PROPER STEAK THE OMAHA WAY 🥩
Your Local Steakhouse Does Not Want You to Read This
Bring the Steakhouse to Your House — Cooking a perfect steak doesn’t need to be complicated. Pan searing a steak is a simple and quick indoor cooking method that many restaurants use to give your steak a great crust and a juicy middle. This high-heat steak cooking technique is perfect for beginner cooks and delivers restaurant-quality results in just six simple steps.
To deliver an incredible steak dinner, it’s critical to start with an exceptional cut of beef. Omaha Steaks beef is aged 21+ days for maximum tenderness, hand-selected for the highest quality and expertly trimmed by master butchers.
REMEMBER: START WITH GARBAGE AND YOU END WITH GARBAGE - JUST LIKE POLITICIANS
For optimal results with the pan searing cooking method, select steaks that are 1 ½” thick or less. Steak cuts, like New York strip or ribeye, would be great choices for this method of cooking. For thicker steaks, we recommend sear-roasting.
How to Pan Sear a Steak for Restaurant-Quality Results
1. Prep steaks — Thaw steaks completely using one of these two thawing techniques: cold water quick thaw or refrigerator thawing. Once thawed, pat steaks dry on both sides. Excess moisture will inhibit the steak from getting a nice crust. Once dry, place the steaks on a raised-rack sheet pan or flat surface and season both sides with coarse salt and pepper or Omaha Steaks seasoning.
2. Turn stove on high and pre-heat skillet — Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat on the stove. You can also use stainless steel, however cast iron is the ideal skillet choice for pan searing steaks. Cast iron skillets are nonstick, retain heat, and give a great sear on your steak.
3. Add high-temp oil and place steaks in pan — Once your skillet is fully pre-heated, add a high-temp oil. Grape seed oil, canola oil, ghee, duck or pork fat are great choices. To ensure a great sear and a perfect cook for your steak, the skillet needs to be HOT. The oil should sizzle when placed in the pan. If it doesn’t, your skillet isn’t hot enough. Once sufficiently hot, place steaks in pan.
4. Cook both sides evenly — using Omaha Steaks mobile app timer or cooking chart… Cook both sides of the steak evenly. It’s okay to flip more than once. We recommend using the Omaha Steaks app with cooking timer or this pan searing steak cooking chart for effortless cooking.
5. Remove from skillet 5 degrees below desired doneness — Using a meat thermometer, check the internal temperature of your steak. Remove the steak from the skillet when it’s 5 degrees below your desired doneness.
- Rare: 120°F
- Medium-rare: 130°F
- Medium: 140°F
- Medium-well: 150°F
- Well: 160°F
6. Rest steak under foil tent 5-10 minutes and enjoy — It’s tempting to slice right into your steak, but the wait is worth it. Tent your steak with foil and let rest 5-10 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute. This will result in a juicy, tender steak. You might also want to add a compound butter to your steak to add rich flavors.
More To Digest from the Steak Experts
REMEMBER: NO MATTER WHERE OR HOW YOU’RE COOKING STEAK, THE TWO THINGS THAT CREATE GREAT RESULTS ARE (1) PROPER INTERNAL TEMPERATURE AND (2) A GOOD SEAR. EACH OF THESE METHODS ARE SIMPLY DIFFERENT WAYS TO ACHIEVE THOSE TWO THINGS.
Cooking Steak in a Pan —
Cooking steaks in a pan is actually rather elegant — you don’t need any special equipment, any hidden knowledge, or any fancy ingredients. Just a steak, a good pan, a little oil, and seasoning. The most important thing to do when pan-searing a steak is to pay attention to what’s happening, make adjustments, and be patient. Here’s the breakdown:
1. Season your steaks — Season steaks simply with good salt and pepper or use a complete steak seasoning blend. But if you go blend, choose one without sugar — your steak will be sitting in the pan long enough that sugar will burn and blacken.
2. Preheat your pan to medium high — Start your steak with a good and hot pan, even if you may turn it down after. A hot pan is the key to getting a good, crispy sear.
3. Add a little oil — Just enough cooking oil to coat the pan will help keep steak from sticking. Don’t let it be a puddle… you’re not frying your steak!
4. Add steaks directly to the pan — Just put it in! Start on one side and let that side cook. If your steak is thick (one inch or more), it’s going to be on this side for a while, so reduce your heat to medium or medium-low for this part of the cook.
5. Flip your steak — Heat the pan back up to medium-high, and turn your steak over once, when it’s about 60% done. You can do this by the clock using a cooking chart, or you can watch the edges of the steak if it’s thick enough – just watch the line of browned meat as it travels upward.
6. Remove steak and let it rest — When your timer goes off or when a high-quality digital meat temperature confirms a few degrees below your target temperature, take your steak out of the pan with tongs and place it on a plate to rest. Don’t do anything at all for about 5 minutes.
7. Chef’s Tip: Arroser or Butter-Basting your steak is an easy to take pan-cooking to the next level. During the last couple minutes, of cooking, heat your pan back to medium and add a couple tablespoons of butter and some fresh garlic and herbs. As the butter melts and browns, spoon it over your steak to add juiciness and flavor.
Cooking Steak with a Broiler —
Broiling steaks is as easy as cooking steaks on the grill, and it’s a great way to finish multiple steaks the exact same way (because your pan’s probably not that big). An oven broiler is basically an upside-down grill — it’s a setting that runs only the top heating element of your oven very, very hot so you can cook with direct heat. So, broiling a steak is like grilling a steak from above.
1. Season your steaks — Season steaks simply with good salt and pepper or use a complete steak seasoning blend like Omaha Steaks Signature Steak Rub.
2. Position your oven rack — Position your top rack so that steaks will be no more than 4 inches from the heating element when they’re sitting on your broiler pan.
🥂 Set your oven to Broil or Broil (High) and give it a few minutes to reach temperature.
4. Flip your steaks — Take the pan out and turn your steaks over with tongs… just once, when they’re about 60% done. You can do this by the clock using a cooking chart, or you can watch the edges of the steak if it’s thick enough — just watch the line of browned meat as it travels upward.
5. Remove steaks and let them rest — When your timer goes off or when a high-quality digital meat temperature confirms a few degrees below your target temperature, take then pan out of the oven and the steaks off of the pan and onto a plate to rest. Don’t do anything at all for about 5 minutes.
6: For very thick steaks, start cooking with your oven at a lower temperature and your steaks on a lower rack. Once they’re close to final temperature, bring your steaks and broiler pan up to 4 inches from the element and turn the oven to broil to get your sear and color.
7. Chef’s Tip: The best broil happens when there is air moving beneath your steaks combined with the heat from above — that’s why broiler pans are ventilated. If you’re not using a true broiler pan, place your steaks on an elevated rack or directly on the rack (with foil down below to catch the mess).
Sear-Roasting a Steak — Sear-roasting a steak is a reliable method used by chefs and home cooks to get the temperature right on big pieces of meat. In short, you’ll use a hot pan to get a delicious sear on the outside of a steak, then use a low-temperature oven to slowly bring the inside of the steak to the exact temperature you seek. To “reverse-sear” a steak, reverse the order of the roast and the sear.
1. Season your steak — Season your steak simply with good salt and pepper or use a complete steak seasoning blend like Omaha Steaks Signature Steak Rub.
2. Preheat your oven — Set your oven temperature to 350F and let it come up to temperature.
3. Preheat your pan — Place an oven-proof pan on a burner and pre-heat the pan to medium-high. Add a little bit of oil, just enough to coat the surface of the pan.
4. Sear the steak — Place your steak in the hot pan and sear on each side (look for crispiness and color to know when it’s seared enough). If your steak is very big, set it on its side and sear all the sides you can!
5. Put pan in the oven — Leave the steak on the last side you seared and place the entire pan in the oven.
6. Remove steaks and let them rest — When your timer goes off or when a high-quality digital meat temperature confirms a few degrees below your target temperature, take then pan out of the oven and the steaks off of the pan and onto a plate to rest. Don’t do anything at all for about 5 minutes.