt edges and was closer to well-done than my preferred medium-rare. For the second steak, I cut the temperature and the cook time and it ended up medium well.

  • I’ve followed a ton of steak recipes. Pretty much every time I cook one, I’m always second guessing and googling an answer, haha. This recipe resulted in, by far, THE BEST steak we have had. From fine dining to our table. We started with a 1 1/2 inch prime ribeye and used a cast iron skillet. I slightly increased temp from med highish to slightly over med high once I added the steak to account for temp drop. 4 mins per side, last minute with butter and garlic, basting for extra points. We decided to omit the herbs for simplicity sake. It was a very large steak, so after letting it rest, my husband and I split it, and served it along simple mashed potatoes. Beyond perfect and super delicious. We are hardcore “salt and pepper only” purists, but after tonight, we have been converted. Thank you for an amazing recipe!!

    • Should be noted the steak was an amazingly perfect in between medium and medium rare. There was a slightly thicker portion that I took, and gave a larger but thinner side to my husband. If I were to cook this for myself, I would have done 4 first side, 3 second side for med rare. For him, I would have done 4-5 first side, 3-4 second side for closer to med wellish. Never judge a steak by time only 😊

  • Made this Recipe and it was Delicious and simple my Family loved it Thanks so much

  • Delicious! I was skeptical that you could make a great steak on top of the stove, but had purchased some thin NY Strip steaks and thought I would give it a try! Followed this recipe line by line and they turned out perfectly! I adjusted the length of time in the pan to make it a medium steak. Thanks for the great recipe!

  • 3 minutes will get you well done for a 3/4 inch steak.

    • Also burnt my steak to a well done, ruined, crisp following these instructions.

      • Same here, wonderful instructions to ruin a poor defenseless steak… Absolutely moronic to emphasis “very hot”

  • This technique is life changing – and even with a nonstick skillet! I also add a sprinkle of dried thyme when I add the butter into the pan and on top of the steaks, giving it one last flip and ladling with butter as a finish. Thank you yet again!! 🥰

  • I bought these amazing NY Steaks and was sure I wanted to do them on the grill…then I thought I’m just going to ruin them so I googled the recepie and found yours. I must say they came out unbelievably delicious!!! And so easy!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!
    Karla
    South Jersey

    • — Karla Lehnhoff
    • Reply
  • Such an easy recipe to follow. Steaks came out perfect! I added a little brown sugar on one side for caramelization, and it came out perfectly medium.

  • Very tasty! But don’t forget to sear the edges of the steak also. Get that tasty fat rendered.
    But this is not the only way to cook a great steak with an overall crusty sear. And being best is very much a matter of opinion and choice.

    Many high end steak restaurants like to use an extreme high heat broiler appliance.

    Another technique for thick steaks is the ‘reverse sear-cold grate’ technique. Works awesome to get that tasty smokey/grilled crusty flavor without the burnt(overly acrid/bitter) grill marks.

    What I like to do with thinner steaks is grill it for half the cooking time, then cast iron sear for the second half of the cooking time. Or I will use the flat side of my grill grate accessory. You get the excellent smokey grill flavor with the crusty sear of a cast iron pan.

  • Absolutely delicious. Thank you

  • the BEST way to cook a steak. Brushed each steak with EVO before generously seasoning with salt and pepper. No need to oil the pan. Mash some butter with anchovies or anchovy paste and place on top of cooked steak.
    Couldn’t be any better

    • — Carol Winkelman
    • Reply
  • I’ve never cooked a steak before, and oh my god my entire family was SHOCKED by how good this was!!! For future reference – I might’ve used a bit less salt and a bit more herbs, but as is was fantastic! I didn’t have enough thyme to flavor well, so I did a mix of thyme and basil and it was great. I also had 3 different steaks to cook and only one pan, so I cooked them all for 3 minutes per side then put them on a plate, then I added the butter and herbs and gave an extra 30-40 seconds per side to add the flavor. Thanks for such a phenomenal cooking technique!!!

  • Hi Jenn, thank you for the recipe. It came out perfect

  • Hi Jenn, what are your thoughts on finishing this in the oven to achieve medium doneness?

    • Hi Chad, That will work but, if the steaks aren’t too thick, you could also just reduce the heat a bit on the second side and finish them on the stovetop.

  • This worked out great for us!! We had (two) 10 oz New York strips and I used my inherited cast iron skillet. It did create quite a spatter. I don’t have a spatter shield. What will happen if I cover with a lid? Also, can you marinate the meat in place of the salt/pepper? Making sure of course, that it is dry before you add to the skillet. Thanks so much!

    • Hi Rose, Glad you liked it! I wouldn’t cover it with a lid but you could lay a piece of foil loosely over the pan and leave a little opening (you don’t want a tight seal). And, sure, I think you could marinate it if you’d like.

  • Would this work for sirloin?

    • Sure!

      • Would not recommend this article burnt two steaks and got my apartment all smokey

        • — Dominic A Clary
        • Reply
  • Hi Jenn. I am excited to try this recipe as where I live, I cannot have a grill. Do you have a suggestion as to whether you like the stainless steel or cast iron better? I see that you show cast iron.

    • Hi Nery, Either will work well, but if I had to choose, I’d probably go with the cast iron. I think you may get a slightly better sear with it.

  • This is good instruction for basic steak cooking. If you don’t have success with it…you need more practice.

  • Wow! I am stuck at home in Brussels and needed to start clearing out my freezer to find dinner. I found a lovely filet, but my grill was out of gas. Jenn to the rescue!!! My filet was absolutely gorgeous- perfectly cooked and seasoned! I already love your book and blog, but this was just superb. Thank you for keeping a girl well-fed.

  • Can you talk about oils? I see you use vegetable oil in this recipe rather than olive oil? Is there a reason?

    • Hi Mary, Vegetable oil has a lower smoke point than olive oil, so it’s better to use it when you’re heating oil to a high temperature. Hope that clarifies!

  • Thanks for saving me from the broiler…and the clean up. I followed your recipe and it came out delicious. And thanks for telling me not to play with it until it released. Because that is what I would have done. The steak came out medium rare, just the way we like it. It was a T-bone steak, BTW.

  • This reminded me of the heavens.

  • Telling people to GENEROUSLY season with SALT and pepper DESTROYED my rib eye. I cannot believe the good reviews. I did what you said and though MY gut saved the medium rare I wanted(had to cook at least twice as long as you suggested. However the steak was inedible! I’m serious. WAY too salty. I’m a vert experienced and good cook, but circumstances put me in a place I had to cook a rib eye on the stove. Very surprised that you publish such a disastrous recipe.

    Other reviewers could not have used salt as you so illy advised.

    • But we did use salt as she “so illy advised”. You’re one of those toxic people who hates on other people. She has a lot of good reviews for a reason. Have a seat & try find something more productive to do

      • Wasn’t impressed at all….had to put it back on the stove for another 6 minutes and it was still inedible.

      • Amen brother

    • Apparently, you shouldn’t, since you are a very negative person and it manifests in your cooking outcome. Ever think, that it could be you?

  • Absolutely delicious! Never made one on the stove top before. Just the broiler and what a mess! This recipe is to die for, and if you have a splatter cover there is virtually no mess. Great flavor and super tender. I used ribeyes.

    • — Teresa L Oswald
    • Reply
  • Delicious! I never make steak period. It was always awful…on the stove. Too much trouble to fire up the grill for me. I used the iron skillet and followed these instructions…I had a wonderful steak!!! I enjoyed every bite!!

  • Never cooked steak in a pan before. I’ve been missing something! So flavorful and inside perfect doneness! A good alternative to the grill!

  • First time ever cooking a steak, followed this recipe and it came out PERFECT

  • Excellent! Straightforward directions (thanks) and super easy. Would not have thought of adding the thyme at the end, thanks for that idea – we loved it. Appreciated your reminder to select the right sized pan and followed instructions exactly. Served with broccoli, a salad and your basmati rice – a lovely meal!! Thanks again Jen!

    • I meant to point out it was the basmati rice in your COOKBOOK – and it was fantastic!! First time making that! Thanks

  • Thanks 😊

  • Followed this to cook five rib eye steaks this evening for my son in law’s birthday dinner (used 2 large cast iron pans). I put the butter right on each steak to melt in at the end as well as doing a quick baste of pan juices and then letting them sit as recommended. We all really enjoyed our steak dinner, it was great! Thanks Jenn!

  • Absolutely delicious way to cook steak indoors! We loved it. Thanks for another awesome recipe, Jenn!

  • I’ve been cooking this same recipe for years. When I don’t feel like grilling (Which is totally different), this is an amazing option. For an added touch I will also rest the steaks against the side of the hot pan on the fat side for a few moments for the fat content to melt with a clove of thick sliced garlic in the pan just prior to adding the thyme and butter. Swirl and spoon over steaks. Mangia!

  • Of course this will work as you described Jenn, as you said, it works wonderfully with your pan-seared salmon recipe. That’s the only way I make salmon anymore. It’s fantastic. By coincidence we are having tenderloin tonight and I’ll be cooking it just this way.

    • Great timing — Hope you enjoy! 🙂

  • Great instructions! This recipe is also great with some basil added at the very end …very aromatic, and some wine added to pan after steaks have been removed to create a tasty sauce. Thank you

    • — Richard Schinella
    • Reply
  • How long should you cook it for medium well thank you

    • Hi Sasha, keep the timing as is on the first side and, once you flip it, cook for about 5 minutes more. Hope you enjoy!

  • How much oil for the hot pan?

    • You’ll need 2 tablespoons. (Sorry – I just added it!) Hope you enjoy. 🙂

      • Hi Jenn, I’m about to make it now.

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