Pan-fried Beef Steak
Difficulty 2/5 Ingredients 4 Steps 12
Cooking a great steak entirely depends on preparation and choice of meat. Here is a simple recipe for pan-frying and broiling a steak. This method involves stove-cooking (pan frying to sear and brown the outside), followed by oven-cooking to ensure even cooking, both at high heat. One can omit the oven, but this results in less even cooking, particularly for thicker cuts.
Ingredients
- A cut of steak (see notes)
- Rock salt or coarse sea salt
- Peppercorns
- Olive oil or other oil of choice
Steps
Preparation
- Ventilate the kitchen; frying produces smoke.
- Bring steak to room temperature.
- Rinse meat with cold water. Dry with a paper towel.
- Coat very lightly with olive oil.
- Grind salt and peppercorns into a small bowl, mix, and rub onto both sides of the meat. More salt and pepper makes more crust but may mask the beef flavor.
Preheating
- Preheat oven as high as the skillet can withstand. A plastic-handled aluminum grill pan survives only to about 160° C (300° F); cast iron can go higher.
- Heat skillet on stove over medium to medium-high heat until evenly hot; higher heat gives a pinker center. Test by flicking water drops onto the pan; they should sizzle.
Cooking
- Place oiled steak in the pan. Sear 2–3 minutes; it should sizzle on contact.
- Flip. Cook another 2–3 minutes.
- Place entire pan in preheated oven. Roast 2–4 minutes.
- Remove steak promptly. Put on a plate and rest 5–10 minutes.
- Serve with red wine and a starch such as potatoes, rice or bread.
Notes from the original
- There are many good cuts of beef for steak; rib-eye and New York strip are always good choices. The best steaks will have been aged for some amount of time, and will be well-marbled with fat.
- Degree of doneness is a matter of personal preference, with people often having strong feelings, rejecting meat that is cooked more or less than their preference.
- Cooking times vary significantly, depending on thickness of steak, precise cooking temperature, and desired doneness. You will likely need to experiment with your setup to find what works for you; you can test temperatures using a thermometer or by cutting the steak, but beware that piercing or cutting releases the moisture – once you have figured out correct timings, you should avoid testing the temperature.
- Note that searing yields browning, which is tasty, attractive, and yields a pleasing contrast between the crisp exterior and soft interior, but does not “seal in the juices” like many believe.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Pan-fried Beef Steak” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2026-02-26, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.