The Best Way to Cook Steak on a Stovetop

Learn how to cook the perfect steak on the stovetop, every single time. This article covers the cut and grade of meat to pick, what skillet to use, the temperature, and the length of time you need to cook it.

Cooking the Perfect Steak

Many of us, quite often are baffled about how to cook the perfect steak every time. That aside, it can also be confusing to decide what cut of steak to use and the grade of beef, whether to marinate or not and how long the steak should be cooked for.

I’m here to take the guesswork out of how to cook the perfect every single time. Not only will you love tucking into this perfectly cooked steak, your family and friends will also be impressed with your culinary skills with cooking steak.

From now on you won’t need to rely on an overpriced or fancy steakhouse to enjoy a wonderful steak when you can simply make it at home on your stove or microwave oven.

What meat cut should I pick for steak?

Below are my favourite steaks, and are probably the most common steak cuts, although there are several more out there.

Here are 4 common cuts of steak –

• Sirloin Steak – This steak is also popularly known as striploin, the steak does not have much fat and is right cooked to medium only. Sirloin steak is great with a dry rub.

• Rib Eye Steak– This has a high-fat content, making it an extremely delicious steak. Don’t remove the fat before cooking. You can cut off all the fat you’re eating the meat after it is cooked. There is also no need to marinade rib eye steaks, they are perfect with a little salt and paper or seasoning for steak.

• Porterhouse or T-bone Steak– These steaks always comes with a T-bone in the middle of the steak. One side is the strip and the other is the fillet. A porterhouse steak normally has much more fillet compared to the Tbone Steak. Use a thermometer to cook it so you can get it right.

• Fillet Mignon Steak– It is a small round steak that does not have much contained within. It’s my personal favourite because it’s so tender. It dries out fast and is perfect to eat rare. Just cook with little pepper and salt for the best taste.

Main ingredients needed to cook the perfect steak 

Believe it or not, my recipe doesn’t include an exhaustive list of ingredients. You simply need these 4 things to get started plus an oven-friendly skillet and a frying pan. I used personally used this cast iron skillet that I have owned for years.

• Steak – I used sirloin steak, but any good cut of steak from the list above will work.
• Cast Iron Skillet.
• Butter - It adds flavour, flavour, and more flavour.
• Salt and pepper – The addition of salt and pepper bring out the super meaty flavour that the steak contains within.

 Steps to cook steak on the stovetop 

• Prepare your pan – Place an oven-friendly pan over medium-high heat. I used cast iron because it is a wonderful, all-purpose cooking vessel. Also, preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. 

• Prepare the steak – while your pan is preheating, wipe your steak with paper towels to eliminate any excess moisture. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.

• Sear your steaks – Melt some butter in your warm skillet and put your steaks in, cooking for 3 to 4 minutes on the 1st side without touching it or moving it around. We want to make a brown crust and solid sear, so we are just going to leave it alone.

• Transfer the steak to the oven – After 3 to 4 minutes, flips your steaks over. Top every steak with a pat of butter and transfer them to your warm oven for five minutes, keeping them in the same skillet.

• Rest and enjoy – After baking, transfer them to a plate and cover them with foil. Let these babies rest. After five minutes, take the foil off and slice thin cuts against the grain. Now its time to eat! enjoy your meal!