Pan Seared Steak (From Alton Brown) Recipe - Food.com (2024)

FAQs

How many minutes do you pan sear a steak? ›

Place the steaks 3 to 5 inches from the flame to sear the outside and seal in the juices. Sear the steaks for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. After the steaks have been seared on both sides, remove from heat, and brush both sides with extra virgin olive oil.

Place right in the middle of the pan and don't touch it for 2 minutes. Flip and rotate 90 degrees so that the steak hits fresh pan (and fresh salt) and cook another 2 minutes, uninterrupted. Turn the steak up on one long edge and cook for 30 seconds, then turn and cook along the opposite edge for another 30.

Throw the steak on the cast iron, and let the steak sizzle for about 1 minute, then flip. Keep flipping every minute. Once the internal temperature hits 105ºF, add some butter, rosemary, thyme, and garlic cloves to the skillet, and let it all come together. Scoop some butter over the meat now and then.

A scorching skillet delivers the best sear when cooking steak in a cast iron skillet. Add 1–2 tablespoons of vegetable oil or butter to the pan (enough to coat the bottom) and immediately place your steak in the hot skillet.

Moral of the story: If you've got the time, salt your meat for at least 40 minutes and up to overnight before cooking. If you haven't got 40 minutes, it's better to season immediately before cooking. Cooking the steak anywhere between three and 40 minutes after salting is the worst way to do it.

Go for oil, it has a higher smoke point. You need a hot skillet to properly sear a steak, hot enough that a pat of butter will begin to burn before it melts completely. You don't want to sear your steak in burnt butter. So reach for some oil when searing steaks.

Start your steak in oil and add the butter only for the last few minutes of cooking. If you'd like, add some aromatics, like thyme or rosemary stems, bay leaves, smashed garlic cloves, or sliced shallots at the same time.

Again, this varies depending on preference. Choices like coconut oil and avocado oil do tend to have a distinctive flavor that could affect the final taste of your meat, but they are each a great choice for high heat cooking. Olive oil and canola oil are more neutral flavors and tend to be more commonly used.

For medium-rare, the temperature of the steaks should be between 130 and 140°F. Remove the steak from the skillet, cover loosely with foil, and rest for 5 minutes. Serve whole or slice thin and fan onto plate.

A hot skillet delivers the best sear. Add some butter or a high smoke point oil such as avocado oil, canola oil, or grapeseed oil and sear steaks for 1–2 minutes on each side. The final internal temperature of your steak should be 135°F for medium-rare and 145°F for medium.

How do you cook top sirloin without it getting tough? ›

The right cook time is key for juicy, tender steaks! After a quick sear on the stove, cook sirloin steak in the oven for 1-7 minutes, depending on your desired level of doneness and the thickness of your steak. I always use a probe thermometer for the oven step.

But the reality is that flipping a steak repeatedly during cooking—as often as every 30 seconds or so—will produce a crust that is just as good (provided you start with meat with a good, dry surface, as you always should), give you a more evenly cooked interior, and cook in about 30% less time to boot!

Lastly, choosing which high heat oil to use when cooking is essential. Avocado oil, grapeseed oil, canola oil, and clarified butter are all excellent options for searing steak at high temperatures.

Should I use extra virgin olive oil for searing steak? It's best to use a high smoke point oil such as extra light olive oil or regular olive oil for searing steak. Extra virgin olive oil has a lower smoke point and may not be suitable for high-heat cooking methods like searing.

Pan-Seared Boneless Steak on the Stove

For the perfect medium-rare steak, sear in a skillet for 8–13 minutes for a 1-inch steak, and 14–16 minutes for a 1½ inch steak, turning about 1 minute before the halfway point. A meat thermometer should read 130°F.

Thin steaks (anything less than 1 1/2 inches thick) will cook very quickly; cook until meat is deeply browned, about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare.

For a 2-inch steak to reach an internal temperature of 125 degrees (rare) it will take about 8 minutes total, 4 minutes on each side. Please use a digital meat thermometer, it is the only reliable way to test your pan fried steak, and it sucks to ruin such a glorious piece of meat by over cooking it.