Pan Seared Steak
Our Pan Seared Steak has a golden brown crust that’s crisp around the edges and perfectly cooked in the center. Pair with garlic herb compound butter for an amazing steak full that’s of flavor.
Steak seared in a hot pan with a little seasoning, oil, or butter makes an amazing dinner. But, to really put that steak dinner over the top you’ll need a great side dish. Some of our favorite steak dinner sides are Sauteed Mushrooms, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Crock Pot Baked Potatoes, and Fried Okra.
Pan Seared Ribeyes with Garlic Butter
Preparing a tender, flavorful steak takes a little bit of preparation but isn’t difficult at all. It only requires a couple of pieces of equipment, a handful of pantry staples, and keeping an eye on the steaks.
The result is a flavorful pan seared ribeye with a beautiful crust and homemade garlic herb butter melting over the top. You don’t have include the garlic herb butter, of course, but we love using it with this preparation.
We think ribeyes are one of the best steaks for pan searing, but a nice top sirloin steak, NY strip, or even a flat iron steak work well, too. Serve your sizzling hot steak with your favorite side dish and you’ve got a gourmet steak dinner without ever leaving home.
How to Pan Sear Steak:
For the Garlic Butter:
- Start by making the garlic butter. Set the butter out to soften ahead of time. It needs to be soft enough to stir without being melted.
- In a small bowl, combine the softened butter, salt, garlic cloves, parsley, fresh herbs, and pepper.
- Then, place the butter mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap, and roll it closed. Twist the ends to secure so no butter leaks out.
- Transfer the butter to the refrigerator to firm up. If you plan to use it softened, leave it out at room temperature until ready to use.
For the Ribeyes:
- Remove the steaks from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you intend to cook them.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add the oil, and swirl to coat.
- Pat both sides of the steaks dry with a paper towel. You’re removing the excess moisture off the surface of the steaks to create a great steakhouse style crust. Season the steaks with garlic salt, oregano, and pepper JUST before cooking. (If you season the steaks too early, the garlic salt will draw moisture from the inside of the steaks to the surface. This negates patting them dry and it may lead to a drier, less flavorful steak.)
- Once the skillet gets hot, add the steaks and cook for 2-3 minutes each side for medium rare, 3-4 minutes for medium, or 5 minutes on each side for well done.
- Place a teaspoon or two of the garlic herb butter on a cutting board, and place the cooked ribeyes over the top of the butter. Let the pan seared steaks rest for 5-7 minutes before slicing and serving with extra garlic herb butter and your favorite side dishes.
Pan Seared Steak Tips and Variations:
- Test the ribeyes with an instant read thermometer to ensure your steaks are cooked to perfection every single time.
- Forgot to pat the steaks dry? No worries. The steaks will still cook with a ton of flavor. Patting the steaks ahead of time helps remove extra moisture that may inhibit a crispy crust from forming.
- In case you’d rather use a marinade and aren’t worried about a crust, try using a beer marinade.
- Use any fresh herbs for the garlic herb butter. Parsley, cilantro, rosemary, oregano or basil all work well.
- We used steaks that were about 1-inch thick for this recipe. Adjust the cook times if your steaks are very thick.
- Not sure what temperature to cook your steaks for the perfect doneness. These steak doneness temperatures may help:
- Rare 120°F: Has a cool, red center with a soft, tender texture.
- Medium Rare 130°F: Has a warm red center with a brown crust.
- Medium 140°F: Has a hot pink center and slightly firmer texture.
- Medium Well 150°F: Has a mostly brown center with a thin pink line and a firm texture.
- Well Done at least 160°F: Has no pink color left. The steak will be very firm and much drier.
- Make sure the pan is hot (but not smoking) before adding the steaks. This gives them a nice crust as they hit the pan.
- This recipe works with larger cuts of steak. It takes a more seasoning for the steaks and you’ll use more garlic butter.
- There will be garlic butter leftover. Save it for garlic bread or baked potatoes!
Storage
Storage: These pan seared steaks are best served immediately. To store any leftovers, place the steaks in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Store the garlic butter in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Reheating: To reheat leftover steak, place it into a hot skillet and heat until warmed through. Take care not to overheat. Leftover steak dries out easily.
Other Beef Recipes You May Love:
Ingredients
Garlic Butter
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons parsley, freshly chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh herbs, rosemary, oregano, thyme, etc.
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Steak
- 2 (7 ounce) ribeye steaks, 1-inch thick at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano, dried
- ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
For the Garlic Butter
- Start by making the garlic butter. Set the butter out to soften ahead of time. It needs to be soft enough to stir without being melted.
- In a small bowl, combine the softened butter, salt, garlic cloves, parsley, fresh herbs, and pepper.1 cup unsalted butter1 teaspoon kosher salt2 garlic cloves2 tablespoons parsley2 tablespoons fresh herbs½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Then, place the ingredients on a piece of plastic wrap, and roll closed. Twist the ends to secure.
- Transfer the butter to the refrigerator to firm up.
For the Steaks:
- Remove the steaks from the refrigerator about 30 minutes ahead of time.2 (7 ounce) ribeye steaks
- Heat a large cast iron pan over medium high heat. Add the oil, and swirl to coat.2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Pat both sides of the steaks dry with a paper towel, and season the steaks with garlic salt, oregano, and pepper JUST before cooking.½ teaspoon garlic salt½ teaspoon dried oreganoground black pepper
- Once the skillet gets hot, add the steaks and cook for 2-3 minutes each side for medium rare, 3-4 minutes for medium, or for 5 minutes each side for well done.
- Place a teaspoon or two of the garlic herb butter on a cutting board, and lay the cooked ribeyes over the butter. Let the steaks rest for 5-7 minutes before slicing and serving with extra garlic herb butter and your favorite sides.
- See post for tips, variations, and storage options.
