I had a beautiful ribeye (grass fed) to grill last night, only we were out of gas for the grill. Whoops! So, I cooked the steak in a cast-iron skillet. This is a great way to cook a steak. I usually do this more in the winter when it is not grilling season. The steak will develop a crust and still cook to the temperature you want on the inside. It has a wonderful tender and buttery flavor….JUICY.
Here is what you do.
Let your steak come to room temperature (takes an hour). Salt and pepper your steak on both sides.
Heat a skillet on high for 5 minutes.
Throw in equal amounts of olive oil and butter. Why? Butter will burn if you just use butter on high heat. The oil will allow you to raise the smoke point and cook on a really hot surface. I used about 3-4 Tablespoons of each.
When the butter has melted and it is really bubbling, add your steak.
It should sizzle when you put it in. It might even smoke a bit…it is ok. Don’t turn it down. Let it cook until it develops a crust and has a nice deep color.
I like my steak medium rare. I cook it about 5-6 minutes and then flip. Then I cook it on the other side. Use a meat thermometer if you are unsure. A medium rare steak should cook to an internal temperature of about 140ish. A steak at 160 degrees is pretty darn cooked. Once you find your temperature, this will really eliminate you cutting into your steak finding out it is under / over cooked for your liking.
Take the steak out and let it rest, covered loosely with foil for at least 5 minutes.
When I cook steak for a crowd, I buy one nice steak for every two people and slice it as shown above. This works well. Most people do not eat an entire steak with all the sides.
I served it with a lovely little salad and a zucchini casserole you will be seeing soon.
