Pan Seared Steak

This pan seared steak tutorial will teach you how to easily prepare restaurant quality steaks at home by searing in your cast iron pan!

My love for my husband steak knows no bounds.  I know, I know.  It should be the other way around, right?  Not to worry, it’s *thisclose*. So this Valentine’s Day, I’m proving my love for him by skipping the sitter and the restaurant and making cast iron pan seared steak, twice baked potatoes, and roasted brussels sprouts!

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Pan Seared Steak

Ingredients for pan seared steak

• Steak, thick cut at least 1 1/2″ (The better the quality, the better the results.  But you can totally do this with cheap cuts too.  I promise, we don’t always eat rib-eye!)
• Rock salt (also called ice cream salt)
• Rendered bacon fat (or other fat/oil)
• Seasoned salt (or a mix of salt, pepper, and garlic powder)
• Butter
• Fresh parsley

How do you pan sear steak? (step-by-step)

1. Pour a layer of rock salt onto a plate and place the steak over top.  Cover the steak with rock salt.  Let it sit (not refrigerated!) for at least 20 minutes.  Forty-five minutes is better.
2. Bring a cast-iron skillet to screaming hot on the stove-top.  No, fer realz.  Like so hot you wonder if maybe you should keep the fire department on the line just in case.
3. Drop some rendered bacon fat into the pan, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. It will smoke a lot.  Now is probably a good time to disconnect the smoke detector.  And open your windows.
4. Heavily season one side of the steak and lay it gently into the pan, seasoned side down.  Let it sit for 2 minutes.  Really, really.  Two full minutes.  Set your timer.
5. Season the second side of the steak and, using tongs, gently flip it over.  Let it sit another two minutes.
6. Turn the heat off and throw a big ol’ blob of butter into the pan next to the steak.  (The cast iron will be plenty hot enough to continue cooking the steak).  When the butter’s melted, toss a handful of parsley in too.
7. Lift the steak up and let some butter and parsley underneath.  Spoon some over top as well.
8. If you like your steak rare (like me!), you’re about finished.  If you like it done more (sigh), flip it every thirty seconds or so until you reach desired doneness.
9. Remove steak to a clean plate and allow it to rest a few minutes while you put on your good yoga pants and a swipe of cherry lip balm.
10. Slice (against the grain) with a very sharp knife.

When we met fifteen (!!!) years ago, Wesley maybe wanted to get married and possibly have 2 kids when he was 40ish.  But, meh.  Maybe he’d just be a bachelor.  On the other hand, I wanted to be hitched in the next couple years and have like 42 kids.  Or more.  Clearly we were a match made in heaven.

We crossed paths in Spanish class senior year of college when I was about to leave the state for law school.  He was into tall track running girls and beer.  I liked older guys, am barely tall enough to see over a steering wheel, and only run if chased.  Sometimes not even then.  After a few months of inexplicable flirting (I mean seriously, could we be any more wrong for each other?), we finally went out.

And here we are fifteen years later about to celebrate our twelfth wedding anniversary with 5 kids.

What we’ve learned in this time is that intimacy evolves over the course of a marriage.  When you’re dating it’s raw and exciting and all.the.time.  When you’re newly married it’s playful and exploratory. And when you’re deep into the relationship, drowning in kids and mortgages, it’s quiet, late, stolen moments.  They’re all wonderful, but our time now means so much more than it did five, ten, and fifteen years ago.

I’ll take an evening date on the patio with a great meal and new movie while keeping a strained ear for the baby over the crowded trendy bar from our 20’s any day.  We’re in this together now.  Like, really.  We don’t NEED each other any more, but we still WANT each other.  And that’s all I can ask of my marriage.

More amazing steak recipes

• Steak and goat cheese salad
• Easy grilled rib eye
• Broiled flank steak recipe
• Grilled flank steak
• Best flank steak marinade

Other skillet recipes to try

• Skillet seared lamb
• Swedish meatballs
• Eggroll in a bowl recipe
• Skillet cornbread

Tools we love

• Outdoor propane and charcoal grills
• Lodge Pre-Seasoned Cast-Iron Skillet
• Lodge Cast-Iron Reversible Grill/Griddle
• Chefs Basics 18-Piece Stainless-Steel Barbecue Set

How to Pan Sear Steak

5 from 1 vote

Pan Seared Steak

Created by: April Woods

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

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This pan seared steak tutorial will teach you how to easily prepare restaurant quality steaks at home by searing in your cast iron pan!

Save this recipe! Enter your email below and we'll shoot it straight to ya!

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Email

Email *

Save

By submitting your email you consent to receive email from this site.

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ Steak thick cut at least 1 1/2" (The better the quality, the better the results.  But you can totally do this with cheap cuts too.  I promise, we don't always eat rib-eye!)
• ▢ Rock salt also called ice cream salt
• ▢ Rendered bacon fat or other fat/oil
• ▢ Seasoned salt or a mix of salt, pepper, and garlic powder
• ▢ Butter
• ▢ Fresh parsley

Instructions

• Pour a layer of rock salt onto a plate and place the steak over top.  Cover the steak with rock salt.  Let it sit (not refrigerated!) for at least 20 minutes.  Forty-five minutes is better.
• Bring a cast-iron skillet to screaming hot on the stove-top.  No, fer realz.  Like so hot you wonder if maybe you should keep the fire department on the line just in case.
• Drop some rendered bacon fat into the pan, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. It will smoke a lot.  Now is probably a good time to disconnect the smoke detector.  And open your windows.
• Heavily season one side of the steak and lay it gently into the pan, seasoned side down.  Let it sit for 2 minutes.  Really, really.  Two full minutes.  Set your timer.
• Season the second side of the steak and, using tongs, gently flip it over.  Let it sit another two minutes.
• Turn the heat off and throw a big ol' blob of butter into the pan next to the steak.  (The cast iron will be plenty hot enough to continue cooking the steak).  When the butter's melted, toss a handful of parsley in too.
• Lift the steak up and let some butter and parsley underneath.  Spoon some over top as well.
• If you like your steak rare (like me!), you're about finished.  If you like it done more (sigh), flip it every thirty seconds or so until you reach desired doneness.
• Remove steak to a clean plate and allow it to rest a few minutes while you put on your good yoga pants and a swipe of cherry lip balm.
• Slice (against the grain) with a very sharp knife.
• Enjoy!

Notes

Calories are automatically generated. For best results calculate based on your exact ingredients. 

Nutrition

Calories: 679kcal

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Pan Seared Steak

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This article was originally developed for Collective Bias. All opinions and recipes are mine alone.