Learn how to cook steak perfectly every single time with this easy to follow recipe where steak is seared in a skillet on the stove and finished in the oven.
What are the different grades of beef?
There are three grades of beef steak that you will find in a US supermarket: Select, Choice, and Prime. Select is generally the grade of sale-priced, or advertised meat. Select grade is just above what the USDA deems edible. So if you buy Select grade meat, don’t be surprised when it isn’t that great. It will always be worth it to pay the extra money per pound for the Choice grade. If it is choice grade, it will be advertised as such and marked somewhere on the label or packaging. If your supermarket carries Prime grade, lucky you!
Buy Choice or Prime Grade steaks for best results.
What temperature should steak be cooked to?
Whether you like your steak practically raw on the plate, or dry as a bone, this steak doneness chart should help you out. The chef’s standard level of doneness is medium-rare. At this point it will be tender, juicy, and if you do it just right the steak will melt in your mouth. With practice you can tell how cooked a steak is just by feel alone. Every steak has a different cooking time due to varying thicknesses of the cuts. Be wary following anything that tells you a cooking time rather than a temperature. Use an instant read meat thermometer for the most accurate results.
What cut of steak should I use?
What cut of steak you make depends on what you like in a steak. There are 5 main steak options, each a little bit different in their texture and tenderness.
Porterhouse and T-Bone Steaks
What is it? Porterhouse and T-Bone steaks are similar cuts of beef that come from the short loin. These cuts both have a T-shaped bone in the middle and contain two different pieces of meat: tenderloin and strip steak. Porterhouse steaks are cut from the rear end of the short loin and contain a larger portion of the tenderloin, while T-Bone steaks are cut from the front end and contain a smaller portion of the tenderloin.
Why use it? This steak gives you two different steaks in one! One side is super meaty, the other tender. The bone in the middle keeps things cooking evenly.
Ribeye Steak
What is it? Ribeye is a beef steak that is cut from the rib area, between ribs six through twelve. It is a flavorful, marbled piece of beef that yields a very tender result when cooked hot and fast. You can buy both bone-in and boneless ribeye steak.
Why use it? The marbling of fat in this steak yields a melt-in-your-mouth steak when cooked correctly. The bone-in variety will help the steak cook more evenly. This is a fattier cut of steak that pickier eaters might not appreciate.
New York Strip Steak
What is it? New York Strip steak is a lean cut of beef from the short loin area. It is one side of the porterhouse or T-bone steak and is always served boneless.
Why use it? This is a lean cut of beef steak with little fat. It is an excellent choice for mass appeal.
Top Sirloin Steak
What is it? Top Sirloin comes from the back area continuing off the short loin area. Top sirloin has bones and the bottom round muscles removed.
Why use it? This is a less expensive cut of steak that can still yield a tender and flavorful result. This cut of steak is best suited for marinating and is a more budget conscious steak option.
Filet Mignon
What is it? Filet mignon comes from the small tip portion of the tenderloin.
Why use it? This is the most tender piece of beef steak and is still quite lean. It is a pricey option, but the resulting melt-in-your-mouth tenderness is unparalleled.
Bone-in vs Boneless Steaks
There is an endless debate amongst foodies about whether steaks are better bone-in or boneless, or whether or not it matters at all. Those who advocate for bone-in say that the flavorful marrow from the bone will seep into your meat while cooking, giving you a more flavorful result.
Bone-in DOES impact the cooking time of your steak. The bone changes the way the heat is distributed while cooking. It actually helps your steak cook more evenly and gives you a little more leeway with overcooking. Bone-in steaks will require a longer cooking time because the bone insulates the meat surrounding it. It takes a little more time for the heat to penetrate the interior, but once it does it spreads out evenly.
If you liked this recipe you may be interested in these other steak options, from beef to pork to seafood:
- How to Grill Steak
- How to Cook the Perfect Tomahawk Steak
- Rachel’s Favorite Steak Seasoning
- Perfect Grilled Pork Chops
- Grilled Swordfish Steak
This recipe turned out beautifully! My family likes their steaks well done, so I kept them in the oven for 12 minutes. They loved it! The rub added delicious flavor, and the garlic butter topper gave the final touch of decadence. I will use this cooking method again and again for all my steaks. ❤️
Hi, do you let it rest in the cast iron itself?
You’ll want to remove it from the pan and let it rest on a plate.
I’ve been letting it rest in the cast iron and it’s still great, but maybe I wasn’t leaving it in the oven long enough so that finished cooking it! Either way, I LOVE this recipe and break it out every time I make filets for at-home date nights and just looked it up one more time to remind myself of the finer details for V-day 🙂 Actually, I love ALL your recipes
Used a cast iron skillet for first time, hands down, best steak I ever made with this recipe! I through some blue cheese crumbles no mine, perfect!
Excelente la explicación des corte, los tipos de carne y la cocion me encantó mucho. Gracias
I’ve made steaks with this recipe many times now and I am so impressed. They are absolutely delicious- the cooking method plus the seasoning mix and garlic butter!?! Omg. My husband used to grill our steaks…. but these are better. He’d die if he knew I said that but it’s true! Now I make the steaks. ?
I’ve done this method twice and it was wonderful!,,,,I am not a good cook at all, but both times the steaks were perfect, Rachel you’re a genius, am trying one of the pasta recipes next, THANKS for your help, much appreciated . Michelle Werner
Amazing. Never made a great steak until this. I am not a good cook yet I found this easy and the results were amazzzinngggg. I seared for the 3 minutes in one side and noticed that was too long and 2 minutes in the other and that was perfect. I’m sure it varies per stove.
Your method for cooking steak is dead-on! I tired it for the 1st time and my steak come out prefect (If I do say so myself). I’ll be searching more things that are done by you!
Very good
The steak can out amazing. 3 minutes per side on the stove top in cast iron 5 minutes in the oven. If I knock a little time off the stove top part they would probably be perfect for how I like them. Anyhow, great recipe thank you for sharing it.
As informative as this page is. I did not find how long to cook your steaks in the oven. Your chart displays the baking temperature, look, feel and thermometer temperature. However, it does not tell you how long to bake the steaks in the over for? Could you please tell me how long to bake steak for medium? Please do not tell me to reference to your chart as I have already reviewed it.
Thank you.
There is no answer to your question. The time it takes to cook your steak depends on factors like the exact size and thickness of your steak, the cut, exactly how long you seared it, etc. Time is simply not a good way to tell someone how to cook a steak as it will be different almost every time you make one.
After a 2min Sear on each side in lil olive oil in Cast Iron Skillet, I pour off excess grease & place a pat of butter on top of each Steak & put Cast Iron Skillet with 2 Ribeyes in a 425 Oven 3-5 min for medium…Can You say Tender??!! Better than a Restaurant!
Defitnely depends on how you like you’re steak I left mine in for about 7 minutes. And my steak was medium.
Hi Casey
My steak was approx 3/4 inch thick, left it in oven for 5min.
Was beautiful.
Medium.
Until they are at the desired temperature. How ever long that takes. Every oven is different.
Second paragraph of the information before the recipe…WHAT TEMPERATURE SHOULD STEAK BE COOKED TO? “Be wary following anything that tells you a cooking time rather than a temperature. Use an instant read meat thermometer for the most accurate results.” – Rachel Farnsworth
Thank you Rachel! You removed my fear of cooking expensive cuts of meat!
looks delicious