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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Very nice. I used this method to cook a t-bone, 3 minutes per side. I substituted a couple of rosemary sprigs for the thyme. I loved the results.
how hot should the pan be?
Hi Caden, it’s hard to give you an exact answer but you want it hot enough so that it’s almost but not quite smoking. Hope that helps at least a bit!
I made rib eye using the cook top method. They were very tasty, and turned out perfect!
For people worried about smoking, grease fires, fire alarms going off, etc. check your oil She specified vegetable oil but so many people use olive these days for health and it has a lower smoking point. Other higher point oils are peanut, certain avocado, corn. It’s actually odd that extra virgin has become so common place, it’s used for cooking when it has a low smoke point and its flavor is best enjoyed uncooked.
Also, we always open our windows and doors beforehand and if its a real concern we use a hot plate outside.
Best filet I’ve ever had! I did do it on high heat and because I like it still mooing, seared both sides quickly. Flavor was amazing! Perfectly done. Let it rest for 10. Thanks for the recipe 😘
Perfect every single time!
It was perfect. Hot cast iron skillet with butter, 3 min. Turn over 4 min. New York strip!
I did the recipe exactly as described, and used the same cut of steak….they ended up horribly burned! They’re like clumps of charcoal now, not even edible steaks.
Definitely NOT going to be cooking them on med-high from now on….
I have made this recipe several times, and it’s totally outstanding! I have been told that the other person I have made this for has not had a better steak in a restaurant!
Jen, your recipes are the first I search when I want to make something. I already put in a request to Santa for your cookbook!!
Holy smokes! I never comment on recipes but I had to. This was freaking delicious! I have no words. The only thing I did different was leave out the thyme because I’m not a fan of it. But it was literally perfect. I told my husband I’m never having steak another way again. Barbecue shhmarbecue!!!! Thank you for sharing this.
I cook NY Strips and Filets this way all the time as an alternative to grilling. I still grill a lot, but it’s nice to switch it up sometimes. I use no less than 1/2 inch steaks. Prefer 1 inch though. This is the same recipe I have used for years with only 1 addition. Towards the end I turn the steaks (only works with NY) on the fat side to render some of the fat to mix in with the butter. I rest them against the edge of the pan for about 1 minute then back down for the mix. I add the butter and FRESH thyme plus I toss in a few cloves of garlic. After about 30 secs I press on the garlic some and spoon the butter mixture over the steaks.
For those concerned about the smoke and splatter, I have a large mesh splatter guard I bought somewhere about 20 years ago. I put it over my pan and sometimes throw a paper towel on top. I use it for a lot of things I fry or deep fry.
So, I’m confused. At the top you write about “pan-searing is usually the first step, and then you finish the cooking in the oven.” What am I missing? I don’t see any information about how to finish the cooking… in the oven.
Is there any information about temp of oven? Use the same pan, or transfer to something else? How long in the oven? Like I said …. I’m confused or just not reading things correctly.
Hi Cobia, Sorry for any confusion. It sounds like you are just looking at the portion of the page that has the pictures with some instructions underneath. If you scroll down a bit to under the pictures, you’ll find the full recipe. Alternatively, at the very top of the page, to the right of the recipe name, you’ll see an orange/red button that says Jump to Recipe – if you click on that, it will take you directly to the recipe. Hope that clarifies!
This is the best stovetop recipe so far. I used to over flip and fiddle. This let it Rest In Peace is my go to for now on. Thanks