How to cook steak
How to cook steak
How to Cook Steak
Cooking steak can be intimidating, especially because there’s no one «right way» to do it. Learn these methods for cooking steak, and decide which option is best for you. Here are four ways to cook the perfect steaks: on the grill, in the oven, on the stove, or cooked sous vide.
How to Cook Steak 4 Different Ways
1. How to Cook Steak on the Grill
We won’t get into the fiery debate between charcoal versus gas grills here — we’ve covered that in depth. But for certain, great grilling can be had with either charcoal or gas.
We’ve also covered how to pick the best steak for grilling. The good news is, the perfect steak doesn’t need to be the most expensive. If breaking the bank isn’t part of your barbeque plan, consider less spendy sirloin, hanger, flank steak, and skirt steaks.
Choose cuts that are at least 1-inch thick. If the steak is too thin, the interior gets cooked well-done before the exterior can develop the crave-worthy crust. If you can, choose steaks of even thickness so they’ll be done at the same time. Also, meat near the bone will take a little longer to cook.
Marinades and Rubs. The ideal steak marinade combines acid, fat, and seasonings. The acid creates a tangy flavor foundation and tenderizes the meat; the fat adds flavor, seals in juices, helps keep the meat from sticking to the grill, and promotes caramelization; and the seasonings complete the flavor profile. Here’s a breakdown of The Best Steak Marinade in Existence.
Rubs are another way to go. These simple seasoning mixtures infuse grilled steaks with exciting flavors. The best rubs enhance the natural smoky flavors of the grilled meat without overwhelming it. Add a little oil, vinegar, or other liquid to the mix, and you have a wet rub. Let rubbed meats sit for anywhere from 30 minutes to overnight. Now that you’ve prepped your meat, learn step-by-step how to cook steak on the grill:
Some Favorite Grilled Steak Recipes:
How to cook steak
See how to cook steak with our expert guide including cooking times, cuts of beef and marinades. Plus, find advice on resting time and the best pans to use.
Whether your preference is a butter-soft fillet steak, flavour-packed sirloin or thriftier cut like bavette, rump or onglet, quick-cooking and constant attention should be paid when cooking your beef. With only a few minutes leeway between rare and well-done, timing is key. We’ve put together some tips to help you from start to finish.
Once you’ve mastered the art of the perfect steak, check out our favourite steak sauce recipes for the final flourish.
Types of steak
The cut of steak you use is down to personal preference and budget. Different cuts will deliver different levels of tenderness and flavour. Our handy steak infographic shows you what to expect from each cut and gives advice on how best to cook it.
Sirloin: Considered to be a prime steak, like fillet, but with more flavour. Best served medium-rare.
T-bone: To make sure everything cooks evenly, it’s best finished in the oven. Great for sharing.
Bavette and flank steak: Cheap cut that’s best served no more than medium and is great for barbecuing.
Fillet: Prized as the most tender cut, it’s also the most expensive. It has little fat, and is best served as rare as you like.
Rib-eye and tomahawk: There are two cuts to note: rib-eye, boneless and usually serves one, and rib on the bone, also known as côte de boeuf.
Flat-iron: This steak is cut from the shoulderblade, and is great value and neatly shaped, but it needs to be cooked no more than medium or it will be tough.
Onglet: Also called hanger steak, this rope-shaped piece of meat has lots of flavour but will be tough if cooked beyond rare.
Rump steak: The least expensive of prime steaks, it will be tough if cooked anything beyond medium.
See our classic recipes for sirloin, rib-eye and fillet steak or check out our full steak recipe collection.
Best pan for steak
For indoor cooking we’d recommend frying your steak, although you can grill it if you’d rather. A heavy-duty, thick-based frying pan will achieve the best results. We love the Ninja Foodi ZEROSTICK frying pan which lives up to the name: a versatile pan with brilliant non-stick surface that was highly responsive to changes in temperature. Read our full Ninja Foodi ZEROSTICK frying pan review.
A heavy griddle pan or cast iron skillet is another great option for cooking steak. These types of pan get really hot and retain their heat, making them ideal for getting that charred, smoky finish on the surface of your steak. This Le Creuset skillet pan was our top pick for beginners in our tests, with a comfortable handle, impressive non-stick surface and helpful double handles. For a more affordable choice, the VonShef cast iron skillet pan was our top budget choice for meat-lovers, producing a crispy golden steak and coming helpfully pre-seasoned.
Steaks should be cooked in a roomy pan – if a pan isn’t big enough for all your steaks, don’t be tempted to squeeze them in anyway. Cook them one or two at a time and leave them to rest as you cook the rest of your batch, or cook a much thicker steak and carve it and divide the slices to serve. If you’re in the market for a new piece of kit, read our full reviews of the best cast iron skillets, non-stick frying pans and griddle pans.
How to season steak
Beef purists may prefer to take in the unadulterated, rich flavour of a quality steak by adding nothing more than a sprinkling of salt and a generous twist of pepper. Contrary to popular belief, seasoning your steak with salt ahead of time doesn’t draw out the moisture but actually gives the steak time to absorb the salt and become more evenly seasoned throughout. Salt your steak in advance – 2 hrs for every 1cm of thickness. For a classic steak au poivre (peppered steak), sprinkle lots of cracked black pepper and sea salt on to a plate, then press the meat into the seasoning moments before putting it in the pan.
Some people like to enhance flavour and tenderise meat with a marinade. Balsamic vinegar will reduce down to a sweet glaze, as will a coating of honey & mustard.
See our easy steak marinade to use on a variety of cuts.
Lots of chefs add whole garlic cloves and robust herbs like thyme and rosemary to the hot fat while the steak is cooking, which adds background flavour to the steak subtly, without overpowering it.
Best cooking fat
Flavourless oils like sunflower, vegetable or groundnut work best, and once the steak is searing you can add butter to the pan for flavour. A nice touch if you’re cooking a thick sirloin steak with a strip of fat on the side is to sear the fat first by holding the steak with a pair of tongs, then cooking the beef in the rendered beef fat. You’ll need to use your judgement when you heat the pan – you want the oil to split in the pan but not smoke.
How to sear
Searing a steak until it gets a caramelised brown crust will give it lots of flavour. For this to happen, the pan and the fat need to be hot enough. The conventional way is to sear it on one side, then cook it for the same amount on the other side. This gives good results but the second side is never as nicely caramelised as the first. To build up an even crust on both sides, cook the steak for the total time stated in the recipe, but turn the steak every minute.
How long to cook steak
Our cookery team have outlined what you can expect from each category of steak.
It’s very important to consider the size and weight of your steak before calculating the cooking time. If you’re unsure, take advantage of the expert eye of your butcher who should be able to tell you how long you need to cook your meat.
Fillet steak cooking times
We recommend the following cooking times for a 3.5cm thick fillet steak:
Sirloin steak cooking times
We also recommend the following for a 2cm thick sirloin steak:
How to cook steak
How to check steak is cooked
Use your fingers to prod the cooked steak – when rare it will feel soft, medium-rare will be lightly bouncy, and well-done will be much firmer. Our picture guide to checking steak is cooked shows you how to use the ‘finger test’, or a meat thermometer inserted into the centre to ensure it’s done to your liking.
Blue: 54C
Rare: 57C
Medium rare: 63C
Medium: 71C
Well done: 75C
How to rest a steak
A cooked steak should rest at room temperature for at least five minutes and ideally around half the cooking time – it will stay warm for anything up to 10 minutes. Here, pure science comes into play – the fibres of the meat will reabsorb the free-running juices, resulting in a moist and tender steak. Any resting juices should be poured over the steak before serving.
What to serve with steak
You’re sure to find an accompaniment in our guide to steak side dishes. Plus, we have 10 steak sauces you can make in minutes, from cheat’s peppercorn to spicy chimichurri.
How to buy steak
You’ll see these terms in supermarkets, at the butcher’s or on restaurant menus – here’s what they mean.
Grass-fed beef: Grass-fed cattle get to walk around and graze on pasture, which means the meat is leaner with a richer, gamier flavour that tastes of the environment it was reared in. This is why Scottish grass-fed beef will taste different to Irish.
Marbling: Marbling is the fat found interlacing the inside of a cut of meat. As the meat cooks, the ‘marbled fat’ melts – without this, the meat would be dry and flavourless. Meat with a lot of marbling mostly comes from the back of the animal where the muscles get little exercise.
Wagyu: Wagyu is a generic name for four breeds of Japanese cattle. They are fed foraged grass and rice straw, then supplemented with corn, barley, soya bean, wheat bran and, in some cases, even beer or sake. Wagyu cattle produce meat with heavy marbling but this comes at a hefty price.
Ageing: The ageing process improves the taste and tenderness of meat. There are two methods: dry ageing, which is the traditional process where carcasses are hung in a cool place for 30-60 days to intensify the flavour and cause the meat to shrink, while wet ageing is when the meat is butchered and vacuum-packed, which stops the meat from shrinking.
Do you have any foolproof techniques when cooking your steak? You’ll find more inspiration in our recipe collection, too.
How to Cook Steak in a Frying Pan
This article was co-authored by Ollie George Cigliano. Ollie George Cigliano is a Private Chef, Food Educator, and Owner of Ollie George Cooks, based in Long Beach, California. With over 20 years of experience, she specializes in utilizing fresh, fun ingredients and mixing traditional and innovative cooking techniques. Ollie George holds a BA in Comparative Literature from The University of California, Berkeley, and a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from eCornell University.
There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.
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If you want to eat a delicious steak but don’t have a grill available, no worries! You can easily cook your steak in a frying pan. Use a cut of steak at least 1 in (2.5 cm) thick for best results, and heat it up for 3-6 minutes on both sides. Baste your steak with butter and spices for some extra flavor, and eat your steak with sides like mashed potatoes, broccoli, and side salad. Don’t forget the red wine!
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About This Article
To cook steak in a frying pan, first season the steak with your favorite seasonings, like salt and pepper. Then, add a light layer of vegetable oil to a frying pan or cast-iron skillet and heat it on high for 1-2 minutes until it barely starts smoking. Carefully add the steak to the pan. Cook the steak on high heat for 3-6 minutes, depending on how cooked you want it. The longer you cook the steak for, the more well-done it will be. It will take thicker cuts of steak longer to cook. After 3-6 minutes, flip the steak over and cook it for an additional 3-6 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to check the doneness of the steak. For medium rare steak, aim for 130°F (54.4°C). Every additioanl 10°F (5.6 °C) is one more level of donenes. If you don’t have a meat thermometer, you can press the meat and see if the meat is firm for well-done, or soft for rare. Let the steak rest for 5-15 minutes on a plate so the juices absorb into the meat. Finally, garnish your steak with a dash of thyme, rosemary, or fresh parsley. For ways to add extra flavor to your steak, including tips on how to marinate the steak for a great taste, read on!
How to cook the perfect steak
If you’re cooking to impress and only a tender, juicy steak will cut it, don’t be fooled into spending a fortune.
Beyond the much-loved fillet, sirloin, rib-eye and rump, there’s a world of underrated, good-value steaks that will seriously deliver on the flavour front.
Flank skirt, thick skirt and thin skirt are all delicious and definitely worth a try, but here we’re focussing on Jamie’s favourite – feather steak (also known as flat iron steak). Full of beautiful flavour, texture and fat marbling, feather steak is a good size to leave you satisfied. Ask your butcher to remove the tough sinew right in the middle of it, and you’ll be ready to go.
But first, there are a few guidelines to bear in mind if you want to cook the perfect steak, whichever cut you choose.
Remember these tips, and you’ll get great results every time. To make it even easier, follow these simple steps below.
Looking for the tastiest way to serve your steak? Check out our round-up of Jamie’s best steak recipes that you’re going to love.
HOW TO COOK THE PERFECT STEAK
If our step-by-step guide isn’t enough, let Jamie show you how it’s done:
Dairy cows and beef cows are farmed differently. Usually, beef cows are raised for meat until they’re one or two years old. Meanwhile, dairy cows will be farmed for much longer while they continue to provide enough milk. However, once a dairy cow stops milking the meat is rarely eaten.
How to Cook Steak – like a chef!
Here’s how to cook steak like a chef – pan seared and basted with garlic thyme butter! It’s dramatic, simple cooking at its best, you’ll look like a total pro and feel like you’re dining at the best steakhouse in town…..
How to cook steak – the cheffy way!
Today’s recipe is more of a technique than a recipe – but it’s one that all steak lovers should know because it’s easy, worthy of using on high quality steaks and also a way to really elevate economical steaks.
It’s as simple as this: while the steak is searing in the pan, throw in butter, garlic and thyme and baste continuously as the steak finishes cooking. The garlic-thyme infused butter does all sorts of wonderful things to the steak, seeping into the cracks and crevices, and adhering to the crust of the steak.
It’s pan seared steak made Outrageous – and that’s Outrageous with a capital “O”!
What you need
Here’s all you need:
Thickish cut steak – no more than 2.5cm/1″ thick, because we want to cook this entirely on the stove (thicker cuts need to be finished in the oven). Ideal steaks: boneless rib eye / scotch fillet, porterhouse / New York, T-bone. Grade: takes high quality steak over the top amazing, really elevates economical steak.
Butter, garlic and fresh thyme
QUICK STEAK COOKING TIPS!
Bring to room temp! This makes an amazing difference to cooking through evenly rather than ending up with a thick overcooked band in order for the very centre to be cooked to your liking;
Pat dry and season the steak generously with salt and pepper – this helps form that amazing crust we all know and love about great steaks;
Get your skillet SMOKING HOT before putting the steak in – again, for the crust
WARNING: The butter will sputter when you add the thyme, so stand back!
Take the steak off the stove BEFORE your desired internal temperature (see chart below) because the internal temperature will continue to rise as it rests; and
REST your steak for 5 to 10 minutes so it sucks its own juices back in and the fibres relax. This is a must-do step for any protein you cook hard and fast!
I’ve just cooked one very large steak here because 2 was a squish in the medium size skillet I use for photography and video purposes. I use the same amount of butter whether making one or two steaks because you need a minimum amount to have enough to make it easy to spoon over the steak as it cooks.
What to serve with steak
If you’re after the full, luxury steakhouse experience, serve this steak with Béarnaise sauce, its mashed potato counterpart, Paris Mash, and a side of Garlic Sautéed Spinach.
For a low carb option, serve it with Creamy Mashed Cauliflower – you will be amazed how delicious this is with the help of some extra flavourings!! And a few more options:
Crispy Smashed Potatoes – pictured! I’m a little mad about these – they’re crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside;
Potato Dauphinoise – good make ahead option, and also if you’re serving a group of people;
Sweet Potato Stacks – something a little different!
Roasted Broccoli – this pairs really well with steak, plus you feel virtuous eating a load of broccoli with this rich buttery steak…
Cauliflower Cheese – A British comfort food classic!
Fresh garden salad or steamed greens with French Vinaigrette or Italian Dressing
And for a really simple option, just steam a load of veggies and baby potatoes, then douse in the garlic butter left in the skillet. Pretty darn amazing!! – Nagi x
More Steak Options
Beef Steak Marinade – this is an excellent option for good value steaks, adds juiciness and tenderises
Watch how to make it
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