GrillinFools
Pan Fried Steak? This is a grilling website. There is no grilling season, it’s year round. Grilling in the winter is better because it’s not 150 degrees outside with 200% humidity and it feels good to stand next to the grill in cold weather. I know, I know. I said all of those things, but sometimes I just don’t want to go outside and grill but I still want a great steak. So on wicked hot (or cold) days, sometimes I cook inside.
Besides, we’re branching out beyond only cooking outside. We actually have a section just for things cooked inside. The plan is to transfer our patented step by step, picture by picture, foolproof instructions for cooking outside to cooking inside. It also helps that I got a brand new set of slate appliances from GE to play with and enjoy.
The very first thing I cooked on my new double oven range was a Pan Fried Steak with butter and herbs:
Pan Fried Steak Ingredients:
- 18 oz dry aged, prime grade rib eye (substitute whatever steak you wish)
- Salt
- Black pepper
- White pepper
- 10 sprigs of thyme
- 5 sprigs of tarragon
- 1 tbsp of unsalted butter, divided
You can use whatever herbs you like. I had planned on using rosemary and thyme, but couldn’t find any fresh rosemary, so I went with a little tarragon.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Season the steak liberally with salt and both types of pepper:
You obviously don’t have to use a dry aged, prime grade steak. But since this was the inaugural cook both on my new stove as well as in the kitchen of the house I just moved into, I decided to go all out. And there’s no better way to go than dry aged, prime grade rib eye other than bone in, but I couldn’t find one with a bone on short notice.
Next up, get out a nice frying pan, preferably cast iron. I just moved into a new house and don’t have mine yet so I used a regular frying pan.
Place the skillet on the stove and set the burner to medium high and put in a little of the butter (just enough to coat the bottom). Wait until the pan warms up then throw in the steak:
Keep checking the steak until it forms a nice char (or flavor crust) on the outside and flip over. For me it took about 4 minutes to get a nice char on each side.
Once there is a flavor crust on both sides, remove the steak from the pan:
Now add the remaining butter and sprigs of herbs:
The herbs have two functions. First, they elevate the meat from the pan so the steak doesn’t continue to char. We want flavorful browning, not acrid blackening. Second, the herbs and butter impart some great flavor into the meat. So nestle that steak down in the cushion of herbs:
And slide the pan into the 300 degree oven:
Leave the pan fried steak in there on this side for about 10 minutes. Then flip it over and put it back in for another 4 minutes:
Why 10 minutes and then 4? It takes a little while for the herbs to begin to saute’. So I leave the steak in longer at first to get the oils out of the herbs before flipping over.
Now remove the steak, slice and serve. I know most of you who are familiar with this site are wondering why I didn’t say to rest the steak. Turns out the whole resting thing just might be a myth. More on that in another post. I pulled my pan fried steak at a beautiful medium rare. If you want to go to medium, then leave it in for the full 10 minutes on the other side. If you want more rare, then only go 6 and 2. A thicker steak will take longer and a thinner, less. Adjust accordingly and use an instant read thermometer if you are unsure of the doneness.
How does my steak look?
But you aren’t quite done yet. Don’t forget to drizzle that herb butter over the steak. It makes a fantastic dipping sauce:
A Pan Fried Steak, cooked inside, with the added bonus of butter and herbs. The steak was almost sinfully rich. Prime grade fat is almost like butter in its own right. Add in the concentration of the flavors from the dry aging process and the added melted herb butter and this steak is almost too much for the palette to handle. Luckily I was up for the job and mowed that bad boy down in no time. What did I have with it? That wine behind it and the salad of thyme on the side. OK, I actually skipped the salad. Steak and wine. What more does one need?
As always, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below or shoot me an email.
Full Disclosure. I received the GE Appliances at no charge in exchange for me using them in blog posts. But as you know, I won’t promote anything I don’t absolutely believe in and these appliances are by far the best appliances I’ve ever owned and I just remodeled a kitchen with brand new appliances almost exactly three years prior to this post going live. I highly recommend GE Appliances and am quite excited to have them in my home kitchen.
Pan Fried Steak
Ingredients
- 18 oz dry aged prime grade rib eye (substitute whatever steak you wish)
- Salt
- Black pepper
- White pepper
- 10 sprig fresh thyme
- 5 sprig tarragon
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300
- Season the steak with salt and pepper
- Set a burner to medium high and place a skillet (preferably cast iron) on said burner
- Put a small amount of the butter in the skillet to coat the bottom
- When pan is hot, place steak in the pan
- Sear on both sides to get a good char or flavor crust
- Once seared on both sides, remove from the heat and put in the remaining butter and fresh herbs
- Place the steak on the nest of herbs and put the pan into the oven for 10 minutes
- After 10 minutes, flip the steak and bake for another 4 minutes
- Remove from the oven, slice and serve
Scott Thomas
Latest posts by Scott Thomas (see all)
- Grilled Steak Crostini Recipe - May 18, 2023
- Traditional Santa Maria Tri Tip - May 5, 2023
- Fancy Beef Tallow French Fries - April 28, 2023
2 comments
David Somerville
Beautiful steak, Scott! The only problem I see with pan searing steaks is it is hard to cook more than two at a time.
Congrats on the new house!
Scott Thomas
David,
Excellent point. Looks like I need to get one of those big cast iron griddles and lay it across two burners to handle more than a couple. Off to the store!
…….Scott