The first time I ever cooked a steak was for my now husbands 24th birthday. I was 20 years old and we had only been dating about 8 months. I wanted to make his birthday really special. I took on a pretty ambitious menu; steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, homemade bread and peach cobbler for dessert. I had literally never cooked any of these items before. I’ve always had confidence in the kitchen and after reading many recipes I thought I could do it.
I decided I would make the steak by searing in a fry pan, finishing in the oven and I would top it all off with compound butter. Pretty ambitious. So armed with my list of ingredients I went to the store. Since I was a broke college kid you can imagine that this dinner was costing me quite a bit of money. So when i got to the meat section to pick out my steaks my heart sank. All I could afford was the fast fry steaks… no sirloin or rib eye here. I was disappointed, but figured steak was steak and bought them anyway. It would still be the best steak of his life right?
I hate to spoil the ending, but the steak was not the best he had ever had. It was dry and overcooked. Not my best, but we both had budget pallets so it wasn’t so bad. Ever since then I have been on a mission to cook the perfect steak.
For me the perfect steak is:
- Top Sirloin, Rib Eye or Fillet
- Seared in cast iron
- Medium Rare
- Seasoned with salt, pepper, butter and garlic
I am obsessed with cooking my steak this way… maybe its all the butter and garlic. Whatever it is I really enjoy it. And my husband defiantly doesn’t miss the days of over cooked, tough fast fry steaks.
The Perfect Steak
Servings: 2
Ingredients:
- 2 Thick Cut Steaks (Top Sirloin is my fav!)
- 2 Teaspoons Canola Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- 3 Garlic Cloves, smashed
- Salt and Pepper
Season the steaks liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Rub canola oil on both sides of the steak. Set aside to come to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 400 °F. Place your cast iron pan in the oven to preheat. Once your oven has preheated remove the pan from the oven. Place the pan on your stove over high heat.
Once your skillet is smoking add your steaks. Sear the steaks on he first side (30 seconds – 1 minute). Flip the steak and repeat. Add smashed garlic and butter to the cast iron pan. Place the pan in the oven cook for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, flip the steak and baste with melted butter. Repeat this process until the steak is cooked to your preference. Personally I cook mine for 4-6 minutes depending on thickness. For accurate cooking I highly recommend an instant read meat thermometer.
Allow steak to rest uncovered for 5-10 minutes before serving. I place garlic cloves and pour basting juices over the steaks while they rest for extra flavour.
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