A restaurant-quality steak at home needs just three things: a very hot pan, the confidence to leave it alone, and patience while it rests.
Pick your cut
- Ribeye: well marbled, juicy and full of flavour.
- Sirloin: a great all-rounder with a strip of fat along the edge.
- Rump: more flavour and chew, and better value.
- Fillet: the most tender and the most expensive, with a milder taste.
- Flat iron: tender, full of flavour and good value.
Get it ready
- Take the steak out of the fridge 20–30 minutes before cooking.
- Pat it completely dry with kitchen paper. A wet steak steams instead of browning.
- Season generously with salt just before cooking (or an hour ahead), and pepper.
Cook it
Heat a heavy frying pan (cast iron is ideal) until it’s very hot. Rub a little oil on the steak rather than in the pan, lay it in and leave it alone to form a crust. Turn it every minute or so for even cooking, and render the fat edge by holding it against the pan with tongs.
For extra flavour, add a knob of butter, a crushed garlic clove and a sprig of thyme or rosemary for the last minute, and spoon the foaming butter over the steak.
Timings (for a steak about 2.5cm thick)
Total cooking time, turning regularly. Thickness and pan heat change everything, so use these as a guide:
- Rare: about 3–4 minutes.
- Medium-rare: about 5–6 minutes.
- Medium: about 7–8 minutes.
- Well done: about 10–12 minutes, over a slightly lower heat.
Use a thermometer
For accuracy, check the centre: around 50°C for rare, 55°C for medium-rare, 60°C for medium and 70°C or more for well done. The temperature rises a few degrees while it rests, so take it off just before your target.
Rest it
Rest the steak on a warm plate for about 5 minutes. The juices settle back through the meat instead of running out when you cut it. Then slice it across the grain for tender bites.
A safety note
Whole cuts of beef and lamb, like steaks, can be served pink in the middle, as long as the outside has been properly seared. Burgers, mince and anything made from minced meat are different — they must be cooked all the way through, with no pink in the middle.