How many minutes do you fry a steak?
The timing. As a rule of thumb (for a steak 22mm thick) – cook 2 minutes each side for rare, 3-4 mins each side for medium-rare and 4-6 mins each side for medium. For well done, cook for 2-4 minutes each side, then turn the heat down and cook for another 4-6 minutes.
Desired Doneness | Approximate Cooking Time |
---|---|
Rare (115-120°F) | 2 minutes each side |
Medium Rare (120-125°F) | 3 minutes each side |
Medium (125-135°F) | 4 minutes each side |
Medium Well (135-145°F) | 5 minutes each side |
Preheat the pan on medium and brush with oil. Using just 1/2 Tbsp oil reduces splatter. Sear steaks – add steaks and sear each side 3-4 minutes until a brown crust has formed then use tongs to turn steaks on their sides and sear edges (1 min per edge).
Rare to Medium-Rare Steak: two to three minutes per side over medium-high heat. Medium-Rare to Medium Steak: three to four minutes per side. Medium to Well-Done: four to five minutes per side.
For a 1-inch thick steak, the beef should cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side for medium rare on a relatively high heat gas stove.
How to... / Meat / How to Pan fry a steak. Pan-frying is the quickest method of cooking small, very tender cuts of meat such as steaks. Browning the meat on both sides requires a very high heat, which then needs to be slightly lowered to cook the meat to the point desired.
Cuts that are less than 1-inch, such as flank or flat-iron steaks, can also be cooked using the stove-top method, but keep in mind that they'll cook much faster than other boneless cuts and often benefit from a marinade to help break down tough connective tissue and fibers.
When cooking steak you need to oil the steak itself to ensure that perfect outer texture once cooked, and of course so it doesn't stick. Place your steak on a plate and drizzle the steak with oil on both sides, massaging in a little to cover all areas.
What Type of Oil Should I use for Cooking My Steak? When cooking steak in cast iron skillets, you want to use a type of oil that has a high smoke point. For example, peanut oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil, and avocado oil are ideal options for cooking steak due to their high smoke points.
Let Steak Come to Room Temperature
To produce a super tender steak, leave it out at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking. A cold cut of meat hitting a very hot pan will cause the steak to become tough and chewy.
How long to pan fry steak on each side for medium-rare?
How Long to Cook Steak for Medium Rare? In the skillet, it will be about 3 to 4 minutes on each side to get it to medium rare temperature. Use a meat thermometer to reach the perfect medium rare steak temperature of 135°F / 57.2°C.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the pan (enough to coat the bottom) and immediately place your steak in the hot skillet.

If you're cooking steak on the grill, you most definitely should flip it about halfway through the cooking process. We typically recommend flipping your steak just once on the grill because it's not getting direct heat on one side like it would on a pan.
Preheat an outdoor grill to high heat (about 500 degrees). Sear steaks for 3 minutes per side. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking with the lid closed until the steaks reach the desired level of doneness (130 degrees F for medium-rare).
1. Buy the best steak for pan-searing. The best steaks for cooking on the stovetop are boneless steaks that are between one and one-and-a-half inches thick. Thicker cuts like a New York strip steak or a boneless rib-eye work best for this method.
Because it adds proteins to the mix, butter is a better medium for adding deep brown color to your steak as well, which means that even if your steak is looking a little pale after its initial sear, once you add that butter, it'll rapidly take on color.
The steaks need a few minutes undisturbed to develop a brown crust. (Don't worry about sticking; the steaks will release easily when they are ready to flip.) Flip the steaks when they release easily and the bottom is a deep-brown color (usually about 3 minutes).
Like butter, olive oil has a distinct taste and low smoke point. It also offers immense moisture and character depending on what kind of oil you buy. Even modestly priced olive oil can give flavour to a steak and if you like that flavour, this is definitely the way to go.
Adding butter to steak adds extra richness and can also soften the charred exterior, making a steak more tender.
Right off the bat, it's healthier. Rubbing your steak in oil eliminates extra fat pooling in the pan. That means the steak you're cooking won't end up soaking in oil after the internal fat renders.
Do you cover steak in frying pan?
Turn the heat to low-medium before placing the steak in the pan. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 4-6 minutes, or until the inside reaches your desired temperature with a meat thermometer. As usual, allow the steak to rest for 5 minutes out of the pan before serving.
The best grill temperature to grill a steak is high heat (450-550 degrees F.). To prepare steaks for the grill you will need to: Pat them dry: this helps the steaks get a better sear on them.
Use the following timing recommendations to learn how long to rest steak so that the flavorful juices have time to distribute through your meat: Rest meat for 5 minutes per inch of thickness. Rest meat for 10 minutes per pound. Rest meat for 1 minute for every 100 grams.
For thicker steaks, cook until meat is deeply browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 120° for medium-rare or 130°F for medium, 8-12 minutes total depending on desired doneness, adjusting heat to medium if the steak seems to be browning too quickly and flipping the steak ...
While adding extra oil to a pan seems like a way to prevent the meat from sticking, it can backfire by resulting in greasy steaks that don't get the kind of brown crust you want.
As a rule of thumb, when cooking steaks that are 1-1/2 inch thick, you want to go by the 3-4 rule. That is, three minutes per side on direct heat, then four minutes per side on indirect heat.
What kind of steaks should I use? Filet mignons are the easiest to cook at home, because they're the most tender. Ribeye is great too, though.
The main claim to flipping only once is that you'll reduce the amount of browning that will occur and also reduce the flavor. While this can be true, you can easily avoid this drawback by ensuring you do not have an overabundance of surface moisture on your steak and have sufficiently high heat.
The Best Steak Seasoning Is Salt
Salt is a must when seasoning steak. It not only adds flavor to your meat, but it also helps make steak juicy and tender. When you salt your steak before you cook it, the salt sits on the meat and draws moisture to the surface.
How to Season Steak. Before grilling, season your steaks (or other meat) with a generous amount of steak seasoning on both sides. Rub the seasoning into the meat so the steaks absorb the rub. Allow the steaks to rest for 15 to 20 minutes before grilling to allow the flavors to come together.
Do you put salt or seasoning on steak?
What spices go best with steak? There's really just one main thing you need to season steak: good old reliable kosher salt! Don't be tempted to use table salt—it's very fine and will dissolve too quickly once it hits the meat.
This is one of the most important tips of all so do not skip this step! When steak cooks, the muscle fibers tighten. If you cut into those tight muscle fibers as soon as it's off the heat, all the juices pour out. That's why resting meat for 5-10 minutes is the secret for preparing a juicy and tender steak.
Hot and Fast: Anytime you are planning to use a thinner meat cut like skirt steak, chuck, or flank or even thin sirloin, rump steaks etc., cooking it fast on high heat will yield the best results. With a thin cut, any slow cooking method will overcook the meat and leave it with a chewy, rubbery texture.
The Chef's Way of Cooking A Steak
Just let it go. Once your steak is on your pan, let it sear and simmer down. It is very tempting to constantly check it and/or flip it – but don't. This is how a nice dark char is formed, and this is the correct pathway to your chef's steak.
For a 1 inch steak you will be grilling it approximately 3-4 minutes per side over direct, high heat - or until it reaches your desired internal temperate.
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.
Thickness | Rare 110 to 120 F | Medium 130 to 140 F |
---|---|---|
1" | 4 minutes EACH SIDE | 6 minutes EACH SIDE |
1.25" | 4.5 minutes EACH SIDE | 6.5 minutes EACH SIDE |
1.5" | 5 minutes EACH SIDE | 7 minutes EACH SIDE |
1.75" | 5.5 minutes EACH SIDE | 7.5 minutes EACH SIDE |
For steak, you're mainly dealing with direct heat. (Indirect heat is better for slow-cooking foods like ribs.)
Rather than oiling the pan, brush the steak with oil to prevent it sticking. Cook a 2cm-thick piece of steak for 2-3 minutes each side for rare, 4 minutes each side for medium, and 5-6 minutes each side for well-done. Turn the steak only once, otherwise it will dry out.
Stand over the steaks with a pair of tongs, searing and turning them every 30 seconds to 1 min so they get a nice brown crust. As a rough guide, each steak will take 4 mins in total for rare, 5-6 mins in total for medium and 8-10 mins for well done.
Do you pan fry steak with oil?
1. You put oil in the pan. Don't go putting your vegetable oil or sunflower oil straight into your frying pan. When cooking steak you need to oil the steak itself to ensure that perfect outer texture once cooked, and of course so it doesn't stick.
What Type of Oil Should I use for Cooking My Steak? When cooking steak in cast iron skillets, you want to use a type of oil that has a high smoke point. For example, peanut oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil, and avocado oil are ideal options for cooking steak due to their high smoke points.
- Use a nonstick or carbon-steel skillet, not stainless steel. ...
- Don't add oil.
- Start in a cold pan (no need to preheat).
- Flip the steaks every 2 minutes.
- Start with high heat, and then after a few flips, turn it down to medium.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the pan (enough to coat the bottom). Immediately place your steaks in the hot skillet and sear them for 1 minute on each side.
Best Cuts for Frying Steak
The T-bone is cut across the bone of the Sirloin and is both tender and tasty while Fillet Steak is the leanest and most tender of all steak cuts and lends itself to being cooked quickly and rare.
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