How To Cook Steak On The Stovetop
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Pan-searing is the best—and easiest—way to cook a steak. Master this technique and you can turn out a steak that rivals your favorite steakhouse.
I love the kind of dinner you can make without relying on a recipe. Truth be told, good cooking really comes down to mastering a few core techniques—and some of the best dishes are also the simplest. A perfectly cooked steak is a prime example. The key is mastering the art of pan-searing.
This classic technique involves cooking the surface of your food undisturbed in a very hot pan until a crisp, golden-brown crust forms. It’s the foundation of great flavor and texture and gives food that unmistakable restaurant finish. Pan-searing is hands-down the best way to cook a steak (it works beautifully for salmon and scallops, too)—and it delivers steakhouse-worthy results with far more control than a grill.
“I followed these instructions to a T using a cast iron skillet and had one of the best steaks of my life. I was amazed.”
What you’ll need to Cook Steak on The Stovetop
You don’t need much to make a great pan-seared steak: just the steaks themselves, an oil with a high smoke point (skip the olive oil and reach for vegetable oil), salt, pepper, butter, and a few sprigs of thyme if you like. When it comes to choosing a cut, boneless, quick-cooking steaks that are about 1 to 1½ inches thick work best. New York strip, rib eye, and filet mignon are all excellent options.
How to Cook Steak on The Stovetop
Step 1: Season the steaks. 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 freshly ground black pepper; the seasoning will stick to the surface and help create a delicious crust.
Step 2: Sear on the first side. Turn on your exhaust fan and heat a heavy pan over medium-high heat until very hot. Add the oil and swirl to coat—the oil should shimmer. Lay the steaks in the pan, placing them away from you so the oil doesn’t splatter; they should sizzle right away. Then leave them alone. Resist the urge to peek or flip—the steaks need a few minutes undisturbed to develop a good brown crust. Don’t worry about sticking; they’ll release easily when they’re ready.
Pro tip: Stainless steel or cast iron works best here, since both can handle high heat. And use a pan large enough to give the steaks some breathing room; if the pan is too crowded, it will cool down and the steak will steam instead of sear.
Step 3: Flip and sear the other side. Flip the steaks once they release easily and the first side is deeply browned, about 3 minutes. Continue cooking for another 3 to 4 minutes for rare to medium-rare.
Step 4: Finish with butter, then rest and serve. During the last minute of cooking, add 1 tablespoon of butter and a few sprigs of thyme to the pan with the steaks (optional, but delicious). If you’re serving the steaks whole, transfer them straight to plates and serve hot. If you plan to slice them, move the steaks to a cutting board, tent loosely with foil, and let them rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing thinly against the grain. Resting gives the juices time to redistribute—slice too soon, and they’ll run right out.
Step 5: Serve and enjoy. Serve the steaks hot, with your favorite sides. A classic wedge salad with blue cheese dressing, potatoes au gratin, roasted potatoes or creamed spinach are all great choices, but simple baked potatoes work just as well.
Video Tutorial
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Pan-Seared Steaks
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
- Pat the steaks dry with paper towels and season them all over with the salt and pepper.
- 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.
- Add the oil to the pan and heat until it begins to shimmer and move fluidly around the pan.
- 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.
- 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).
- During the last minute of cooking, add the butter and thyme sprigs to the pan with the steaks.
- 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.
Nutrition Information
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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I haven’t made this recipe yet, but I’m astounded by the one star reviews from people who “burned” their steaks and blame Jenn for the “stupid” instructions. Clearly this couldn’t have been her fault, unless she was standing beside you while you cooked it. I love Jenn’s recipes and have made a ton of them………..all with great results! I’m looking forward to making this steak, soon!!
Cooked to perfection every time!
Best steak recipe ever!!!! Instructions were easy, super detailed, and helpful; followed it down to a T and the steaks came out perfect. My family said it was even better than the steaks we order at restaurants (that’s a lot considering we’re avid steak eaters at fine restaurants)
Thank you so much for this recipe, Jenn!
I’m very new to cooking with a cast iron skillet so tonight’s dinner was an “experiment”. I think I had the heat on my natural gas stove top (I’m also a new user with this form of stove top) too high. The clue was when all the smoke alarms in the house started blaring even though I had a patio door open and the stove overhead fan on high before I added the ribeye steak.
Lesson learned. My husband’s skills with cooking high $$$ meat on the BBQ are way beyond mine in the kitchen. Plus the clean up was more than I want to deal with after a meal.
I love every other recipe of yours that I’ve been trying lately and would appreciate if you have a “pro tips” for cooking with natural gas and cast iron for beginners.
Steak was burnt following these cooking instructions.
My husband and I made this using a 1lb Rib Eye at room temp. ( My cast iron pan was a bit too hot so I adjusted it. It was perfectly cooked after following your directions. We are so grateful to you.
PS, we made the Pumpkin bread last week and it was so delicious tasting a hint of cloves.
I followed the recipe exactly. It turned out burned on the outside, cold and raw on the inside, grease splattered everywhere, and the butter burned as soon as it hit the pan. Someone’s got some explaining to do.
After doing some more research, I find you have to bring the steak to room temperature before you cook it and yiu have to snip the fat around the edges to keep it from curling. Still cooked too hot tho.
The timing was completely incorrect. I got a ribeye steak, heated the pan to the top heat and did everything like you mentioned, but after three minutes the steak was burned, on the other side the same happened. My whole house got filled with smoke. Steak turned black.
Mine nearly burned… on the outside… inside was raw.. almost freaking purple with no heat in the middle.
Same thing happened to me just now. Thanks for stupid instructions and waste of 25 dollar steak.
Worked perfectly. The complainers obviously didn’t read MEDIUM HIGH. Used Montreal steak seasoning on 2 8 oz sirloins – utterly delicious.
Sam, that’s actually not a fair comment. Yes, the recipe calls for medium high, but also says leave the skillet on the heat until it is “VERY hot.”. If the skillet is VERY hot, you can definitely get the results some folk got, where the steak burned rather than seared. Note also that if the skillet is VERY hot, the vegetable oil can easily be past its smoke point, and the steaks can burn.
I made them on a cast-iton skillet and did not let the skillet get to VERY hot, but rather to a point where I knew the steaks would sear and the oil would not smoke. But knowing just where that point is comes from a lot of years cooking on a cast iron skillet. People coming to this recipe without that background could easily be ‘burned’ (sorry…) by following the VERY hot instruction…
I have not made this recipe exactly but when we do this method, my husband puts the cast iron pan on our barbecue since it eliminates smoke and mess inside. It works great. I also like the reverse sear method where I cook it first in oven on low heat, then sear outside in cast iron on barbecue.
This seems easy enough. Everyones stove top & heat can vary depending on their pan! But I’m wondering if a New York Strip steak needs to be tenderized or marinated before cooking in some way?
I just received my 1st meat order in many years. It has only NY Strips, Ribeyes & 2 1lb pkgs of ground beef which I had 2 meals and 2 snacks with 1 pkg of the ground beef. And, I cooked 1 Ribeye for my Husband and I to share. He’s 75 with not the best teeth for a steak thats mot not tender. He said the ribeye was just perfect. Cooked on top of the stove with your method… He was not liking my sauce of olive oil & coconut aminos though. (Which I love.)
I’ll shop for finishing butter and flavor enhancer like the thyme. Too hot this time of year to grill down here South of Houston, TX for us! 🤠
Jen,
Definitely deliciously simple steak. I made a NY Strip steak. I added vadallia onions and portobello mushrooms. How do you tenderize a steak? Please add some variations.
Glad you liked it! I wouldn’t really recommend tenderizing a steak; rather, I’d just buy a tender cut like a filet.
Used my own seasoning but followed the cooking instructions as I’m new to cooking steak on the stove top. Turned out delicious and perfectly cooked. My steaks were thinner than what was instructed to use so I adjusted the cook time to prevent it from over cooking.
I found a good recipe to make something interesting for dinner.Thank you.